C70 At The Bat

Twigs For The Stove

2009-11-05T13:09:30Z

First off, congratulations to the Yankees. I'm not a Yankee hater, due to their tradition mainly. I'm not big on the fact that they spent so much and won, but when you look at how often they spent a ton and lost, you can see that's not completely the reasoning. Besides, it's been nine years. While that's not that long for a lot of teams, it does mean that there's been plenty of other winners this decade. Interesting that both old Yankee Stadium and the new place were christened with championships. Of course, only one other team has done that, and we remember it well.

There have been just a few small items that were Cardinal related in the news lately. First, the Blue Jays claimed Jarrett Hoffpauir off waivers. Hoffpauir continues the interesting "former Cardinal" theme the Jays have had recently. (After they got Scott Rolen and David Eckstein, a friend of mine who has family there stated there were shirts proclaiming the "St. Toronto Blue Cardinals.") Hoffpauir's window effectively closed when Skip Schumaker made an effective transition to second. Factor in Julio Lugo being around all year and Hoffpauir wasn't going to sniff playing time. He'd slipped in the prospect rankings anyway, but if he gets a chance in Toronto he might be a servicable backup.

The Pirates are interested in talking to Rick Ankiel. We all know that Rick is going to go somewhere else after this season; it's almost guaranteed. A situation like Pittsburgh would actually be a good place for him. He could work on being a hitter, probably put up some solid numbers in that park, and not have to worry about carrying a team or being a piece toward a post-season puzzle. With him, Andrew McCutchen and Garrett Jones in the outfield, Pittsburgh would have a pretty interesting offense.

Not unexpectedly, the Cardinals released Brad Thompson yesterday. I've noted many times how Thompson's effectiveness had declined pretty much every year. If he can't get the sinker over and get the ground balls, he gets lit up. With the bullpen being pretty defined already, there wasn't much of a spot for him anyway, and since he was going to be eligible for arbitration, it's best to get it out of the way now. Thompson did have highlights as a Cardinal and he'll always be remembered, but it was time to part ways.

Finally, Joe Strauss indicated that there have been discussions between the Cardinals and Scott Boras. It sounds like it was more of a presentation of an initial offer rather than real in-depth negotiations for the rights to Matt Holliday, but it's a start.

With the World Series over, things should start heating up soon. Mark McGwire will probably talk next week, if I was to guess. I know that they'd held off making him available to the press until the Series was done. Probably early next week, maybe the week after. (The cynical would guess the Wednesday before Thanksgiving to minimize some of the talk, but I doubt that'll happen--or it'd work.)

15 days from now, the free agents have to file. I think we'd all be shocked if the Cards were able to keep Holliday before that time, but it's something to keep an eye on. I know they want to use this exclusive window as much as they possibly can. The winter meetings will be held Dec. 7-10 in Indianapolis, so there will probably be a lot of talk leading up to that.

The offseason is here! Let's see what the Cardinals do with it!

UCB Roundtable: Final Question

2009-11-04T14:12:54Z

So sorry for the lack of posting. Between a crazy schedule at work and a lack of Cardinal news, there's just not been anything to put up.

Last month, the United Cardinal Bloggers did their annual roundtable at the end of the season. I posed my question last and have been meaning to get the transcript up here. After the jump, read all about it!

Before you get there, though, note that PJ Walters will be our guest on the UCB Radio Hour tonight, so be sure to join us!

The question: What is one move you'd like to see Mozeliak do during this offseason? Could be a trade, could be a free agent signing. Realism is nice (of course, we'd all love for him to swap Tyler Greene for Hanley Ramirez, but I'm guessing that's not going to happen) but realism is also in the eye of the beholder. :)

Pip (Fungoes): In his dispatch about the Braves' imminent re-signing of Tim Hudson, Ken Rosenthal noted that Atlanta may be interested in jettisoning one of its higher-paid starters, such as Javier Vazquez. Although Vazquez is under contract only for 2010, his salary, while not cheap ($11.5 million), represents a likely bargain: the league's xFIP leader produced a value of $29.5 million in 2009 with 6.6 WAR. If the Braves are primarily looking to dump salary, the Cardinals may not have to give up as much in trade as would otherwise make trading for a 33-year-old soon-to-be-free-agent an unwise strategy. Also: If the team did acquire Vazquez but didn't get him to return in 2011, they'd almost certainly receive draft picks.

On Monday's UCB radio show, Bill DeWitt III noted that the team would spend the chunk of payroll putatively allocated for Matt Holliday somewhere else if he doesn't sign. $11.5 and some low-level prospects for Vazquez might actually be a better value than Holliday, who'll command at least $15 million next year. The Braves aren't stupid, though, so it may take more than picking up the tab on Vazquez.

John (The Cardinal Virtue): I'd like to see a long extension for Pujols. That would make me the happiest. But to branch out a bit, I was hollering for Brad Penny last year. But now we can get him even cheaper. If we wind up getting Holliday than we'll need some cheap pitching. Penny is exactly the type that would benefit from Duncan. Add in Smoltz and think we'll be smokin' in the rotation.

Trey (The Cardinal Virtue): My vote would also be to find a talented starting pitcher on the cheap. In previous roundtable discussions, we all agreed that it's tough to expect such fantastic years from Carp and Wainwright again, so we need to improve the back-end of the rotation. I would be like to see us go for Ben Sheets. I think we could get him for a 1-2 year deal at 5-6 mil per coming off the injury. When healthy, he's been as good as there is in the National league.

Eugene (Tailgate Crashers): There have been some great ideas here; I really like the Vazquez deal, but the Braves are looking for MLB ready hitting (most likely an outfielder). I think we'd had to give up Ludwick to get him, so we'd create a hole to fix one. Sheets is a good idea as well, but I don't know what his market will be like (I could see the Astros throwing some money at him).

My one move would be to sign Billy Wagner as closer. I don't think Ryan Franklin should be our closer; he had a great half season in the role, but was horrible for the last month and a half. He also cost us Game 2 of the NLDS (yes, Holliday takes some blame, but Franklin gave up 2 hits and 2 walks that inning). Wagner is leaning towards retirement, but I think a contender could convince him to play for at least 1 more year if they make him the closer. I don't think we'll re-sign Holliday, so we'll have money to burn. He can also be a mentor for Eduardo Sanchez, Francisco Samuel, and Fernando Salas (all guys that have been dubbed "Future Closer" at some point in the minors).

Michael (Whiteyball): Billy Wagner would be a fantastic addition, I'd echo that idea.

Obviously, the "one" move would be Holliday but if we are looking on a smaller scale, Rocco Baldelli would be a perfect fit for this team. He owns a .346 OBP/ .485 SLG/ .831 OPS versus left handed pitching (610 plate appearances), can play all 3 outfield positions and has some upside (UZR has him above average in center his entire career). Even last year in a down year he hit .290/.343/.441 versus the sinister side (102 PA). We need someone that can play centerfield next year to spell Colby against the tough lefties and he will only be 28 years old.

Mike (Stan Musial's Stance): Lots of good suggestions here. Can I say one thing I hope he doesn't do instead of one I'd like to see? I'd hope he doesn't pay Trever Miller/Dennys Reyes type money for a right handed relief pitcher. The club has enough good arms suitable for bullpen duty; there's no reason to panic because of slumps (Franklin, McClellan) last year and overpay for a journeyman.

Great suggestions from everyone. I think I'd most like to see a Pujols extension, of course, but having Billy Wagner to help out Franklin and others would not be a bad move at all. Thanks to all the guys for helping out!

Continuing Reaction

2009-10-28T12:09:20Z

The ripples from Monday's press conference are still rolling around Cardinal Nation. Without Mark McGwire there to answer questions, the reverberations may continue for quite some time.

The latest two questions in the UCB Roundtable dealt with McGwire. Bernie Mikalsz and Brian Burwell both write about the subject, with similar viewpoints. Everywhere you look, people are weighing in on the McGwire story.

I've made my position pretty clear on this, I think. I know there are people that are up in arms about it, that are cancelling season tickets and venting their outrage. I just can't be one of those people, partly because it's not my nature, but partly because I'm still waiting to see what McGwire has to say.

I seriously can't believe the Cardinals would bring him on or that he'd come out of seclusion only to repeat the "talk about the past" line. They have to know that isn't going to fly, I would think, and it's going to cause more trouble than it's worth.

Honestly, I'd put odds around 50/50 that McGwire doesn't actually make it to spring training as the hitting coach. I could see where he would find out he'd misread the scrutiny, bitten off more than he wanted to chew, and bow out. Until we hear from him, there's really no way of telling what is going to happen.

I will say that Hal McRae was very graceful about losing his job. Not that you expect anything less, of course, but there was no reason that he had to speak about being let go. I did think it was time for him to move on, but hopefully he catches on somewhere else.

The players apparently are very fond of Cardinal pitchers. Chris Carpenter was named the Players' Choice Comeback Player of the Year and, I heard this morning driving into work, Adam Wainwright was named their Outstanding Pitcher in the NL. (Not to be confused with the Cy Young. I found that out with the BBA!) Carpenter was a no brainer, of course, but I was glad to see Wainwright got the nod over Carp and Tim Lincecum. I don't think that's how the actual Cy Young voting will go (and it wasn't how the Baseball Bloggers Alliance voted either), but it's nice to see him get some recognition.

Wednesday night means UCB Radio Hour. Tonight, it's just scheduled for a half hour and will start later, at 10:00 CST. We'll probably talk McGwire and maybe some from our interview with Bill DeWitt III. (If you've not heard that interview, you can find it here.) Hope you can join us!

Big News On Many Fronts

2009-10-26T02:56:50Z

For an offseason weekend with a team already out of the playoffs, there have been some seismic shakes going on in St. Louis.

First, the relatively expected news that Tony LaRussa will be back at the helm of the Cardinals for his 15th season with the Redbirds. One report indicated that it would be a multi-year deal, but as always TLR will take it year by year and decide whether he wants to return or not. A strong finish to 2010 might be the end of the road for him.

We've talked about this in the UCB roundtable, but I think that having TLR (and, by extension, Dave Duncan) back is probably a good thing for the club. LaRussa does a lot of good things for this team and tends to get the most out of the players. While some may criticize how he does it, he usually is able to have the team overachieve. October is another matter, but you never know what you are going to get there. It sure wasn't LaRussa's fault that Chris Carpenter had a terrible Game 1 in this year's NLDS.

The bigger news, of course, is that Hal McRae was fired as hitting coach. That was expected--I mentioned that a week or so ago. What wasn't expected by anyone in the baseball world was that his replacement would be none other than troubled slugger Mark McGwire.

A lot of people are really up in arms over this. Which strikes me as fairly ridiculous, really. Look, we know what the rumors are about McGwire, though there's been little hard evidence to connect him to it. Say it's true, though. How worked up can we be?

I will admit, I've been a McGwire fan since his rookie year, so I'm not completely unbiased in this regard. But, as Pip will likely point out, a team that had Troy Glaus, Ryan Franklin and Rick Ankiel, players either tied to or actually suspended for steroid use, has little room for a high road. If people aren't going to be worked up about those guys, can you really get steamed about McGwire?

Some would say the difference between those active players and McGwire is that they've admitted their guilt and served their time, as it were. There's some truth to that. My personal opinion, though, is that we are going to see something come out of this press conference tomorrow. I don't believe the Cardinals would have hired him naively thinking they could tell the press "don't ask about it" and that'd happen. I don't believe McGwire would bring himself out of retirement and subject himself to those kind of questions and harassments if there wasn't a plan in place.

I wouldn't be surprised at tomorrow's press conference that McGwire doesn't say, "OK, here you are. One time thing. I'm answering the questions and then I'm moving on. Yes, I did it. It was not something I'm proud of. It was a time where a lot of people were doing the same thing and I felt like I needed it to stay in the game. I don't think anyone should use them and I'm sorry for what I did. That said, I'm here to do a job, and that's what I plan to do."

There's going to have to be some addressing of the issue, otherwise this McGwire experiment will likely not last until spring training.

Looking at it from a strictly baseball point of view, though, the move makes some sense. We've seen what McGwire's tutelage has done for Skip Schumaker the last couple of years. Obviously, Mac's not all about power and "grip it and rip it." He seems to have some general fundamental knowledge of hitting and how to impart that to other players. While he and Matt Holliday didn't necessarily work out well, I don't think that's an indication that he's not going to be effective with the players.

It was obvious that there needed to be a change. The last couple of years the offense has struggled and sputtered, for the most part. Whether it was McRae's teachings getting old or just not being that effective, a change was definitely needed. There's no doubt that this counts as a change. We'll see if it was the right one.

Needless to say, this isn't quite to that level, but it's still pretty big news nonetheless. Cardinals team president Bill DeWitt III will be our guest on a special UCB Radio Hour tomorrow night at 5:30 pm Central. Here's some background on Mr. DeWitt and we are very excited to have him on tomorrow!

News In A Newsless Void

2009-10-23T13:20:14Z

As you know, there aren't many things going on right now that are Cardinal related. So you have to pick out the small nuggets that are around and blow them up into talkable topics. Thankfully, I'm a blogger. That's my job, that's what I do.

For example, there's a story up at the Post-Dispatch site that the bullpen next year will be pretty similar to what it was this year. Being that Ryan Franklin and Trever Miller signed extensions at the end of last year and Dennys Reyes had a two-year deal to begin with, this isn't exactly the biggest of shockers.

I don't think anyone expects that Franklin will lose his closer job over the offseason, even with the terrible run he went on to close 2009. The general official opinion on that is that he got worn down with all the innings he had thrown, so you have to figure a few months' rest and he's good to go. I'm not necessarily sold on that--Franklin worried me while he was going well, though not as much as he had in the past--but I do think you have to give him a shot and see, especially after the extension.

Miller and Reyes will be the left-handed specialists again this year. That's what they do. I will say I'm still surprised Miller turned out to be the better deal than Reyes did. We'll see if that continues in 2010 or not.

The rest of the bullpen are young guys with enough experience and success not to have to worry about the Memphis shuttle, at least not for a while. Blake Hawksworth, Kyle McClellan and Mitchell Boggs might have a shot at the back of the starting rotation (though I expect Jaime Garcia will be written in there), but if not they'll be back in the 'pen. Jason Motte, who best be learning something offspeed this winter, will be back in the seventh-eighth inning mix.

The only thing that will be different is that, after so many years, the young face of Brad Thompson is not likely to be in Cardinal red. Thompson's done a lot for the team and I wish him well, but he's declined every year he's been in the majors. Maybe someone can use him regularly and get more production out of him, but the Cardinals won't be that team.

Tony LaRussa still hasn't said officially whether he is coming back or not, but very few people expect him to actually walk. I am surprised that it has taken this long, though. I wouldn't be surprised if the pull of staying home isn't starting to get to him, and that next year, if he comes back for another of his one-year deals, a more pleasing ending doesn't have him sailing off into the sunset.

Bernie Miklasz talks about Albert Pujols' recovery from elbow surgery and the thought that the Cards should try to give him more rest next season. Like he points out, though, the problem is AP wants to play. He has a similar motto as Cal Ripken--you have plenty of time for rest in the offseason. Still, another day off here and there might not be a bad thing, especially if he starts showing symptoms of more elbow problems in the pennant race next year.

Old friend Mark McGwire surfaced recently to talk about Mr. Pujols. Most notably, that he thinks AP could get $30 million per if he hits free agency. Well, at least that he's worth that. I don't think any of us will argue that Pujols is worth more than anyone in baseball. The issue is, whether the Cardinals will have to prove it. If they do, they probably won't, due to payroll restrictions. I think you'll see the team come to a below-market-value agreement with AP, but it may not be until the end of next season.

While Chris Carpenter wasn't able to pull down the Baseball Blogger Alliance's Cy Young award, he did get another cool honor, winning the Bullet Rogan Award from the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum as the top NL pitcher. Not sure if it is significant that both the AL and NL winners played in Missouri, where the museum is located.

Part of being in the BBA is to help out other bloggers in the organization. With that in mind, and because the prize is pretty darn cool, I want to suggest you check out SoDo Mojo. The Seattle blog is giving away a $100 certificate to sportsmemorabilia.com, so you'll want to get in on that!

Blogging will probably be somewhat sporadic for a while as news trickles out. Keep checking back!

BBA Ballot: National League MVP

2009-10-22T21:30:00Z

I never knew.

MVP voting has always been interesting to me, nice to see who wins, interesting to see what the rationale for the voters was (if they share). Beyond that, though, I'd never given it a lot of thought.

Then, this year, I am one of the official ballots (Mike over at Stan Musial's Stance is the other) for the St. Louis chapter of the Baseball Bloggers Alliance. Which means that I had to sit down and come up with the top 10 players in the National League for 2009. That's when I had the insight.

This stuff is hard.

I sketched out my list, then went looking for some basic statistical numbers to back up what I was thinking. Then I'd find one guy that I overlooked. Then another. Then maybe this guy should move up. How do you rank a guy that had great overall numbers on a terrible team. Where do pitchers fit in. All of these decisions, just because that jerk of a chapter chairman gave me the MVP vote instead of something like the Cy Young vote. (Full disclosure: I am the St. Louis chapter chairman. Never knew I hated myself this much.)

So the following is my best guess, really. There are players left out that I'd have loved to find room for. There are players that you probably think should be 5-7 that are 2-4. I'm sure that there will be plenty of disagreements along the way. However, I'm pretty sure (especially if you are a regular reader, but most likely everyone) you'll agree with the top of the list. And that's all that matters, right?

Honorable mention
Chris Carpenter, St. Louis
Andre Ethier, Los Angeles
Derrek Lee, Chicago
Tim Lincecum, San Francisco
Mark Reynolds, Arizona
Adam Wainwright, St. Louis

Ethier really probably should be in the actual ballot, but I wasn't willing to bump my #10 out of the ranks (it's my ballot, sue me) and wasn't sure who else to replace. Lee and Reynolds had stellar years, but on teams that didn't go anywhere. The pitchers were all very valuable to their team's success and my initial ballot had two of them in the top ten, but when it came down to it, they'd have to be content with the Cy Young showings.

10. Matt Holliday, St. Louis
42 R, 13 HR, 55 RBI, 2 SB, .353/.419/.604 (stats w/SL)

Obviously, I watched Holliday from the moment he came over and, to be fair, the Cardinals might have won the division without him. It's as easily conceivable, though, that they may not have. His presence gave a jolt to the team, both in the lineup and psychologically, and it helped spur them out to their big lead. For that, I felt he needed at least token recognition.

9. Adrian Gonzalez, San Diego
90 R, 40 HR, 99 RBI, 1 SB, .277/.407/.551

It's hard enough to put up stellar offensive numbers when you play half of your games in the big ballpark that is Petco. It's even harder to do so when you are basically the only offensive threat your team has. Yet Gonzalez was able to put up very good all-around numbers while walking a league-leading 119 times. That puts him ahead of Lee and Reynolds and gets him on the ballot.

8. Pablo Sandoval, San Francisco
79 R, 25 HR, 90 RBI, 5 SB, .330/.387/.556

I knew Sandoval had had a good year. What I didn't realize, until looking through some things, that Kung Fu Panda was basically the entire San Francisco offense. When you think of how far that the Giants went, challenging for the NL West title before fading in September, and they did it with Sandoval's offensive contributions being basically all she wrote, well, it shows you how well Giants pitchers did.

7. Chase Utley, Philadelphia
112 R, 31 HR, 93 RBI, 23 SB, .282/.397/.508

Utley and his teammate named above get a little bit of a downgrade because, while we are looking for stellar performances, we are also looking for valuable ones. There's no doubt that Utley's contributions helped the Phillies immensely, but he did have quite a bit of help on the offensive side of things. Definitely valuable, definitely wonderful, but not quite as far up as he might have gotten if there'd only been two or three Phillies driving the offense.

6. Prince Fielder, Milwaukee
103 R, 46 HR, 141 RBI, 2 SB, .299/.412/.602

The Brewers have become a pesky rival to the Cardinals in the last few years, what with the untucking of shirts and the general dislike between the two clubs. I tried not to let that impact where I put Fielder on the list, though. Fielder was hurt some by Milwaukee not really living up to expectations. He did all that he could, of course, but everyone in front of him played on either a pennant-winning team or a team that challenged. In other years, he probably would have been in the top 5, but this year's crop of candidates is pretty strong, in my book.

5. Ryan Howard, Philadelphia
105 R, 45 HR, 141 RBI, 8 SB, .279/.360/.571

Howard put up another monster year. While the postseason obviously doesn't count for this voting, he has gotten his team to the World Series and garnered an LCS MVP for his efforts. As I noted with Utley, though, it's hard to seperate some of his contributions from the gaudy numbers the Philadelphia offense put up as a whole, and of course the ballpark factors have to come into play as well.

4. Hanley Ramirez, Florida
101 R, 24 HR, 106 RBI, 27 SB, .342/.410/.543

Ramirez has continued to develop into a powerful force for the Marlins. He dropped down in the lineup this year, which cut into his steal numbers, but his overall body of work was in line with what was projected for him when he was dealt for Josh Beckett a few years back. He may not have been completely well-liked in the clubhouse, but he got the job done on the field.

3. Troy Tulowitski, Colorado
101 R, 32 HR, 92 RBI, 20 SB, .297/.377/.552

Tulowitski was a name that surprised me when I started looking through things. Probably because he's on a team that I didn't get to see much, I didn't realize how his overall numbers had looked. Factor in the fact that the team made the playoffs and that gets him a high spot on my ballot.

2. Matt Kemp, Los Angeles
97 R, 26 HR, 101 RBI, 34 SB, .297/.352/.490

I'm probably overrating Kemp, I'll admit. There are people with better categorical numbers, especially. With Kemp, though, you got the entire package. A broad range of offensive skills, plus the defense in center field to go along with it. He hit 15 of his home runs and stole 15 of his bases after the All-Star Break, though he did struggle a bit in September.

1. Albert Pujols, St. Louis
124 R, 47 HR, 135 RBI, 16 SB, .327/.443/.658

What is there to say? I expect Pujols will be a unanimous selection both among the BBA and the baseball writers. Why not? He was the best offensive player in the league on a team that won their division. By what argument do you say he isn't the MVP? He was four steals away from being a 20/20 man, so he even brought some speed (or smart baserunning) to the table. This is the reason I took the MVP vote, because I knew that the top of it, at least, was the easy part.

So flame away. I know it's not perfect and I look forward to seeing what the rest of the Alliance has in store!

Back In The Saddle

2009-10-21T16:21:31Z

Been a while, hasn't it? I've been out of the office, been busy with the Baseball Bloggers Alliance award work, and there's not been just a ton of Cardinal news to talk about. There are a few stories today, though, that I thought I'd touch on.

First off, the top story is, of course, that Albert Pujols will need more surgery. There was a link out there last night indicating that Pujols would need Tommy John surgery, which would keep him out until June or so. (Well, normal people would be out that long. We know AP tends to heal faster than regular mortals.) Thankfully, that's not the case.

In fact, apparently, things went great today in the surgery. Here's the official press release:

ST. LOUIS, October 20, 2009 - St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols this morning underwent arthroscopy of the right elbow with debridement of bone spurs and removal of bone chips.

During the procedure, doctors determined that Pujols did not require ligament reconstruction. The arthroscopy was not related to the previous nerve transposition surgery that Pujols underwent last year. This morning's procedure was performed in Birmingham, Alabama by Dr. James Andrews.

Pujols will begin his rehabilitation next week in St. Louis. Pujols is expected to fully recover. No timetable for his return has been set.

So the Cardinals dodge a pretty big bullet there. Hopefully this surgery will work out a little better than last year's, at least in how long the effects last. There's doesn't seem to be any doubt that it started to mess with him as the season wore on.

Next up is the fact that David Freese is the leader in the clubhouse for the third base slot for the 2010 Redbirds. I think this is good news, not only because Mark DeRosa wasn't the offensive wunderkind that we thought he was going to be when the deal with Cleveland was made but also because it indicates this organization is going to be clear-headed about moves.

Jess Todd and Chris Perez are sunk costs--they are gone no matter what happens with DeRosa. Freese proved he was ready for a shot at the job, and that should help also with the financial aspects of pursuing Matt Holliday. Holliday is the one guy this organization really wants to keep, I think. All the other free agents can walk (though hopefully after they've accepted arbitration).

Finally, the club is starting to look into the backup catcher slot and try to decide what they want to do with it, since resting Yadier Molina more might be a good thing. If so, that means Jason LaRue will be gone, since he probably can't play much more than he's playing now. Will that mean that Bryan Anderson finally gets a shot? I don't think that many people in Cardinal Nation would be that excited about Matt Pagnozzi if the idea is for the backup to play more often.

It's a small decision and it doesn't necessarily indicate anything, but it's interesting nonetheless. At this time of the year, you take what you can get!

The United Cardinal Bloggers are working on their annual year-end roundtables. Whiteyball has the first transcript up, looking at the Holliday issue. More are on the way throughout the next couple of weeks.

And be sure to tune in to Josh and Nick tonight on the thirty-minute UCB Radio Hour!

BBA: 2009 National League ROY Ballot

2009-10-15T13:36:00Z

You've heard me mention before the Baseball Bloggers Alliance. It's a group of bloggers (now 86 strong across all but two major league teams--tough to find Oakland and Texas bloggers interested) that are working together to foster communication and collaboration throughout baseball's blogosphere.

The biggest project the BBA is taking on, however, is the voting for major post-season awards. We're putting ours out now and we'll see how the baseball writers compare after the Series is over.

The Managers of the Year were already announced. Due to the voting rules, I didn't have a ballot in that race, though Jim Tracy and Tony LaRussa would have likely finished 1-2 in mine as well. Today is the deadline for the Rookie of the Year. Since this is a Cardinal blog, I'll be voting on the National League race.

I had planned to do a ton of research, really sorting out the candidates and putting a decent argument behind each selection. Then the week got away from me and I'm staring at the deadline, so that went out the window. I've seen some of the other ballots posted, though, so I don't think I'm completely out of left field with these selections.

3. J.A. Happ, Philadelphia Phillies

12-4, 2.93 ERA, 166 IP, 20 HR, 119 K, 56 BB, 1.24 WHIP

Happ played a very big role in the Phillies' returning to post-season play. He helped insure that the slump of Jamie Moyer didn't doom the club, stepping up and pitching well throughout the year. He struggled a little down the stretch, but on the whole had a very solid rookie season. The Cardinals didn't help him out, though, pasting him for five runs in six innings in the one start he had against them.

2. Tommy Hanson, Atlanta Braves

11-4, 2.89 ERA, 127.2 IP, 10 HR, 116 K, 46 BB, 1.18 WHIP

Hanson has been long touted as the next Braves pitching star and he proved that the hype had some basis in truth during 2009. Hanson didn't get called up until June, but he immediately made his mark, winning his first four decisions. The league caught up with him somewhat in July, but he made adjustments and had a stellar last month of the season, fashioning a 2.31 ERA and 1.03 WHIP. The Cardinals missed facing him in 2009.

1. Andrew McCutchen, Pittsburgh Pirates

493 PA, 74 R, 26 2B, 9 3B, 12 HR, 54 RBI, 22 SB, .286/.385/.471

It wasn't because of his results against the Cardinals (.231/.286/.269 with no homers) but I always got the feeling that, when I saw Pittsburgh highlights, McCutchen was in the middle of them. His speed is obvious--nine triples in a season is pretty good, but when you factor in that he didn't get called up until June, it's even more impressive--and he's shown that he's got enough power to keep people honest. Pittsburgh had a couple of rookie candidates this year (which, when you are drafting at the top of the line for over a decade, you really ought to) but McCutchen is likely the one to be the next big star for the Pirates.

There were a lot of strong rookies in this year's National League class. Chris Conglan from Florida, Garrett Jones from Pittsburgh, Randy Well from Chicago. For all the grief he gave the Cardinals, I just about put Casey McGehee on the list.

Then there was the Cardinal rookie. At the beginning of the year, I would have been pretty surprised if Colby Rasmus didn't make the list. In truth, it's possible Rasmus won't even get a vote, due to the limitation of only listing three on a ballot. Rasmus's overall line is pretty solid (.251/.307/.407, 16 HR) but his second half slump, where he hit a paltry .216 after the All-Star Break with just five homers, took him out of the running. That said, Rasmus dealt with some issues this year that shouldn't reoccur, so I'm excited about seeing him in the Cardinal lineup for years to come.

Nick over at Pitchers Hit Eighth will have the other Cardinal vote in this race. Pip at Fungoes and Mike at Stan Musial's Stance will be voting on the Cy Young (Oct. 19), and then Mike and I get the MVP votes (Oct. 26). So be sure to check those out as well as the BBA official site for more awards!

Chopping Wood For The Hot Stove

2009-10-12T15:06:17Z

It's a cold, rainy morning here in Arkansas, which finely matches the mood of Cardinal Nation after the quick exit from the postseason. There's this kind of limbo that goes on when your team is out of the playoffs early. There are still games going (though the LDS have been pretty anticlimatic this year, save the fact closers can't seem to get the job done) but your team isn't a part of them. You can't go full bore into discussions and rumors of next year just yet, though.

What you can do is a little retrospection. At least, that's what Tony LaRussa did yesterday. I saw very little of this series, unfortunately, but I have to agree with LaRussa, I expected a better game on Saturday that what happened. Like I say, I didn't see a single pitch of that one, but just looking at the score and comments, it didn't seem like they had much fight in them. To score just one run in a game Vicente Padilla is pitching just doesn't seem right, though par for the course for this year's version of the Cardinals.

The link above notes that Troy Glaus, Rick Ankiel and Joel Pineiro are not likely to return next year. None of these are huge surprises. The focus on Mark DeRosa has knocked Glaus out of the picture, though many of us would be just fine with DeRosa walking and David Freese taking over the job. Either way, though, Glaus really isn't in the plans, especially after the injury problems this year.

Pineiro has really pitched too well for the Cardinals to keep him. They have Chris Carpenter, Adam Wainwright and Kyle Lohse already locked up and management has continually said they want to plug in at least one home-grown arm into the rotation in 2010. With John Smoltz around, most likely back if he decides he wants to pitch again, there's not much room left to keep Pineiro. Besides, we saw what happened the last time he signed after a contract drive.

Ankiel....oh, Rick. Amazingly, the separation between Ankiel and a fan base that has followed him, nurtured him, rooted for him through the good and the bad and the good is not likely to be as painful as was expected six months ago. A .233 average and a propensity for the strikeout will do that. As Pip notes, Rick leaves St. Louis with exactly the same number of strikeouts as a hitter as he had as a pitcher. I've always been a fan of Rick, but he doesn't make enough contact to make him worth a bench slot and the outfield is probably going to be full in St. Louis for some time to come.

Today actually will be a busy day around the front office, as a lot of the recap meetings and initial thoughts for next year will be happening. Don't expect a whole lot of public news out of that, though, unless LaRussa or Dave Duncan decide not to return. Bernie Mikalsz addresses that along with some other questions and he comes to the conclusion that I had, that TLR isn't leaving after that performance. He couldn't go out on that note and be able to rest in retirement, I don't think. It wasn't the loss, it was the lack of competitiveness.

Someone who probably won't be back next year, though, is hitting coach Hal McRae. Besides the fact that the offense just never clicked, even with Matt Holliday and DeRosa in the lineup, there's this quote from John Mozeliak:

"It did seem the way we were approaching things at the plate, obviously it wasn't successful," Mozeliak said. "When things aren't going right, you've got to change. Did we make the right adjustments or not? As we sit here today, we had not."

I'd suggest McRae start updating his resume, because that is not a vote of confidence.

The stove may not be heated yet, but the preparations are being made. It could be another active offseason for St. Louis, so you better get ready.

The Quiet of No Baseball

2009-10-11T03:53:46Z

This is the way the season ends. Not with a bang but a whimper.

How fitting was it that Rick Ankiel was the last out--and a strikeout at that. Rick's promise, just like that exhilarating promise of August, never quite came to fruition. All the signs of trouble were there, and excuses can be made, but in the end, like Ankiel's at-bat, it turned into a lot of nothing.

On the face of it, this offense is a beast. That seemed to be the consensus of the national pundits, who installed St. Louis as one of the favorites for the World Series. In reality, though, it's an engine that sputters, that starts and stops when facing good (and sometimes not so good) pitching. I don't think many in Cardinal Nation were surprised when the Redbirds only scored six runs in three games. For once, six is not a serious number, but a telling one.

And yet, it almost was enough. If Chris Carpenter was Chris Carpenter, if Matt Holliday catches the ball or Ryan Franklin shuts the door, the Cards could have been up 2-0 before tonight, even with just five runs.

When the story of 2009 is told, it'll be the pitching that is remembered. Sure, Albert Pujols kept his perfect career going and may win another MVP, but it was tough to watch him go the last calendar month without a home run. Holliday provided a spark, Colby Rasmus established himself as a legitimate major leaguer (even if he slumped in the second half), and Ryan Ludwick showed he wasn't really a fluke. There were offensive highlights, to be sure, but that wasn't what got the Cardinals to October.

It was seeing pitchers throwing incredible games--and then seeing the next starter top them. It was about not one but two Cy Young candidates going back to back. It was about having a 15 game winner with a mid-3.00 ERA be an afterthought.

I think that is what makes this sweep so tough to swallow. If you lose because the offense doesn't show, it was expected. To lose, at least in part, because Carpenter and Joel Pineiro didn't get it done and because Franklin continued his post-extension collapse, that just wasn't what people foresaw.

So the Cardinals pack up for the winter. So many questions for this off-season, players to be kept or replacements to be found, perhaps new leadership to be put in place. There will be plenty at this blog, as the United Cardinal Bloggers roundtables will be coming, a review of the past season to be written, questions raised and solutions proposed.

For now, though, there is just the quiet of no baseball, of a season cut prematurely short. A sound that never is easy to hear and one that can last for weeks to come.

This Wasn't In The Script

2009-10-09T13:01:52Z

OK, wait a minute. Back up. Let's look at this again, because something isn't going quite as planned.

You are telling me that the Cardinals lost BOTH games that Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright started? The one big advantage this team had and it's been squandered? At least you could put some of the blame on Carp for his outing, because he definitely didn't have it. Waino, though? How tough of a loss is that for the warrior?

A lot of people are focused on Matt Holliday's error this morning. Which is understandable--if he catches that ball, the game is over, the Cards have split, you feel good about going home with Joel Pineiro vs. Vicente Padilla and you can count on a rested Carp for a Game 5, if necessary.

Like Don Denkinger's blown call, though, it was one of those things that you can and should get past. After that play, the Dodgers walked, singled (tying the game), moved up on a wild pitch, walked again, and then blooped another hit. Any one of those could have ended the game in favor of the Cardinals, but they didn't get it done.

The biggest problem in the Cardinal dugout, though, is the inability to get runs in. That tone was set early. When you have bases loaded and no outs in the first inning of the first game and only get one because a bloop falls between the second baseman and the outfield, it might be a sign that it's going to be a long (or, rather, short) series.

I don't know what else to say about this team. Either they'll get some hits and score some runs or they won't have to worry about packing again this season. I wouldn't go to the level of calling them Cubs, but maybe that level of insult will wake them up and get them playing.

Is this team dead? Obviously, they have the talent to win three straight. As Albert Pujols said, they could win 11 straight. They aren't going to do that. Without some sort of resurgent offense, it's going to be tough enough to win three, especially since they can wait and throw Randy Wolf (who, granted, St. Louis was able to get to somewhat on Wednesday) and make the Cardinals beat a lefty.

Since the Divisional Series format was put into play, the Cards have played in it eight previous times, posting a record of 20-5 and only losing one other NLDS, the 2001 tilt with Steve Kline allowing that little flare to Tony Womack, keeping the Diamondbacks on the path to their eventual World Series title. So the Cardinals have that going for them, which is good.

However, with two members of that 2006 squad on the other side in this series, it may be a sign that fortune has switched sides. We'll find out Saturday.

Postseason Playing Pepper: Los Angeles Dodgers (Part II)

2009-10-08T03:23:10Z

If you were reading this blog before this season started, you may remember a series I did called "Playing Pepper", where I asked five questions of a blogger covering each major league team. With the season coming to a close, I thought I'd tap into the talents of the newly formed Baseball Bloggers Alliance and ask five new questions of the bloggers covering the postseason teams.

Yesterday, I posted the answers I got to my Dodger questions from Matt at Feeling Dodger Blue. I also asked Chris from Dodgerfan.net the same ones and got his responses today. So as the Cards battle the Dodgers, here's another angle on the opponents.

C70: What is the Dodgers' strength going into October?

DF: The strength of the Dodgers is definitely their offense. Andre Ethier has had a truly breakout year, and Matt Kemp is right behind him.Interestingly, Ethier struggled all year against left-handers, but fortunately for the Dodgers, St. Louis' rotation is full of righties.

The other key element of the Dodgers is their pitching. Kershaw and Wolf give the team two strong starters heading into the playoffs. They're not elite, but they can both get through six innings. This is key because the Dodgers bullpen is one of the best in the majors with Kuo, Sherrill and Broxton anchoring the last third of the game. If the Dodgers have a lead going into the 7th, chances are they will hold it. .

C70: What worries you about the team?

DF: The rest of the starting pitching. Vicente Padilla has been tapped by Joe Torre to start Game 3 over Chad Billingsley who has struggled as of late when the game enters the sixth inning. Padilla has pitched very well for LA, including notching 10 strikeouts on Sunday against Colorado, but he's still Vicente Padilla. Kuroda is still hurt, which is a real loss for this team in the NLDS.

C70: What player left off or added to the postseason roster would surprise casual observers, if it happens?

DF: I think the biggest surprise is Joe Torre opting for Ronnie Belliard over Orlando Hudson at second base for Game One of the NLDS. The O-Dog was simply amazing during the first half of the season, but he played a lot and seemed to wear down over time. Since coming over from the Nationals, Ronnie Belliard's bat has come alive and he's jump-started the team's offense on more than one occasion. The Dodgers will miss Hudson's defense when Belliard plays (Hudson had just eight errors all year), but he's a pro's pro and is a phenomenal playoff bench player for LA.

C70: Who is the one key player for the Dodgers, the player that, if they don't go well, the Dodgers go home early?

DF: For the Dodgers to advance to the NLCS, Manny Ramirez needs to have his presence felt. Since returning from his suspension, opposing pitchers just haven't feared him, and having his bat come alive as it always has in the post-season could change the complexion of the series. The other is Clayton Kershaw. The Dodgers need their young phenom to continue his magical season with a strong start, going deep into Game 2. If Kershaw falters, it could be disastrous for the Dodgers.

C70: Have the expectations for the team changed with the struggles in the last week or so? Do people have a less positive mindset of how October is going to go?

DF: Perhaps for the national audience and the casual fan that does not watch this team on a daily basis. However, I feel that the Dodgers match up well in a short series. I also believe that post-season momentum is generated inning to inning and at bat to at bat, so things can change on a dime. Perhaps the biggest advantage that the Dodgers have is starting the NLCS at home. While St. Louis is an incredible team, LA's best hitter (Andre Ethier) has been lights out against right-handed pitching (hitting .302 vs. righties and .194 vs. lefties) and incredible at Dodger Stadium (hitting 22 HR in LA compared to just nine on the road). He's definitely a huge key for the Dodgers as they look to get out to a fast start against the Cardinals.

Thanks to Chris for the insights!

Postseason Playing Pepper: Minnesota Twins

2009-10-08T03:08:40Z

I'll admit it. I started contacting bloggers about the time the Tigers had just finished splitting with the Twins, so I didn't even contact those diehard Minnesota guys. Silly me! Seth of Seth Speaks, though, didn't hold it against me and filled me in on those AL Central champs.

C70: What is the Twins' strength going into October?

SS: The strengths of this team are in three of their left-handed bats. Denard Span is the definition of a leadoff hitter. Jason Kubel has taken his play to another level, hitting right around .300 with 27 home runs and over 100 RBI. And obviously Joe Mauer is the AL MVP. He led the league in batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage this year. He is the perfect hitter, and a very good defensive catcher. The other thing that the Twins have going for them is that they have been playing playoff games for the last couple of weeks. They have already been playing must-win games. Oh, and Michael Cuddyer had an amazing September, and even Delmon Young has been a major contributor of late.

C70: What worries you about the team?

SS: The Twins haven't beaten the Yankees in like 13 years (slight exaggeration), but that isn't my biggest concern should the Twins make the playoffs. The fact is that their late season run (won 16 of final 20 games) was so amazing and so unlikely, I would be worried that they accomplished what they could and could take a deep breath. Also, because of their late season run, their pitching staff has really been used and will not be set up as they would want for the playoffs.

C70: What player left off or added to the postseason roster would surprise casual observers, if it happens?

SS: Matt Tolbert is probably the most unlikely starter you'll find. He was hurt at the end of August in AAA Rochester and came up later. He soon became the Twins regular 3B. He is exactly the opposite of your prototypical 3B. He's small, a slap-hitter with little power, and some speed. But he has done a very nice job defensively and for the most part held his own at the plate.

C70: Who is the one key player for the Twins, the player that, if they don't go well, the Twins go home early?

SS: Tie between Jason Kubel and Michael Cuddyer. The Twins 4th and 5th hitters have both been playing and hitting well of late, and really all season. But if they can hit well in the playoffs, it will mean that teams will have to at least consider pitching to Joe Mauer.

C70: How do you think the battle down the stretch with the Tigers will either help or hurt their postseason chances?

SS: Like I said above, the Twins stretch run against the Tigers could have two very different effects on the team. They could be so exhausted from their month-long run to the playoffs and simply have nothing left. You could also say that they are the hottest team in baseball, and like the Colorado Rockies just a couple of years ago, it could last to the World Series. We just don't know.

Thanks to Seth for catching us up on such short notice!

Postseason Playing Pepper: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

2009-10-08T01:14:36Z

The Angels are in the postseason again, though like the Cardinals of '02, they've got a fallen teammate on their mind. I asked Tony from Go Halos about this squad.

C70: What is the Angels' strength going into the postseason?

GH: Most obvious - Deep Starting Pitching. Less Obviously - Deep relentless lineup.

C70: What worries you about this team?

GH: Our bullpen situation with Brian Fuentes not always a sure bet. Also how the team will respond against the Red Sox. Will their nerves get the best of them again?

C70: What player left off or added to the postseason roster would surprise casual observers, if it happens?

GH: Nothing obvious, But possibly Brandon Wood making the roster rather than Rob Quinlan.

C70: Who is the key player for the Angels, the player that, if they don't go well, the Angels go home early?

GH: John Lackey. He's has got to be an ace in the playoffs and win game 1.

C70: Are there high expectations for this team? Is it where the playoffs are enough, the fans expect them to get past the first round, or is anything less than the Series a disappointment?

GH: Anything less than a World Series would be a disappointment, but fans will not be too confident until we finally get past the Red Sox.

Thanks to Tony for the info!

A Wrap And A Look Forward

2009-10-07T10:48:10Z

It's been a busy week for me, with having to drive a hour and a half to an audit every morning. (Usual commute to the office--8 minutes.) So I've not had the chance to finish up the regular season and look at tonight's start of the NLDS. Let me see if I can't do that extremely quickly.

Saturday: 5-4 Loss

Hero: Brendan Ryan. Three for three, scored twice, drove in run. Did have a baserunning glitch, but all in all, did as much as possible to bring home a win for the Cards.

Goat: Rick Ankiel. No hits in four at-bats, struck out three times, left five men on.

Notes: Albert Pujols almost got the goat, also going 0-4 and left four men on. Plus his normal aggressive defense failed the Cards in the decisive inning, as he was too far off the bag and wasn't able to get there before Kyle Lohse, causing neither of them to catch Julio Lugo's throw. A catch ends the inning with the Cards on top. Instead, Milwaukee took the lead they wouldn't relinquish.

Sunday: 9-7 Loss (10)

Hero: David Freese. Not only did he go two for three and drive in three runs after coming into the game, but he took on the challenge of making his professional catching debut when the Cards, who have three catchers on the roster, ran out of backstops.

Goat: Todd Wellemeyer. The home run to Prince Fielder that put the Brewers ahead in the ninth was bad enough, but to allow two more runs in the 10th? There's only so many comebacks a team has in them.

Notes: If nothing else, it was good to see this team battle back. They kept getting down, but they never gave up. Even in the ninth against Trevor Hoffman, they had good at bats, drawing walks and getting the tying run across.

The Cards slumped badly down the stretch, going 2-7 in their last nine, with the only wins being the clincher game pitched by Adam Wainwright and Chris Carpenter's offensive explosion game in Cincinnati. While I don't think that stretch runs are necessarily indicative of post-season performance (unless you've had to win your way in), it's not the most comfortable feeling in the world to limp in like that. Then again, that's about what the '06 team did, so who knows.

The slate is fresh today, though, for the opener of the NLDS. If nothing else, the fact that the Dodgers didn't exactly tear it up the last couple of weeks should help Cardinal fans feel a little better.

There are a lot of keys for the Cardinals in this series, but here's what I think the biggest is: finding the ability to hit lefties. The Dodgers will throw out two in the first two games, against St. Louis's biggest weapons in Carpenter and Wainwright. If you've read my interview with Feeling Dodger Blue, you know that the bullpen is actually one of LA's biggest strengths. The Cards can't afford to get into a battle of the bullpens. That's a good way to wind up losing one of the Big Two's starts, games that the Cards are going to have to win to have a chance for the trophy.

So the Cardinals have to find a way to score some runs earlier in the ballgame behind the two aces. If they can get a 3-0, 4-0 lead for them, odds are they'll take the games and be in great shape for the series. If it gets to 0-0, 1-1 in the seventh, when Tony LaRussa's having to pinch-hit and get creative, there's a good chance the Dodger bullpen shuts them down and they come back to St. Louis behind the eight ball.

It's a late game tonight, Carpenter vs. Randy Wolf. Good luck to the Redbirds!