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News Both Actual And Rumor

Posted on November 17, 2011 at 6:53 AM
Filed Under: Houston Astros | St. Louis Cardinals
There were a couple of big pieces of Cardinal news yesterday.  One of them came with a press conference, one of them was passed around Twitter.  Odds are the latter wasn't actually news, but it is what counts for it when the stove has been turned on and there's not much other baseball to talk about.

Let's go with the concrete first, though.  The Cards named their coaching staff and it was pretty much what I expected.  Joe Pettini and Dave McKay get different jobs in the organization, Chris Maloney moves up from Memphis to take over first base, and Mike Aldrete goes from assistant hitting coach to bench coach.  No external hires, which means there's more of a focus on the organization and the philosophies behind it.

Obviously, John Mozeliak is shaping this team the way he wants it to be.  Not that he had any problems with Tony La Russa or anything, don't get me wrong.  However, an organizational shift and a chance to remold things don't come around very often.  If Mike Matheny struggles as a manager, Mo may find things a little warm for him as well.  It's been the perfect situation for him to take advantage of some goodwill and some opportunities.  We'll see how well he does when the team takes the field next season.

The other part of Cardinal buzz yesterday had to do with the free agency of the first baseman.  Yesterday morning, it was reported that the Marlins had offered Albert Pujols a nine-year, $225 million contract.  That would be something to get Cardinal fans at least a little concerned about, as the club has said publicly that it doesn't plan on moving off of their nine-year, $200 million or so offer.  Add in the fact that Florida doesn't have any sales tax and suddenly we are talking about a significant difference.

Except that we weren't.  Reading the original post, it stated that the Marlins had offered nine years and IF they had offered a competitive annual salary, that MIGHT have gotten it up to $225 million.  Later in the day, other reports came in that said, sure, nine years but the money was less than $200 million, and not just barely under $200 either.

As many people have said, it's going to take a significant offer to get AP out of St. Louis.  This won't be like Edgar Renteria, who took an extra million per year to flee town and head to Boston (and we know how THAT worked out for him).  I like the quote I read somewhere that said "his feet are concreted there".  You can move something that is in concrete, but it takes a lot of work and effort.  I think that's what it is going to take here as well.  Of course, you already know that.

The flip side of the situation came later, when a St. Louis radio guy unequivocally stated that Pujols was going to sign with the Cardinals on Friday.  That sounds about as improbable as the Marlins' offer.  I am not familiar with the person in question, but from all accounts even though he was right about La Russa's retirement, it was a case of a blind squirrel finding a nut.  It happens, but you don't start basing your life around it.  Mozeliak came out and completely refuted it and, as always, In Mo We Trust.  If the Cards were close enough to consider when Pujols was going to sign, they'd get it done ASAP.  They wouldn't wait until Friday for a signing ceremony.

Stranger things have happened, of course, but if Pujols signs anywhere before December 15, I'd be pretty shocked.  This isn't going to be a quick resolution, though I think I'd be surprised if it drug on into January like the Matt Holliday signing.

There was some general baseball news that indirectly affected the Cardinals yesterday as well.  It seems that a condition for Jim Crane's purchase of the Houston Astros is going to be that he allow them to be moved into the American League for 2013.  This is a horrible move in general, for all the reasons that Derrick Goold laid out.  Having interleague play every night is a terrible idea (granted, I could take out "every night" of that phrase and it would still be accurate) and if it moves the game toward a DH in both leagues, it is even more destructive.  If that happens, why not just throw all 30 teams in a league and the top eight get to go to the playoffs?  Most likely, MLB would then get their precious Yankees and Red Sox always in the playoffs and the history and tradition of the game could be swept away like a insignificant issue.

I will miss the rivalry against the Astros.  I never had any animosity toward them, as they always comported themselves as a class organization.  (OK, there was that little flap about the 2001 division title/wild card bit, but nothing big.)  I think most fans appreciated guys like Jeff Bagwell, Craig Biggio and, even before he flipped sides, Lance Berkman.  I'm sure the Cards will get them as some sort of regular interleague opponent, but it's not nearly going to be the same.  Again, baseball has no thought but for the present and for however much money it can get, and it's a sad state of affairs.

Remember, just another couple of days to get your Cardinal Blogger Award fan ballot in!  Head on over and vote!

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1 Comment | Leave a comment

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WilliaminMaine | November 17, 2011 8:27 AM | Reply

The Astros are the wrong team to move to the AL. It should be a team with less history like the Diamondbacks or Rockies. The best move would have been to move one of the two above teams to the AL West and leave the rest alone. I sincerely hate the idea of the Astros in the AL and the constant interleague scenario. Hate it.

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Heroes
Matt Holliday (5)
Matt Carpenter (4)
Rafael Furcal (4)
Carlos Beltran (3)
Jaime Garcia (3)
Jon Jay (3)
Kyle Lohse (3)
Lance Lynn (3)
Yadier Molina (3)
David Freese (2)
Adam Wainwright (2)
Lance Berkman (1)
Allen Craig (1)
Shane Robinson (1)
Fernando Salas (1)
Jake Westbrook (1)

2011 Top Hero: Lance Berkman (24)
2010 Top Heroes: Matt Holliday and Albert Pujols (24)
2009 Top Hero: Albert Pujols (28)
2008 Top Hero: Albert Pujols (25)

Goats
Matt Holliday (4)
Carlos Beltran (3)
David Freese (3)
Jaime Garcia (3)
Jason Motte (3)
Marc Rzepczynski (3)
Adam Wainwright (3)
Rafael Furcal (2)
Tyler Greene (2)
J.C. Romero (2)
Fernando Salas (2)
Mitchell Boggs (1)
Matt Carpenter (1)
Tony Cruz (1)
Daniel Descalso (1)
Jon Jay (1)
Erik Komatsu (1)
Kyle Lohse (1)
Victor Marte (1)
Eduardo Sanchez (1)
Jake Westbrook (1)

2011 Top Goat: Ryan Theriot (12)
2010 Top Goat: Brendan Ryan (14)
2009 Top Goats: Rick Ankiel and Todd Wellemeyer (13)
2008 Top Goat: Troy Glaus (13)

2012 Happy Flights
Happy Flights: 7
Happy Flight Opportunities: 12
Happy Flight %: 58%

Through 5/20

    Cardinal Nation Approval Ratings (March 2012)
    Adam Wainwright 91.9% (down 2.8%)
    Chris Carpenter 90.1% (up 3.2%)
    Lance Berkman 88.6%
    Tony La Russa 88.2% (up 17.4%)
    Yadier Molina 87.4% (up 3.7%)
    Matt Holliday 87.3% (down 3.8%)
    David Freese 85.5%
    John Mozeliak 85.4% (up 13.3%)
    Mike Shannon 85.3% (up 0.4%)
    Jose Oquendo 84.7%
    Derrick Goold 82.8% (down 5.0%)
    Mark McGwire 82.6% (up 20.1%)
    John Rooney 81.5% (down 2.8%)
    Mike Matheny 81.1%
    Bill DeWitt 79.8% (up 8.8%)
    United Cardinal Bloggers 78.9%
    Skip Schumaker 73.3% (up 9.2%)
    Jim Hayes 71.9% (down 4.2%)
    Jon Jay 71.1%
    B.J. Rains 69.5% (down 0.9%)
    Kyle Lohse 68.9% (up 13.8%)
    Dan McLaughlin 68.0%
    Joe Strauss 67.7% (up 10.2%)
    Ricky Horton 67.5% (down 1.6%)
    Al Hrabosky 66.4% (up 3.2%)
    Albert Pujols 54.9% (down 45.5%)
    Colby Rasmus 46.5% (down 35.3%)

    2011
    Dave Duncan 87.9% (up 0.9%)
    Matthew Leach 85.5%
    Pop Warner 76.7%
    Ryan Franklin 72.8% (up 3.1%)
    John Vuch 68.9%
    Jeff Luhnow 66.4%
    Dan Lozano 58.7%

    2009
    Rick Ankiel 83.9%
    Chris Duncan 69.1%


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