SB Nation User Blog: bcloirao

Levi Jones to the Redbirds?

bcloirao — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 08:00:38 -0000

So I thought that I had heard all the offseason rumors, and anything new was going to come from the known corners--a Dansby extension, Boldin making waves, or Fitz being awesome at his camp. I know we had discussed the Levi Jones possibility earlier in the spring, but still hearing more news about it came to me as something of a surprise.

Len Pasquarelli of ESPN says that the Cards have had discussions with Levi Jones about joining with the team and replacing Gandy at LT. Jones was released by the Bengals earlier this spring after struggling to recover from chronic knee issues (missed 28 starts in the past 3 years). That being said, when he is healthy, he is a monster, and would be an improvement over Gandy and his salary of $5.8M this year.

There would be a few issues that would come up with the signing then too. People say Gandy is better suited to play RT, and Levi Brown is better suited as a guard, but that's an awful lot of cash being paid to the right side of the line in that case. If (and its certainly an *if* at this point) Jones gets signed, do they cut Gandy? Do they ask him to renegotiate and line up with Jones at LT, R. Wells at LG, Sendlein at C, Brown at RG, and Gandy at RT? What do you guys think? How would you deal with the situation?

Poll

Considering the Cardinals' current salary cap and roster would it be a good idea for them to sign Levi Jones?

Of course! Jones is a definite upgrade, and would be a great veteran presence on the line! Plus, he PROBABLY won't get beat up by Joey Porter and his friends again.

125 votes

No way. Why sign a guy who will probably get hurt?

35 votes

Nope. We made the Super Bowl last year with this line. Continuity is best.

53 votes

I have another opinion that is spelled out in the comments

6 votes

219 votes | Poll has closed

Dockett's Major Announcement

bcloirao — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 00:04:07 -0000

Editor's Note: A big shout-out to bc for posting this; my family holds you in the highest regard, especially my5-month old daughter who can bang on the keyboard to her heart's content after I finish this line. ~~~Hawk

Darnell Dockett announced earlier today that he'd have a "major announcement" on his Twitter at 5:15 AZ time. Rosenhaus confirmed on his own Twitter account that everyone should pay attention to what Darnell had to say. This got quite a bit of national play on profootballtalk and Mike Sando's blog on ESPN.

Lots of things went through my head, and I don't think that any of them were good. Is Dockett going to announce that he is holding out of camp via Twitter? Is he going to demand a trade? Did the Cardinals re-do his contract BEFORE Boldin? None of these options seemed good to me, so I was bracing for the worst.

Turns out Dockett just wanted to announce a meeting he had with the team, and said the following:

"I am happy to announce that after meeting with the team recently, I have full faith and confidence in the Cardinals organization and I am looking forward to a great season. From the first day of training camp and on, I will not let my contract issues distract me or my team from reaching our goals-. I also look forward to playing with my teammates and defending our NFC championship title and I appreciate the support I've received from all my fans this offseason. - WE WILL WIN THE NFC WEST.

FYI to all, No this was not a DREW ROSENHAUSE call or idea, THIS is how I feel and I'm sticking to it. Thanks agan to all the DDOCKETT FANS"

I am really glad to hear that "Fart Box" is going to be in camp, and more importantly, is not so upset with the organization that he'll cause a problem.

So in summary, is this huge news? Not exactly. But in this sloooooowest part of the football year, I'll take it. I'm getting antsy for training camp to start already.

Warner to visit San Francisco

bcloirao — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 04:50:39 -0000

Warner to visit San Francisco

According to Mike Florio of Profootballtalk.com, Kurt Warner has a visit scheduled to San Francisco on Monday.

It doesn't seem to me that the 49ers would be a good match for Warner's skillset at all, and I'm pretty sure this is just a move to up the Cardinals' offer.

Florio has an interesting opinion as to why the 49ers might be doing it anyway.

"It could be that G.M. Scot McCloughan has agreed to participate in the charade as a favor to Warner’s agent, Mark Bartelstein, who desperately needs to recapture the leverage Warner squandered with his constant "I’ll play for the Cardinals or no one" routine. Even if the Niners don’t land Warner, Bartelstein will be indebted to McCloughan — and McCloughan would be able to seek a return favor at some point in the future."

Cards make offer to Warner

bcloirao — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 15:42:58 -0000

Cards make offer to Warner

ESPN reports that the Cardinals are offering between $10-12M a year for Warner. That's a lot of cash, but seems like its in line with what we were expecting the offer to be.

In my personal opinion, Warner is more than worth that amount--as long as he can stay healthy all season.

Garland deal official?

bcloirao — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 17:26:24 -0000

Garland deal official?

Nick Piecoro reports that Garland signs with the D-Backs for $6-8 million. One year deal with a second year option that can be exercised by either the player or the team.

Lets hope this works out. Will another year removed form injury be the answer for Garland?

[Jim: Front Page'd for obvious reasons. :-) Full report to follow tonight!]

Augie no longer has the rights to be called "The Littlest Ballplayer" I introduce to you, the new...

bcloirao — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 20:36:27 -0000

Augie no longer has the rights to be called "The Littlest Ballplayer" I introduce to you, the new left fielder for the Arizona Diamondbacks! (He'd hit as well as any other LF option anyway)

Mientkiewicz calls Big Unit "Mentally Weak"

bcloirao — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 23:08:48 -0000

Mientkiewicz calls Big Unit "Mentally Weak"

Mientkiewicz responds to his confrontation with the Big Unit earlier in the week.

I thought that Randy's "stretcher" comment was pretty ridiculous in the first place, but I can't help but think that Mientkiewicz is a tool. Maybe if he was "mentally stronger" he wouldn't be a utility man playing for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

#1 D-backs in ESPN Power Rankings

bcloirao — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 21:39:28 -0000

#1 D-backs in ESPN Power Rankings

And the D-backs start getting some national love for their major league leading ERA, Run Totals and Run Differential. Not a bad way to start the season I would guess.

Even though it's pretty cool, let's wait a while before we "puff our chests".

O-Dawg's New Deal

bcloirao — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 21:28:05 -0000

Maybe I'm way behind on this one, but I got a text from my family saying that O-Dawg signed a new deal. I couldn't find this on the web anywhere though, and figured this was the best place to ask. I think this would be great for the club.

Bonifacio will be good, but I think especially without TC in the clubhouse, we need the veteran voice.

So...is it true?