SB Nation User Blog: nybirdfan

Opening Day

nybirdfan — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 23:36:07 -0000

This might not be a typical fanpost, but I have to let folks know that June 20th is opening day at Falcon Park In Auburn, NY. Why shoud anyone care? Well, they are hosting the Batavia Muckdogs. I live about 10 miles from the park. I looked at the Muckdogs roster at the MiLB site and it is not close to being set.

So does anyone have an idea when they will have the roster set or who might be on it? The next question is who should I look out for? Lastly is anyone interested enough for me to write a follow up post on what I saw. I usually keep score when at the game, and would be willing to keep notes and pass them on to VEB. If anyone cares let me know.

Rain is in the forecast unfortunately. At least it is not snow!

What do you think the Cards will do this offseason?

nybirdfan — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 16:35:49 -0000

I am interested in what you all think the Cards are likely to do this off season. So, let me me start off with my guess. In a word they will do very little. Quite honestly why would they? This team has one question to answer, one hole to fill, and one problem to address.

The question is who will be playing short stop next year? My wise ass answer is not Rafael Furcal. Face it folks this ownership team would not sign Edgar Renteria to a 4y 40m deal. I doubt they will pay Furcal 5y 70-75m or there abouts. Cot's has Furcal at 13m this year, and ESPN's Dodger page has him at 15.7m. I am not sure which one is correct. At 31 years old I would expect Furcal to be looking to go long and somewhere in the 15m per year range. Certainly out of our price range.

I would not be surprised if Cesar is resigned. Personally I would suggest Brandon Ryan over Izy2. Izy's line for '08 in 362 AB's is 311/ 296/ 249, and Ryan's career in 362AB's is 323/ 345/ 265. This says to me do not re-sign Izy2. It is said that their glove work is equivalent so why spend the money on Izturis when Ryan gives you the same thing for a fraction of the cost.

I also think that a trade involving any of our top prospects is not likely. I think Rasmus is the first word out of every GM's mouth cutting short any conversation. I think that if a move is made it would be for a prospect that is blocked and loosing value. Zobrist has been mentioned by me and some others. Let Zobrist or whomever of his ilk compete with Ryan for the job. There was a fan post that suggested Mather for Zobrist. I doubt the Cards make a trade bigger than that. The rest of the infield is set. I think Lopez takes over 2b, and Kennedy is traded or released. Miles is re-signed and Freese makes the team backing up the corners.

The outfield is set too. Maybe Schu gets moved for the young short stop, but I have him on the team. Schu, Rick, and Luddy start next year with Duncan and Barton on the bench. If Colby has a good spring he starts in LF and Schu drops to 4th on the depth chart, and Barton is in AAA. I really do think that Rasmus starts the season in Memphis. I know people have been talking about trading Duncan. I was one of them two years ago, but now I doubt we could get anything for him. He needs to prove he his healthy and that his power stroke back before anyone would take a chance on him. Since the Cards traded for Miles/Bigbie we have been told that an outfield bat was on the way. Well, Luddy has arrived.

The rotation starting off with Wainwright, Carpenter, and Welley is going to be strong. I would expect that one of the remaining spots will be filled by an “in house” player. The other will be a free agent. The Cards will have 12m from Looper's and JuanE's salaries coming off the books. Could that get Derek Lowe? Lowe is sturdy and solid he has made 30+ starts per year the last seven years, but I have my concerns about signing a 35 year old pitcher to more than three years. Does anyone here think we could sign him to 3y 36m? Cause beyond that I get queasy. I would expect he would be looking for 4-5 years at 12m a year or more. He is a Boros client remember. Maybe we have to up the dollars to keep the years at three. There will be some extra money coming from Izzy's departure.

If we can not find a FA that fits the budget we will have to shop around, and find a guy willing to sign a one year deal to fill the hole in the rotation. Maybe Randy Wolf or our own Braden Looper.

The problem the team needs to address is the bullpen. With the 8mil coming from Jason's departure we will have the money to do a respectable job re-working the pen. It certainly can get no worse! Right!?

Well, I figure on Perez as closer. I would like Springer to come back as a set up man, and I hope Kinney is healthy enough to support Springer. Tyler Johnson could be back this spring. Thompson and Pineiro can work long relief and pick up a start when needed.

I am not sure we can count on Kinney and Johnson so I feel we need to look into FA's. So we need an experienced relief pitcher that could close in support of Perez, and it would be nice if this guy was a lefty. I would want an experienced power arm Anybody have any ideas? I think Fuentes is too expensive for what we need, but he is the kinda guy I am looking for.

The 25 man roster could look like this.

Starting 8

Schu, Lopez, Albert, Luddy, Rick, Troy, Molina. Ryan/Zobrist/etc.

Bench

Larue, Miles, Freese, Duncan, Barton

Rotation

Wainman, Carp, Welley, FA/Lowe-Lohse, MacClellan/internal solution

Bull Pen

Perez, FA/ Fuentes?, Springer, Kinney, Johnson/loogy, Thompson, Pineiro

You may be asking what happened to Franklin? Well, I am not sure what happens to him. Maybe he is turned into a starter and competes for the internal solution rotation spot. Maybe Kinney is not up for the job and has to go to AAA. Maybe he gets traded.

Like I said they will not do much. Find two FA pitchers one for the pen and one for the rotation, and make do at shortstop. Can you blame them? If they fix the pen and add a starter they go to the playoffs and maybe win a pennant.

PS. I will be in Pittsburgh this Saturday in section 112. I will have the number 37 on my back and my last name "Blessing." Strange last name, but if you see me and my wife stop by and say hi. Oh! This is NOT my first fan post so you can let me have it!

Trade rumor/speculation catch-all overflow thread

nybirdfan — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 12:15:14 -0000

The last thread was getting slow. The topics have been the same all year. Bull pen help, 2Ber that can hit, OF bat, or SP

We left off with a comment about Halladay:

Did anyone else catch this?

Over at mlbtraderumors.com there was a story about the blue jays quietly shopping Roy Halladay that linked the Cardinals as a possible suitor. Obviously, I think the only way this would happen would be if Rasmus was involved. Halladay would be a great answer to the C.C. and Harden trades. Is everyone here too scared off by the Mulder trade to do something like this? If I were GM, I’d strongly consider it, and I’m not sure what my answer would be at this point. Assuming we extend his contract, do you think having a top 3 of Carp, Halladay, and Wainwright is going to be more beneficial over say a 3 or 4 year span than having Rasmus? I think if it were me, i’d do it. But then again, I don’t know if I could stop reminding myself of the Mulder trade….

"Ding-dong the wicked witch is dead!" - Wayne Hagin after the cardinals snapped a losing streak

by The Ghost of Todd Burns on Jul 25, 2008 11:11 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

OK, we need a 2Ber that can hit. What do we do about it?

nybirdfan — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 15:42:17 -0000

Well, the first thing we could do is nothing. Just waiting for Ryan and maybe Hoff is the first choice. Hoff is off to a good start, but I am far from convinced that he is the long term solution at 2B. Ryan might be more of a solution but, is he really the guy we want to see starting at 2B for the next several years? So we wait Ryan comes off the DL, and Hoff continues to hit at Memphis and maybe we have a solution.

The other offensive whole is Duncan. I personally have never been a big fan. So we wait. Maybe he comes around, but if he doesn't who would want him? Does Duncan have options? At the end of spring training I thought Duncan should go on the DL then do a re-hab stint and make room for Mather. Joe is off to a great start and I think it would be nice to switch him and Chris. I thought that Schu would have to be moved to make room for Rasmus, but now I think it is Duncan.

So we wait and fill in from AAA. Do the Cards move Kennedy, Miles and Duncan and replace them with Ryan, Hoff, and Mather? The second half outfield five would be Schu, Rasmus, Rick, Barton, and Ludwick. The infield would look like this. Glaus, Iz2, Ryan, and Albert with Mather and Hoff on the bench. Mather will need to get some starts at 3B in Memphis. So what happens to the aforementioned players? Who Cares!? Sorry that is a little harsh, but maybe we can get something for Duncan.

The other option is to make a trade for a 2Ber that can play now and hold the position for several years. I would want a can't miss player not a prospect. Wanting is one thing acquiring is another. There will be teams looking for pitching help. We just need to find one that has a 2Ber that we want. I am thinking of a guy like Aaron Hill of the Blue Jays or Chin Hu from LA. A sincere question is can we get a player like that? Can Reyes or any of the pitching surplus combined with Duncan get a can't miss second baseman? Any thoughts?

What a differance a year makes

nybirdfan — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 06:13:56 -0000

In August of '06 I took the family to Pittsburgh to watch a fustrated and weak team get swept by the Pirates. That team ended up world champions. This year we returned to Pittsburgh and saw a weak and fustrated team sweep the Pirates. By the way we went back to Pittsburgh because it is that beautiful! I suggest you go if you have not been.

I saw some things that gave me hope for next year.

Wellemeyer: I think he pitched well enough to be in the rotation next year. That's right I said it. Well, at least until Mulder/Carp are ready.

Adam Wainwright started out shakey but settled down and got the win. That showed maturity and guts.

Ryan Ludwick took Morgan's double off the wall on the track and almost over threw Eckstein on the SS side of second base. Eck had to leap and extend fully to catch the ball. I bet Ryan could have reached third on one hop. He has a cannon, he can hit, he makes the outfield much better. Duncan, Edmonds, Ankiel with Ludwick and Schumaker on the bench. Our outfield is set, and improved.

Last year when I suggested moving Duncan all I heard was "How can you trade the pitching coach's son?" Now we do have depth in the outfield in the minors and other than Rasmus we have trading chips. Duncan stays.

The infield is looking pretty clear to me as well. Rolen, Ryan, Kennedy, Pujols, and Molina with Miles, Speeze, and Bennett on the bench. I would like to see more of a stick at back up catcher, but I'm not willing to pay for it.
Eck played well this weekend, but I can't see spending money on him. One year 2m is all I would offer. He moves on.

The rotation will be:

FA/trade
Wainman
Looper
Pineiro
Wellemeyer/Mulder

We need to find a front line pitcher. A. J. Burnett scares me because of his injuries. Willis is scarey too. So who is the one guy? That's the 12 million dollar question.
Well, I know the answer it is not Reyes or Baby Face. Could Reyes and a couple of outfield prospects get Garland?

Hopefully Carp comes back at the trade deadline, and the Cards don't need to trade for an arm.

If Thompson and Reyes are not traded to get a pitcher I suggest that we look for SS/3b prospects. I would consider a guy like Angel's Brandon Wood. He has a stick and has played both SS and 3b. I know his D needs alot of work, but he is only 22. One more year in AAA will give him time to work it out. If not him there are a few others out there. The Dodger's have LaRoche, and the Diamond backs have a couple of guys. We certainly should back the left side of the infield. I am willing to let Ryan start at short, but if he is hitting .200 in June I would like to have some one to call up. Same goes with Scottie in case he gets hurt.

The pen will be pretty much the same.

We all believed that the '07 Cards would win this division. I still believe that this team would have if not for the injuries. Carpenter alone would have made all the differance. He would have won 15 games and been a mentor to Reyes, and the rest of the staff.

All the Cards need to win this division next year is one top flight starter and infield depth. Oh, and everyone needs to stay healthy.

Jaun Encarnacion is the Cards best outfielder!

nybirdfan — Sat, 20 Jan 2007 13:16:21 -0000

I woke up this morning early and that thought was the first thing that popped into my head. I know sick isn't it. None the less I was unable to get back to sleep.

It is very scary thought, but now that I have had a cup of coffee let's face it. IT IS TRUE!

All due respect to Jim Edmonds, but what can he be counted on for next year? A healthy Edmonds makes 130 starts, and we all hope he doesn't have to spend any real time on the DL.

Chris Duncan quite frankly scares me. I know his playoff AB's (22) is a small sample, but and it is a big BUT he went up against the best pitchers in the MLB and got 3 hits.
He had all of '05 & '06 to play the outfield and we saw him play in game five and look very uneasy out there. My wife put it another way. "He sucks!" (Plus she hates the tabacy juice in the beard.)

Chris's story was a wonderful one for you folks in St. Louis and Card fans everywhere. Here on the east coast I don't think any of the YankSox fans heard of him. Oh maybe a few Yanks fans said "Oh don't we have a Duncan in our system? What ever happened to him?"

It looks like the bench will be filled out with Taguchi and Jrod. As much as I love these guys do any of us think Jrod will have 13 HR's. I know ZIPS thinks so, but come on. I guess the Cards are talking to Preston Wilson. Oh that eases my mind.

I was going to pack this post with numbers and stats, but you guys do that better than me anyway. Plus must of you know all the Zips and numbers right off the tops of your heads. So I will not bother.

I have been hoping for an impact trade. You all have seen my pleading for Crawford, Baldelli, Melky or a signing like Nixon, but it looks like we will go with what we got. That plan scares me.

Mulder ready by opening day?

nybirdfan — Tue, 02 Jan 2007 15:22:53 -0000

A column in the Star-Telegram has Mulder's agent saying the Mark is ahead of schedule, and may be ready opening day. The agent restates that 25 starts is a likely number just to be fair.

I would like to see Mulder back. In this market what would 25 healthy starts from Mulder be worth?

Then the next question is what will he actually sign for?

Any ideas about what it will take to get him?

http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/sports/baseball/16365651.htm

Did Houston really do that?

nybirdfan — Sat, 23 Dec 2006 14:57:23 -0000

They signed Pineiro for 5y 55mil? Does this mean that Soup is a steal at 4y 40m. The Brewers offered Soup a fourth year as an option.

If we fans think this is crazy we have ourselves to blame. As long as MLB is generating record profits contracts like this will be common.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/moore/296856_moore22.html

Drew hurt?

nybirdfan — Mon, 18 Dec 2006 00:38:14 -0000

I read this articlehttp://www.mlbtraderumors.com/ and I couldn't help but laugh. I remember the "Battery Game." My wife and I drove down from Syracuse to the Vet. We were in the parking lot and heard a chorus of Boo's. I told her then that Drew must be up. Well, after we got to our seats it all got worse. At the time I felt horrible for the young Mr. Drew, but now the irony of this makes me laugh.

Eric Byrnes

nybirdfan — Wed, 13 Dec 2006 02:38:47 -0000

I really like the way this guy plays the game. It is my understanding that the D-backs were going to offer him a contract to avoid arbitration. I guess Chris Young is slated for cf and Carlos Quentin in right. That leaves Byrnes in the left. Has anyone heard what his statis is, and what kinda deal might be in the works?