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11. Justin Williams
12. Edmundo Sosa – This was the best season of his minor league career. He’s ready for the majors. He’s as consistent as they come. He either gets traded or pushes Paul DeJong over to 3b.
13. Junior Fernandez – He’s now in the show and will stay there. Reliever or not, he’ll have a long career and that counts for something.
14. Jhon Torres – I’m not completely sold on him yet, so next season will be a ‘yes I am’ or ‘no I’m not’ a prospect statement for me.4. Arozarena -While everyone was focused on Carlson, Randy put on a hitting barrage that screamed “Hey look at me!” The numbers don’t lie, he owned AAA pitching.
5. Malcom Nunez – The Tsunami of DR players hitting the state-side shores was huge and most of them flopped on the beach, but a very young Nunez held his own and next year he will again excel.
6. Zack Thompson – Respect for his first overall choice. Our scouts know their business.Thanks Brian, that clears it up. I thought it had to be something like that.
BHC Balbuena moved to the mound last season. He only pitched one inning rather unsuccessfully at that.
Just curious Brian, your new roster matrix lists 20 new international signings, but your 30 new organizational players lists only 14. What am I missing?
Seems to me the MLB owners are placing a fool’s bet on a pair of deuces. They have everything to lose no matter how many political cards they play. If the minor leaguers go all in on a union, there is going to be big trouble and likely a complete shutdown of the industry. Why, oh why, risk ‘the game’.
After all the different labor battles, are the owners really prepared to die on the hill of minor league salaries? Seriously!? Their thinking is just flat out absurd. It’s like a cattle rancher feeding his livestock a handful of hay each day in hopes he can sell them as prime beef. I don’t want to eat at their steakhouses.
The owners could set themselves up as heroes right now by increasing the wages voluntarily and avoid any union talk or at the very least a player’s association. Baseball has already been ‘out-sourced’, so that option is not open to them. In fact there is no other option but to load up the howitzer and blow their feet off. How did so many intelligent people get so stupid or is it just arrogance?
I’m sure the owners would change their thinking Brian, if the complete minor league system staged a 1 week strike or longer. Interesting to see how all parties would react including their major league brethren.
My thoughts on this subject:
1. The major league players have all been there and done that, therefore they should be fully in support of the #1 priority in baseball being the minor leaguers getting a livable wage. If that means only making $14 million a year instead of 15 for playing a game, then suck it up you overpaid Neanderthals. You could easily make it part of your bargaining agreement that a % of major league salaries goes to minor league subsidies.
2. There’s no question major league baseball has the funds to increase minor league wages, so just freaking do it already. You have happier more focused athletes working harder to become what the organizations want them to be. Worrying about finances may be the single most stressful thing in life. For god’s sake take that off the plate so your assets can focus. Maybe then players won’t retire early before they’ve had a chance to develop into major leaguers. If nothing else its positive reinforcement that you are in full support of their career growths.
3. Baseball is so beside itself over the decrease of black athletes playing their game. Low salaries have a lot to do with it you morons. They can make way more money in other areas. They don’t need you! You can kiss all the Jackie Robinson ass you want and declare him God and it still won’t change their participation. More money, more money, more money!!! No minor leagues in football or basketball.
4. No sport takes longer to get to the ‘Bigs’ then baseball. Years of minor league service for pittance. Somebody please make it worth their while to dedicate their lives. Yes the payout is tremendous if you make it. If…..?
5. Personal lives put on hold because you can’t afford to get married or have kids just yet. So what of the pressure to defecate or get off the pot from parents or spouses. “Grow up” and get a real life or a real job. This goes back to the stress thing. Someone please pay these boys to be above the poverty line so they can have a life.
6. If minor leaguers don’t like it then they can do something else…..Bullshit! Dreams are meant to be followed. Just giving up for undue reasons is not an option. They are, at the same time, performing a job and should be rightfully paid for it.
7. We the fans demand of minor leaguers that they dedicate their lives to baseball, to improving, to succeeding, to winning, to entertaining, to becoming everything we want them to be. We pay for the tickets, the merchandise and so on, fully believing that they are being fairly compensated for doing all these things for us. Our team pride depends on it. We don’t just want Helsley to throw shutouts in Memphis or Gorman to hit 30 homers in Palm Beach or Montero to drive in 100 runs in Springfield; we want them to do it all again in St. Louis. It’s much easier to accomplish on the road to success then on the financial path to ruin. How do owners not get this???
8. It’s a disgrace that MLB treats their future with such distain and that ML players have such short freaking memories. There is only one solution to this blackeye on the sport; PAY UP!!! “So endith the lesson”I’m not suggesting that at all Brian and I find it very hard to believe the organization has never given a release on one of their players injures during off-season (outside of deaths of course). Logically speaking, if one of my higher ranked prospects got injured in an off-field incident, I would 1. Assume the media would come calling for more details on this news item, therefore I’d release a statement saying the team is looking into it and will not have a comment until after an internal investigation. 2. Want to bring his ass in to have the team doctors take a look at him; you know with a fractured skull and all. That would be considered ‘due diligence’ since the Cardinals and Blue Jays would have to provide a confirmation of the injuries being career altering to the justice system. 3. Want to investigate the event myself to see if a suspension or voidance of his contract was necessary if his actions embarrassed the team.
That’s just me. But I do agree, this whole thing does not add up. If Connor Capel wasn’t upfront with the team then he should be suspended. His first call the next day should have been to John Mozeliak. The fact that USA Today reports that “Capel will require annual evaluations for the head injuries sustained for at least the next five years. “, that suggests to me that he’s not going to win his lawsuit participating in practises so soon after his concussion. However, if he blacks out from his injuries during practice, his next legal claim would be against the team for negligence. I’m thinking the Cardinals were not fully informed of the severity, otherwise why take the chance.
I didn’t know about this either until the other day BHC, but looking at the picture, Capel took quite a beating. Surely, if he fractured his skull, he received a severe concussion. Is that not a concern with the Cards either and how come there wasn’t an official release by the team on the incident?
Obviously if Jose Martinez has this kind of character, plus he’s always upbeat, those are even more reasons to keep him. I say we keep him, just don’t play him at 1b a lot. He’s too valuable to just give away for a relief pitcher or something of that ilk. If we get to the playoffs in 2019, I want his bat in the lineup to produce and represent all us dim bulbs out here.
What happened to Jose Martinez in this thread?
Same as in life…..nothing!
Personally, I’d keep his bat. Once Fowler proves he’s done, we have a right-fielder. Sure he’s not great defensively or the brightest bulb in the box, but he’s a natural with the bat and let’s face it, this team had Lonnie ‘skates’ Smith playing left for years and Simba catching for a decade. Jose is not that bad defensively compared. Okay, maybe he is, but off the bench he’s a plus and technically he made 0 errors in the outfield last year.
Perfectly said Brian, I agree whole-heartedly. Walt’s stubbornness made him the maker of his own demise.
Welcome back gscottar and thanks for the support. In my opinion, Jocketty belongs in the HOF.
stlcard25, I believe Dal Maxvill left the cupboards bare and it takes awhile to turn an organization around. As for Mo, his #1 skill is his ability to spin-doctor. Yes, he has a terrific record as a GM, but he never had the killer instinct to make the big deal at the trade deadline. Every off-season he’d tell the fans why we didn’t win and what needed to be done for the next year and then he’d sit on his thumbs and do minor adjustments. Very frustrating for a spoiled Cardinal fan.
In Cardinal lure I hold these people in high regards:
1. Whitey Herzog – Most fun baseball you’ll ever see.
2. Walt Jocketty – His record speaks for itself. He had a deft trading knack.
3. Dave Duncan – What he could do with average pitchers was astounding.
4. Jeff Luhnow – What he did to revamp the whole drafting and player development was genius.
5. Mike Girsch – I’m ahead of everyone on this, but he’s the next ‘big’ thing.stlcard25, how was the team in bad shape when Walt left. We had just won a World Series, had 2 seasons of over 100 wins, had the MV3 boys; Edmonds, Rolen & Pujols. Jocketty drafted Albert the great and Yadier Molina (one of the greatest catchers of all-time). Signed Chris Carpenter for peanuts. Traded for guys like Jim Edmonds, Scott Rolen, Larry Walker, Darryl Kyle, Adam Wainwright, Mark Grudz(sp) etc. The team was in top form. I will agree that the scouting and farm system were somewhat in disarray, but we were still winning thanks to the genius of Walt Jocketty.
Well I see I opened a big can or worms….who wants to go ice-fishing???
“Because Mozeliak rarely ever did it” Pads, please note the ‘rarely’. I didn’t say never and the players you listed were mostly major league ready and over a 7 year period. We have acquired a wealth of young players since Girsch took over the GM role.
Having said that, Brian, of course Mozeliak would have had to have been in on the conversations and approval of the deals. What I’m saying is that Girsch is the man doing the back ground work, negotiating and finalizing deals for approval. The amount of young talent brought in since Mike came aboard is astounding and he’s not getting any credit for his work. Its time Mozeliak manned up and gave Girsch the credit he deserves for all these deals, like a real man would.
Nyquist I thank you for the support. Don’t expect Brian to ever support Walt Jocketty. Having had ‘discussions’ previously about Walt with Brian, I guarantee you he will always take the offensive against Jocketty. He is not in his fan club. And I agree with the fact W.J. failed in Cincy because he didn’t have the resources to succeed, plus, at that point, other GM’s were onto him about his trading bales of hay for bars of gold. He did make some other GMs look bad in those deals.
gsCottar, Mozeliak couldn’t carry Walt’s ‘Jock’etty strap when it comes to wheeling and dealing for star players. That’s a fact. Johnny-boy relies on the heads of his other departments to be the best in the business to make his inactions look good.
Didn’t mean to leave you to the last Bob Reed, however, Luhnow was so good at what he did/does, one of our people went to jail for trying to steal intel from him after he left. The thing is, I was a big fan of Jocketty and hated Luhnow at first for coming in and causing Walt’s departure, but Jeff turned me around into becoming one of his biggest supporters. I confess, the man’s a freaking genius and if you didn’t believe that from what he did here is St.Louis then you should surely recognize what a major impact he has had on two organizations. Seriously, look what he did in Houston while we tread water.
Sorry if I missed anybody. LOL
That’s a good question Brian. My answer is this; I’m attributing any trade involving acquiring minor league talent to Girsch. Why? Because Mozeliak rarely ever did it. Mike Girsch comes in and all of the sudden we have Cabrera, Williams, Gallegos, Elledge, Capel, Torres, Munoz, Schrock etc. Not deals Mo would bother with. Mike on the other hand, apparently has a passion for the minor leagues and knows it’s players inside-out. I’d bet my house he’s behind these deals, so let’s give the man his due.
Bob, thanks for the face-wash. I give credit for drafting where it belongs; the Director of Scouting. He’s the expert, the strategist, the co-ordinator. The biggest difference in today’s Cardinals and the LaRussa era…scouting! Luhnow was brought in by DeWitt and he rebuilt the scouting department and now our farm system is overly productive and that didn’t change when he left. Walt Jocketty could trade 3 bales of hay for 1 gold bar and did it brilliantly; McGwire, Edmonds, Rolen etc., which is why he was successful pre-Jeff. Luhnow and LaRussa changed the direction of our team’s mission statement with their efforts and Mozeliak has been riding the coat-tails of our player development ever since. Mo prefers ‘safe’ trades on a small level and that’s why he was incapable of Jocketty magic, until DeWitt stepped in and started pushing him to do his job, ergo Goldsmith and Ozuna.
Bob, I give Jeff Luhnow all the credit for revamping the drafting and development for our farm system. Dave Duncan and Tony LaRussa had the teachings standardized at all levels. Since Mozeliak took over the team has been in decline and he has made only one major change and that’s because DeWitt was pushing him to get something done. Mike Girsch has very quietly made some very astute trades for minor league talent since he became GM. Sorry, but Mo inherited a top team and has done very little to improve the product. I say let Girsch be the GM and Mo retire comfortably to his cushy job upstairs.
Bravo Bob Reed! This is why I enjoy reading your posts…..intelligent content.
I too was livid about the Fowler signing; Here’s an oft-injured, aging vet, with chronic feet problems, poor defensively in CF, being signed for 5 years with a no-trade. Insanity, plus stupidity equals Mozeliak’s work as a GM.
I wish I could say I was as learned of Bader’s talents as you, but that would be a lie. I’m flabbergasted by the man’s immense talents.
Well I would have mentioned it Ny, but I didn’t want to steal your thunder. Now all we need to do is effectively persuade Pads, Bob Reed, Bw52 and C.C. to provide the goods for presentation. LOL!!! Not to mention, fly down and present their ware. I’ll leave that to you. 🙂
No need to thank me! Hee! hee!
To RECAP:
1. The C.C ‘I told you’ Top Surprise player Medal of Honour goes to Lane Thomas!
2. The Pads ‘my stats’ FS Largest Development player Medallion of Achievement goes to Elehuris Montero!
3. The Bob ‘Must’ Reed Trophy of impending greatness for Breakout player goes to Jake Woodford!
4. The 14Ny’in’quis’istion’Top prospect acquisition Cup easily goes to Malcolm Nunez!
5. The Bw52 ‘I didn’t bomb’ Award for Most under-rated prospect, (Bw52 was the only one to give Lane Thomas any love last year.), goes to 2 players; Tommy Edman and Jeremy Martinez!Thank you to everyone who did participate, this was a brilliant idea from 14NyqiusT and lots of fun. Let’s do this every year.
