A Storm Brewing?

John Mozeliak was hired to be the peacemaker.  He was supposed to bring together the factions of scouting and stats.  While he may be doing that in the front office, I'm not sure he's doing it in with the dugout.  And I've got no problems with that.

Today's big story is the Reyes situation.  Here's what Larry at VEB has to say:

i would no longer characterize this as merely a proxy debate; it really is about the future of the organization --- about whether or not personnel decisions will be guided by any semblance of a long-range strategic vision; about stats vs scouting; about how to get maximum yield from the organization’s assets; ultimately, about who's in charge.

As usual, he's hit the nail on the head.  When Mozeliak was hired, I was afraid this was another TLR yes-man and lamented the hiring as a missed opportunity.  Not surprisingly, I was a little off there, it appears.

Look, I've said before that I'm a Tony LaRussa fan.  That said, his view of the game is a short-term one.  He wants to win now and wants the tools to do that.  In his mind, that means proven players that you have statistical data and tendencies on.  You know what they are going to do.  (And, apparently, gets soft spots for, if you read this story (scroll down) about Aaron Miles.)

Mozeliak has to look long-term.  There has to come a time where players are developed, not only for cost purposes but for trade options.  And there comes a time where the players have to prove what they can do on the major league squad.  Reyes has reached that point and, finally, Mo has put his foot down.

However, I found this just a little ominous:

"The decision of who gets in uniform is ultimately placed with the front office and/or ownership. I just appreciate the coaches and I having input in that. I also understand that at some point the decision is theirs. But once you get them, the decision how to play them is mine and the coaches'. ... That's how it works."

Could we see LaRussa let his wounded pride get in the way and only see Reyes pitch once a week or so in blowouts?  Something in that doesn't sit right with me, though hopefully TLR's need to win would override any hurts he may have from the front office directive.

Also, Juan Gonzalez is now on the temporarily inactive list.  I didn't even know there was such a thing.  I don't think we'll see too much more of Juan Gone, unless the outfield just falls to pieces.   I guess it could make for some summer intrigue if he's in shape and the Cards need to make a trade.

Great game for the Cardinals yesterday.  They battled back from a 2-0 deficit to win 8-2.  I've heard before just to pay attention to the last two weeks of ST.  That's when the regulars start playing more, pitchers go longer into the game, etc.  Starting last Monday (3/17), the Cards are 8-0-1, getting good pitching and strong offense.  The average score in that time is 7-3, with two double-digit scores put up by the Cards in that span.

Of course, last year the pitching staff put up a 2.00 ERA or so in spring and then, well, we know what happened there.........

Today's lineup for the last game that counts in ST.  Friday and Saturday the Cards are in Springfield, MO to take on the AA team.

1. Skip Schumaker, RF
2. Chris Duncan, LF
3. Albert Pujols, 1B
4. Rick Ankiel, CF
5. Troy Glaus, 3B
6. Yadier Molina, C
7. Adam Kennedy, 2B
8. Kyle Lohse, RHP
9. Cesar Izturis, SS

The bench is standard, with the addition of INF Rico Washington and OF Amaury Marti, of note. The bullpen features: LHP Randy Flores, LHP Ron Villone, RHP Ryan Franklin, newly-minted rookie RHP Kyle McClellan, RHP Russ Springer and, making that last push, RHP Kelvin Jimenez.

We'll see if Lohse can build on his good first outing.  The game is on the Cardinal Radio Network and also on XM 176.

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