SB Nation User Blog: victim of the sixties

Next Season's Trade Deadline Goodies

victim of the sixties — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 00:26:17 -0000

I have been reading lately that some teams in need of offense if not overall rebuilding, have some interesting players that they can probably not re-sign. They'll either be too expensive or they will be at the height of their trade value. I thought it might be interesting for all to list their favorite targets, just in case the cards are contending and need help. Also, you statheads can go crazy analyzing who would be the best fit. I thought about limiting this to pitching, since that would be the most obvious need. Then I thought about what a boost Felipe Lopez was last year when we needed pitching. So I want to leave it open. Perhaps that proverbial "impact bat" will be available. Here are some candidates:

1. Brandon Webb. I have an idea that the diamondbacks will be willing to trade for offense. I believe he will have multiple years, (two?) and will be way too expensive for a financially troubled team to extend. Not sure what the team will have to trade at that time, but with our glut of outfielders and corner infielders we should be able to make a match. On a personal note, I live at Lake Tahoe and this year we will have the diamondback's AAA team in the Reno Aces. I should have a much better idea of what is in their pipeline after taking in some games. I'm pretty excited that I can see some quality baseball without having to fight traffic in S.F. or L.A. Tickets will be way cheaper also.

2. Roy Oswalt. I know it is within the division, but the Astros are also hurting financially and Roy will carry a huge price tag. As much as I covet this guy, I can't see the Asholes trading him to us.

3. Peavy. Is anyone sick of talking about this guy yet? If he weren't such a fine pitcher on such an affordable contract, we would have burnt out on this subject quite sometime ago. But I can't help drooling when I think about Carp, Waino, Peavy and Lohse. Hello October.

4. Manny being Manny. Does anyone think his new team might tire of him by July? Wouldn't it be great to get a Dodger deal on him?

Well, there's a few ideas. I'm sure you will come up with even better ones if you are interested. Happy New Year!

Closer Controversy

victim of the sixties — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 04:15:35 -0000

At this point, whether Perez or Motte are ready is immaterial. LaRussa has spoken and his word is that Fuentes is our number one priority. It is imperative that a manager trust his closer. It makes a huge difference on how he manages the game. Look at last year when he continually left a starter in too long, or stuck with Villone or Franklin long enough to lose. That's because he had no confidence in the closer, whoever that was at the time. A legitimate veteran closer also makes a psychological difference in the entire pitching staff. Starters are more confident, relievers don't feel that they can't make a mistake, and because they can be pulled earlier they are somewhat protected from falsely blown up stats. So the staff pitches with more confidence and that usually turns into more wins.

And as Gordo says, signing Fuentes would allow McClellan to move into the starting rotation. I think McClellan has the potential to be a very good three or four starter.

But if Mo insists on playing his waiting game with Fuentes, he should spend the mean time going strong after Ohman or a good, dependable lefty to fill out the pen. We will still need an extra piece in the pen with Mac moving to the rotation.

For the fifth starter, there should be a good pool available right before spring training or Mo could trade outfielders for a starter. Ank and another piece might bring Hughes or Kennedy from the Yanks, particularly if the cards would take Kei Igawa and a portion of his ridiculous salary. He did pitch well at AAA though. But I stray.

I think you see where I'm going with this. LaRussa had made no bones about it, he wants a veteran closer. So we either find a closer equal to or sign Fuentes, or find another manager. Thoughts?

Recruiting Free Agents

victim of the sixties — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 03:15:42 -0000

River Ave. Blues and Brew Crew Ball (links can be found at MLB Trade Rumors) bring up very interesting comparisons between the offers made by the brewers and yankees to C.C. Sabathia. They contrast the differences between living in the two cities, they allow for inflation and the cost of living. The personal preferences of the player, the tax differences between the two cities, the projected market value of his next free agency and the structure of the contract itself are among the aspects each discusses. Both draw the conclusion that the offers of the two teams are very similar. I did see one major omission though, neither considered the value of New York's big stage. For instance, how much does the average yankee receive for a local commercial endorsement compared to a brewer in Milwaukee? And why even bring this up on a cardinals blog?

This can pertain to our team as well. How often do we consider ALL the aspects of recruiting a free agent? And how effectively do both the team and the fans sell St. Louis? Not that I am making any suggestions, but did any fans do anything to make Trevor Miller welcome during his recent visit? Did he meet Stan the Man? Lou or Ozzie? As you see, there are so many factors involved in recruiting a free agent. I'm grateful to those blogs previously mentioned for opening my mind to much more, yet important miniscule implications. They also raised the question as to how much is considered by the team and player and agent. I thought it might make for some good discussion here at VEB.

Strange Column On Bugs And Cranks

victim of the sixties — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 17:19:51 -0000

If you go to Bugs and Cranks.com and click on the cards, you will find a ridiculous column titled "Do You Smell What the G.M. is Cooking?" In this column this guy, Chris, really gets down on Mo. He says the Holliday trade was ridiculous. That I tend to agree with, but Mo has said that that idea never got near as far as the press claimed. He thinks that Mo wants to trade Ludwick AND Ankiel for Kelly Johnson. And generally says that Mo has done nothing and he stinks. I don't know where this dude gets his info, but he should switch sources.

His column did make me think a bit though. On its face, trading Ludwick and Ankiel sounds crazy. But what do we really have in each player? Rick is most likely a one year rental since he is represented by Scott Boras and will undoubtedly test the free agent market. Ryan has one really outstanding year under his belt. But will that be his norm? Most writers think he will become a .280 hitter with 20-25 home runs. In that case, he is replaceable.

Looking at it in that way, I would take Escobar and a reliever and possibly a prospect or two for Rick and Ryan. We have Rasmus to replace one outfielder, Skip to replace another and Mather and the other young guys could compete. The team still would have some other trade chips to such as Brian Anderson to use to pick up a power hitting outfielder such as Jermaine Dye. Mo needs to spend his money on pitching. I could see Rasmus and Escobar hitting one and two; Albert hitting third; Dye fourth; Glauss fifth, Yadi sixth, second baseman seventh, pitcher eighth, Skip ninth.

Your ideas?

The Mark Mulder Project

victim of the sixties — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 00:29:33 -0000

I have an idea for Mark Mulder. To put it simply, reinvent yourself as a left handed bullpen specialist.

From what I have observed during his brief appearances this season, is that he usually could retire the first one or two hitters he faced. And he looked pretty good doing it. It was usually the third hitter where he fell apart, or more accurately finishing off an inning. I see this as screaming psychological problem. I think Mulder has been somewhat mistreated by his doctors, and possibly the team.

Let me explain what I mean by mistreated. Mark, his doctors and the team kept insisting that his problem was physical. And they have all been continually puzzled. It seems no one had the observation skills or else the balls to address the psychological issue.

Granted, his arm slot was never the same as in his hey day, but he is not the first pitcher to find himself in this predicament. Others have been able to find an arm position that enables them to pitch again. It seems that Mulder is hung up on exactly recreating his old motion. To me, that is a fool's folly. When you cut open tissue and it heals, it rarely if ever heals exactly as it was before. It has been changed. So it doesn't make sense to buy into Mulder's quest. Why hasn't the team explained this to him? His velocity did not return to what it once was. He didn't have the same bite on his breaking stuff. So what? When he pitched, he didn't look all that bad before he realized it. Then he seemed to panic.

So the Mulder project is to sign him to a minor league contract and place him in A league ball. And instruct him to prepare himself to face one left handed hitter. That's it. This would take the pressure off him worrying about pitching with too many expectations. As well as give him time to rebuild his career.

After all, his value is near zero. He owes this organization something. And money is no object for him, he has plenty. Something like this may be his only chance to salvage a career. And the team benefits by a very low cost minor leaguer with a tremendous potential upside. And just maybe with a small investment a decent return on money already spent. Normally I would never advocate throwing good money after bad, but this may just be the possible exception. And I think Mulder has a better chance to be a lefty specialist than Izzy has at becoming a closer again.

Rays Should "Wainwright" David Price

victim of the sixties — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 21:19:23 -0000

Well, here we are at the world series and I'm beginning to get over the fact that the Cards are not there. But I'm pretty excited by the Tampa Bay Rays. Until this year, the most wins ever in franchise history was seventy. And that was not last year. They won ninety seven this year with a bunch of kids that came together. Does that remind you of anyone?

The Rays have an exciting lineup with power, speed and flexibility. They feature a mvp core with a number of platoon or utility guys that they plug in as appropriate. And they usually do a very good job. This team has also vastly improved their defense over last year. The addition of Bartlett shored up the infield and moving Upton to center did the same for the outfield. And like the Cards of 06, they have one glaring weakness. The lack of a bona fide closer.

This is why they should take a page from the Cards playbook and use David Price as their closer. They have been using Wheeler, but he is more a Ryan Franklin type pitcher. Not overpowering but good pitch selection. My suggestion is that they put Wheeler into an eighth inning role ala Franklin.

Price is a rookie with great stuff much like Adam Wainwright in 2006. Price is a lefty whereas Waino hurls from the right side. Price has more heat where Waino has better control. It just makes sense to me that after that seventh game performance in the ALCS, using him to close is a no brainer.

Baseball Mirrors Life?

victim of the sixties — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 00:30:08 -0000

i just read an article by derrick gould discussing an interview with john mozeliak. moe said he thought people were reacting to the closer situation more with emotion than logic. i have often reflected on the way baseball mirrors life. at the risk of sounding like the lady fan in bull durham, in so many ways baseball reflects life in general. the comments by moe and the reaction on the various web sites to our lack of an effective bullpen reflects the current energy crisis in america.

at the beginning of this season things were cruising along very pleasantly. the cards were performing much better than expectations and the stock market looked better than it had in quite awhile. gas prices were approaching three bucks a gallon but folks didn't seem too worried. not many were changing vacation plans. meanwhile the cards continued cruising and life was good.

then izzy blew a couple of saves and some began to worry. but most felt it was bound to happen sooner or later and it was nothing to worry about. while this was going on, gas blew through three bucks and started inching towards four bucks. some got pretty worried, but most really saw it as an inconvenience. something to complain about but not really a time to over react.

then izzy blew a couple of more saves, tony put him on the disabled list and fans began to really question this pen. gas is about four ten. oil tops one and a quarter. franklin blows a couple of saves. the trade deadline approaches and fans begin to howl for a trade. and now you turn on the news and all you hear is something must be done about the rising price of energy, not to mention the bursting housing bubble. presidential candidates who were adamantly against off shore drilling are suddenly shouting drill here, drill now!

i guess my point is that while you initially react with panic or something approaching that, it is important to act rationally and not give away the future to appease the present. so, i guess i agree with moe. but i also realize that caution can turn to fear if not properly managed. moe didn't trade rasmus and i think we only hurt ourselves by grasping at gas tax holidays and other quick fixes. we should try our best to adapt and see what the future brings.

good start for carp

victim of the sixties — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 00:21:54 -0000

how does carpenter's good start tonight effect the card's trade strategy? that is, providing there IS a trade strategy. i'm thinking that if izzy blows another inning, we could see wellemeyer or looper in the ninth. though my vote might go for mcclellan. and that is only until they decide what to do with wainwright. in the meantime, does the team's interest now focus on a hitter? i think the main question surrounds waino. unfortunately, that may remain a mystery until after the trade deadline. right now, i'm thnking they should get a lefty reliever and wait until september for reinforcements.