Recently in Scott Rolen Category

Reading the T-Shirts

I have a lot of Cardinal red in my closet.  In fact, it's pretty rare not to see me in some sort of St. Louis regalia.  And, in the last few years, I've started accumulating a number of the T-shirt jerseys.  You know what I'm talking about, the shirts with the Cardinal logo on the front and the player name and number on the back.

A few days ago, while trying to decide which one to wear, I started thinking about what the player on the back says about the person wearing it.  I'm not much good at this, but I'll give it a try.  (Oh, and the starred ones?  Those are the ones I have hanging in my closet right now!  I wouldn't necessarily lay claim that the descriptions fit me, though.)

Albert Pujols #5*: Having Pujols on your back could say a number of things.  It could say that you appreciate greatness.  It could say you know that he is this generation's Stan Musial.  Or it could say you are a front-runner who only knows Pujols on the current roster.  If you see this guy talking on the phone at the ballpark during the sixth with runners on and the game in the balance, count it as front-runner.

Rick Ankiel #24*: You are big on redemption.  You love the Hollywood movies.  You know, the one where the hero is knocked down but eventually makes a dramatic return and earns the standing ovation.  You teared up when he hit his home run in his first game back.  It's OK, you can admit it.

Rick Ankiel #66: You still pine for what could have been.  You remember the devastating curveball and the blazing fastball.  You get a little sick when you think of the 2000 playoffs.  Make that a lot sick.  And, also, you need to update your wardrobe just a bit.

Jim Edmonds #15: You are a little flashy.  You appreciate diving catches and dramatics on the field.  You tend to rush into the bank at 4:59 just ahead of the closing doors, even though you probably could have been there five minutes earlier if you wanted to.

Jim Edmonds #15 (Cubs): You are either obsessed with Jimmy Radio or just mentally deranged.  Either way, please seek professional help.

J.D. Drew #7*: You always thought J.D. was the whipping boy in St. Louis, that he was more productive than most gave him credit for and not quite as injury-prone as everyone made him out to be.  You also have sprained your shoulder patting yourself on the back and must miss a couple of days of work.

Chris Carpenter #29*:  You love seeing gambles pay off.  You'll put down $5 to win $500.  You remember 2005 and figure if a guy can be mentioned with Bob Gibson, he's good enough for your back.

Scott Rolen #27*:  There are a couple of options here.  You either love defense, remembering the leather Rolen flashed fondly, or you are one of those who formerly took LaRussa to task about most everything (though less loudly since 2006) and you wear 27 as a silent protest.

Yadier Molina #4: Defense is your passion.  You love seeing runners thrown out or picked off.  You love testing your reflexes by having people toss you items, just to see if you can catch them. (Usually, you can't.)  Or, perhaps, you just like to say Yadier Molina (which, I believe, is why my three-year-old son is so fond of him.)

Adam Wainwright #50*: You believe that pitching wins pennants.  You remember the curveball to Beltran more fondly than your wedding day.  You think the trade with Atlanta was just as good as the trade with Oakland was bad.

Jason Isringhausen #44: You live life on the edge.  You drink milk two days past the expiration date.  You renew your car tags on the second of the next month.  Adventure, excitement, these are your companions.  Unfortunately, they often leave you at the ER waiting for the on-call doctor.

Brendan Ryan #13: You love the scrappy guy.  This is the latest in a long line of shirts for you, starting with Joe McEwing and then Bo Hart, which you still break out occasionally.  Whether they have talent or not, it doesn't matter.  You also don't feel like it's a good day until you've gotten your clothes dirty in some form of exertion, even if it's just diving off the couch for a loose chip.

Colby Rasmus #?: You are always looking ahead.  As Yoda said, "All his life has he looked away... to the future, to the horizon. Never his mind on where he was."  The present is nice and all, but you continue to plan and hope for a better day.

Jamie Garcia #?: You are actually Erik Manning.

Mark Mulder #30: You believe in miracles and you think the best bandwagons are the ones with plenty of room.

Of course, these are in all the traditional team colors.  You hate to see people of the female persuasion decked out like this.

Any more suggestions?  Post them in the comments!

My Personal Cardinal All-Star Team

As I said in my introduction earlier in the week, I have organized some of my fellow bloggers into a group that we refer to as the United Cardinal Bloggers.  What we typically do is post our answers to a question of some sort all on the same day.  At the end of November, we did the first annual Cardinal Blogger Awards and at the end of December, it was our selections for the top 5 stories of the year. 

Today, the third in our series has everyone selecting their own personal Cardinal All-Star team.  There were no particular criteria—it could be the best at each position, personal favorites, players they’d actually seen play, anything the blogger wanted to do. (Check out CardinalsGM, Stan Musial's Stance, Redbird Ramblings, CardinalNationGlobe and Rockin' the Red.)

Most of mine are players that I’ve seen, though some of the obvious classic players made the cut as well.  These are more of my favorites than the definitive roster of Cardinal greats.  I’d take this team against most others, though!

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Transitioning

The last word on the Rolen trade: here's a wrapup of his introductory press conference in Toronto. Sounds like he's got a weight off his shoulders (no pun intended) and is ready to move on. I wish him the best up there and hope that he can get Toronto past those big obstacles that are the Yankees and the Red Sox.

So it's over and we've got to move on. But to what?

It's still just under a month until spring training. We pretty much know the starting lineup, or at least the players that will be in it. Shortstop still is up in the air, but all the options are likely on the roster. The rotation is pretty much set, though there has been talk that the Cards would try to pick up some sort of veteran innings-eater to help hedge against all the injury and rehab possibilities. Really, the signings are probably pretty much done.

For today, let's talk fantasy. The numerous fantasy baseball leagues at CardsClubhouse are into their second week of drafting. Which Cardinals will draw the most interest from the average fantasy baseball player?

Obviously, Albert Pujols will be at the top of most people's draft lists. His slightly-below-his-standards season last year might bump him out of the consensus #1 overall slot, but he'll still be gone before the first round is over. The excellence that he has year in and year out can't be overstated.

There will be a number of people taking Adam Wainwright as well, especially if they look past his overall numbers to what he did in the second half of the season last year. Wainwright and Jason Isringhausen may be the only pitchers that get much of a look from players, though.  Most people will take a wait and see approach with Mark Mulder, though perhaps Joel Pineiro might be attractive to NL-only players.

Back to the offense.  Troy Glaus will get some late-round attention, especially with him switching to the "easier" league.  Chris Duncan will go around the same time, maybe a bit earlier if people think he's completely healed up.  Rick Ankiel will have people taking a few fliers on him.  With catching as tough to come by as it is, Yadier Molina's season from last year should get him taken in the mid-to-late rounds.  And those with minor league systems might take a shot at getting Colby Rasmus.

Other than that, there probably won't be much interest in the Cardinals from the fantasy players.  It's not exactly the 2004 team in that regard.

Housekeeping

First off, if you've not been to VEB today, check out the All-Time Cardinal Team simulation tournament.  I'm going to be aiding Larry and Zubin there with keeping track of picks and brackets and perhaps writing a couple of game stories.

On a side note, there are probably going to be some changes around here in the near future as well.  More on that when it comes to fruition.

The United Cardinal Bloggers, those great guys with hits like the Cardinal Blogger Awards and the Year in Review, have been summoned again.  We're discussing a potential January project.  If you've not gotten the e-mail, let me know and I'll resend.

The Rolen trade is official.  With the money situation going from the Cardinals paying to the Blue Jays paying, it made the deal somewhat more palatable.  I'm never going to like it, but we accept what we can't change and move on.   For a final word, here's Bernie's take on the issue.

That's about it in Cardinal Nation for today.  I'll try to do better tomorrow.

You Can’t Go Home Again

"Who says you can't go home?"--Jon Bon Jovi

"You can't go home again."--Thomas Wolfe

The Rolen trade, while not yet official as far as I can tell, does seem like it's going to happen.  The guys over at VEB have broken it down statistically and financially and pronounced it, if not good, at least acceptable.  Looking past the batting average and the past usage of performance-enhancing drugs, it's possible that Glaus will be a good addition to the club.  Hopefully, that will be the case.  But I still hate the deal.

I hate the fact that it came to this.  That LaRussa and Rolen had to butt heads so much that it made playing on artificial turf in a new league in a totally different country more acceptable than playing in a new ballpark in front of some great fans.   There's a failure here.  Whether it's Rolen's for not being more accepting of Tony's management style or of TLR not finding some way to make nice with his third baseman, I'm not sure.  I will say again, though, that Rolen never complained to the press, never made it an issue.  You can't say the same about LaRussa.

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Rolen Rollin’?

Via CCH, I see that Rosenthal is reporting a Rolen for Glaus swap is just about to happen. Now, blogs are great for the short-term, immediate reaction type of writing, and I immediately say: I hate the deal. I will also note again that I'm a Rolen fan, so I'm sure my bias will be showing.

First off, let's compare the lines from 2007:

Player	Games	AB	R	HR	RBI	BA/OBP/SLG
Glaus	115	60	101	20	62	.262/.366/.473
Rolen	112	55	104	8	58	.265/.331/.398

Do you see a lot of difference there? Save home runs, I don't. Remember that Rolen played all year with a bad shoulder that sapped his power. If the surgery was successful this off-season, it's very possible he'll put up better numbers than Glaus does in 2008 even if you don't factor in the defense.

Glaus has never batted over .300. Heck, he's only hit over .260 twice, and one of those was .262. I know batting average isn't the be-all and end-all like it used to be, but it is still pretty useful. Now, if he's healthy, Glaus likely will put up 35-40 HR, so that is more pop than Rolen has shown in the last few years, but again, with a healthy Rolen, it's not as much of a gap as you might think.

Glaus is 31, Rolen 32, so we really aren't getting younger in the deal. The Cardinals will likely have to pay some of Rolen's salary, so we aren't getting financial relief. Glaus is a FA after '09, Rolen '10, but it's not like we have a hot 3B prospect coming up that we need to clear a spot for.

If the Cardinals were getting some salary relief or some prospects, like Adam Lind for example, then maybe this would be more palatable. But straight up? I really don't like it. LaRussa said they wouldn't trade Scott just to trade him, but that is really what this smacks of. It's better than sending him for a A ball prospect, of course, but it's not a trade that, in my opinion, measurably helps the club.

At least Rolen will be able to mesh with Toronto's new shortstop.  It'll almost be like St. Louis North up there, with him, Eckstein and almost-Cardinal A.J. Burnett.

Happy New Year!

Hope everyone is having a great 2008 so far.  We are creeping closer and closer to spring training, which means that the Cardinals should start picking up the pace on transactions pretty soon.

Here are some predictions for 2008.  Some are serious, some aren't.  (The ones that don't happen are the non-serious ones, in case you can't tell.)

*The Cardinals will win between 73-76 games.  The only chance for a contending season, in my mind, is a fast start somehow, then hanging on until Carpenter gets back.  The Cardinals would need Mulder to start strong from the get-go for this to happen, I think.  Still, even with another sub-.500 season, we'll have a lot to talk about and enjoy.

*Albert Pujols will hit .300 with 30 HR and 100 RBI.  In other news, the sun will continue to rise in the east and set in the west.

*Scott Rolen will not be traded.  After he starts off the season closer to his normal form, his attitude improves and he's much more able to tolerate LaRussa.  With his increased performance coupled with the lack of an immediate successor, Mozeliak decides to keep him on, though rumors will fly close to the trading deadline.

*Jim Edmonds gets at least two standing ovations in his first game back in Busch Stadium.

*Even with the rag-tag nature of the starting rotation, the team will post a better team ERA than they did in 2007.

*Colby Rasmus will be on the major league roster by the middle of June.  He'll struggle at first, but will show the form that has everyone excited by mid-August.

*The Reds will surprise people, coming in a strong second to the Brewers in the division.

*The Red Sox will not win another World Series title.  Boston has to return to losing sometime.  (Doesn't it?)

*Brian Barton will play all season in the majors and become a fan favorite off the bench.  He will get some starts, but TLR will not overexpose him.

*Chris Carpenter will not pitch in the major leagues until August.

*The Cardinals make a big splash in the 2008 free agent pool, signing an ace for the rotation and temporarily shutting up those that question ownership.

*I'll keep blogging away on a regular basis.

Got your own predictions?  Let's see them in the comments.

Year In Review: Top 5 Cardinal Stories

The United Cardinal Bloggers strike again, this time with a recap of 2007. We each selected the five stories that we thought were the most important for 2007 in relation to the Cardinals. Check out CardinalNationGlobe, CardinalGM, Readin' Redbird, Rockin' the Red and Stan Musial's Stance for their takes. (I'll direct link to their stories when they are up.)

And, after the jump, my selections:

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December Doldrums

My apologizes for missing a day of posting yesterday. (I'm assuming at least SOMEONE noticed!) It's just that there is so little to talk about right now. I'm sure that Mozeliak and company are doing wonderful things behind the scenes, laying groundwork, perhaps getting close to a signing or trade. But for us outside the loop, well, it's a lot of rehashing and bottom scraping.

Mozeliak has been on the job six weeks now, and with all the caveats of small sample size, too soon to make any judgments, etc., I'm starting to wonder just how good of a GM he's going to be.

On the pro side, he did get Barton in the Rule V draft. While it took some luck (the teams before the Cardinals had to skip over him), he did take the best player available, which is more than we can say for the amateur draft back in June. He also has wisely committed to not commit to David Eckstein for a long period of time and is determined not to give away Scott Rolen for free. And, as far as we know, he has really put Colby Rasmus far out of reach for other teams.

On the down side, we have the Cesar Izturis signing, which can't be considered a good thing overall. (Perhaps neutral, maybe, but it's not really an improvement on the team.) We have the fact that they aren't even offering arbitration to Eckstein, though with the shortstop jobs drying up, that may turn out OK, even though I think a year of Eckstein wouldn't be a terrible thing, and that's the worst you get with offering him arbitration, the best is, of course, the draft pick from the other team that signs him. (Wow, that's a terribly long sentence!) Also, it seems the team is reluctant to trade Chris Duncan and Rick Ankiel. I agree, you probably should keep one, but you have to move one of the other for pitching. There are no prospects you want to move and no other players people want. If you are going to make a trade, something that you've stated you are going to try to do, Duncan or Ankiel is your best, maybe only, trade chip.

As Larry says today at VEB, today's deadline to offer arbitration could tell us some more about the front office, especially when it comes to Aaron Miles. If Miles is offered arbitration, it's the same old same old, with LaRussa firmly in charge. If he's not, there's a chance for some rational thought in the organization. It'll be interesting to see which way it goes, but I would think Miles would be let go.

Other than that, not a lot going in the world of baseball.

More Scott Talk

Well, I see there's been more public sparring between the Cardinals manager and his third baseman.

Maybe I'm the only one reading it this way, but does anyone else think that LaRussa is really going out of his way to try to take Rolen down a peg? I really don't know why, but the whole tone of the article and quotes from TLR give that impression to me.

As I noted yesterday (and other times before) at the Clubhouse, for all this talk about Rolen being a bad presence and he should grow up and keep quiet, you very rarely hear anything directly from Scott. Even in this article, the only statement he had was the following:

"These are matters that I never discussed publicly and are matters that should have remained private," Rolen said. "I will not dignify Tony's comments with any response at this time."

Tony seems to have a personal grudge against Rolen now.

"He's got a contract to play, and we need him to play," La Russa said Wednesday at the baseball winter meetings. "And he's going to be treated very honestly. If he plays hard and plays as well as he can, he plays. And if he doesn't, he can sit. If he doesn't like it, he can quit."

Rolen's effort has never been questioned, I don't think. He may not have been physically able to perform at the level he has in the past, but no one has ever said, "Man, Rolen is really dogging it out there."

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Also on the Network: √ Yanks Beat A Lefty? [Depressed Fan] √ Yanks Start Second Half With "W" [Green Pinstripes] √ All-Star Breather: The Giants Catchers [El Lefty Malo] √ Rock Is Dead; Shea Stadium July 18, 2008 [Loge 13] √ Citi Field Revealed (FYI: No Loge Here) [Loge 13] √ My Rifle, My Pony and Me [Beantown West] √ Quick Chicago roundup [Tremendous Upside Potential] √ Giants Reveal New Stadium Ticket Plans [Loge 13]