It was Edmond's request b/c, as usual, Tony has no relationship skills. Edmonds is going to have a great year now that he is "healthier than I've been in 6 years."

LaRussa could have said, you're my man as long as you feel healthy.

Edmonds, like Ozzie before, is the best ever in Cards history and deserved better from LaRussa. What a mess.

Perhaps so. I will say that LaRussa does tend to be brutally honest, with the emphasis on the adverb. It could be the reason TLR never has used that law degree. His level of tact and empathy do seem to be on the low level.

Then again, Edmonds, in an interview I read, seems to value honesty. It seemed to me that he'd rather have been told, "I don't know how we are going to use you" than hear "You are the guy" and then not be the guy.

The ovation on July 17th when the Padres come to town should be enormous, though.

I think the Cardinals will approach the Edmonds-jersey situation using the Willie McGee rule - as an "unofficially" retired jersey. I would love to see both of them retired and on the outfield wall, though.

I agree, you won't see them on the wall soon, but you won't see them in use, either.

Heck, the Cards may wind up with just as many unofficially retired numbers (15, 51, 57, maybe 32?) as retired ones at this rate!

Wow, is 32 really unofficially retired?

32 probably won't be in use anytime in the near future. There are a lot of numbers to pick from, and the least they can do is set it aside in respect to Josh.

TLR, having "no relationship skills" (if in fact he doesn't) had nothing to do with this trade. It simply made sense for the Cards, AND for Jimmy. We have plenty of decent bodies for the outfield, all of whom are much younger than Jimmy. We also get rid of some salary, that MIGHT be used to fill what we really need: PITCHING!

I was just figuring that they won't be giving out 32 anytime soon, like Rockin' says. Though I doubt it'll have the long term resonance that 57 has. We may see it again in a couple of years, perhaps after TLR has left.

The trade made some sense, GPK, I'm not disputing that. Though, if you are writing off '08, Edmonds could have some value in instructing Rasmus and the money comes off the books at the end of the season anyway. But to say it has nothing to do with TLR's people skills might be a bit of a stretch, though it was a minor factor. Many managers would have tried to soothe feathers and stretch the truth, saying that he'd get plenty of playing time when maybe he really wouldn't. If TLR had done that, Edmonds is still probably with the team.

Still, I wouldn't put this trade on TLR. A Rolen trade, I would.

No, I'm not writing off 08, but it will be tough to compete unless we find some starting pitching. Sure, Jimmy would have had some value in the tutoring role with Rasmus, but that would have been one expensive tutor! Like I said, it just made sense for everyone, even the Padres.

Yes, I'm sure some managers would have told Jimmy what he wanted to hear. Personally, I would want to hear the truth, and that is what he got, which prompted him to explore trade opportunities, and gave the team ample time to accomidate his acceptable locations (SoCal).

I agree. This isn't necessarily a bad trade, it's just a sad and a somewhat discouraging one.

Thanks for pointing this out. I didn't list 32, but I can't see it being issued for a couple more years. I don't think we'll see another 15 for a while either.