Category Archives: St. Louis Cardinals

The Cardinals organization roster matrix: regular season


Welcome to the refreshed St. Louis Cardinals roster matrix published to celebrate the start of the regular season for the major league club and the four full-season affiliates.

The initial versions of those four minor league rosters, Memphis, Springfield, Palm Beach and Quad Cities, are complete. Also included are injured and suspended players as well as those granted personal leave.

All of the invitees to Extended Spring Training camp are included together, a group that currently sits at 78 players with five more scheduled to arrive next month. The three US-based short-season rosters, for Batavia, Johnson City and the Gulf Coast League Cardinals, are left blank for the time being.

Come June, those clubs will be populated from the EST standouts as well as 2009 draftees and free agent signings. I will keep this roster matrix updated between now and then and then republish another fresh version once the short-season rosters are announced.

Most of the remainder of the EST players will return to the Dominican and Venezuelan Summer Leagues. The additional 62 players on the DSL and VSL rosters not invited to the US are listed below in their most recent league assignments.

All told, the organization currently has 282 players under contract, from St. Louis down through the Venezuelan Summer League Cardinals.

Like everything here at The Cardinal Nation, the matrix is provided at no charge. That doesn’t mean it didn’t take a lot of work to create and maintain. Please be respectful and link back here if you want to reference the matrix rather than copying it elsewhere.

Remember, this Roster Matrix can always be accessed in several ways. You can enter the term “roster matrix” in the blue search box in the upper right of the site or access this information through the top red menu bar under “Players/Staff” > “Depth Charts/Roster Matrix”.

Update 4/10: RHP Andres Rosales promoted from EST to QC to replace suspended Deryk Hooker

Update 4/13: 2B Oliver Marmol placed on Palm Beach DL, Jose Garcia promoted from EST to Palm Beach. Mark Hamilton activated by Springfield from EST, Brandon Buckman placed on the Springfield DL.

Update 4/15: Chris Carpenter to 15-day DL, Brad Thompson optioned to Memphis. Chris Perez and Mitchell Boggs promoted from Memphis to StL.

Update 4/16: LHR Royce Ring activated from Memphis 7-day DL.

Update 4/17: RHS P.J. Walters from Memphis to StL, RHR Josh Kinney optioned out. 2B Aaron Luna to Quad Cities DL, C Blake Murphy activated.

Update 4/20: OF Brian Barton traded to Atlanta for RHR Blaine Boyer.

Update 4/21: 3B David Freese optioned to Memphis to make room for Boyer in StL.

Update 4/23: RHR Kenny Maiques assigned to Extended Spring Training from Springfield. Eddie Degerman activated from PB DL to Springfield. OF Paul Cruz to Quad Cities DL. 2B Brett Lilley promoted to QC from EST.

Update 4/24: OF Amaury Marti injured (Oaxaca Guerreros of the Mexican League. LHP Katsuhiko Maekawa placed on Memphis 7-day DL.

Update 4/25: Acquired LHP Evan MacLane from Triple-A Reno (Arizona). Assigned to Triple-A Memphis. 282 players under contract.

Update 4/27: LHS Ryan Kulik promoted from PB to Spr as LHS Justin Fiske placed on DL. RHS Scott Gorgen promoted from Extended Spring Training.

Update 4/30: IF Brendan Ryan placed on StL 15-day DL. Tyler Greene promoted to StL from Memphis. OF Paul Cruz activated from DL by QC. C Blake Murphy returned to QC DL. Marco Gonzalez from Mem to Spr with Donovan Solano going the other way. OF Shane Robinson placed on Memphis DL with C Brandon Yarbrough and RHR Fernando Salas activated. SS Pete Kozma from PB to Spr. Kyle Mura to Spr DL. Trey Hearne into Spr rotation for Mura.

Update 5/1: IF Domnit Bolivar from QC to PB. IF Guillermo Toribio from EST to QC.

Update 5/2: LHP Jonny Bravo from EST to QC. RHP Chuckie Fick from QC to PB. RHP Lance Lynn from PB to Spr. Elvis Hernandez to Spr DL. PB ends tandem rotation with Mark Diapoules and Shaun Garceau to the bullpen.

Update 5/3: 1B Matt Arburr activated by PB. OF Charlie Kingrey released. New total 281.

Update 5/4: RHP P.J. Walters optioned to Mem with RHP Brad Thompson promoted to StL.

Update 5/5: 1B Brandon Buckman released from Spr. RHR Marco Gonzalez to Spr DL. LHP Joe Williams signed and added to Spr. OF Shane Robinson off Mem DL with 2B Jarrett Hoffpauir on.

Update 5/7: OF Rick Ankiel placed on the 15-day DL (likely effective 5/5). OF Shane Robinson added to 40-man roster and promoted from Memphis.

Update 5/8: IF Mike Folli from Spr to Mem. OF Brian Buck released from QC, replaced by Frederick Parejo from EST. LHP George Brown sent from QC to EST, replaced by RHP Josh Wilson. RHP Marco Gonzalez activated by Spr with LHP Kristhiam Linares onto Spr DL. QC moves Andres Rosales and Miguel Tapia to bullpen. New total 280.

Update 5/9: OF Alexander Castellano to VSL from DSL. C Jesus Montero to DSL from VSL. RHPs David Brito and Carlos Noguera released from EST. New total 278.

Update 5/12: IF Brendan Ryan assigned to Mem on rehab. RHP Kyle Mura activated by Spr. Ps Carlos Gonzalez, Jose Penaloza, Adam Prange and Senger Peralta released from EST. New total 274.

Update 5/13: OF Ryan Ludwick placed on StL DL, OF Nick Stavinoha recalled from Mem. OF Jarred Bogany from EST to Quad Cities, with OF Ryde Rodriguez going from QC to EST. LHP Ian Ostlund to Mem DL.

Update 5/14: OF Joe Mather to Mem DL. 2B Jarrett Hoffpauir and LHP Katsuhiko Maekawa activated from Mem DL. 1B Javier Brito signed for Mem as minor league free agent. New total 275.

Update 5/15: Spr 1B/OF Andrew Brown placed on DL. 1B Curt Smith from PB to Spr. OF Chris Swauger from QC to PB. OF Travis Mitchell from EST to QC. RP Kenny Maiques transferred from EST to Spr and suspended 50 games. RHP Mitchell Boggs from StL to Mem, with IF Brendan Ryan activated from Mem rehab.

Update 5/16: Mem 3B David Freese to DL. 3B Brett Wallace from Spr to Mem. Amaury Cazana activated from DL in Mexico.

Update 5/18: IF Mike Folli returned to Spr from Mem.

The St. Louis Cardinals Roster Matrix (effective 05/18/09)

St. Louis (25+5) 40-man (39)
SP RP C 1B 2B SS 3B OF
Carpenter (i)
 Franklin LaRue Pujols Schumaker K Greene Glaus (i) Ankiel (i)
Lohse Thompson
 Molina Thurston Ryan
Duncan
Pineiro McClellan Barden Ludwick (i)
Wainwright Motte (4) T Greene (16) Rasmus (1)
Wellemeyer C Perez Robinson (27)
Ja Garcia (9iL) Miller (L) Stavinoha (35)

Reyes (L)
Boyer
Memphis (24+4)
SP RP C 1B 2B SS 3B OF
Walters (17)
 Todd (7) Anderson (3) Brito
 Hoffpauir
 Solano Craig (18) Jay (12)
Hawksworth Kinney (20)
 Pagnozzi Rowlett Freese (5i) Shorey
Mortensen (11) Salas (31) Yarbrough Wallace (2) Mather (i)
Parisi (i) Scherer
Ottavino (15) Ring (L)
MacLane (L) Maekawa (L)
Boggs (10) Ostlund (iL)
Manning (L)
Others (1)
Cazana 
(Mexico)
Springfield (24+8)
SP RP C 1B 2B SS 3B OF
Dickson E Hernandez (i) Hill (34) A Brown (i) Descalso Kozma (8) Folli Jones (6)
Herron (25) M Gonzalez T Cruz (36) Hamilton Jo Martinez (37ti) Rapoport
Hearne Degerman C Smith (40) Ant. DeJesus
Fiske (iL) Parise Henley
Lynn (14) Samuel (21)
Kulik (L) McCormick (i)
Dew (i)
Norrick (L)
Linares (iL)
Furnish (L)
Williams (L)
Mura
Maiques (susp)
Palm Beach (25+1)
SP RP C 1B 2B SS 3B OF
Broderick Sanchez Derba Rivera Marmol (i) Sedbrook Curtis Chambers
R Castillo (19) Eager Vazquez Arburr Jo Garcia Bolivar Pham
Additon (26L) King Peterson
Gorgen (22) Reifer (24) Swauger
Kopp (28) Freeman (L)
Diapoules
Garceau (29)
Fick
Quad Cities (25+4)
SP RP C 1B 2B SS 3B OF
Daley, Jr. T4 Carpenter Cutler Morales Luna (39i) Vasquez (13) Parejo
Bravo (L) T3 Delgado Espinoza A Castellanos Toribio Edwards (23)
Hooker (32 susp) Mulligan Murphy (i) Lilley P Cruz
J Wilson T3 Rosales Bogany
McGregor T2 M Tapia Mitchell
Nieto T2
Cardenas (L) T1
Thomas T1
Veres T4
Bradford (i)
Ext. Spring (63)
SP RP C 1B 2B SS 3B OF
A Cruz A Castillo A Perez D Medina Landin Alvarez Teran Babrick
Ang. De Jesus Castro Rigoli L Mateo Y Castillo R DeLaCruz (38)
Arredondo Buursma Cawley Scruggs Mambell Gomez
Blazek L DeLaCruz Mosquera Hage
Diaz Calero Moscatel Obregon Ingram
Fornataro Frevert Polanco R Ruiz Ja Martinez
Maertz Lara
Mayes
Javier Munoz R Rodriguez
Leach Orozco R Rosario
Ortiz Riportella
North Shepherd
Notti Pichardo Swinson
R Gonzalez
Rada Rondon
Richardson Russell
Rios Y Gonzalez
Santos
Zawacki J Castellanos (L)
G Brown (L) Siegrist (L)
A Ferrara (L)
EST (May 15) (5)
SP RP C 1B 2B SS 3B OF
Estalis Alcala Valera Rivero
J Castillo (susp)
Batavia (TBD)
SP RP C 1B 2B SS 3B OF
Johnson City (TBD)
SP RP C 1B 2B SS 3B OF
GCL (TBD)
SP RP C 1B 2B SS 3B OF
DSL (34)
SP RP C 1B 2B SS 3B OF
A Tapia Concepcion V Ferreira Pimentel Avila Cabrera H Martina
Franco E Rivera L Perez Hiraldo G Hernandez Villar Beras
Jimenez M Martinez Montero J Lopez Encarnacion
Pasen Pinard W Perez J Pena
Urena D Rodriguez (L) Martines
Herrera (L) Mercedes (L) Reyes
L Rosario (L) P Pena (L) Sandoval
Uribe (L) Taveras
VSL (26+1)
SP RP C 1B 2B SS 3B OF
Avendano Cedeno R Perez M Marquez O Medina H Garcia Argenal
Bier F Marquez Rivas Vargas Yegues Cortez
Nieves Guzman Viloria Vivas (susp) Fonseca
Colorado (L) Oraa Velazco Inojoza
Weffer (L) R Alvarado A Castellano
Ramos
Solarte

The matrix: breaking the code

Players with injuries that led to a stint on the disabled list are noted with (i). The number in parentheses after each club’s name is the quantity of players assigned there. (ti) means the player is on the temporary inactive list. “susp” denotes players suspended.

The names of those on the 40-man roster are listed in BOLD.

After some names, you will see a number in parentheses. That denotes my personal ranking of the player in the annual Top 40 Cardinals Prospects voting at Scout.com. (At The Birdhouse, my individual scores as shown here were weighted one-fourth in determining the final Scout.com ranking.)

Paired members of the tandem starting rotations at Palm Beach and Quad Cities are denoted by “Tn”. Pairs are assigned “n” values 1 through 4 or 5 based on their initial assignment sequence.

When assigning positions, I put players in just one column. My attempt was to acknowledge where they are expected to play during the majority of the season.

To delineate the left-handed starters and relievers, I adopted the practice of placing the lefties at the end of the starters and relievers lists, designated by the letter (L).

Don’t read anything into the order of the names within any column, other than the LHPs at the end. They are generally presented alphabetically. The order has no correlation to playing time, duration on the roster or anything else.

This isn’t the final source on the spelling of players’ names. I have tried to remain consistent with what we use at Scout.com and what is designated at MiLB.com. Especially with the academy players, the information from the Cardinals themselves can even include mistakes.

Don’t forget the wealth of (free) information about each player that we maintain in the Scout.com player data base. It is too unwieldy to maintain every link to almost 300 player profiles directly from the matrix, but do keep using the Scout profiles as the source for additional information on individual players.

I will always designate the most current date when the matrix was last updated, but I am not necessarily planning to maintain a log of every transaction that occurs across the system all year, though I will keep the matrix current.

The good news is that I don’t have to document all the moves. UConnCard already does that over on the Scout.com message board. My goal will be to stay in sync with that list of moves visually. So remember the link to the transaction log, especially if/when detailed questions come up.


Link to previous matrix: January – March, 2009

Projecting the Palm Beach Cardinals roster


At this point, we know the opening rosters of three of the four St. Louis Cardinals full-season clubs, Memphis, Springfield and Quad Cities, with only the A-Advanced Palm Beach Cardinals of the Florida State League to go.

With their regular season not opening until Thursday, there is no assurance the PB roster will be released quickly. With some time this weekend and the requirement to prepare the next version of the Roster Matrix looming, I began to move the player chess pieces around the board. With the rosters of Springfield above them and Quad Cities below published, filling in the blanks between was relatively straightforward.

What follows is a possible opening 25-man roster for manager Tom Spencer’s 2009 Palm Beach club. At this point, there are 28 names. For the position players, I could come up with the 12 fairly quickly, however I still have 16 pitchers for 13 spots.

Palm Beach (28)
SP RP C 1B 2B SS 3B OF
Bradford Degerman Derba Rivera Marmol Kozma (8) Curtis Chambers
Broderick King Vasquez Smith (40) Sedbrook Pham
R Castillo (19) McCormick Kingrey
Diapoules Reifer (24) Peterson
Eager Sanchez
Garceau (29) Freeman (L)
Kopp (28)
Lynn (14)
Additon (26L)
Kulik (L)

(In the table, I am using the same format as the Roster Matrix. “L” denotes left-handed pitchers, usually listed last, and the number in parenthesis is my ranking of that player in my Cardinals Top 40 prospect list prepared over the winter.)

Two of the ten starting pitchers listed seem sure to lose out as the tandem starting rotation is set. I am not clear on who they will be and I guess there is always the chance the two could be moved to the pen, bumping out a pair of relievers. As it is, I have one too many relievers listed with Eduardo Sanchez perhaps being the one on the bubble – if oft-injured Mark McCormick is ready to go and begins with Palm Beach instead of Springfield.

Among the players that would start in Extended Spring Training in this scenario include recovering pitchers Scott Gorgen and Josh Dew. The latter may return to Springfield when he is ready, which is where he finished last season.

Of course, when the real roster is made available, I will post it here on The Cardinal Nation. In the meantime, what is your take? Any players missing? Which players would you remove to get down to 25?

Cardinals in NL Tout Wars fantasy drafts


Though I have been competing for several years in one of the most nationally-known fantasy leagues, Tout Wars, I rarely if ever talk about it here, because after all, this site is about the Cardinals.

Yet at least once per year, it makes sense to delve into it a bit when the two worlds meet. The National League Tout Wars draft was Sunday morning in New York and I again participated – facing off against 12 of the top writers in the fantasy world.

I will look at where the Cardinals players went in the draft and a bit of my thinking about them. There was also a 17-team mixed draft on Saturday afternoon/evening. I will include those prices without commentary, as that format is likely less-transferable to your local league. In addition, I was only watching that draft, not bidding!

Full AL, NL and mixed rosters are available at ToutWars.com.

A bit of background. Most of the participants know one another pretty well, including draft tendencies and favorite clubs. My Cardinals background is more team-focused than most, which leads newer league members to assume I will try to assemble a St. Louis-oriented roster.

That is not the case. With a 23-player draft plus four reserve picks from a 16-team NL pool, odds are that any given owner will have one or two players from a given club on his roster.

So it was for me and the Cards in recent seasons. In 2007, my second catcher was a $4 Yadier Molina and I wasted $13 on a then-still hopeful return to St. Louis for Adam Kennedy.

Starting last season, which became a disaster for me, I also had two Cardinals. This time, they were expected to be a more integral part of my team at $16 each. Rick Ankiel was fine prior to his injury and Jason Isringhausen, well, let’s just say that they weren’t the only two disappointments…

It was yet another reminder to not pay for last year’s stats.

That was certainly a lesson I took into 2009. I was searching for players with solid skills but would be undervalued because they have yet to break out or due to concerns over past injuries.

In a league like this where all the competition is knowledgeable, there aren’t going to be sleepers. Everyone pretty much knows the players well. So looking for this upside is where I decided to take my chances on draft day.

I also wanted to build a solid team from top to bottom, avoiding having to fight for the inevitable late-draft scraps with people having too much to spend on too few decent players. With the four reserve rounds, we are talking about 13 teams times 27 players per team, or 351 NL players taken.

With that long introduction out of the way, following are the prices of the Cardinals players drafted in 2009 Tout Wars. You’ll see three values. The first is the player’s price in NL Tout. Second is his value as calculated through our draft kit, free at creativesports.com, where I also write during the season. On the right is the winning bid from the Tout Wars 17-team mixed draft auction.

NL bid Value Mixed
Catcher Molina 9 7 8
First Pujols 38 33 48
Second* Schumaker 8 9 1
Ryan 1 3 U
Short Greene 16 11 5
Barden R R U
Third Glaus 7 11 2
Freese 1 R 1
Outfield Ankiel 14 18 10
Ludwick 23 22 18
Duncan 7 7 1
Rasmus 8 10 3
Mather 2 7 U
Starters Wainwright 16 12 11
Carpenter 10 11 12
Lohse 7 3 R
Wellemeyer 4 R 1
Pineiro 3 R U
Relievers Motte 11 9 12
Perez 4 4 3
Franklin 3 4 2
Kinney 2 R U
* coming
R=reserve
U=undrafted

Now, let’s discuss the Cardinals players.

Catcher: I like Yadier Molina, but knew he would go for more than what I had allocated as his batting average improvement last season caught peoples’ attention. I was right.

First base: Albert Pujols was actually a bargain by most valuation systems, though not mine. It was very early in the draft, but having it to do over, it might have been tempting to say “$39”. At that point, I was still saving my corner money, hoping to get Ryan Zimmerman of the Nats, but I got out of the bidding for him at $23.

Second base: Though only initially qualifying as an outfielder, Skip Schumaker will become second-base eligible after only five games, making an $8 bid more reasonable. I chose not to go there, however.

Shortstop: Readers of this blog know how excited I became after looking at Khalil Greene’s springs compared to regular seasons. I ended up in a bidding war with Phil Hertz of BaseballHQ, paying more for Greene than I planned. But after a one-year absence from my Tout roster, Greene is back!

Third base: Hertz took a late $1 flyer on David Freese. Darn. I had hoped Freese would slip into the reserve round, but obviously he did not. I selected Houston’s new third baseman Chris Johnson instead. Troy Glaus’ value was approximately cut in half ($7) for good reason. I had no interest in going that route amid concerns about a lag in his power returning.

Outfield: I honestly did not have room for Colby Rasmus, as outfield is where I loaded up on talent. I had both Ryan Ludwick and Rick Ankiel targeted, but secured neither. I bid Ludwick up to $22, at my top value, and let Lenny Melnick/Paul Greco take him for $23. They also added a $7 Chris Duncan, which could be especially nice if he is traded and receives more playing time. I may have gotten out too quickly on Ankiel as he sold for $14.

Starting pitching: I wanted the dual aces of Adam Wainwright and Chris Carpenter. I paid for the first, but bailed out on the latter when the amounts reached double-digits. My biggest regret from the draft is not staying in on Carp longer, but I was worried about money after going over budget on Greene and several non-Cardinals.

While not Carp’s replacement, a $3 Joel Pineiro could be an asset if he can keep throwing an effective sinker. I was fine taking that small chance. Todd Wellemeyer and Kyle Lohse also received credible bids, $4 and $7 respectively, but I didn’t want to go in that direction.

Relief pitching: There apparently was an undercurrent of interest in the room and on the live draft blog over what I would do with regard to the Cardinals’ closer situation. I would have loved Jason Motte, but it would have taken at least $12 to get him and probably more. I viewed that as fairly high risk. Instead, I grabbed Chris Perez for just $4. Over the course of the season, I believe I will get more value per dollar in return for him.

Ryan Franklin and Josh Kinney also received bids from others, just to make sure the waterfront is adequately covered!

If you’re keeping score, I actually doubled my level of past Cardinals participation by taking four in this draft – the ones bolded in the table above. Greene, Wainwright, Perez and Pineiro cost a total of $39 of my $260. Yet the year-over-year increment is only seven dollars – the amount gambled on the latter two pitchers. As noted, I also would have liked to acquire three or four other Cards, though.

When analyzing why, I think I do harbor more optimistic feelings about several of these St. Louis players than do many other pundits. I don’t know that it makes them “homer” picks, however. I prefer to think I just have a deeper knowledge about them.

After all, I also ended up with four members of the Washington Nationals and I can assure you that I certainly have no affinity to that team. The reality is that they had more of what I wanted – emerging and comeback candidates at decent prices.

For those playing fantasy, good luck in your drafts and may you have a successful 2009 season!

Cards minors spring game reports – March 26


Thursday’s opponents: New York Mets (Memphis and Springfield at Jupiter with Palm Beach and Quad Cities at Port St. Lucie) plus Quad Cities 2 entertained Gildea’s Rangers, a traveling squad.

Friday’s opponents: Another camp day with Memphis facing Springfield and Palm Beach taking on Quad Cities. There is a twist however. The MLB players not taking the Ft. Myers trip are joining the Memphis squad for an 11 a.m. game against Springfield. The other game should be at the regular 1 p.m. time.


Memphis defeated New Orleans, 3-2

Memphis pitching

Brad Thompson, 2 IP 1 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K

Ryan Franklin, 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K’s

Jess Todd, 4 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 8 K’s

Katsuhiko Maekawa, 1 IP, 2 K’s

Fernando Salas, 1 IP, 1 BB, 1 K

Memphis hitting

Justin Knoedler, 3-for-4 including, 9th inning 2-out, 2-strike, 2-run game-winning double down the LF line – made good throw to nail basestealer

Amaury Cazana, 2-for-4 with two doubles and an RBI

Shane Robinson doubled

Bryan Anderson and Nick Stavinoha singled and walked

Casey Rowlett added a singled and SB.


Springfield lost to Binghamton, 9-5

Springfield pitching

Brad Furnish 3.2 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 2 K’s

Tyler Herron, 2.1 IP, 3 H, 0 R

Elvis Hernandez 1 IP, 2 H, 2 unearned runs, 2 K’s

Francisco Samuel 1.1 IP, 3 ER, 3 K’s

Springfield hitting

Brett Wallace, 2-for-4, doubled and had an RBI

Tyler Henley and Brandon Buckman 2-for-4

James Rapoport and Daniel Descalso both singled and walked


Palm Beach tied with St. Lucie, 4-4

Palm Beach pitching

Brian Broderick 4 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K’s

J.D. Stambaugh, 2 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 1 K

Blake King, 0.2 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 1 K

Pete Parise, 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R

Adam Reifer 1 IP, 1 H, 1 BB

Palm Beach hitting

Paul Vasquez 2-for-2 with 2 RBIs

Tommy Pham 2-for-4 with two triples

Curt Smith 2-for-4 with a double

Shane Peterson tripled

Colt Sedbrook singled and walked

Charlie Kingrey and Francisco Rivera singled


Quad Cities #1 lost to Savannah, 5-4

QC#1 pitching

Deryk Hooker, 2.2 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 2 K’s

Ramon Delgado 2.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1K

Dylan Gonzalez 2 IP, 2 H

David Carpenter, 1 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 K

Jorge Rondon 1 IP, 2 H, 1 K

QC #1 hitting

Niko Vasquez 2-for-2 with a walk

Jose Garcia doubled

John Cawley had a two-run single

Paul Cruz and Ryde Rodriguez singled for the only other hits


Quad Cities #2 defeated Gildea’s Raiders, 13-5

QC #2 pitching

Josh Hester, 2 IP, 2 H, 1 unearned run, 1 K

Jose Rada, 2 IP, 0 H, 1 unearned run, 2 BB, 4 K’s

Santo Maertz 1 IP, 1 K

Daniel Richardson 1 IP, 1 H, 1 BB

Jason Buursma, 1 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 3 K’s

QC #2 hitting

Travis Mitchell, 4-for-4 with a walk, run scored and two RBIs

Oliver Marmol 2-for-4, with 3 runs scored and 2 RBIs

Roberto De La Cruz 2-for-5 with an RBI

Ivan Castro RBI double in his only AB

Brian Buck doubled

Michael Swinson singled, and walked twice

Edgar Lara and Beau Riportella each had RBI singles

These reports as above are provided through the courtesy of the St. Louis Cardinals by Director of Minor League Operations John Vuch.


As I reported earlier, the Cardinals released nine minor leaguers on Thursday. They are Hyang-Nam Choi, Russ Haltiwanger, Brian Cartie, Zach Pitts, Matt Spade, Wayne Daman, Jose Mateo, Jon Mikrut and Jameson Maj.


Memphis notes

Brad and Brad starting. Major leaguer Brad Thompson pitched two innings starting for Memphis. Springfield’s starter was another Brad, Brad Furnish. As expected, the Mets’ Triple-A club didn’t get a ball out of the infield until the second, when Thompson gave up an RBI double deep to left center.

Catchers were everywhere as Nick Stavinoha moved behind the plate, Justin Knoedler started at first and Bryan Anderson was the designated hitter.

Fellow MLBer Ryan Franklin also came over and pitched a quick third inning. Teammate Kyle McClellan along with bullpen coach Marty Mason and bullpen catcher Jeff Murphy were among us looking on.

The original starter, Jess Todd, looked simply dominating. I don’t get those who are whispering he will have to convert to relief.

Bryan Anderson led off one inning with a single, but Shane Robinson, Brian Barton and Tyler Greene whiffed in succession. The Mets’ pitcher was Eddie Kunz.

Third baseman Allen Craig was hit on the elbow earlier in the week and is being kept out as a precaution. It is not baseball news, but Barton has a new shorter hairdo, pulled back in sort of a short ponytail.


Springfield notes

Furnish gave up a bases loaded single up the middle, but averted further damage when Jim Rapoport nailed a Mets runner at the plate.

After stroking an RBI double early, third baseman Brett Wallace was handcuffed on a hard-hit ball right at him. Later with the bases loaded, Pete Kozma drew a walk and Wallace should have had a sac fly to medium center, but Antone DeJesus was nailed at the plate by another great throw.

I saw Tyler Henley foul off pitch after pitch, seeing at least nine in one at-bat before striking a single between first and second.

Tyler Herron was the second pitcher and yielded a triple on his first pitch. Though he allowed several more runners, I only saw the one cross the plate. (clarification: It was an inherited runner from Furnish. In an unusual move for a spring minors game, Pop Warner made a mid-inning pitching change.) When I shot a photo of Herron dragging a weighted sled the other day, he was rehabbing a tight hamstring.

Second baseman Jose Martinez has been excused from camp to attend to a serious family matter that may keep him away for awhile.


Palm Beach notes

Catcher Blake Murphy is out of action due to some minor elbow soreness.


Quad Cities notes

I saw what is likely my first-ever 2-4-6 play as catcher Kevin Moscatel ran out to catch a runner napping off first. He ran the runner toward second, but waited too long to throw the ball. It plunked off the second baseman and dropped into the covering shortstop’s glove.

GM John Mozeliak and VP Jeff Luhnow were among those taking in the game.

Lineup Memphis Springfield Quad Cities 2
1 Robinson cf Rapoport cf Mateo cf
2 Barton rf Kozma ss Marmol 2b
3 Greene ss Wallace 3b Mitchell rf
4 Stavinoha c Hill c Lara dh
5 Cazana lf Descalso 2b De La Cruz 3b
6 Hoffpauir 2b Brown lf Riportella lf
7 Shorey dh Henley dh Martinez 1b
8 Knoedler 1b Buckman 1b Swinson dh
9 Rowlett 3b De Jesus rf Castillo ss
10 Anderson dh Moscatel c
Pitchers Thompson Furnish Hester
Franklin Herron Rodriguez
Todd Freeman Rada
Maekawa Samuel Maertz
Ostlund Richardson
Salas Buursma

The photo depicts the pair of former first-round draft picks playing on the left side of the Springfield defense, third baseman Brett Wallace and shortstop Pete Kozma.

Cardinals pitcher hitting ninth – a good thing?


Earlier in the week, St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa stopped using the designated hitter in National League spring parks to enable the pitchers to get ready for the regular season as batters.

Now, La Russa has returned to batting his pitchers ninth – in certain situations – i.e. when there is no obvious “second leadoff hitter”.

This use of the number nine hitter to help set the table for “second clean up hitter” Albert Pujols was one of two key reasons La Russa cited when making the initial switch in August, 2007.

The other reason was to shake up a slumping offense. That should not be a problem currently, as even before they plated 12 runs on Friday, the Cardinals were leading the Grapefruit League in spring run scoring. Granted, it was with liberal use of the DH, but runs are runs.

La Russa said the following to MLB.com, attributing the change to the personnel, not the soundness of his theory.

“My official answer is that I believe that the pitcher hitting eighth, for all the reasons that we’ve talked about at length, is a better lineup, because it brings that second leadoff man, which gets Albert [Pujols] in the cleanup spot. But you’ve got to have somebody who fits there.”

On days like Friday, with Colby Rasmus batting second after Skip Schumaker and six other hard-hitting position players, La Russa has no number nine hitter.

“You can’t put Ankiel, Ludwick or Duncan in the nine spot,” La Russa said. “You can’t put Glaus there. Hopefully, you shouldn’t put Khalil [Greene] there. You won’t put [Skip] Schumaker there. You won’t put Albert there. And you aren’t going to put Yadier [Molina] there. So if that’s the case, then I probably will hit the pitcher ninth.”

La Russa did leave the door open to return to the pitcher hitting eighth, though it seems that will be the exception, rather than the norm.

“But some days, if there’s a true second leadoff playing, or if you’re not scoring any runs with the pitcher ninth, then I’ll say one of you guys will hit ninth,” La Russa explained.

What do you think? Is this a good thing or a bad thing?

In other words, does the lineup potentially need more run scorers to be in balance or will all the mashers make the point moot?

What would be your preferred batting order? How would it change with a left-hander pitching for the opponent?

Khalil Greene’s springs point to regular season success


Until he blasted his first home run of the 2009 spring in Friday afternoon’s split squad game, new St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Khalil Greene had been quietly flying under the radar.

With more controversial stories all over camp, from Joel Pineiro to Chris Carpenter to Skip Schumaker and Colby Rasmus, there just wasn’t much to say about the stoic new guy. Steady, doing his job.

On Friday, Greene’s mammoth two-run shot that reportedly landed on a field beyond the left field fence helped power the Cardinals to a 6-5 victory over the home Baltimore Orioles, their ninth win of the spring in 14 games. The 29-year-old added a single in three at-bats to raise his Florida average to .367.

Even prior to Friday’s outburst, I had been looking at Greene’s spring training results going back to his first camp with San Diego in 2003. I was wondering if his springs might say anything about his regular seasons to follow.

After all, considering Greene’s terrible 2008 regular season with the Padres (.213/.260/.339), I was hoping to see a positive trend of some kind. While I did, the spring extremes I found were surprising.

In seven major league springs, including 2009, Greene has been either boom or bust, with absolutely nothing in between.

He has yet to post a March average anywhere in the range between .224 and .339, with four springs below. Three are above, including so far here in 2009.

The right-handed hitter has not registered a March OPS between .733 and .956, a huge gulf if there ever was one. If you throw out his five at-bat introduction in 2003, Greene’s spring OPS canyon expands from .678 to .956.

I find that amazing.

Spring TM BA OBP SLG OPS G AB R H TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS E
2009* StL 0.367 0.406 0.567 0.973 11 30 3 11 17 3 0 1 9 2 1 1 0 1
2008 SD 0.191 0.231 0.447 0.678 19 47 6 9 21 6 0 2 5 3 18 1 0 3
2007 SD 0.424 0.424 0.763 1.187 20 59 10 25 45 5 0 5 17 0 12 1 0 2
2006 SD 0.224 0.239 0.433 0.672 23 67 11 15 29 8 0 2 7 2 15 0 0 4
2005 SD 0.188 0.278 0.292 0.570 18 48 4 9 14 2 0 1 5 4 14 1 1 0
2004 SD 0.339 0.408 0.548 0.956 22 62 10 21 34 3 2 2 16 7 15 0 0 0
2003 SD 0.200 0.333 0.400 0.733 5 5 1 1 2 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 1

*through 3/13 Game 1

As the highlighted data above indicates, Greene’s big springs prior to this one were in 2004 and 2007.

How did he do from April until October those years? The answer is “pretty darned well”.

During his 2004 introductory season, his first as a full-timer in San Diego, Greene finished second in the National League Rookie of the Year voting. He posted what are still his regular-season career bests in three important offensive categories – batting average (.273), on-base percentage (.349) and OPS (.795).

The 2007 campaign is the one that probably generated the most attention for Greene, however. That year, he slammed his career best of 27 home runs and drove in 97 runs, also his high water mark. His 2007 slugging percentage of .468 is his highest to date.

While there remains plenty of time during spring training 2009 for Greene’s trajectory to change, based on his past results, one might draw the conclusion that he seems on the way to an offensive turnaround during the 2009 regular season.

Cardinals not alone in cutting payroll


In a recent article entitled “Is reducing the Cardinals payroll unreasonable”, I reported on partial information from Yahoo.com’s team profiles about how player payrolls were coming together across Major League Baseball for 2009. Since we don’t know opening day rosters yet, this data is not final. Yet it paints a very clear picture of the overall direction the game is heading.

My interest in the subject is to help put into context the projected decline in the St. Louis Cardinals’ payroll this coming season. I firmly believe the team’s economic posture is the single most divisive issue across the Cardinal Nation and many who are complaining seem to lack a basic understanding of the bigger picture that reflects both the state of the US economy and its resulting impact across the totality of MLB.

People don’t need to like it. In an ideal world, we all wish our favorite team would spend more money. But at least take a moment to understand and acknowledge what is happening around you.

As the information below, expertly compiled by “Oquendo11”, attests, the Cardinals are not alone in their 2009 belt-tightening.

Here are some of the key points to be gleaned from the data. The first is most important and relevant to Cardinals fans:

  • Of the 13 teams that had a 2008 payroll above average ($89.6 M), including the Cardinals, only two clubs are increasing their payroll for 2009. Those 13 teams are averaging a decrease of $8.2 M. St. Louis’ projected decline is $8.6 M, almost on the average.

  • Of the 17 teams that had a 2008 payroll below average ($89.6 M), 13 increased their payroll for 2009; the 17 teams averaged an increase of $4.3 M.

  • Of the 15 teams increasing payroll, seven had winning records, seven had losing records, and one had a .500 record last season.

  • Of the 15 teams decreasing payroll, nine had winning records and six had losing records.

  • The 16 teams that had a winning record in 2008 decreased payroll an average of $1.05 M ($16.8 M total).

  • The 13 teams that had a losing record in 2008 decreased payroll an average of $1.63 M ($21.2 M total).

  • The one team with a .500 record in 2008 increased payroll $4 M.

  • Across MLB, the overall payroll stayed about the same, with the average dropping only $1.13 M (to $88.4 M) or a total decrease of $34 M across 30 teams. (Clubs are ordered below based on size of year-to-year change from largest increase to largest decline.)

2009 MLB player payrolls Min forecast Max forecast Avg Forecast 08 payroll delta 08 wins
Philadelphia Phillies 125 125 125 98.3 26.7 92
San Francisco Giants 89 114 101.5 76.6 24.9 72
Tampa Bay Rays 60 60 60 43.7 16.3 97
Chicago Cubs 133 133 133 119 14 97
Kansas City Royals 70 70 70 58 12 75
Houston Astros 99 102 100.5 88.9 11.6 86
Oakland Athletics 50 65 57.5 48 9.5 75
Arizona Diamondbacks 74 74 74 66.2 7.8 82
Washington Nationals 50 75 62.5 55 7.5 59
Baltimore Orioles 72 75 73.5 67.1 6.4 68
Colorado Rockies 74 74 74 68.7 5.3 74
Cleveland Indians 83 83 83 79 4 81
Minnesota Twins 59 59 59 57 2 88
Florida Marlins 23.5 23.5 23.5 21.8 1.7 84
Cincinnati Reds 75 75 75 74.1 0.9 74
Milwaukee Brewers 79 82 80.5 80.9 -0.4 90
Texas Rangers 62 72 67 67.7 -0.7 79
Detroit Tigers 135 135 135 138 -3 74
Pittsburgh Pirates 45 45 45 48.7 -3.7 67
New York Yankees 200 210 205 209 -4 89
Boston Red Sox 125 127 126 133.4 -7.4 95
New York Mets 130 130 130 137.8 -7.8 89
St. Louis Cardinals 91 91 91 99.6 -8.6 86
Los Angeles Angels 105 115 110 119.2 -9.2 100
Toronto Blue Jays 85 88 86.5 97.97 -11.47 86
Chicago White Sox 100 100 100 121 -21 89
Seattle Mariners 90 100 95 117.7 -22.7 61
Atlanta Braves 70 85 77.5 102.4 -24.9 72
Los Angeles Dodgers 79 104 91.5 118.5 -27 84
San Diego Padres 40 42 41 73.7 -32.7 63
Average payroll change -1.13
Total payroll change -33.97
(all amounts are in $M)

A footnote. Since projected $25 million man Manny Ramirez is not signed, he is included in the high case for both the Dodgers and Giants. Of course, he will ultimately be in one or the other, but not both.

I will be back to address this again once the season-opening payrolls across the game are set, but I don’t expect the conclusion to change dramatically.

Spying on Cardinals reader’s queries – February 18


Being a WordPress webmaster for the first time, I am learning new features all the time. Recently, I stumbled across a log of search arguments that random people used to arrive at this blog.

What I will do here is share some of those searches and respond directly to them in case they could not find the exact answer they wanted the first time. It’s not really spying though, since I cannot tell who originated the queries.

P.S. I enjoyed doing this so much that I may decide to make it a regular feature.

“joel pineiro wbc”

As many probably know by now, Cardinals starting pitcher Joel Pineiro (pictured) wanted to compete as a starter for his native Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic. The Cardinals wanted him in camp instead. Cardinals third base coach Jose Oquendo had to make the decision in his other role as Team Puerto Rico’s manager.

Oquendo selected three others to start instead of Pineiro. The pitcher took the news badly.

This was a very difficult situation for Oquendo. He was in for trouble either way. If he chose Pineiro, his Cardinals bosses would clearly be unhappy. Instead, this way, he has just one player mad at him compared to those who may directly influence his next job.

Pineiro probably felt that he needed to speak up to ensure he did not take heat back home. Most Americans do not understand how important these international competitions are to Latin Americans. Yet, Pineiro should have left out the “disrespected” remarks, expressed his disappointment and left it at that. Tenuous number five starters should generally be seen and not heard.

Bottom line, I will be delighted when actual games (on the field) begin.


“cardinal nation”

Yep, this is the place! By the way, I am now the proud sponsor of the 2008 Cardinals team page on Baseball-Reference.com as well as multiple pages of several players past and present, including Kyle Lohse, Trever Miller, Brendan Ryan, Mitchell Boggs, Nick Stavinoha and Brian Barden. For nostalgia purposes, I also picked up sponsorship of Whitey Herzog and Al “The Mad Hungarian” Hrabosky. So there!


“cardinals adam reifer”

On Monday, I posted a free article on Scout.com noting just how significant the accomplishments of the 2008 Batavia Muckdogs were. Among them were the contributions of the club’s closer, Adam Reifer. The 22-year-old led the New York-Penn League in appearances and game finishes and was second in saves. He picked up our Scout.com Rookie Reliever of the Year award and the same for Batavia.

For the few readers in the Batavia area, the club’s annual Hot Stove League Dinner and Auction is this Friday night. The club has also just rolled out a new website that looks like a big improvement over the prior one. I am also pleased to mention that my above article on the 2008 club will be gracing the pages of the team’s 2009 Official Program.


“cardinals full spring training roster 2009”

Go to the article entitled “Cardinals non-roster invitees – an update”. There I have posted the 23 players in camp as non-roster invitees. In the comments that follow, I also listed the 34 players names currently on the 40-man roster. In total, 57 players are in camp. Those sources listing 58 have forgotten that Adam Kennedy was dropped prior to arrival.

If you want to see all the players in the entire system, check out my Cardinals roster matrix.


“whitlock race steroids”

There were several different queries made on this subject. Frankly, I probably fell into the trap by giving this non-topic as much of my time as I already have. Time to move on – at least until Jason Whitlock’s next absurd article gets me riled up again…


“ian ostlund chances”

The lefty is not on the 40-man roster and to make the team, he probably needs three of these four things to happen in March.

1. Pitch impressively

2. Trever Miller to get hurt

3. Charlie Manning to pitch poorly

4. Royce Ring to pitch poorly

However, even if Ian Ostlund misses the cut in spring training, if he goes to Memphis and does well, the 30-year-old should make his MLB debut sometime this summer.


“fox sports north twins tv schedule”

Hmmm. Well, I do have a small connection in that the Cardinals game against the Twinkies on Sunday, March 29 will be televised on Fox Sports North, along with Fox Sports Midwest.

My count of Cardinals spring games to be shown on any network, information not easily found anywhere else, is up to 11. Remember that the first two TV games will be on SportsNet New York (SNY) on February 27 and March 3 – just around the corner!

Speaking of television and Al Hrabosky, I have been asked by several readers about Fox Sports South’s Cardinals telecast schedule for 2009. It is still a couple of weeks away, I have been told, but I will share it as soon as it is released. If you are in the relevant subset of FS South’s viewing area, western portions of Kentucky and Tennessee and the northern portion of Mississippi, you already know how this example of MLB’s ridiculous territorial rules limits your viewing options.


“2009 spring training cardinals games on the radio”

At this link, the same one posted above, I also have included the confirmed spring radio schedule from KTRS 550. 20 games will be broadcast, primarily on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays as has been customary in recent springs.


“pujols comments on arod”

Here is the link, but to be honest, this subject makes me weary.

One thing Albert Pujols-related that I do want to rant about is the dumb things being said about Pujols’ contract. First of all, we have national concerns like the AP not even knowing how much time is on the player’s contract and making a big deal because he wants to be on a winning team. What a newsflash that is.

Then we have others ready to jump out of the window because Pujols can be a free agent in three seasons. Even others are playing Chicken Little, wanting to see Pujols traded as soon as possible. Take a pill, folks.


“chris carpenter spring training”

I agree that Chris Carpenter‘s health is the single most important story this spring for the Cardinals. However, I have decided at this point that good news is no news and unless there is bad news, I am going to wait and watch how the ace does on the mound.

If Carp looks good in March and seems ready to go in April, I like the 2009 Cardinals one heck of a lot better than I do without him. Until then however, for me, less is more.

What I will be watching is Carpenter’s pitching partner during March, Kyle McClellan. They are supposed to be on the same pitching schedule with the younger player the unofficial sixth starter. Carpenter’s injury status might not be the only opening for McClellan. Pineiro, take notice!

I hope the bullpen pitches so well that McClellan is not needed to return there and can concentrate on starting. If he can handle the role, it is a more valuable one for the team. Remember that both Pineiro and Todd Wellemeyer are now in their walk seasons. (No, I do not think they will pitch better in 2009 because of it!)


“cardinals arbitrations”

I posted a summary the other day of all the club’s five arbitration-eligible cases. Financially, the Cardinals and the players involved all came out just fine.


“cliff politte”

I have seen no official announcement, but my guess is that the soon-to-be 35-year-old Cliff Politte may have decided to hang up his spikes. The Cardinals 54th-round pick in 1995 (not a typo) had a fine career before arm injuries took their toll. The right-hander pitched in just seven games for Memphis last season.


“stavinoha catcher”

According to the most recent news out of Cardinals camp, despite what was reported initially, outfielder Nick Stavinoha’s move behind the plate is now being called a “tryout”. The soon-to-be 27-year-old is going to have to fight for playing time in Memphis no matter what position he plays defensively.


“adam kennedy release cardinals”

For me at least, I closed the book on this subject this morning with a free article at Scout.com. I will say that I think Kennedy made a big mistake, but he has to live with his decision.

Cardinals minor matters – February 11


I decided to post a round-up of recent news and may append other items to this entry as the day goes on.

Kennedy second-guessing

Many fans and columnists are confused by the decision and/or the timing of the release of second baseman Adam Kennedy by the Cardinals. I am not among them.

Tony La Russa apparently wanted Kennedy gone since before the holidays as he was concerned about a potential disruption in camp, with a competition coming for the second base job. Over the winter, the organization continued to try to get some value for the player, which makes sense given they owe him $4 million on the third and final year of his current contract. But with spring training just a week away, the club finally had to cut bait. Both views seem reasonable to me.

Kennedy has a good glove, but he is not alone in that. His offense is considerably below MLB average and for that reason, I am not sad to see him go. My only wish is that the Cardinals could have gotten something from Kennedy very early in the off-season. Before Arizona signed Felipe Lopez, there were rumors they were interested in Kennedy. Had that deal been done, perhaps either Lopez or Aaron Miles would still be Cardinals.

As I said yesterday, considering where things are now, let the kids fight it out during camp and if no one emerges, make a move late in March.

Weaver hanging on

Former Cardinals pitcher Jeff Weaver signed a minor league deal to return to the Dodgers, his home in 2004 and 2005. The contract is reportedly worth $500,000 if he makes the team. The 33-year-old right-hander split his time between Triple-A clubs for Milwaukee and Cleveland last summer, posting an ERA over six.

Most fans know the story of how the Cards rescued the former Tiger and Yankee off the Angels’ scrap heap after the latter club bumped Jeff in favor of his brother Jered. While Jeff Weaver went just 5-4, 5.18 to end the 2006 season for the Cards, he came up big in the post-season, going 3-2, 2.43 and winning the final game of the World Series.

As a result, he received an offer to return to St. Louis for 2007, but instead agent Scott Boras guided Weaver to Seattle, where a large mushroom cloud was soon sighted. It doesn’t seem to me that Boras cares about the fact that the most money isn’t always the best answer.


Looper to slide with Bernie Brewer

After being seemingly everyone’s second choice all winter, former Cardinals reliever-turned-starter Braden Looper is joining the 2009 Milwaukee Brewers rotation, joining former teammate Jeff Suppan.

The deal is reportedly a most reasonable one for the club, at one year, $4.75 million with a mutual option for 2010. Looper can choose to return to free agency after this coming season, giving him a chance to get back in the market if it improves. If Milwaukee declines the 2010 option and Looper accepts, he’ll be bought out for a lower amount. Looper’s 2010 salary has not been disclosed nor whether any incentives exist in the contract.


Somewhere, likely en route to spring training, Kyle Lohse is grinning again. Here’s hoping (again, still) that Chris Carpenter is going to be ok.


Pujols still standing behind his trainer

As the Alex Rodriguez furor continues, I ran across a very small Albert Pujols news item. The St. Louis Cardinals first baseman is hosting a hitting clinic this Thursday in the Kansas City area.

The site is a place called Millhouse AEP, an athletic training center focusing on strength and conditioning. Its owner is Chris Mihlfeld, also known as Pujols’ personal trainer and a friend of the star since his time at Maple Woods Community College ten years ago.

It is great to see that Albert is still standing behind his friend, the victim of a most unfortunate and unwarranted attack on his reputation back in 2006 that also attempted to wrongly smear Pujols’ name.

The website Deadspin published and later was forced to retract an unfounded accusation that Mihlfeld supplied PEDs to former pitcher Jason Grimsley. The photo in the article and much of the bad press that followed was directed at Pujols, an entirely innocent third party, but obviously a much bigger name to drag through the mud.

And folks wonder why mainstreamers like Bob Costas come out against internet writers for lack of accountability. (OK, so Costas’ comments overall were pretty ridiculous, but reports like the Mihlfeld one from sites that feature frathouse-type humor to try to appear edgy help no one that cares about credibility.)


Nick the backstop

In case you missed it, add one more player to the round about position changes underway in Cardinals spring training camp. The Post-Dispatch reported that GM John Mozeliak has announced that outfielder Nick Stavinoha is undergoing a position move to catcher.

Joe Strauss notes that the strong and stocky-built 26-year-old was an all-state catcher in high school in Houston. However, 2002 was a long time ago and there is a huge gap between high school and the major leagues.

Yet in the outfield, Stavinoha has not been mentioned among the top tier of candidates for a major league berth in 2009. He was likely destined for a return to Memphis, where outfield at-bats will be a fought-for commodity. Though he punished the ball in Triple-A last season, Stavinoha’s 57 at-bat MLB debut yielded a very soft .193/.217/.211 line.


Flores hopes for health, humidor

Jettisoned Cards left-handed reliever Randy Flores signed a one-year, $600,000 contract to return to his 2002 club, the Colorado Rockies. Coming off shoulder surgery, it is unclear when Flores will actually be ready to pitch. He has an out in his contract that he can exercise by April 30 if he is not in the majors.


Ankiel, Boras heading toward arbitration

I thought I had covered this ad nauseum, but the Cardinals and Rick Ankiel, represented by agent Scott Boras, are meeting Thursday in Phoenix to present their cases to a three-person panel of arbiters. The subject is whether Ankiel’s 2009 salary should be $2.35 million or $3.3 million.

Expect the decision to be made public on Friday. To this point, the players and clubs are 1-1 this winter, with Tampa Bay defeating catcher Dioner Navarro while pitcher Shawn Hill won his case against the Washington Nationals.

Cards outfielder Ryan Ludwick’s hearing is this coming Tuesday, the 17th.

Update: The Post-Dispatch identified local attorney Hal Wellford as the individual assisting Assistant GM John Abbamondi in presenting the Cardinals case. Here is a link to Wellford’s resume.


Three more spring invites

The Cards have invited three more pitchers to their big league camp, according to Dustin Mattison at Whiteyball.com. Left-handers Brad Furnish and Katsuhiko Maekawa plus right-hander Shaun Garceau get to experience the excitement of their first major league spring training with the Cardinals, but shouldn’t plan on staying long.

Garceau and Furnish will be Rule 5-eligible this winter if not added to the 40-man roster. With so many in a similar situation, that is far from assured. The Japanese native Maekawa is a recent signee with a checkered past, both on and off the field.


Venezuelan winter update

Over at Cardinals Best News Links, Josh Jones is continuing his Cardinals winter league recaps with the prospects that competed in Venezuelan League this winter.


Bo Hart for Valentine’s Day

Two Bo Hart references here in as many days. Let’s get camp underway!

In a February 14-themed feature, a Chicago writer recapped the former Cardinals second baseman’s 2008 season in independent ball.


2008 season summary video

MLB.com has posted a free three-and-a-half minute video summary of the 2008 Cardinals season. It is worth a quick watch as a refresher, though of course, the negatives are glossed over as having been injury-driven.

Cardinals first-year players and rookies – 1996-2008


In late December in the first article of this series, I broke down the 11 first-year players that debuted with the 2008 St. Louis Cardinals. In the final section, part three, I will look forward to 2009.

Here in part two, I will review past first-year players and rookies each season during the Tony La Russa years. One addition from last time is a designation of whether or not the player exhausted his rookie qualification that season. That separates the cup of coffee guys from those that stuck around long enough to probably contribute.

As a reminder, here are the rookie qualification guidelines: More than 130 at-bats or 50 innings pitched in the Major Leagues, or more than 45 days on the Major League active roster during April-August, excluding time on the disabled list.

Among last year’s rookies, four – Brian Barton, Joe Mather, Kyle McClellan and Chris Perez (pictured) – met one or more of the guidelines.

The table that follows summarizes the first-year player introductions by the Cardinals over the last 13 years. To the left is the total number of first-year players, then with pitchers broken out between those that were up long enough to exhaust their rookie eligibility during their initial season and those that did not, labeled cup of coffee players, or “Cup of java”.

Debuts Met rookie qual Pitchers Met rookie Cup of java Hitters Met rookie Cup of java
2008 11 4 7 2 5 4 2 2
2007 6 2 4 1 3 2 1 1
2006 4 1 3 1 2 1 0 1
2005 6 2 3 1 2 3 1 2
2004 3 2 1 0 1 2 2 0
2003 5 3 4 2 2 1 1 0
2002 6 2 5 2 3 1 0 1
2001 6 2 3 1 2 3 1 2
2000 8 0 5 0 5 3 0 3
1999 4 0 3 0 3 1 0 1
1998 7 1 4 1 3 3 0 3
1997 12 3 6 3 3 6 0 6
1996 5 1 2 0 2 3 1 2
total 83 23 50 14 36 33 9 24
avg 6 2 4 1 3 3 1 2
pct 28% 60% 40%

Here are some associated factoids.

On the average

  • During an average season, six rookies make their Cardinals debuts, 60% of whom are pitchers with position players making up the other 40%.
  • Only two of them stay around long enough that season to exhaust their rookie eligibility, or 28% of the total.
  • The two are made up of one pitcher and one position player, on the average.

Yearly trends

  • In La Russa’s first five years, 1996-2000, only five first-year players in total saw enough time during their initial season to use up their rookie status.
  • In the eight years since, 18 players have met the criteria.
  • In only one year did the number of first-year hitters exceed the new pitchers, 2004.
  • In only two years did the number of hitters that used up their rookie qualification exceed the number of pitchers, 1996 and 2004.

Top year

  • The 11 first-year players in 2008 was second only to 1997.
  • Four of the 11 in 2008 exhausted their rookie qualification as opposed to 1997 when only three of the 11 players did.
  • The 2008 total of four qualifiers is the highest count in the La Russa era.

Now, here’s the player detail by season.

Pitchers Tot Met rookie Cup of java Hitters Tot Met rookie Cup of java
2008 7 Chris Perez Mike Parisi 2008 4 Brian Barton Nick Stavinoha
Kyle McClellan Mark Worrell Joe Mather Rico Washington
Mitchell Boggs
Jaime Garcia
Jason Motte
Pitchers Tot Met rookie Cup of java Hitters Tot Met rookie Cup of java
2007 4 Kelvin Jimenez Dennis Dove 2007 2 Brendan Ryan Brian Esposito
Troy Cate
Andy Cavazos
Pitchers Tot Met rookie Cup of java Hitters Tot Met rookie Cup of java
2006 3 Anthony Reyes Josh Kinney 2006 1 John Nelson
Chris Narveson
Pitchers Tot Met rookie Cup of java Hitters Tot Met rookie Cup of java
2005 3 Brad Thompson Tyler Johnson 2005 3 John Rodriguez John Gall
Adam Wainwright Chris Duncan
Pitchers Tot Met rookie Cup of java Hitters Tot Met rookie Cup of java
2004 1 Carmen Cali 2004 2 Yadier Molina
Hector Luna
Pitchers Tot Met rookie Cup of java Hitters Tot Met rookie Cup of java
2003 4 Dan Haren Jim Journell 2003 1 Bo Hart
Kiko Calero Kevin Ohme
Pitchers Tot Met rookie Cup of java Hitters Tot Met rookie Cup of java
2002 5 Jason Simontacchi Josh Pearce 2002 1 So Taguchi
Mike Crudale Kevin Joseph
Matt Duff
Pitchers Tot Met rookie Cup of java Hitters Tot Met rookie Cup of java
2001 3 Bud Smith Jason Karnuth 2001 3 Albert Pujols Stubby Clapp
Chad Hutchinson Bill Ortega
Pitchers Tot Met rookie Cup of java Hitters Tot Met rookie Cup of java
2000 5 Britt Reames 2000 3 Chris Richard
Justin Brunette Keith McDonald
Jose Rodriguez Luis Saturria
Mike Matthews
Gene Stechschulte
Pitchers Tot Met rookie Cup of java Hitters Tot Met rookie Cup of java
1999 3 Rick Ankiel 1999 1 Adam Kennedy
Rick Heiserman
Curtis King
Pitchers Tot Met rookie Cup of java Hitters Tot Met rookie Cup of java
1998 4 Rich Croushore Jose Jimenez 1998 3 Joe McEwing
Cliff Politte J.D. Drew
Braden Looper Mark Little
Pitchers Tot Met rookie Cup of java Hitters Tot Met rookie Cup of java
1997 6 Manny Aybar Brady Raggio 1997 6 Eli Marrero
Rigo Beltran Sean Lowe Luis Ordaz
Matt Morris Tom McGraw Micah Franklin
Scarborough Green
Mike Gulan
Jeff Berblinger
Pitchers Tot Met rookie Cup of java Hitters Tot Met rookie Cup of java
1996 2 Mike Busby 1996 3 Miguel Mejia Dmitri Young
Eric Ludwick Aaron Holbert


Addendum: At the suggestion of DizzyDean17 in the comments below, I have broken out the cup of coffee players in the above table into two groups. The names not in bold have not reached 130 major league at bats or 50 innings pitched, so they might be considered true career cup of coffee players – at least so far. In contrast, the names in bold did reach that rookie qualification mark – over a subsequent season or seasons. This adds a career perspective beyond the original single-year view of this article.

Debuts Met rookie qualification in debut year Met rookie qualification later
2008 11 4 TBD
2007 6 2 0
2006 4 1 0
2005 6 2 3
2004 3 2 0
2003 5 3 0
2002 6 2 1
2001 6 2 0
2000 8 0 4
1999 4 0 3
1998 7 1 6
1997 12 3 4
1996 5 1 3
total 83 23 24
avg 6 2 2
pct 28% 29%

This data shows that 56% of the new players eventually earned 50 innings / 130 at-bats as major leaguers. But what I find most interesting is the concentration of players that reached the milestone after their debut year. 20 of the 24 “met rookie qualification later” players came from the first five of the La Russa years, 1996-2000.

Since 2000 however, just four players have accomplished that. The jury is still out on the 2008 cup of coffee pitchers. In other words, they still have a chance to get those necessary innings in 2009 or beyond. Most of the other cuppers from 2007 and earlier are already gone from the organization, so even if they do make it later on, it won’t help the Cardinals. Josh Kinney and Nick Stavinoha remain as 2009 possibilities.

This data seems to add support to a theory that the Cardinals are placing less emphasis on September call-ups of prospects in recent years. At least to me, the recent data seems to show that either the players come up and get significant time pretty quickly or they have their cup of coffee and fade away.

How about some relief around here?

As every St. Louis Cardinals fan already knows so well, one of the major disappointments of the 2008 club was its relief corps.

There are plenty of reasons assigned to the problem, including the collapse of Jason Isringhausen, the struggles of the left-handers, relievers being used out of their roles, late-season fatigue, rookie inconsistency and many more.

I have no reason to argue about any of them, yet I wondered whether the starters might have been putting more pressure on the bullpen by not going as deep into games. Here are basic numbers for the starting pitchers over the last six seasons.

Games Total IP Starters IP IP/start
2008 162 1454 955 5.9
2007 162 1435.7 889 5.5
2006 161 1429.7 941.7 5.8
2005 162 1445.7 1048 6.5
2004 162 1453.7 996.3 6.2
2003 162 1463.7 979.3 6.0

While the Cardinals starters last season fell just short of six innings per outing, that mark was actually better than achieved in either of the prior two years. Not surprisingly, the high water marks in recent years of well over six innings were established by the triple-digit win clubs of 2004 and 2005.

There seems nothing obvious that can be pinned on the starters so let’s look at the relievers themselves. The most frequently-quoted measurement is their 31 blown saves, tied for worst in the majors. Here are the other traditional measures.

Save opps Saves Blown Holds
2008 73 42 31 115
2007 45 34 11 82
2006 57 38 19 90
2005 65 48 17 86
2004 73 57 16 102
2003 71 44 27 77

Those looking for the bright side in the pen’s performance can point to the 115 holds, which is the top number in recent years. That offers the major difference between 2008 and 2003, the season closest to last in terms of bullpen ineffectiveness.

Despite all the troubles, the 2008 bullpen was presented with 73 save opportunities, tied for the most during this period. (Though not material, I couldn’t help but notice that 2008 and 2004 would have been almost identical if 15 blown saves last season could have been moved to the saves column instead. Of course, had that happened, the team could have won as many as 101 games and everything would have been different!)

Here is where I decided to dig a bit deeper with the help of the stats available from Baseball-Reference.com.

One of the many splits available is starters vs. relievers. Every pitch, every at-bat all season long was made by one or the other, right? The next split is between relievers in a save situation (SS) and those not in a save situation (NSS). Again, every relief appearance has to be one or the other.

To look at the difference in results achieved between these two situations, I selected one traditional measurement, ERA, and another newer one, OPS+ of the opposing hitters facing the Cardinals relievers.

Save sit ERA SS OPS+ Non-save sit ERA NSS OPS+
2008 5.01 132 3.83 101
2007 3.28 88 4.25 95
2006 3.94 92 4.09 96
2005 2.59 98 3.41 90
2004 1.96 55 3.48 81
2003 5.20 132 4.65 115

A couple of things stand out. Most obvious is the increase in ERA and OPS+ in save situations in 2008 over previous seasons and the disparity between the 2008 results in the non-save situations vs. the save situations. In only 2003 and 2008 were the numbers worse when there was a small lead to protect.

Another observation is that the size of the 2008 gap based on the situation is larger than in any of the other years in this study. Why was that? Why did this pen do ok except when the game was on the line?

Relief IP Rel appearances Save situations SS IP Non-save situations NSS IP
2008 499 506 189 156.3 317 342.7
2007 546.7 516 113 104.3 403 442.3
2006 488 469 127 109.7 342 378.3
2005 397.7 436 158 118 278 279.7
2004 457.3 469 164 142 305 315.3
2003 484.3 461 146 128 315 356.3

The 2008 bullpen made over 500 total appearances for the second consecutive season, but what really catches my eye is the extraordinarily high number of save situations presented the pen at 189.

I initially wondered if that 189 number could have been increased by many short, ineffective appearances that required additional relievers to be deployed. Yet, the high number of innings pitched under those conditions, 156 1/3, tends to discount that.

Next, let’s look at the percent of the save situations and save situation innings compared to the total workload of the bullpen.

Relief IP Rel appearances Save sits SS % appearances SS IP SS % IP
2008 499 506 189 37% 156.3 31%
2007 546.7 516 113 22% 104.3 19%
2006 488 469 127 27% 109.7 22%
2005 397.7 436 158 36% 118 30%
2004 457.3 469 164 35% 142 31%
2003 484.3 461 146 32% 128 26%

Not only were the absolute numbers large, but the 37% of pen appearances occurring in save situations was substantially greater than in either 2006 or 2007. Same with innings pitched.

Could that mean that the 2008 relievers just weren’t able to handle the frequent pressure situations they were placed in? As crazy as it first sounds, would their overall results have been better if they had been presented with fewer save situations to protect?

The 2008 percentages at least did not vary much from 2004 and 2005, though the results in the win column between 2008 and those seasons were quite different.


My final step is to put this together. Remember that inherent in the definition of a save is that at most only one can be had per win. For example, during last season, Cardinals relievers pitched 189 times in save situations over no more than 73 different games. Of those 73, 42 saves were converted and 31 were blown (42%).

(Not to overly complicate, but there could be multiple blown saves in a single game if the bullpen loses the lead more than once.)

That 42% blown save rate in 2008 is the highest in this six-year period. Yet when considering the total number of pitchers that were put in a save situation, the blown save rate of 16% across all of them does not stand out nearly as much compared to other years.

Of course, none of these gymnastics change the bottom line.

Save situations Save opps (~games) Blown saves Blown save % – opps Blown save % – situations
2008 189 73 31 42% 16%
2007 113 45 11 24% 10%
2006 127 57 19 33% 15%
2005 158 65 17 26% 11%
2004 164 73 16 22% 10%
2003 146 71 27 38% 18%

I am going to stop there and ask you, the readers, what you think. Does this work say anything to you? What do you conclude? What if anything might be missing?


Addendum: At the request of DD17 in the comments that follow, I factored out Jason Isringhausen’s 2008 stats. Interestingly, he appeared in an equal number of save and non-save situations. I guess it is not surprising that his removal helped the club’s save situation ERA, but he actually had a positive impact on the non-save ERA.

What I did find interesting is that Izzy’s save conversion rate of 63%, while not very good, was still better than the rest of the club with him excluded (56%).

In save sits G W L S BS Sv % IP ERA
Team 2008 189 5 13 42 31 58% 156.3 5.01
Izzy 21 1 4 12 7 63% 17.7 10.70
Team w/o Izzy 168 4 9 30 24 56% 138.7 4.28
In non SS G W L S BS Sv % IP ERA
Team 2008 317 17 18 0 0 0 342.7 3.83
Izzy 21 0 1 0 0 0 24 2.16
Team w/o Izzy 296 17 17 0 0 0 318.7 3.95

While I redid the team totals, I am not comfortable with them. To do it properly, it would have required me to make an assumption about whether or not another reliever could have converted the saves that Izzy couldn’t. Instead, I just took out his numbers.

Save sits Save opps (G) Blown Blown Sv % Blown save sit %
2008 total 189 73 31 42% 16%
2008 w/o Izzy 168 73 24 33% 14%

Is reducing the Cardinals payroll unreasonable?


An overly-simple measure of quantity (rather than quality) of a baseball organization’s financial commitment is the oft-quoted total salary of the players that make up their major league roster.

There are many variations to these numbers, depending on whether one is looking at the total salaries of the players regardless of which club is actually paying for them (hello, Jim Edmonds!), the timing of the view (start or end of season), how compensation elements such as salary deferrals and incentives are accounted for and more.

A changing 2009 picture

Yet, using any measure, current course and speed, the 2009 St. Louis Cardinals are currently on a trajectory to open the season with a lower total salary commitment than they expected last fall.

In October, general manager John Mozeliak told me to expect a 2009 payroll “north of $100 million”. As has been reported time and time again, things have changed.

Now, in a report I first referenced here the other day, Yahoo Sports is forecasting a $91 million total for the ’09 Cards, considerably below the $99.6 million they quote for 2008 (a season-opening count as well).

Who’s spending more and who’s spending less?

I am not here to nitpick the numbers, but I do want to look into them, as there is a lot more than first meets the eye. Fortunately, a regular on the Scout.com message board, “Oquendo11”, already did much of the initial research.

Using the Yahoo series of articles as a consistent guide, with 22 teams having been covered so far, Oquendo noted that the number of clubs apparently increasing payroll in 2009 is equivalent to the ones cutting back.

I extended that several steps further to add their ranking from 2008. This can help us better understand which clubs are moving in which direction. In other words, are the big spenders planning to spend more while the small spenders are spending less?

2009 vs. 2008 2008 rank Avg rank Avg 2008 $
Increase (9)
Chicago Cubs 8
Philadelphia 12
Houston 14
Cincinnati 18
Baltimore 22
Kansas City 24
Oakland 28
Tampa Bay 29
Florida 30
Avg ’08 rank/$ 21 $67.7 M
Decrease (9)
New York Mets 2
Detroit 3
Boston 4
LA Angels 6
Seattle 9
Atlanta 10
St. Louis 11
Toronto 13
Pittsburgh 27
Avg ’08 rank/$ 9 $117.7 M
Flat (4)
Texas 21
Washington 26
NY Yankees 1
Milwaukee 15
Not included (8)
Chi White Sox 5
LA Dodgers 7
Cleveland 16
San Francisco 17
San Diego 19
Colorado 20
Arizona 23
Minnesota 25

Meet you in the middle

Nope, it is just the opposite. The two extremes are coming in toward the middle. The clubs that were spending the most in 2008 are the ones cutting back in 2009 while the lower-spending clubs are generally planning increases.

The average rankings illustrate this even better. The cutting teams averaged ninth in payroll last season or just into the top third, while the increasers averaged 21st in spending across MLB last year, just into the bottom third.

Taking the rankings even closer to reality, last season’s ninth-highest spending team dropped $117.7 million on players, while the 21st-ranked club spent a whopping $40 million less. Even with an increase on 2009, the 21st ranked club would have a long way to travel to come anywhere near reaching parity.

To make sure I am clear, what this shows is that in terms of their 2009 payroll planning, the Cardinals are behaving very much like the other clubs in their financial ballpark.

Consider how the money is being spent

I want to reinforce one point that has been made over and over again. There is no sure correlation between spending more money and winning more championships. The top payroll in baseball year after year comes from the New York Yankees, a club that missed the playoffs last season and hasn’t won a World Series since 2000.

If one remains unconvinced, just look at the 2008 Seattle Mariners. They became MLB’s first-ever $100 million payroll club ($117.7 million at #9) to lose 100 games (101, to be exact – second-worst in baseball). It’s clearly not how much you spend as much as it is how you spend it.

If disgruntled Cardinals fans want to engage on that point – how the player payroll money is spent – then I can understand completely.

Another reality that is difficult to measure is the impact of a stronger farm system. Common sense tells us that a rookie will always have a lower salary than a veteran. What is far less clear is what percentage of the money saved by replacing an older, more expensive player with a younger, less costly one should be plowed back into upgrading another position at the major league level. Also, should that be a linear relationship, i.e. does it change based on the number of youngsters vs. veterans?

Some fans would say “100% of money saved should always be spent on other major leaguers, of course!” Yet the owners are in business to make money. Why should they not be entitled to reap some of the benefits from efficiencies gained via their smart investments in player scouting and development?

What if a club decides to spend more in the international market or on draft bonuses? Do fans think that is new money or realistically, does it have to be reallocated from somewhere else?

I don’t pretend to know the proper mix or how to measure it, but I am pretty sure that the folks on the far ends of either side of this equation – the “alls” as well as the “nothings” are too extreme for reality.

E:R can neither be fully understood nor ignored

Expanding this one step further, let’s consider the revenue side of the equation. We do not know the actual revenue the Cardinals generate each year, though respected industry watchers like Forbes do their best to make educated estimates.

The Cardinals are clearly signaling they expect down revenue in 2009. Given all that is going on around us in this world, it is not a surprising conclusion to draw.

Still a doubter?

I just read this headline on CNN: “More than 10,000 job cuts announced Tuesday”. The day before they screamed: “Bloody Monday: Over 71,400 jobs lost” on the heels of 40,000 cuts the week prior.

If you don’t think there are scores of Cardinals fans working for these affected companies – Midwest employers like Caterpillar, John Deere, The Home Depot and Target – then you are hopelessly out of touch.

Let’s face it. For most of our country, baseball is a luxury, not a necessity. It is entertainment, not sustenance. When times get tough, we trim the fat before hitting the bone.

Here is a question I challenge everyone to consider.

In any endeavor, including running a baseball team, isn’t it wise to try to keep revenue and expense in balance?

Where can they cut?

One can certainly debate how a club goes about achieving savings. The Arizona Diamondbacks, for example, ranked 23rd in player payroll last season, recently laid off 31 front office personnel, or 9% of their staff.

Is that better for the organization than cutting player expenditures? How could we ever answer that from our perspective? Instead we have to assume ownership carefully weighed their alternatives and did what they thought was best for the organization overall.

One can also debate when cutting expense finally hits the bone – leading to a further decline in revenue and sending the organization into a financial death spiral.

Yet I cannot see how a reasonable, rational person cannot appreciate the most basic financial relationship presented above – if take in less, then I should spend less. The only reason to deviate is if I can determine a valid way to make more by spending more.

Whether we consider it this way or not, the responsible ones among us follow this simple E:R guideline in our own daily lives. Why should we expect others to act differently?

In conclusion

As noted above, the real challenge is in how the Cardinals actually execute their revised 2009 game plan, both on their financial spreadsheets and on the field of play.

In the meantime, let’s see if the club makes any further investments as camp begins and prices on players drop. Let’s see if the younger players step up and contribute. Let’s see if they decide to upgrade the team in-season if they contend in 2009. Let’s see if the Cardinals can weather the economic downturn or if fans stay home in record numbers.

In closing, I am not suggesting that everyone should agree with ownership and management. I disagree with them frequently on any number of specific issues.

However, I am saying that is both unfair and inaccurate to assume that a cut in payroll also represents a move to increase profits and a reduced commitment to putting a winning product on the field.

Those who still don’t get it need to open their eyes and look at what is happening all around them.

Cash-strapped Post-Dispatch parent sold Cardinals stake


The reporters and columnists from St. Louis’ only daily newspaper, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, can no longer move about this weekend’s Cardinals Winter Warm-up as if they own the place.

Their parent company, the financially-strapped Lee Enterprises of Davenport, Iowa, sold their partial ownership stake in the St. Louis Cardinals, apparently to the majority ownership group led by Chairman and Chief Executive Officer William O. DeWitt Jr. The media company had assumed a 2.7% share of the club via their 2005 purchase of Pulitzer Inc, then-owner of the newspaper.

At the time of the original 2001 acquisition, it was reported that the Cardinals ownership shares of Pulitzer Inc. and chairman Michael Pulitzer, who also held a personal interest in the team, totaled nearly 4%. No word that the recent transaction affected Pulitzer’s individual stake.

The amount generated by Lee’s sale, which reportedly occurred last summer, and exactly which of the other 14 members of the team’s ownership group picked up the 2.7% were not announced.

Yet, we can estimate the value of the transaction, based on Forbes’ annual valuation of all 30 MLB clubs. In their annual report on the Business of Baseball released in April, Forbes established the value of the Cardinals at $484 million. Therefore, a 2.7 percent stake would be worth just over $13 million, not enough to put a dent in the huge financial problems facing Lee Enterprises.

The biggest news as part of Friday’s announcement, as reported in the Post-Dispatch, is that Lee has been given a waiver until the end of the month on $306 million of debt. It was reported that Lee and their creditors are actively working on an extension with the waiver buying more time to complete the negotiations and keep the company from defaulting on their debt agreement.

Note: Link to December 18 article, “Cardinals Minority Owner in Serious Financial Trouble”

Cardinals minor matters – January 15


For those who haven’t embraced the news reader age but are pressed for time (who isn’t?) and don’t want to check many different St. Louis Cardinals-related websites, a perfect answer is “Cardinals Best News Links”. There, a short description and links to many of the top Cards stories of the day are offered in one place.

With the computer of its proprietor, Josh Jones, out with a winter virus, I thought I’d pinch hit with a few of the more off-the-wall, out of the way links to articles I’ve run across in the last 24 hours or so. CBNL will be back up to date very soon.


Where are they now? – Pitts, Bialas, Riggins, Leyva and Riggleman

The current whereabouts of five ex-Arkansas Travelers, the old Cardinals’ Texas League affiliate are provided. Mark Riggins left the Cards for the Cubs in the big changes around the time of the Walt Jocketty departure. Jim Riggleman was treated a bit rudely in Seattle, but is in another Washington, DC, now. In a move one could see coming, Gaylen Pitts was recently replaced as Palm Beach manager and is now a roving instructor for the organization.


Scully’s commentary of Larsen’s perfect WS game

If you’re like me, you’ve taken a shine to the new MLB Network. The network’s inaugural broadcast was of the telecast of Don Larsen’s perfect game in the 1956 World Series. In a nice touch, they had the battery of Larsen and Yogi Berra in the studio to comment between innings.

Yet the then-28-year-old broadcaster who covered the final innings on television that day, the Hall-of-Famer Vin Scully, was noticeably absent. MLB should have had Vin there, plain and simple.

The next best thing happened when the LA Times interviewed Scully after he watched the MLB Network replay. It is well worth the read.


Springfield at Quad Cites

The Cardinals Double-A club will invade the Quad Cities for an exhibition game on April 5th. The teams will already be well-familiar with each other, having just flown north from training camp in sunny Florida.


Winter Warm-up: during and after

The Cardinals have released the signing times and speaking slots and locations for this coming weekend’s fan event in St. Louis. The entire Winter Warm-up schedule is too unwieldy to fully reproduce here, but MLB.com has highlighted the top speakers at the link provided. If you have further questions, drop a comment below and I will try to assist.

Our friends at Fox Sports Midwest just announced their WWU plans. Starting on Tuesday, January 20, they kick off their 2009 coverage of St. Louis Cardinals baseball with two 30-minute specials recapping the Cardinals Winter Warm-up and looking ahead to the upcoming season.

For those who cannot be there in person, these two specials will be the next-best thing and even if you do attend, you can catch all you missed. Details here.


Duncan clears waivers

As I mentioned the other day, Chris Duncan’s brother Shelly was booted off the New York Yankees’ 40-man roster in favor of some guy named Teixeira. Shelly cleared waivers and is now in Triple-A.


Izzy groundswell in Detroit?

This is especially good timing coming off my account yesterday of Jason Isringhausen’s final Cardinals save. The Detroit Free Press is endorsing the Tigers signing Izzy to help fill their closing need. For a club that stuck with shaky Todd Jones for years, Izzy seems a natural fit for Jim Leyland’s Tigers.


“Can Jason Varitek Escape his Predicament?“

Scott Boras/Jason Varitek passed up an almost assured $10 million via arbitration for Boston’s catcher and now could be forced to sign a minor-league deal. Few if any starting catching jobs are open and Pudge Rodriguez is among those also still looking.

The concept of Type A free agent ‘Tek having to sign a minor league deal because no club is willing to lose their first/second round draft pick in signing him is intriguing.  It could apply to pitcher Juan Cruz, too, a guy the Cards might be interested in if the price is right.

I wonder if Boras doesn’t do better with the biggest names than with mid-tier guys like Kyle Lohse and Varitek. Given Varitek’s career decline, passing up arbitration looks like a terrible miscalculation for the esteemed Super Agent.


Interesting P-D editorial

Already interesting on its own, but even more so since it originates from a St. Louis Post-Dispatch editor, the subject of this piece is the quality of sportswriting. Wonder who he had in mind?


At Scout.com

Recently, I’ve written about the Cardinals abandoning their bid to purchase the Memphis Redbirds and posted a pair of detailed articles about Cardinals prospects and the club’s comparative position to their NL Central peers.

The latter two are subscriber-only and cover the extensive work of minor league expert Deric McKamey. His fourth-annual book, the Minor League Baseball Analyst, is now out and is a must-read for minor league fans.

I will offer just one tease. Here are McKamey’s overall system rankings across MLB for the NL Central organizations: Cardinals (10), Reds (11), Brewers (13), Pirates (20), Cubs (27) and Astros (29). I am probably doing a disservice with this snippet, as what is most interesting are the comprehensive details behind how those numbers were developed. It is a much more rigorous process than most every set of system ranking systems that I have seen.

In comparing our top 15’s, we actually agree on 14 of the 15 players. Ones Deric ranks higher than me: Daryl Jones, Pete Kozma, Mitchell Boggs, Jon Jay, Lance Lynn, Richard Castillo and Niko Vasquez. Players I put higher: Jason Motte, Jess Todd, David Freese, Jaime Garcia and Adam Ottavino. Where we agree exactly: Colby Rasmus, Brett Wallace, Bryan Anderson and Clayton Mortensen. What would an off-season be without prospect lists to discuss and debate?


Password problems

In an administrative note, the one regret I have so far in starting this blog is in the number of password-related problems you all have had to deal with. The system that my platform, WordPress, uses is unwieldy to be polite. I have tried to document how to change passwords, but if you can’t get in, you can’t make your change.

If you are stuck in that boat, email me at brian (at) thecardinalnation.com and I will reset your password so you can log in. Again, I apologize for the difficulties.


MyYahoo news reader

I am also fighting an incompatibility problem between WordPress and the MyYahoo RSS news reader. I am not alone with the problem, but as of yet, have not developed a solution. All other news readers are working fine. (I’d much rather write about baseball than battle technology, but it seems to go with the territory!)

McGwire’s Hall of Fame Support Erodes


The 2009 Hall of Fame voting is in. Congratulations to Rickey Henderson, who received 94.8% of the votes in his first year of eligibility and especially to Jim Rice, who just made it across the 75% line in his 15th and final year of eligibility at 76.4% of the vote. The former Red Sox star had fallen just 16 votes short last year. I’ll leave it to others to argue whether Rice was very good or truly great, however.

C’mon, what were the other 28 writers thinking that didn’t vote for Rickey? I’ve said it many times before and I will continue to repeat that Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) members just damage their own organization’s credibility when they cast dissenting ballots for no-brainer picks like Henderson just to uphold a stupid tradition of no ex-player scoring 100%. Those 28 non-voters are lemmings at best.

Former Cardinals slugger Mark McGwire, coming off yet another year of silence and seclusion following his botched 2005 Congressional testimony, isn’t improving his Hall chances. This time around, Mac received ten fewer votes than in 2008 and 2007 and in the process, dropped a couple of percentage points down to 21.9% support.

HOF McGwire Ballots Named Percent Place
2009 539 118 21.9 9
2008 543 128 23.6 9
2007 545 128 23.5 9

McGwire seemed to hold firm in ninth place, but that really means others are passing him, since five have now been inducted since he first joined the eligibles in 2007. They are Cal Ripken Jr. and Tony Gwynn (2007) plus Goose Gossage (2008) and now to be joined by Henderson and Rice.

While he is in no danger of dropping off the ballot, the stark reality is that Big Mac is closer to that insult than he is to joining Henderson and Rice up on the stage in Cooperstown. It is no one’s fault but his own that he has become such a polarizing figure and remains on the outside looking in.

Rather than repeat an earlier rant, I will simply link to my earlier articles:

“Giambi Is What McGwire Isn’t: Honest” (2007)

“Has Big Mac Hit Bottom and Can He Rise Again?” (2006)

And in a more positive note, two years ago, we at Scout.com voted McGwire the 22nd greatest Cardinals player of all time. Despite the cloud, I personally voted Big Mac # 19. In an indication of the diversity of opinion, one of our panel refused to vote for McGwire.

“Cards All-Time Top 40 – Mark McGwire #22” (2007)

The Cardinals Organization Roster Matrix: Preseason 2009


Note: This post has been superseded by a new version of the Roster Matrix dated 4/10 which is available via this link.

What follows is a project I have considered for a long time, but I guess I needed the cold and snow of winter to motivate me to finally undertake it.

Following is a complete listing of all players currently known to be under contract in the St. Louis Cardinals organization. Initially, there are 306 players from the 40-man roster down through the Venezuelan Summer League.

Because we are all impatient types, I am going to list the rosters first, with all the explanation, caveats, etc. following. Before you post comments or send notes with mistakes or corrections, please take the time to read the explanations that follow the matrix, as many of your questions may already be answered. Also, don’t forget to read the comments afterward and add your own!

For future reference, as this article falls off the front page, remember to bookmark this URL. If you forget how to find it, just put your cursor on “Players/Staff” at the top of the page and then “Depth Charts”, and you’ll be back here. Plus, the search box at the upper right is always active.

One final request. Like everything here at The Cardinal Nation, the matrix is provided at no charge. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t take a lot of work to create and maintain. Please be respectful and link back here if you want to reference the matrix rather than copying it elsewhere.

Updated 2/4/09: Reliever Hyang-Nam Choi signed to a minor league deal and added to Memphis roster. New total 307.

Updated 2/9/09: 2B Adam Kennedy released. New total 306

Updated 2/28/09. P Mitch Harris signed. Likely on restricted list due to active Navy service so not listed here.

Updated 3/2/09: C Ismael Cardona (Batavia) released. The contract of pitcher Jose Vicente Campos (VSL) was voided. New total 304.

Updated 3/5/09: LHR Dennys Reyes signed. 305 players under contract.

Updated 3/15/09: Minor league LHP Kristian Linares added. New total 306.

Updated 3/18/09: RP Mike Sillman and OF Luke Gorsett retired. Total 304.

Updated 3/23/09: RP Luke Gregerson traded. IF Nick Vera, LHS Joe Rogers, 2B Isa Garcia, RHP Miguel Flores and C Christian Rosa released. New total 298.

Updated 3/26/09: Released RPs Hyang-Nam Choi, Russ Haltiwanger,Zach Pitts, Matt Spade, Wayne Damon, Jose Mateo, Jon Mikrut, Jameson Maj and 3B Brian Cartie. Total 289.

Updated 3/27/09: Royce Ring removed from 40-man and accepted assignment to Memphis.

Updated 3/31/09: Released Cs Justin Knoedler and Rickey Noland and Ps Ryan Bird, J.D. Stambaugh, Davis Bilardello, Dylan Gonzalez and Josh Hester.

The St. Louis Cardinals Roster Matrix (as of 3/31/09)

St. Louis (23) 40-man (34)
SP RP C 1B 2B SS 3B OF
Carpenter Franklin LaRue Pujols Schumaker
 K Greene Glaus Ankiel
Lohse Kinney (20) Molina Ryan Duncan
Pineiro McClellan Ludwick
Wainwright Motte (4) Mather
Wellemeyer

Thompson
Reyes (L)
Miller (L)


Memphis (27)
SP RP C 1B 2B SS 3B OF
Boggs (10) Haltiwanger Anderson (3) Hoffpauir Barden Freese (5) Barton
Hawksworth Mikrut Knoedler Thurston T Greene (16) Cazana (Marti)
Mortensen (11) Scherer Pagnozzi Jay (12)
Parisi (i) Manning (L) Yarbrough Rasmus (1)
Todd (7) Maekawa (L) Robinson (27)
Walters (17) Ostlund (L) Stavinoha (35)
Ja Garcia (9iL) Choi
Rogers (L) Ring (L)
C Perez
Springfield (22)
SP RP C 1B 2B SS 3B OF
Dickson Dew Brown I Garcia Jo Martinez (37) Craig (18) Jones (6)
Hearne M Gonzalez Buckman Descalso Solano Wallace (2) Rapoport
Mura Gregerson (30) Hamilton Rowlett
Ottavino (15) Salas (31) Shorey
Fiske (L) McCormick
Furnish (L)
Palm Beach (27)
SP RP C 1B 2B SS 3B OF
Bird Daman Derba Hill (34) Folli Kozma (8) Cartie DeJesus
Diapoules Degerman Vasquez Arburr Marmol T Cruz (36) Luna (39)
Garceau (29) E Hernandez Henley
Herron (25) Maiques Kingrey
King J Mateo
Kopp (28) Mulligan
Additon (26L) Parise
Norrick (L) Samuel (21)
Bilardello (L)
Freeman (L)
Linares (L)
Quad Cities (23)
SP RP C 1B 2B SS 3B OF
R Castillo (19) Bradford J Castillo Rivera Bolivar Chambers
Broderick Daley, Jr. Espinoza Smith (40) Vasquez (13) Edwards (23)
Fick Frevert Murphy Ingram
Hooker (32) D Gonzalez Pham
Lynn (14) Rondon
Maj Sanchez
McGregor Spade (L)
Kulik (L) Stambaugh (L)
Batavia (29)
SP RP C 1B 2B SS 3B OF
Delgado Buursma Rosa Scruggs A Castellanos Lilley Curtis Gomez
Eager Lugo Cutler Jo Garcia Sedbrook Morales Ja Martinez
Gorgen (22) Mayes L DeLaCruz Landin Vera Parejo
Hester Reifer (24) Peterson
Nieto Riportella
Pitts Swauger
Richardson
M Tapia
Veres
Brown (L)
Cardenas (L)
Johnson City (29)
SP RP C 1B 2B SS 3B OF
Arredondo Carpenter Castro Rigoli L Mateo Alvarez Bogany
Blazek Flores Cawley Toribio Y Castillo P Cruz
Fornataro C Gonzalez Noland Hage
R Gonzalez Maertz Lara
Leach Pichardo Mitchell
North Bravo (L) R Rodriguez
Rosales
Santos
Thomas
Zawacki
Peralta (L)
GCL (28)
SP RP C 1B 2B SS 3B OF
Diaz Calero Moscatel H Medina Hiraldo Mosquera Teran Babrick
Javier Concepcion A Perez Obregon Buck
Notti Munoz R Ruiz R Rosario
Rada Ortiz Shepherd
A Cruz Penaloza Swinson
A Ferrara (L) Prange
Russell
J Castellanos (L)
Siegrist (L)
DSL (37)
SP RP C 1B 2B SS 3B OF
De Jesus Estalis V Ferreira Pimentel J Lopez G Hernandez H Martina Beras
Franco Pinard L Perez Avila Cabrera R DeLaCruz (38) A Castellano
Jimenez A Castillo Polanco W Perez Villar Martines
Urena E Rivera Reyes
Pasen M Martinez Sandoval
A Tapia Mercedes (L) Encarnacion
Herrera (L) Uribe (L) J Pena
L Rosario (L) D Rodriguez (L) Taveras
P Pena (L)
VSL (37)
SP RP C 1B 2B SS 3B OF
Bier R Alvarado Alcala R Perez M Marquez Mannbel H Garcia Cortez
Avendano Y Gonzalez Montero Vargas O Medina Yegues Fonseca
Nieves Guzman Rivas Vivas Valera Inojoza
Corpas F Marquez Viloria Rivero
Noguera Solarte Velazco Argenal
Rios Orozco
Weffer (L) Cedeno
Colorado (L) Oraa
Brito
Ramos

The matrix: What it is

While some of the players’ levels may look odd (four catchers in Memphis and none in Springfield, for example), they are placed where the Cardinals have assigned them. Of course, once working rosters begin to be “worked” in Jupiter in March, there will be changes, many of them.

Players with injuries that appear to be season-ending are noted with (i). The number in parentheses after each club’s name is the quantity of players assigned there.

The one area where I did make adjustments is in my view of the likely end-of-spring distribution of the players on the 40-man roster between St. Louis and Memphis. Otherwise, there wouldn’t yet be much of a roster in Triple-A. Like everything else, this will be fluid come spring. The 40-man players’ names are listed in BOLD.

(In that vein, I initially listed 26 players for St. Louis. I know that is one too many. I predict that one of the three lefty relievers isn’t going to make it and same with one of the righties. One the plus side, another infield reserve will be required. 26 minus two plus one will get us to 25, eventually.)

After some players’ names, you will see a number in parentheses. They denote my personal ranking of the player in the annual Top 40 Cardinals Prospects voting at Scout.com. (At The Birdhouse, my individual scores as shown here were weighted one-fourth in determining the final Scout.com ranking.)


What it isn’t

When assigning positions, I put players in just one column. My attempt was to acknowledge where they spent the majority of last season. For example, I know that Steven Hill and Tony Cruz are being tried behind the plate. That’s no different from last year, yet both ended up playing far more games at other positions.

For the pitchers, I started out with separate columns for the left-handed starters and relievers, but the table just became too big. So instead, I adopted the practice of placing the lefties at the end of the starters and relievers lists, designated by the letter (L).

Don’t read anything into the order of the names within any column, other than the LHPs at the end. I started alphabetically, but at the lower levels, I backed off. At this point, they have no correlation to playing time, duration on the roster or anything else. Step one was simply to get everyone in the right box.

This isn’t the final source on the spelling of players’ names. I have tried to remain consistent with what we use at Scout.com and what is designated at MiLB.com. Especially with the academy players, the information from the Cardinals themselves can even include mistakes.

Don’t forget the wealth of (free) information about each player that we maintain in the Scout.com player data base. It is too unwieldy to include and keep current every link to over 300 player profiles directly from the matrix, but do keep using the Scout profiles as the source for detailed information on individual players.

I will always designate the most current date when the matrix was last updated, but I am not planning to maintain a log of every transaction that occurs across the system all year. The good news is that I don’t have to. UConnCard already does that over on the Scout.com message board. My goal will be to stay in sync with that list of moves visually. So remember the link to the transaction log, especially if/when questions come up.


What it may be later on

Once the 2009 regular season begins, I hope to be noting players:

  • on the disabled list
  • sharing jobs in the tandem pitching rotations in A-ball
  • performing the role of closer

Perhaps I may even undertake re-ordering the players in some sort of recognition of playing time, but that remains to be seen.


What you can do

Let me know what you think about this project. Putting in the time to create and maintain it is only of value to me if it is of value to you.

Speak up if you see errors or have questions. The more eyes over the map, the more accurate it will be.

I’d like to thank CariocaCardinal and UConnCard for being the initial set of proof-readers/correctors. In addition, jrocke217’s reports on the DSL and VSL were invaluable.

In fact, Carioca’s first comments led me to the article about the releases of Carlos Pupo, Ross Oeder and Nick Peoples. So, other good can come from this kind of project, too.

Cardinals Winter Warm-Up gauges player popularity


No, this isn’t a serious, in-depth article about player valuation techniques or anything like that.

Still, the other day, I received my package with the autograph details for the St. Louis Cardinals Winter Warm-Up to be held next weekend and that got me to thinking.

While the prices demanded for autographs of course do not reflect true player value, they do indicate fan value in a way. At least they do to the extent that whoever in the organization sets these policies and prices has properly measured the collective pulse of the Cardinal Nation.

For those players most in demand, the only way to ensure getting an autograph is to secure a ticket via the “Early Bird” order process. That defines both the price and number of autographs allowed and ensures some order in a process that could be chaotic and frustrating without some bounds.

The first valuation point that caught my eye is the pre-imposed limit of autograph tickets per player per person is three – for most of those who will be signing, that is.

Yet, there are three players for whom a more-restrictive two-ticket limit has been imposed. They are Rick Ankiel, Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright.

At the top of the pecking order are not one, but two current Cardinals. Joining Albert Pujols with a limit of one autograph ticket per person is none other than Yadier Molina. Apparently based on his 2008 WWU popularity, the catcher evolved from the two-ticket limit last year to just one this time around.

The more interesting assessment is in the prices of the signatures themselves, all of which goes to charity by the way, to the fine folks at Cardinals Care.

Following are three lists of autograph prices – starting with current Cardinals and then two of past Cards. We next have the players who left the organization since last year and following is a group of old-timers signing at this WWU.

I listed the current players in pricing tiers based on their 2009 amounts. The section labels are my own. If they signed last year via the Early Bird process, their 2008 prices are also shown. My commentary follows.

Top dogs 2009 2008 Commentary
Albert Pujols $175 $175 Held prices flat despite winning every award in sight.
Yadier Molina $100 $90 Breaks the $100 barrier for the first time!
Second tier
Rick Ankiel $60 $55 Modest YTY increase in what could be his last WWU.
Chris Carpenter $60 $75 Ouch! Loses 1/5 of price after second injury-filled season.
Adam Wainwright $60 $80 Odd. I guess the World Series excitement has worn off.
Solid contributors
Troy Glaus $40 Reasonable.
Ryan Ludwick $40 $10 Up $30! You should have gotten to Ludwick 12 months ago!
Tony La Russa $30 $30 Consistent but underpriced.
Colby Rasmus $30 $30 Will definitely be looking to move up in 2009.
Skip Schumaker $30 $5 How about this jump? Six times higher than last year!
Middle of the pack
Kyle Lohse $25 Seems out of sync with four years, $41 million, doesn’t it?
Chris Duncan $20 $40 Loss of 50% in autograph price mirrors real value.
Khalil Greene $20 Newcomer can and should do better.
Brendan Ryan $15 $10 Slight increase for 2009 infield wild card.
Todd Wellemeyer $15 He will do better in arbitration than this!
Heading up or down
Ryan Franklin $10 $10 When all the ups and downs are considered, this feels right.
Kyle McClellan $10 One of three newcomers vaulting into this tier.
Jason Motte $10 Nice debut.
Chris Perez $10 Could be next year’s Ludwick in terms of autograph price.
Joel Pineiro $10 $20 Feeling the heat of inconsistency.
At least worth $5
Brian Barton $5 May be signing in Memphis soon, too.
Adam Kennedy $5 At least he is supposed to be coming to WWU.
Josh Kinney $5 $5 Who isn’t pulling for a nice 2009 comeback?
Jason LaRue $5 He and Molina average $52 between them!
Trever Miller $5 Hoping he signs with his right hand!
Brad Thompson $5 $10 Sliding down popularity ranking but was tendered a contract.

Though Albert’s signing price is flat this year, they’ve added an online auction from now through Wednesday to be guaranteed one of the first ten spots in line for the MVP’s autograph. It will be interesting to see how high these go for.

Looking at the players that signed at last year’s WWU who are no longer Cardinals, seeing Scott Spiezio on top offers another sad reminder of what he threw away. Izzy seemed to be a bargain 12 months ago, illustrating a rapid fall of a different kind.

The departed 2008 Commentary
Scott Spiezio $50 He really blew a good thing in his life and in StL.
Jason Isringhausen $40 No booing this year.
Braden Looper $25 Underappreciated trouper, Braden Looper.
Matt Clement $20 Can I have my money back?
Aaron Miles $15 I wonder if Mozeliak put in a late $10 bid?
Randy Flores $10 Had a better career than I ever expected.
Anthony Reyes $10 Do they even have a WWU in Cleveland?
Tyler Johnson $5 What could have been…

Moving to the final for-fee group, the Cardinals old-timers, it is nice to see a stronger selection of autograph opportunities here in 2009. Four Hall of Famers head the bill, headed by Bob Gibson.

Hall of Famers 2009 2008 Commentary
Bob Gibson $125 Don’t be intimidated – too much!
Bruce Sutter $100 Engine #42 is hot right now.
Lou Brock $100 An always cordial Cards hero.
Red Schoendienst $75 $60 Get it while you still can. A true great.
Almost Hall worthy
Whitey Herzog $40 $50 Guess memories are fading for some.
I remember you!
Bernard Gilkey $15 May still live in the area.
John Tudor $10 Is he still a cranky Yankee?
Jack Clark $10 As seen on FOX Sports Midwest.

Not to be forgotten are a major batch of current and former Cardinals who will be signing for free. There are some nice names in here, so don’t think you have to drop big money to snare good autographs. For example, Brett Wallace won’t be free next year.

Bryan Anderson Brett Wallace Rich Hacker Bob Sykes
Brian Barden P. J. Walters Rick Horton Scott Terry
David Freese George Altman Ron Hunt Mike Tyson
Blake Hawksworth Alan Benes Charlie James Ray Washburn
Jarrett Hoffpauir Andy Benes Mike Jorgensen Todd Worrell
John Jay John Costello Jeff Lahti
Daryl Jones Danny Cox Mark Little
Charlie Manning Chuck Diering Greg Mathews
Joe Mather Cal Eldred T.J. Mathews
Mike Parisi Neil Fiala Ed Mickelson
Royce Ring Curt Ford Ken Reitz
Nick Stavinoha Bob Forsch Jerry Reuss
Joe Thurston Phil Gagliano Stan Royer
Jess Todd David Green Ted Savage

The 12th Annual Winter Warm-Up, a three-day event, will take place on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. weekend; Saturday, Sunday and Monday, January 19-21, 2008. Times are 9:00 am to 5:00 pm Saturday and Sunday, and 9:00 am to 3:00 pm Monday.

For full WWU information, including signing schedules and ticket prices, follow this link.

Smith over Ford, August 1986


Dear Brian,

Please help me settle a wager. I am sure you recall the great catch that Ozzie Smith made while running into the outfield and laying out to catch the ball while diving over the incoming outfielder. I believe Mr. Buck’s call was, “He caught it! Ozzie caught it!”.  The wager involves the outfielder who Ozzie dove over. My brother believes it was Willie McGee while I maintain it was Curt Ford.

Could you please supply me with anything to support the answer?

Thank You

Robert Gould

Walton’s take: Robert, it is so weird you sent this tonight. Not five minutes ago, I swear I saw this very play on the new MLB Network. (Maybe you were watching it, too?)

The commentators were discussing the seven-year anniversary of Ozzie being voted into the Hall of Fame and the chances of Omar Vizquel of making it. Not surprisingly, Ozzie was the measuring stick and Vizquel was falling short.

The answer to your question is “Curt Ford”, though it is often mistakenly said to be Willie McGee. Yet, I can’t stop there since you require proof to collect your bet. (Of course, I can’t condone betting, though I thoroughly understand family baseball arguments. I live them every week!)

From Ozzie’s biography in the annual Cardinals’ Media Guide:

“Smith’s most eye-popping play came on August 5, 1986 against the Philadelphia Phillies at Busch Stadium. He took off on a short fly ball to left field hit by Von Hayes and with his back to home plate, flew parallel to the ground and completely stretched out to make the catch.”

It doesn’t say who the left fielder was, though. And, as it turns out, the esteemed Media Guide is off by one day. The play in question actually happened in the top of the ninth inning in a 2-2 tie game the night before, on Monday, August 4.

Courtesy of Retrosheet, here is the link to the box score from that game. Clean-up hitter (!) Ford played in left the entire game. McGee was out due to injury and did not appear.

Here is the clincher – from the play-by-play account of the game per Retrosheet. (Note the bolding of the text below is not mine!)

PHILLIES 9TH: WORRELL REPLACED KNICELY (PITCHING); Schmidt singled to shortstop; Wilson struck out; HAYES BATTED FOR SCHU; Hayes popped to shortstop; Ozzie makes incredible catch diving over sliding Ford; Russell made an out to shortstop; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Phillies 2, Cardinals 2.

To top it off, Ozzie scored the winning run in the bottom of the ninth on a Terry Pendleton sacrifice bunt, giving the win to Todd Worrell.

By the way, three years ago, ESPN selected the top web gems of all time by team. The play to which you refer is their #1 for the Cardinals.

Thanks for writing and for the chance to take a trip down memory lane!

Cardinals spring training: Reporting for duty


I received a question about when pitchers and catchers report and how the World Baseball Classic changes Spring Training. Rather than put it in a reader mail item, I decided to make it into a blog post so more will see it.

Here is the link to my article at The Birdhouse with all the details, but following is a quick summary:

February 14 – Pitchers and catchers for the Cardinals and WBC teams must report to spring training.

February 17 – Cardinals and WBC position players must report.

March 5-23 – World Baseball Classic (link to brackets and schedule)

So, the WBC players (official rosters not yet announced) could be joining their MLB camps anywhere from about the 12th (when the first round teams are eliminated) until the 24th or later depending on travel. That is a big reason spring training is running a week longer than usual.

Of course there is no free lunch. Because of this, the regular season runs through October 4, delaying the post-season into November. If needed, World Series Game 7 will be played on November 5, the latest ever.

Also the Cardinals have just one scheduled day off during the first five weeks of the regular season, on April 20. Including spring training, the team will play a total 70 games from February 23 through May 10.

Albert Pujols and the Dominican Republic WBC team will be training in Jupiter along with the Cardinals and Marlins. They will clear out before the minor leaguers report. The Cards play a spring training game against the Dominicans on March 5 at RDS, of course.

Oddness in the minors

Speaking of, here are the corresponding dates for the Cardinals minor leaguers:

March 9 – Pitchers and catchers report

March 11 – Position players report

March 18 (approx.) – First games

Note that due to the Dodgers having departed Vero Beach, there are an uneven number of clubs in a reasonable proximity to Jupiter. Really only the Mets at Port St. Lucie and the Marlins, who share the Roger Dean complex with the Cardinals are available.

While the schedules aren’t done yet, it looks like the minor leaguers are going to be having as many intersquad games as they will actual spring contests. There is also a possibility that the clubs will split up on any given day, with Triple-A and Double-A playing in one place and the Single-A players somewhere else, for example.

Even during “camp” days, the numbers are still odd. Typically with over 160 players invited, after about a week, the Cardinals break up into five working rosters, including two Quad Cities teams. So the Memphis and Springfield clubs could face off but Palm Beach can play only one of the two Quad Cities teams, for example.

Of course, there will only be one real Quad Cities club that breaks camp, with the others staying behind for Extended Spring Training.

Everyone will get their spring work in, but the situation could be more ideal.

Cardinals television update


First confirmation of a televised 2009 game

Just got a peek at the ESPN/ESPN2 schedule for MLB games for the first two months of the season. Only one Cardinals game is among the 14 games listed. That is the Sunday, April 19 game at Wrigley that was originally planned to be a 1:20 pm start. It will be moved to 8 pm for ESPN.

The schedule

In case you don’t have your 2009 Cardinals one-page printable schedule for the regular season, you can download a copy here. Most game times are known, though some of the weekend games are subject to the whims of the television networks, which will include the new MLB Network for the first time in 2009.

Regular season TV schedule a couple weeks away

Note that none of the televised games are listed yet. We are still a couple weeks away from spring and regular season schedules, say our friends at FOX Sports Midwest. As soon as they release them, I will get them posted.

WWU coverage on FS Midwest

Speaking of FS Midwest… They are planning two post-Winter Warm-Up shows. For those who can’t attend the real thing, this will be the next best alternative. No dates and times yet, but I should have those details soon.

Spring schedule reminders

For those with satellite television, I will also be watching the Cardinals’ spring opponents’ plans as they announce which games they plan to televise. For those who didn’t see it the first time, here is the link to the Cardinals’ full spring schedule, including all the exhibition games and local times.

MLB Network gets early thumbs up

I was a bit skeptical coming in, but have been impressed with the MLB Network programming in their first week. I especially enjoy their nightly Hot Stove show, with Harold Reynolds proving to be a decent ringmaster. He even made Scott Boras squirm a bit when probing him about having been cut out of the A-Rod negotiations last winter.

One minor complaint is that I have noticed that they seem to endorse every move the clubs make. Too early to tell, but I imagine they will not be allowed to be critical of teams, ala MLB.com. Still, the historical shows are worth the price of admission. Here is the link to their daily programming schedule.

Historical DVDs of note

I’ve noticed several of the MLB Network shows this week feature content also available on DVD. The off-season is the perfect time to bring these out and watch them over again.

Here are a few in my collection that I recommend. (Note: This is not an endorsement of any business, but instead one example is offered where you can find these items.)

Ken Burns’ Baseball – I watch this documentary every off-season. $109 for ten discs at Shop PBS or you can also get the book, which is really nice, and an audio CD for $40 more.

Greatest Games of Busch Stadium: 1966-2005 – Six classic home games from 1968 through 2004. $31.95 at Amazon.com.

2006 World Series Collector’s Edition – NLCS Games 5 and 7, all five World Series games and a bonus disc. $45.95 at Amazon.

1942, 1943 and 1946 World Series Highlights – Three disc set of the news reels assembled for overseas servicemen and women. One of my favorite sets. $26.99 at Amazon.

If you have others you like, please call them out in the comments.

Four Cardinals Caravans Itineraries Set



The St. Louis Cardinals are running four separate caravans, scheduled around the Winter Warm-Up weekend, January 17-19. Two separate caravans will depart on Friday, January 16 through Saturday, January 17, followed by two additional caravan trips slated for Sunday and Monday, January 18-19.

Several current Cardinals players such as Josh Kinney, Kyle McClellan, Brendan Ryan, Skip Schumaker and Brad Thompson will take part in the promotional caravans, as well as several players who made their Major League debuts last season. Those players include Brian Barden, Brian Barton, Joe Mather, Jason Motte, Chris Perez and Nick Stavinoha.

The organization’s Minor League Player of the Year, Daryl Jones, and Minor League Pitcher of the Year, Jess Todd, will be meeting Cardinals fans as well as top prospects David Freese, Colby Rasmus and Brett Wallace, the Cardinals No. 1 pick in last year’s draft.

Fans will also be able to meet a few of their former Cardinals favorites as Alan Benes, Danny Cox, Ken Dayley, Tom Lawless, John Mabry, Ken Reitz, Kerry Robinson and John Tudor will accompany the current players. Cardinals announcers Rick Horton, Al Hrabosky, Dan McLaughlin, Jay Randolph and John Rooney will serve as caravan emcees and team mascot Fredbird will also be on hand.

Details follow.

CARAVAN 1
Players: Kyle McClellan, Colby Rasmus, Cardinals Alumni: Rick Horton, Ken Dayley, Ken Reitz
Brad Thompson, Jess Todd Emcees: Jay Randolph, Rick Horton
Date City Location Time Call For Info
Fri Jan 16 Springfield, MO Drury University: Weiser Gymnasium 6:30 PM 417-863-2143
Sat Jan 17 Columbia, MO* Mizzou Arena (Mizzou vs. Iowa St.) 11:30 AM 1-800-228-7297
Sat Jan 17 Moberly, MO Moberly Municipal Auditorium 6:00 PM 660-263-1600
CARAVAN 2
Players: Skip Schumaker, Brian Barden, Cardinals Alumni: John Mabry, Alan Benes
David Freese, Daryl Jones Emcees: John Rooney
Date City Location Time Call For Info
Fri Jan 16 Champaign, IL Round Barn Banquet Centre 12:30 PM 217-359-9800
Fri Jan 16 Decatur, IL Decatur Hotel & Conference Center 6:00 PM 217-422-8800
Sat Jan 17 Hannibal, MO Quality Inn & Suites Noon 573-221-3450
Sat Jan 17 Springfield, IL Sacred Heart Griffin HS Gym 6:00 PM 217-787-1595
CARAVAN 3
Players: Joe Mather, Brian Barton, Cardinals Alumni: Kerry Robinson, TBD
Jason Motte, Brett Wallace Emcee: Dan McLaughlin
Date City Location Time Call For Info
Sun Jan 18 Cape Girardeau, MO Osage Community Center 12:30 PM 573-334-2859
Sun Jan 18 Carbondale, IL* SIU Arena (SIUC vs. Bradley) 5:15 PM 1-877-725-8547
Mon Jan 19 Memphis, TN Autozone Park Noon 901-721-6000
Mon Jan 19 Dyersburg, TN Dyer County High School 5:30 PM 731-627-2229
CARAVAN 4
Players: Chris Perez, Josh Kinney, Cardinals Alumni: John Tudor, Danny Cox, Tom Lawless
Brendan Ryan, Nick Stavinoha Emcee: Al Hrabosky
Date City Location Time Call For Info
Sun Jan 18 Bloomington, IL* Redbird Arena (Illinois St. vs. MO St.) 1:00 PM 309-438-8000
Sun Jan 18 Peoria, IL Embassy Suites Hotel 6:00 PM 309-694-0200
Mon Jan 19 Quad Cities Modern Woodmen Park Noon 563-324-3000
Mon Jan 19 Quincy, IL Quincy Univ. Hall of Fame Room 6:30 PM 217-228-6600
*Note: Columbia, Carbondale and Bloomington stops require a ticket to college basketball game

Merry Christmas from TCN to The Cardinal Nation!

Or Happy Chanukah / Ramadan / Kwanzaa / Festivus!

Enjoy your Holiday season, in whatever manner you celebrate it.

Thank you for being some of the initial visitors to this site, still not yet two weeks old.

Please also consider using this opportunity to make a quick reply to say “hello” and share Season’s Greetings. Many more of you have subscribed to the site than have posted. Let’s change that now!

Note: Several people have asked about how to get a customized image with their comments on this board such as my “TCN” one. It is fast and easy. More details here: “How to Register and Find Stuff”.

Odalis Perez: Better off with the Enemy

The St. Louis Cardinals have been a member of the National League Central Division since its creation in 1994. As a result, they have not seen their yearly schedule tipped in the direction of playing the Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Dodgers or Washington Nationals frequently.

In interleague play, established in 1997, the Cardinals’ “natural rival” was understandably designated as the Kansas City Royals. That means the clubs typically have home and away series scheduled each summer, or about the same number of games as one of the above three clubs play against the Cardinals each season.

Likely, if it wasn’t for the title of this article and its accompanying photo, you would probably have no idea where I am heading.

Here we go. The four aforementioned clubs are those which had employed left-handed pitcher Odalis Perez over his ten-year Major League career – Atlanta (1999, 2001), Los Angeles (2002-2006), Kansas City (2006-2007) and Washington (2008).

Other than a promising start, which led to an NL All-Star berth back in 2002, the Dominican Republic native’s career has been most undistinguished.

His aggregate won-loss record is nine games under .500 at 73-82. Perez last won double digit games in a season back in 2003. His career ERA is 4.46, but he has managed to come in under 5.50 in just one season since 2005. On a more positive note, that was last season, when his ERA with the Nats was 4.34.

Now a free agent for at least the third time in his major league career, Perez’ name has come up on some Cardinals’ fans wish lists as an inexpensive left-handed alternative for the back end of the 2009 rotation. The hope is that pitching coach Dave Duncan could work some magic on the 31-year-old, who made just $850,000 with Washington last season.

Other fans aren’t so sure, noting that the Cardinals, and especially Albert Pujols, would be better off if his countryman Perez continues to pitch for the opposition rather than don the birds on the bat.

The latter group make an excellent point.

Perez has watched Pujols tour the bases five times (AP)
Perez has watched Pujols tour the bases five times (AP)

Over their careers, Pujols’ line against Odalis is an amazing .609/.719/1.391 (BA/OBP/SLG). That makes for a super-human OPS of 2.110!

Over the Scout premium message board, I was asked to assess the statistical impact of Pujols on Perez’ career.

Perez has pitched to 5678 regular-season batters in his time as a major leaguer, allowing 1409 hits. Pujols only has 14 hits of that total, or 1%, in his 23 at-bats facing Perez.

Perez has yielded 661 earned runs in his career, of which Pujols drove in 15, or 2.3%. So one way to look at it is that Albert delivered 2.3% of the damage in 1% of the hits in 0.4% of the at-bats.

If you took away Pujols’ 15 RBI, Perez’ career ERA would drop from 4.46 to 4.36. So, that impact is one-tenth of a run per nine innings over Perez’ ten-year career.

(Of course, all this assumes no other Cardinals hitter would have collected more hits or drove in any of the runs that we took away from Albert in this analysis.)

Unfortunately the Cardinals have only faced off against Perez about once per season over the years.

In 13 career games, ten starts, against the Cardinals, Perez is 3-6 with an 8.53 ERA. He has allowed almost two baserunners per inning and the Cards are batting a collective .344 against the lefty. He’s walked more batters (25) than he’s struck out (23) in those 50 2/3 innings. 14 of the hits yielded left the ballpark, of which five came off Pujols’ bat.

After seeing this, Cardinals fans should be trying to aim Odalis over to the north side of Chicago, where he might be “fortunate” enough to face the St. Louisans four or five times each and every season!

Time to start the “Odalis to the Cubs” campaign!

Top 20 Cardinals Stories of 2008: #16-20


It is fast approaching that time of year to again look back and reflect upon the year that was. I plan to do the same here between now and year-end, with a five-part series highlighting the Top 20 Cardinals Stories of 2008 and a forecast of some of the top storylines for 2009, as well.

We will start with 2008 top stories 16 through 20 today, then 11-15, six through ten, followed by the top five and we’ll finish with the look ahead to the coming year.

While there was no obvious event such as a World Series victory or even a divisional title to crow about during 2008, there were still plenty of interesting stories – many positive, but some less-so.

Whenever I wrote an article during the year on Scout.com about one of the top 20 events, the link to it or the player page will be embedded in the titles below. If they are subscription-only, the special “insider” icon will be displayed alongside.

Without further ado:

20) Roberto De La Cruz Receives Highest Club Bonus Ever for a Latin American Player

If you are asking yourself, “Who?”, then you are probably not alone.

Following is what I said several weeks ago about the 17-year-old Dominican in our Top 40 Prospect Countdown, which is still going, by the way. I ranked De La Cruz at number 38 and his overall ranking came in at number 35:

“All indications are that this time next year, I will have regretted ranking this player, also previously known as Roberto Pina, so low. In fact, I already do.

Here’s why. Money talks.

The Cards aren’t known for throwing cash around, yet De La Cruz received more in bonus than any other Cards player taken in the June 2008 First-Year Player Draft not named Brett Wallace, a polished college hitter five years older than he. In fact, De La Cruz fetched the same bonus as the #29 pick in the first round, in the vicinity of $1.1 million!

Some scouts considered De La Cruz, like Wallace a third baseman, to have been the best hitter in this year’s July 2nd class – a similar designation to how Wallace was tagged prior to the regular draft.

Since at least 2005 and probably much longer, only Wallace and Pete Kozma (2007) received more in bonus from the club than did De La Cruz. Players further down the money ranking list include first-rounders Adam Ottavino (2006) and Colby Rasmus (2005).

While the Cardinals and farm director Jeff Luhnow have a lot riding on De La Cruz, Luhnow went beyond just praising the third baseman’s play in the fall Instructional League. He gushed to MLB.com that the youngster was “the most impressive player there offensively and defensively”.

We are talking about a pool of 49 of the organization’s best young players at Instructs, of which 11 already have full-season experience. Other than Wallace, every signed 2008 draftee through Round 24 was in camp. Yet, De La Cruz was the one singled out.

Like I said, I am pretty sure I ranked him too low.”


19) Cardinals Announce Intent to Purchase Memphis Triple-A Affiliate

(second link)

A story line that first raised its head a year ago surrounded the impending end to the Cardinals’ Triple-A affiliation with Memphis, set to expire at the end of the 2008 season.

The locals were unhappy about their recent teams’ lack of competitiveness on the field, a reflection on the upper levels of the Cardinals farm system. With minor league veterans clogging the roster, there was little youth, excitement or winning baseball played. The 2007 Pacific Coast League entry hit rock bottom, as their 56 wins set the all-time franchise futility record.

That changed completely in 2008, on the scoreboard and in the standings (19 more wins than the year before) and with the upcoming stars on the roster, including Rasmus, Bryan Anderson, Joe Mather, Chris Perez and Jason Motte.

Still, there was no public information flow on any negotiations between the Cardinals and Memphis ownership after a May meeting. Finally on September 11, the Cards and Redbirds announced an extension of their player development agreement for another four years.

Less than a week later, the Cardinals, the Memphis Baseball Foundation and Blues City Baseball announced the signing of a non-binding letter of intent to begin the process for the Cardinals to acquire the Triple-A Pacific Coast League franchise from the non-profit Foundation.

It may take months for the details to be worked out, with the transition from the non-profit foundation to the for-profit Cardinals being one of the more challenging issues still on the table.

Forbes recently ranked the Redbirds as the second-most valuable minor league franchise and its acquisition seems a wise business decision for the Cardinals to increase their holdings, which already include Double-A Springfield, A-Advanced Palm Beach and four other lower-level clubs.

Update: A December 28 article in the Memphis Commercial Appeal quotes a senior team official who says the sale should be complete by the start of the regular season in April.


18) Chris Duncan’s Unprecedented Neck Surgery

Coming off season-ending hernia surgery that ruined his 2007 campaign, Cardinals outfielder Chris Duncan reported to spring training hoping to work his way back into his old power-hitting shape.

Instead, the 27-year-old looked extremely rusty, with a spring line of just .167/.222/.328 (BA/OBP/SLG) in 54 at-bats. He dealt with minor back and hamstring problems, but the results just weren’t coming.

By Memorial Day, Duncan was on his way to Memphis. News of any physical ailments were very guarded, with public words only that the player needed to get more work in to relocate his stroke.

Duncan only remained in Triple-A for 25 at-bats, but the results were awful, as he posted a .160/.300/.240 line before returning to St. Louis less than two weeks after being demoted. Just ten days after returning to the bigs, Duncan was placed on the disabled list.

News began to trickle out about the severity of his problem, a damaged cervical disc in his neck. Duncan had been administered multiple shots intended to reduce pain in his neck and weakness in his left arm and hand, but ultimately, it was not enough.

First the disc was said to be bulging, then herniated and finally it was determined to require replacement. Duncan elected to undergo a first-ever procedure on a professional athlete piloted in Europe that substituted the damaged disc with a metal prosthetic one.

At the recent Winter Meetings, manager Tony La Russa offered a very positive report on Duncan’s progress. “He’s doing well. He’s excited, we’re excited. He’s on time at the beginning of the year to jump right into the swing of things and everything else,” explained the manager.

Still, on the Cardinals, with no designated hitter and a rock-solid first baseman, Duncan will have to play regularly in left field to get his 2009 at-bats. While a below-average fielder, Duncan can never be accused of not going all-out defensively. Unfortunately, that often means diving catches that if continued would seem to put unnatural pressure on his new robo-neck.

Yet, if Duncan has to back off on his fielding to protect his body, he will likely move from an acceptable outfield alternative to a liability.


17) Billy Southworth Enters the Baseball Hall of Fame

Too often, our baseball heroes of the past do not receive their just due until it is too late for them to enjoy the recognition. Such was the case for the Cardinals’ skipper from their 1940’s dynasty, Billy Southworth.

Born in Nebraska in 1893, the outfielder had a nice 13-year playing career with Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Boston Braves, New York Giants and the Cardinals. “Billy the Kid” had been a member of the 1926 World Champion Cards and placed in the top 20 of the National League Most Valuable Player Award voting that season.

Southworth first received the call at the age of 36 to become a major league skipper as a player-manager for the Cardinals of 1929. He crashed almost as quickly as the stock market that year.

Not yet ready for the weighty task of managing the club the first time around, Southworth was returned to the minor leagues that July. He would not ascend to the managerial chair in the majors again until 1940. Having been in and out of the organization in the 11 years since, Billy returned to St. Louis a much wiser man.

The 1940 Cardinals had a .341 winning percentage when Southworth took over and played .633 ball the rest of the way. That set the stage for his teams to win a total of 620 games through 1945, including three straight National League pennants and World Championships in both 1942 and 1944.

In a time when clubs played a 154-game schedule, Southworth’s 1942-44 Redbirds won 105 or more games each season and his .642 career Cardinals winning percentage is the best of any St. Louis manager in the modern (post-1900) era – even better than icons Red Schoendienst, Whitey Herzog and La Russa.

Moving to Boston in 1946, Southworth would lead the Braves five-and-a-half more seasons, including another NL pennant in 1948. His .597 career win mark is fifth-best all-time in the major leagues.

Finally in 2007, the seeds of change took root with the National Baseball Hall of Fame Veterans Committee. The results of their voting were announced at the December, 2007 Baseball Winter Meetings and Southworth was inducted into the Hall in Cooperstown on July 27.

While Cardinals Chairman Bill DeWitt, Jr. accepted the award on behalf of Southworth, to the best of my knowledge, there was no formal acknowledgment of the event at Busch Stadium. That is a shame for a former Cardinals great.


16) Scott Spiezio Ruins His Career

Utility infielder Scott Spiezio began his professional career with the Oakland A’s, won a world championship with the 2002 Angels and signed a three-year contract with the Seattle Mariners only to wash out and be released during the 2005 season.

Having hit bottom professionally, Spiezio won a spot on the 2006 Cardinals despite having been a non-roster invitee signed to a minor league deal shortly before spring training. Sporting a bright red spot of facial hair, he quickly became a fan favorite while playing a big part in the team’s run to a tenth World Series championship.

That season, Spiezio hit .272 with 13 home runs and 52 RBI in 119 games played. The switch-hitter played five different positions, all four infield plus left field, and made 61 starts. He led the team with eight pinch-hit RBI and finished second on the club with eight pinch hits. Spiezio continued his clutch comeback into the post-season with six RBI and two triples, including a key triple in Game Two of the National League Championship Series.

His fortunes reversed in 2007 as the then-35-year-old appeared in only 82 games while batting .269 with four home runs and 31 RBI. Spiezio missed more than a month of the season while receiving treatment for substance abuse and was on the team’s Restricted List during that time. Prior to that point, he missed time supposedly due to odd maladies such as an upper respiratory infection, allergic reaction to medication, food poisoning, hand infection and the like.

In late February, 2008, it became known that an arrest warrant was issued by the Irvine, CA Police Department for Spiezio on six charges stemming from an automobile accident and subsequent altercation in December.

The warrant alleges he was driving under the influence, driving under the influence with a blood alcohol content of .08 percent or more, hit and run, aggravated assault and assault and battery.

That was the last straw as the Cardinals immediately released him despite the fact Spiezio was entering the final year of a two-year, $4.5 million contract signed prior to the 2007 campaign.

A month later, Spiezio inked a minor league deal with the Atlanta Braves, with that organization willing to offer him a “second chance”. That chance lasted all of five games in Triple-A Richmond in early April before he was released again. Spiezio had agreed that he would submit to testing, continue his rehabilitation and report to the ballpark each day prepared to play, but failed to live up to the latter condition.

The Braves didn’t try to hide it or make excuses. Spiezio was sent packing again, his third release in less than three years. At that point, his personal life had hit rock-bottom, too.

Just a week prior, Spiezio pled guilty to misdemeanor drunken driving and hit-and-run charges stemming from the December, 2007 incident in California. He was sentenced to three years’ probation and agreed to undergo a three-month alcohol program, attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and complete 80 hours of community service.

The two-time world champion has since fallen off the baseball map. Maybe for him, it is better that way.


Coming soon:

Top 20 Cardinals Stories of 2008: #11-15

Top 20 Cardinals Stories of 2008: #6-10

Top 20 Cardinals Stories of 2008: #1-5

Projected Top St. Louis Cardinals Stories of 2009

Cardinals Minority Owner in Serious Financial Trouble

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch?

Yes, at least via their family relationships.

The family tree

Founded by Joseph Pulitzer in 1878, the Post-Dispatch was still owned by the media company Pulitzer Inc. until 2005. At that time, Lee Enterprises, Inc. of Davenport, IA purchased Pulitzer Inc. and made it a wholly-owned subsidiary of Lee.

A footnote in that transaction was that a small minority stake of the St. Louis Cardinals also passed from Pulitzer to Lee.

Chairman Michael Pulitzer had tried to join the William DeWitt Jr. ownership group when the Cardinals were purchased from Anheuser-Busch in 1996. Though it was a bit of a surprise at the time, there was strong public sentiment that the business community was demonstrating their commitment to help keep the Cardinals in St. Louis.

Yet because Pulitzer already owned a stake in the Arizona Diamondbacks, MLB would not allow him to also acquire a share of the Cardinals. MLB’s rules preclude ownership participation in more than one team.

Five years later, in 2001, both Pulitzer Inc. and Michael Pulitzer himself successfully acquired what was characterized at the time as a “nearly four percent stake” in the Cardinals. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, nor was it clear what portion is under company ownership and what Pulitzer holds personally.

The annual Cardinals media guide continues to list both Pulitzer Inc and Michael Pulitzer among the 15 “investors” in the club. The other 13 are all individuals, led by DeWitt and his older sister.

In their annual report on the Business of Baseball, released in April, Forbes estimated the value of the Cardinals at $484 million. The entire four percent stake would be worth just under $20 million, or peanuts considering the magnitude of Lee’s current problems.

Current state cloudy

Somber news was reported on Monday in the Post-Dispatch and nationwide. Lee’s independent auditor, KPMG LLP, sounded an ominous warning that heightened fears that the company may be on the brink of imminent financial failure.

KPMG plans to file a “going concern” statement in conjunction with Lee filing its annual report by the end of the year. Apparently, the only way to avert that would be for Lee to refinance a $306 million debt by the end of this month. If that fails, a series of default loan dominoes will reportedly fall, which would bring down the company.

The St. Louis Business Journal added for the same reasons, KPMG will also modify its auditors’ reports on the separate financial statements of Pulitzer Inc. and the Post-Dispatch.

As expected, Lee officials’ public comments express optimism the problems will be resolved.

Independent industry watchers disagree. 24/7 Wall St. ranks Lee number seven in their 15 companies on “Bankruptcy Watch” and that was when company stock was almost $6 per share.

Their assessment: “The company wrote off $841 million in assets last quarter. Advertising revenue dropped almost 6% year-over-year, and that is almost certainly accelerating. Lee is sitting on almost $1.3 billion in debt and, before the end of the year, it probably will not have the operating income to cover debt service.”

In October, Lee had suspended dividend payments to stockholders and established a new credit agreement with lenders to try to stave off selling assets or declaring bankruptcy to survive. Employees were informed that company matches to their 401(K)s were reduced.

Shares in Lee Enterprises have plummeted from a 18-month high of $24.97 to $0.34 at market opening on Thursday. That’s right, just 34 cents per share.

In other words, it would cost you more to buy a copy of the Post-Dispatch from a newsstand than to acquire two shares of Lee stock! One might argue it is barely worth the paper it is printed on.

Lee is hardly alone, as many newspaper chains nationwide are feeling the severe effects of the credit crunch aggravated by steady declines in circulation and advertising sales.

Many financial observers attribute much of Lee’s current problems to being overextended in debt tied to acquisitions. Lee reportedly borrowed roughly $1.5 billion to acquire Pulitzer Inc. three years ago and prior to that added Howard Publications in 2002.

Bottom line, selling their small stake in the Cardinals, whatever it is exactly, wouldn’t even slow the flow of red ink from Lee’s gaping wound.

Impact is broad

While the Post-Dispatch may have been Pulitzer’s flagship, Lee Enterprises publishes 49 daily newspapers and more than 300 weekly newspapers and specialty publications virtually nationwide.

At the time of the 2005 acquisition, Lee Enterprises employed over ten thousand people, of which 4,000 came over from Pulitzer.

Despite the obstacles, perhaps satisfactory arrangements can be made to keep the papers running without interruption. Selfishly and narrow-mindedly, I believe the quantity and quality of the Post-Dispatch’s Cardinals coverage has grown substantially in recent years and would hate to see that compromised.

Most importantly, here’s hoping the thousands of Post-Dispatch employees can keep their jobs as their parent struggles to remain solvent.

Cardinals increasing ticket promotions acknowledge the economy

Some think Major League Baseball clubs will be impacted by the Nation’s economic problems while others wonder if families cutting back on expensive travel might decide to rediscover their local team during the summer of 2009.

Major League Baseball is clearly concerned. About six weeks ago, Commissioner Bud Selig sounded a stern warning to club general managers. Later, he spoke to the Associated Press.

“We’re living in a tumultuous economic period. Many economists believe that we’re going to have significant problems. Maybe this could turn out to be the most difficult period since the Great Depression. I view these coming months with trepidation,” Selig mused.

It is not clear how the above statement was directed, since “Bud Light’s” focus has always seemed to be more on the relationships between ownership and players than any legitimate concern over the game’s fans.

Some professional teams are getting more creative than just turning up the volume on the annoying rock music blared out during every break in the action, and sometimes during the game, too.

BusinessWeek recently picked up on a unique promotion the Blues first staged on November 29th. The NHL club kicked off the first of 11 “Fannie and Freddie Mortgage Saturdays.” A winning fan from a drawing held at each game gets his or her rent or mortgage payment paid by the team. The value is up to $1,000 per month for four months. Blues officials estimated the promotion sold about 500 extra tickets for the first installment.

The St. Louis Cardinals aren’t sitting still, either. And it is good they aren’t.

Since opening the smaller Busch Stadium (III) in 2006, the Cardinals have drawn over ten million fans. Regular season home attendance has been relatively flat though, ranging from 3.41 million in the inaugural season (in 80 games instead of 81), to 3.55 million in 2007, likely fueled by the 2006 World Championship, back down to 3.43 million last season.

In the recent 2008 Turnkey Team Brand Index, which includes all major professional sports, football, baseball, hockey and basketball, the Cardinals ranked a very respectable tenth. Across MLB, they followed only the Boston Red Sox (2nd overall). The Green Bay Packers of the NFL are number one.

The Index maps a team’s brand in its home city in the areas of Team Popularity, Fan Loyalty and Grade of Ownership. At least in off-the-field areas, the Cards don’t seem to be making any assumptions about those high levels of popularity and loyalty.

Since the start of November alone, the Cardinals have sent out over a dozen email offers specifically focused on ticket sales. I do not ever recall such a concentrated blitz of sales promotions so early. At this point, the selling point is more price than promotion, though.

They have marked the opening of season ticket sales, which offer a 50% discount over face value with a post-season purchase option, to packages that feature 12 games for the price of ten and up to ten for the price of five. They start at $109 and go up to $1,389.

Extras galore are offered, from Holiday deals that include a free stocking (whoopee!) to others that provide free access to the All-Star Fan Fest, to be held during the July All-Star Game break.

Next, single game tickets went on sale, but only for the ever-popular “pig out plans”. Or in more politically-correct speak, the “all-inclusive areas” that offer “a delicious buffet and complimentary beer and soda”.

The next set of email blitzes were around party rooms, ideal for businesses to entertain clients, at least those without deep enough pockets to acquire luxury suites, that is. You can also get tickets via packages offered by “preferred hotel” partners.

Then there are the 27 game plans (which not surprisingly are no longer branded “Rolen Plans”) as well as Share-a-Seat Plans.

Last Thursday, the team offered a one-day only pre-Holiday sale in which either $30 or $60 would be taken off the prices of the two flavors of package deals from 12 games down.

The most recent one-day-only offer came in just this morning, blaring this message, “$25 Discount on Cardinals All-Inclusive Tickets for April-May games”.

In their packages, the Cardinals already either include certain “premium games”, such as with the Cubs or weekend games, or offer more tickets for the money for games deemed less desirable. Take Pittsburgh on a Thursday afternoon, for example.

Going one step farther, now the team is trying to fill seats for “most” pre-summer games while filling up fans (with the all-you-can-eat chow and unlimited Anheuser-Busch products).

I am not pushing any of these packages or deals, but instead, just noticing a blitz that doesn’t appear to be letting up anytime soon. Yet, if you are price-sensitive (and who isn’t?), I suggest you subscribe to the team’s email notifications – if you can stand the volume of mail, that is!

It’s only December 16 and plain old-fashioned single-game tickets haven’t even gone on sale yet!