***Offical 2010 STL Cardinals Baseball Thread ***

[BigRedChief]

Holliday signs. The Deal is Done. $120 Million over 7 years.
http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?...=.jsp&c_id=stl

Signed or controlled for the next 2 years

Shumaker 2B
Rasmus CF
Pujols 1B
Holliday LF
Ludwick RF
Molina C
Freese 3B
Ryan SS
And 2 CY Young caliber starting pitchers
Carp and Wainwright P

We get Lohse or Garcia to step up and be a reliable 3rd starter in the playoffs we can win a World Series with this line up.

[BigRedChief]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

furthermore, do you expect STL to just cut Kyle Lohse? He's in your 2012 rotation.

5th starters don't pitch in the playoffs unless its out of the bullpen in mop up duty.

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

If the rotation is in that good of shape, why don't you make a move to win now when Pujols and Holliday are still in the latter stages of their primes?

Why? We don't have to win next year because we are having a fire sale in 2012.

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

I don't see Carp remaining effective for much longer and until Miller throws a pitch at the big league level, I'm reticent to call him anything.

Like I said, one more year is all we need. And I conced that Miller is far from a done deal, bet the mortgage all star. But on the other hand, quite a few serious baseball people seem to think so and those other teams willing to part with their top notch talent to land him also seem to have a high opinion of his upside.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by BigRedChief

5th starters don't pitch in the playoffs unless its out of the bullpen in mop up duty.

Why? We don't have to win next year because we are having a fire sale in 2012.
Like I said, one more year is all we need. And I conced that Miller is far from a done deal, bet the mortgage all star. But on the other hand, quite a few serious baseball people seem to think so and those other teams willing to part with their top notch talent to land him also seem to have a high opinion of his upside.

2012 is likely to be a very different world in Cardinal Nation.

Remember - Rasmus is up for arby then (if he's around). Wainwright will only have 1 year left on his deal. Ryan is up for Arb, Molina is a FA, Carp is likely gone.

And Albert Pujols is sporting a contract that is paying him at least $10 million more than he's making right now.

You say we won't have a firesale in 2012 - I wouldn't be so confident of that. And even if we don't, we aren't going to be going all-out on free agents either. With Holliday and AP entering the twilight of their careers and Carpenter gone (and who knows what we've done in the bullpen); yeah - I'd be playing for 2011 for sure.

It's the last known quantity we have and I see nothing to indicate that the future is going to be brighter than the last 4 seasons we pissed away.

[Rams Fan]

Also, Rosenthal is reporting that the deal is in the $16.5 million range over 2 years.

[Simply Red]

what is Pujols contract situation, currently?

[Rams Fan]

Originally Posted by Simply Red

what is Pujols contract situation, currently?

The Cardinals picked up his $16 million option for 2011. So he's a FA after 2011 unless the Cardinals sign him to a contract.

[Simply Red]

get it done Wren


j/k - clearly

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by Simply Red

get it done Wren


j/k - clearly

If you want to trade for him, we recently lost our RFer and you have one I wouldn't mind having on our team.

If anyone wants to give us a premier young player for the privilege of paying Albert Pujols and his heavy legs $30 million/season for the next 8 years, I'd gladly listen...

[Simply Red]

naw, I hope they hang on to him.

[Rams Fan]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

If you want to trade for him, we recently lost our RFer and you have one I wouldn't mind having on our team.

I've asked you this before, how is a platoon of Jay/Craig not enough to replace an average season from Ludwick?

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by Rams Fan

I've asked you this before, how is a platoon of Jay/Craig not enough to replace an average season from Ludwick?

Jay can't actually hit a baseball with any appreciable ability and isn't anywhere near as strong as Ludwick defensively.

Craig has yet to hit the baseball at the ML level (though I think he can if given an opportunity) and probably isn't anywhere near as strong as Chris Duncan defensively.

And neither of them bring the energy or grit that Ludwick did. There's a reason this team tanked almost immediately after Luddy was traded.

It was a horrible horrible trade.

But hey, we got the wonderful opportunity to give a dead average starter (who's best years came when Matt Lawton was still an All-Star) $8+ million/season.

AWESOME!!!

[Rams Fan]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

Jay can't actually hit a baseball with any appreciable ability and isn't anywhere near as strong as Ludwick defensively.

Craig has yet to hit the baseball at the ML level (though I think he can if given an opportunity) and probably isn't anywhere near as strong as Chris Duncan defensively.

And neither of them bring the energy or grit that Ludwick did. There's a reason this team tanked almost immediately after Luddy was traded.

It was a horrible horrible trade.

But hey, we got the wonderful opportunity to give a dead average starter (who's best years came when Matt Lawton was still an All-Star) $8+ million/season.

AWESOME!!!

Luddy hit .211 with San Diego(and believe it or not, Busch Stadium is considered a pitcher's park). He had a -1 WAR with the Padres(Wins above Replacement) Westbrook had a .9 WAR with the Cardinals. It's not that bad of a trade. Luddy would likely command the same amount of money or more than Westbrook.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by Rams Fan

Luddy hit .211 with San Diego(and believe it or not, Busch Stadium is considered a pitcher's park). He had a -1 WAR with the Padres(Wins above Replacement) Westbrook had a .9 WAR with the Cardinals. It's not that bad of a trade. Luddy would likely command the same amount of money or more than Westbrook.

What Ludwick did in San Diego is irrelevant to what he may have done here.

What he did here was pretty damn impressive.

Luddy's likely to be about $2 million/season less than Westbrook (he's only arb eligible) and even if he cost the same or more, that's fine - he's a better player.

It was a bad trade. Had we traded a mediocre 4th starter for a gold glove caliber RFer that is 2 seasons removed from winning a silver slugger and is about the same age as Matt Holliday, you'd be overcome with joy right now.

And with good reason. Only a moron of a general manager would make that trade.

[BigRedChief]

Musial gets the Medal of Freedom

The grass-roots effort to have St. Louis Cardinals icon Stan Musial receive the most prestigious honor for a civilian in the United States has been successful, just in time for the Hall of Famer's 90th birthday.

The White House announced this afternoon that Musial will receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The Cardinals and Musial were alerted about the honor early Wednesday morning. Musial will join other baseball greats who have won the award like Hank Aaron, Jackie Robinson, Roberto Clemente and Ted Williams. The award recipients are selected by the sitting president.
Musial turns 90 on Sunday.

"Thanksgiving has come early to Cardinals Nation," said team official Ron Watermon, who spearheaded the "Stand for Stan" campaign that caught the White House's attention. "An early birthday present for Stan."

The Presidential Medal of Freedom is given "for especially meritorious contribution (in) cultural or other significant public or private endeavors." Past winners are a diverse group, ranging from Alan Greenspan to Bill Cosby, Muhammad Ali to Paul Harvey, Estee Lauder to Moe Berg, the major-league catcher who was also a spy.

The Musial family issued a statement this afternoon that read: "Stan and Lil Musial and their entire family are delighted with the news of his being awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Stan would like to thank President Obama and especially Bill Dewitt Jr. and the entire Cardinal organization for their outstanding support."
Stan added: "I'm proud to be a Cardinal."

Musial is one of 14 awarded the Medal of Freedom today. The others: Former President George H.W. Bush; St. Louis native Maya Angelou, poet; Germany Chancellor Angela Merkel; U.S. Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga.; John H. Adams, co-founder of the Natural Resources Defense Council; Warren Buffet, investor and philanthropist; Jasper Johns, artist; Dr. Tom Little, U.S. ophthalmologist murdered in Afghanistan; Yo-Yo Ma, musician; Sylvia Mendez, civil rights activist; Bill Russell, former NBA player; Jean Kennedy Smith, former ambassador; and John Sweeney, former AFL-CIO president.
The formal ceremony to present the awards will occur early in 2011, on a date to be announced later.

Last May, the Cardinals created the "Stand for Stan" campaign to spread the word of Musial's deeds, both on the field and off. The Cardinals saw it as an opportunity to enhance their footprint in social media, using Facebook and Twitter to fuel the populist effort to lobby the White House on Musial's behalf. As part of the campaign, the Cardinals asked fans to print off the "Flat Stan" Musial cartoon and tote it around the world, snapping pics and sending them in via Facebook, Twitter or the team's official web site. The club also organized a "Stand for Stan" day at the ballpark, which took place in September.
Musial is a three-time MVP who still holds the Cardinals' club records for hits, home runs and RBIs. When he retired from baseball after the 1963 season, Musial held 29 National League records and 17 major-league records. He has remained a presence in St. Louis in the decades since his retirement, never missing an opportunity to play his harmonica, dash off an autograph or talk about last night's Cardinals game with anyone who approaches him.
Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig issued this statement: "On behalf of all of Major League Baseball, I am truly thrilled that The White House has honored

Stan Musial with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, joining other legends of our game like the great Jackie Robinson, Roberto Clemente, Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams, Buck O'Neil, Henry Aaron and Frank Robinson.

"Stan Musial is an extraordinary human being, a great American and one of the best players in the history of the game. He has long been a treasure of St. Louis, but he represents all the best of our national pastime. Today, our game salutes Stan Musial on this highest honor from our country."
Political leaders from the region who had pressed the White House to make the award were pleased at the news.
In her letter to the White House earlier this year, Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., had pointed to Musial's work over the years on behalf of the USO, Boy Scouts, Senior Olympics, President's Council on Physical Fitness, Crippled Children's Society of St. Louis and other groups and charities.

Today, she referred to Musial as "the kind of role model that America longs for. He has always cared about his community, his country, his fans and his teammates much more than he cared about his own glory."

Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., recalled that while growing up in East St. Louis, his most prized possession was his Stan Musial Rawlings baseball gove.
"I rubbed that leather glove with Gloveoleum until I was the only one who could still see his name burned in the leather," Durbin said. "It is rare in history to find such a public person without a detractor. On the field and off, Stan Musial was always a gentleman, always a champion."

Durbin observed that umpires never ejected Musial in more than 3,000 games. "Stan exemplifies the values of sportsmanship, discipline, hard work, grace, consistency, excellence and humility. He is truly deserving of a Medal of Freedom," Durbin said.

More on the Musial announcement later this afternoon at STLtoday.com and in Thursday's Post-Dispatch.

[DJ's left nut]

Cardinals trade Hawksworth for Theriot

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2010/1...n-theriot.html

At first glance, this is good news. He's a clear upgrade over Schumaker.

BUT HOLD ON!!! There's more!

Rosenthal is reporting that the Cardinals intend to play him at SS. That's right -we're benching our GG caliber shortstop so we can play a glorified Aaron Miles in his place while Skip. ****ing. Schumaker continues to keep his job at 2b.

Nope - can't bench the worst defensive 2b in baseball (that makes up for it by not being able to hit or run), not when he was or egomaniacal asshole manager's pet project.

**** ****ity **** ****, I hate LaRussa so goddamn much.

[Rams Fan]

Lance Berkman has been signed to a 1 year deal, FWIW. Holliday is probably going to be playing RF.