Cancelled Holliday

So the Matt Holliday trade is dead, per Mr. Mo.  I think one of the more interesting points of the story is the following:

Mozeliak did not disclose what caused a breakdown in talks, but a source familiar with the process said the Cardinals GM balked at the player package rather than salary concerns.

I hope that's not entirely true.  I mean, granted, the player package was quite a bit and a legitimate obstacle, but you'd have to think the money played some part, right?  It might be that they are trying to spin this as "we will spend the money for the right deal", which is good, but don't be afraid to say that the contract, for what they were giving, wasn't going to work either.

In other words, it's not the money in general, it's the money in specific.  Paying Holliday that much when there are plenty of legitimate questions about him and how much of an upgrade over Ludwick he would be would be pretty risky.

If nothing else, this at least makes Mo appear like he's working and getting close on issues.  Though the cynic would note that he's only made two trades since he took office and both of those were removing players that didn't want to be here any longer.  Those trades worked out well, but since then it seems to have been a lot of "close but not quite".

Also in that story, I see where the Diamondbacks are expressing interest in Kennedy.  I hope that Mozeliak won't let the salary be a huge stumbling block.  Better to pay $2 million to someone to have him play for them than $4 million for him to sit on our bench or block the team from upgrading at second.

Rookies of the Year are announced today.  Head over to Bird Land to vote on who you think should win.

Busy week for the United Cardinal Bloggers.  Like I've noted, the radio show will be Wednesday night and then check this space Friday for the second annual Cardinal Blogger Awards ballot!


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