Keeping Pujols and Wainwright Will Earn Cardinals GM Mozeliak A Big Contract

On Thursday the St. Louis Cardinals announced they were extending the contract of GM John Mozeliak by three years.  Cardinals Chairman Bill DeWitt Jr described it as a "well deserved extension" and it is indicative if Mozeliak's ability to balance payroll while continually keeping St. Louis competitive in the National League.

Mozeliak's biggest splash came this past offseason with the signing of free agent Matt Holiday to largest contract in club history.  The 7-year $120 million deal came on the heals of a mid-season trade with the Oakland Athletics for the slugging outfielder that catapulted the Cardinals to the NL Central division crown.

Mozeliak was very active last season in tweaking the roster to provide manager Tony LaRussa with the pieces needed to turn a good team into a favorite for the National League pennant.  Those dreams died when St. Louis was surprisingly swept out of the playoffs in the first round by the Los Angeles Dodgers, but the GM had played his part well.

He dealt a package of prospects to the Cleveland Indians for veteran utility player Mark DeRosa and then landed the big fish in Holliday.  Though DeRosa injured his wrist shortly after the trade and didn't perform as hoped, the trades seemed to invigorate the clubhouse as the team went 20-6 in August and cruised into October.  Perhaps more importantly, the moves erased growing frustration amongst an aggitated fan-base.


Mozeliak Provides Harmony in the Front Office


Before he was hired as GM after the 2007 season, Mozeliak served as assistant Walt Jocketty (now the current Cincinnati Reds GM Walt Jocketty), Mozeliak is credited with encouraging the club to sign oft-injured OF Ryan Ludwick and current closer Ryan Franklin.  Though neither were well known at the time they blossomed in St. Louis with both appearing in the All-Star game during their Cardinal careers.
And in a fractious front office split in a power struggle between Jocketty and VP of Amateur Scouting and Player development, Mozeliak was often in the unenviable of position of go-between.

While Jockett chafed at the power the sabermetric-minded Luhnow had been given by DeWitt, Mozeliak has imbraced the new style of scouting.  He has provided harmony by balancing sabermetric analysis with old fashioned first hand reports from scouts.

Despite initial fears that Mozeliak would be overpowered by the strong will of LaRussa, the two appear to have a good working relationship and mutual respect.  Mozeliak has provided the veteran role players the Redbird skipper prefers (Randy Winn, Aaron Miles) and LaRussa has worked well with young talent from the Cardinal farm system (Jaime Garcia, David Freese).

Last season's trades for Holliday and DeRosa depleted prospects from the top levels of the farm system, but most of the young talent involved had low-ceilings (Jess Todd, Shane Peterson) or simply duplicated players already ensconced on the big league roster (Brett Wallace, Chris Perez).  Despite being depleted at Triple-A Memphis, the farm system is accumulating high-end talent in the low minors exemplifying a more cohesive approach to the draft than the Cardinals experienced under Jocketty.


The Khalil Greene Trade


Like any general manager that actively works to improve the roster, mistakes can be made.  Injuries and other unforeseen circumstances can unravel even the most sound decisions.  Mozeliak did a masterful job of adding Kyle Lohse and Brad Penny to the pitching staff, but now both are on the DL and their chances of making contributions this year seem to fade daily.

But there is one transaction that Mozeliak would love to take back.  In the winter of 2009 he traded minor league reliever Mark Worrell and a player to be named later to San Diego for shortstop Khalil Greene.  Greene was coming off a disappointing 2008 season, but had enjoyed a superb 2007 campaign.

There were some grumblings at the time of the trade because of his struggles in 2008 capped by having to go on the DL after breaking his hand punching a clubhouse storage chest out of frustration. But Greene was a proven impact bat at SS, and it seemed the Cardinals got him for very little in return.

Greene was a flop with St. Louis.  His struggles with social anxiety disorder are well documented and his career is now in shambles.  If that wasn't bad enough for the Cardinals and Mozeliak, the PTBNL in that traded ended up being Luke Gregerson.  Gregerson has since developed into a superior middle-reliever with the Padres.

Mozeliak placed the blame for the failed trade on the Padres.  Telling the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that "the team had no inkling of Greene's issues before they traded for him" he inferred that San Diego GM Kevin Towers was not forthright about Greene's anxiety issues.  Maybe Towers pulled a fast one on the Cardinals GM, but it is also clear that Mozeliak did not do enough research on Greene before pulling the trigger on the trade.

But Mozeliak has earned the benefit of the doubt regardless of that one mistake.  He has shown a gift for finding valuable players for very little investment.  Last season he picked up Boston Red Sox cast offs Julio Lugo and John Smolz who proved to be valuable pieces in the teams second half surge to the playoffs.  In spring training this year he signed Felipe Lopez for a mere $1 million, and Lopez has filled in at many positions vacated by either injuries or poor performance.

For a franchise with big dreams in a small market, such bargains are crucial to the team's continued success on the field.


Now the Hard Work Begins


The contract extension shows ownership's belief that Mozeliak is a fully capable Major League general manager.  Such confidence is necessary because in the next three years he faces more pressure than perhaps any other GM in Major League Baseball.

Priority number one is re-signing Albert Pujols before his contract expires at the end of next season.  Pujols is best player in the game and the face of the franchise and Major League Baseball as a whole.  Negotiating a contract that pays Pujols his worth while fitting it into a budget that allows the team to remain competitive will be tricky.  He will need to get this accomplished before being faced with the excruciating decision to either trade the Cardinals best player in generations for a stockpile of talent or risk losing Pujols to free agency with only compensatory draft picks in return.

There is also the issue of retaining dominant starters Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright.

2012 is the final year of Carpenter's current contract the club is expected to exercise its option to retain him.  He is 10-3 this season, finished a close third in Cy Young award balloting last year, and provides valuable veteran presence for the pitching staff while being a huge crowd favorite.  But Carpenter will turn 38 years old just after the beginning of the 2013 season and Mozeliak must decide how much to invest in an injury-prone, aging righthanded starter.

One of Mozeliak's wisest moves was one of his first.  In March 2008 he signed Adam Wainwright to a $15 Million contract good through 2013 including team options.  Now the 28 year old righthander is one of the top starting pitchers in the Majors with a 13-5 record and a 2.11 ERA.  He finished second to Tim Lincecum for last year's Cy Young award that many baseball insiders thought Wainwright should have won.  He signed his current deal choosing security over money, but barring something unexpected he would be at the top of the 2014 free agent class and ready to cash-in a huge contract.  The pressure starts now on Mozeliak to keep room in the payroll to retain this superstar.

If Mozeliak is able to keep these core players and keep St. Louis competing for the NL pennant year after year he will not only have repaid the club's faith in spades but also emerge from the long shadow of his former boss Walt Jocketty.

St. Louis Cardinals Mid-Season Awards

As a frustrating first half of the 2010 season winds down, it's time to evaluate the winners and losers on the St. Louis Cardinals talented roster. The MLB All-Star Game is traditionally viewed as the midpoint of the season as most players get a three day break to rest, heal, and reset. It also is the perfect time to evaluate what we've seen so far. Here's this humble scribe's breakdown of the Redbirds first half award winners.

MVP
CANDIDATES

• Albert Pujols:     All discussion of Most Valuable Player (either for the Cardinals, or for the NL) begins with the All-Star first baseman.  While Pujols hasn't always been as clutch in 2010 as fans are accustomed, the slugger hasn't slacked off the pace of his First-Ballot Hall of Fame career.  He is batting .307 with 21 HR, 61 RBI, and 54 Runs scored.  His .412 OBP .577 SLG & .989 OPS slash line is below career norms, but all rank in the top 3 in the NL.  Always finding a way to win, whether through his aggressive but intelligent base-running or his Gold Glove caliber defense (.997 fielding percentage with 3 errors), Albert is the engine that drives the team.
• Adam Wainwright:    Last season was Wainwright's breakout season, winning 19 games and garnering the most first-place votes for the Cy Young award.  He didn't win that award though, finishing 3rd in the balloting.  That slight seems to have pushed the right-hander to an even higher strata.  He is second in the NL in Wins (13) ERA (2.11) and Complete Games (4).  Taking the torch as staff ace from Chris Carpenter, Wainwright's losses reflect his dominance as much as his wins.  He's suffered 2 losses in 1-0 games, and another loss came in a complete game which he allowed only 2 earned runs.

And the winner is...     PUJOLS. Exceptionally tough decision, based simply on Pujols being everyday player.

Cy Young
CANDIDATES

• Wainwright     13-5  2.11 ERA  19 starts 4 CG 1 SHO 136.1 innings 127 strike outs.  

 And the winner is...     WAINWRIGHT.  No one else in the conversation.



Rookie of the Year
CANDIDATES

• David Freese:     Freese was handed the job on Opening Day 2010 and is clearly the team's #1 at the position.  A shaky start to the season in the field belied his reputation with the glove, but he settled down and has been solid defensively with flashes of brilliance. At the bat is where Freese has shined, though. His .296 batting average ranks first amongst all NL rookies in batting, staying over .300 until an ankle sprain slowed him down. Currently on the DL, Freese's discipline at the plate and penchant for driving in runs has been sorely missed in the line-up.
• Jaime Garcia:     Coming into Spring Training after losing most of 2009 because of Tommy John surgery, the highly though of prospect was a long shot for the rotation. Garcia simply forced his way into the rotation with his outstanding performances in camp. The 24 year old Mexican-born left-hander promptly put up numbers not seen by by an NL rookie SP since Fernando Valenzuela. Garcia hits the break with an 8-4 record and his 2.17 ERA ranks just behind teammate Adam Wainright for third in the NL.  Garcia does walk too many batters and has been shaken by errors by his fielders, but these are correctable.  A fantastic curve, a major league fastball, and command of a variety pitches shows there is still room to improve upon his fantastic start.
  
• Jon Jay:     Recently called up from Triple A Memphisfor the second time this season, Jay is proving to be the catalyst the offense has been needing.  Since rejoining the Cardinals on July 2, Jay has been involved in half of all the innings the St. Louis offense has put runs on the scoreboard.  The 25 year old OF enters the break on an 11-game hitting streak and is batting .385 in his limited ABs and sporting a very impressive OPS of 1.018 which would be 3rd in MLB if he had enough plate appearances.  

And the winner is...     GARCIA.  As impressive as Freese has been, without Garcia the Cardinals would be challenging the Cubs for irrelevance in the NL Central.

Comeback Player of the Year

CANDIDATES

• David Freese:     Freese missed a good portion of the 2009 season due to ankle surgery precipitated by injuries sustained in an automobile accident the previous winter.  Though he made the Cardinals 2009 opening day roster, he didn't stick around long.  He was penciled in as the big league club's starting third baseman after a successful return to Triple A Memphis in August, but he put that opportunity in jeopardy with a DUI arrest this past off season.  He has put that problem behind him, and had been a vital part of the Redbird line-up until his current stint on the DL.
• Jaime Garcia:     Garcia first sported the Birds on the Bat late in the 2008 season going 1-1 while starting one game and appearing in nine others.  He was showing good promise, but suffered a ligament injury and had to undergo Tommy John surgery missing most of the 2009 season.  As 2010 Spring Training commenced, Garcia was ticketed for the minors to rebuild arm strength - at best a relief role in the majors.  But he impressed enough to travel north with the team, and Redbird fans cannot imagine where the Cardinals would be without him in the rotation.

And the winner is...     GARCIA. Both had tough roads back, but Garcia is more valuable.

Cardinals Cure Norris' Voodoo, Exorcise Demons In 8-0 Win Over Astros

The St. Louis Cardinals finally found the cure for the strange voodoo Houston Astros starter Bud Norris has had over them in his short career. Entering Friday nights game, the second year right-hander had earned 4 of his 8 career victories against the Cardinals. But a run-scoring double by Albert Pujols in the first inning broke the spell, Adam Wainwright's magical pitching supplied the potion, and Matt Holliday's 8th inning home run delivered the cure as Norris and the Astros succumbed 8-0.

Norris is best described as a serviceable starter for the Astros, coming into Fridays game with a career record of 8-9 with a 5.29 ERA and 123 strikeouts in 22 starts. Against the Cardinals, however, he became Walter Johnson reincarnated - 4 wins in 4 starts giving up only 1 earned run and striking out 25 in 26 innings and giving up no home runs. That's a 0.38 ERA folks. Bob Gibson is jealous. But the Cardinals cast off his curse, and just when they had to.

For the first time this season, Holliday homered after Pujols was intentionally walked. It came in the 8th inning, and was the the coup de grace that chased Norris and his voodoo from the game - and Cardinals fan's nightmares - a rocket shot off the back wall of Minute-Maid Stadium. And when Pujols homered deep to right field in the ninth inning it was another rarity in this season of disappointment for the St. Louis offense, marking only the second time this season Holliday and Pujols had connected in the same game. That's the recipe the team envisioned when it signed Holliday to the largest free agent contract of the off-season. Walk Pujols and Holliday will hurt you, don't walk Pujols and he will kill you.

Other themes of optimism emerged for St. Louis. Rookie OF John Jay was 2-4 and has now hit in 8 straight games dating back to May 30. He now has 8 hits in 14 AB with 2 HR since being recalled on July 3. Infielder Tyler Greene went 1-3 and since his call-up on July 2 is 5-17 with 3 extra-base hits, and seems to be taking over for Brendan Ryan at SS - plugging a gaping hole in the line-up.

But the wizardry was all Wainwright's. The lanky right-hander tossed 8 shutout innings, giving up only 6 hits, lowering his ERA to 2.11 and giving him 13 wins on the season - 2nd in both categories in the NL. And he blessedly took pressure off the beleaguered bullpen.

The voodoo curse of Bud Norris has been lifted. But not necessarily broken. After the Cardinals scored their second run in the 2nd inning, Norris retired 13 in a row. He still has a 1.81 ERA against St. Louis in his 5 starts. And, perhaps, spun a little more voodoo devilry as CF Colby Rasmus had to leave the game with a hamstring injury. No word yet on the severity. If Norris is to blame for that, he would indeed be a Santerian priest.


This post originally posted on Bleacher-Report

Relax Cardinal Fans, Maybe Rockies Just Have Our Number

Fans of The St. Louis Cardinals have their feathers a flutter after getting swept by the Colorado Rockies in 3 games at Coors Field.  Blowing leads of 9 and 7 runs in the first two games, the Cardinals were blown-away by Rockies ace Ubaldo Jimenez in the 3rd game Thursday as Jimenez out pitched Cardinals ace Chris Carpenter.
     The gut-wrenching sweep has left fans and sportswriters alike wringing their hands and pushing the panic button.  Tweeters were all a twitter about the demise of a season so full of promise, people openly questioning if (future Hall of Fame) manager Tony LaRussa has lost it, and folks ready to trade a bullpen that had been a rock until the last handful of games.

     But this isn't the first time the Rockies have stunned the Cardinals with a sweep - and big innings.  It happened just last season.

     On June 5, 2009, the struggling Rockies came to St. Louis for a 4-game set.  The Cardinals weren't lighting the world on fire at the time, but did come into the series tied for the lead in the NL Central with a 31-23 record.  The Rockies were in sad shape at the time.  Colorado had fired Clint Hurdle as manager after a disappointing 18-28 start and found themselves 14.5 games out of first in the NL West.  New manager Jim Tracy was 8 games into his tenure, and entered Busch III with a 3-5 record as skipper and fresh from a victory over the Houston Astros.  In the first game of the series, it was a tight game entering the 7th inning with the Rockies leading 2-1 and Adam Wainwright on the hill for the Redbirds.  Wainwright walked Ian Stewart to lead off the inning and was promptly replaced by Dennys Reyes who then walked 2 and gave up a single and a run before being himself relieved by Jason Motte.  Motte allowed 5 more runs to score before Jess Todd was touched for a 3-run homer by Ian Stewart to compete a 9 run inning for Colorado.  Sound familiar.  Rockies won that game 11-4.
     The Rockies used a 4 run 9th inning to cap a 10-1 victory in the second game.  Another 4 run inning  - the 8th - helped Colorado to a 7-2 win the next night.  And the sweep was completed with Jason Marquis getting the win in a 5-2 game.
     Cardinal Nation wasn't pleased with such a poor showing against such a poor team - angst that would eventually lead to the trade with Oakland for former Rockies start Matt Holliday.  But the Rockies were not such a poor team.  The sweep of the Cardinals exemplified how Colorado's new manager had kick-started the team and they went nuts, going 67-38 after the series and made the playoffs.

     The Cardinals recovered nicely, finding their mojo in the second half.  The Holliday trade was a big boost, but Adam Wainwright and Chris Carpenter were unstoppable after the All-Star break, Skip Schumaker and Brendan Ryan picked up their play, and the team breezed into the playoffs (before getting inexplicably swept by the Dodgers.  Things happen like that happen in the playoffs - see 2006).
  
    While this recent series sweep has Cardinals fans describing the club as pathetic and begging the team to stand up, it was one series against a good team.  Lost amongst the hue and cry dominating cyberspace and radio sports talk is one important point - the Rockies are a damn fine team.  Before the season started well-listened to national radio talk show host Dan Patrick picked Colorado to win the World Series this year, and he was not alone.

     The Cardinals being swept in a road series against these Colorado Rockies isn't the end of world, Redbird fans.  History tells us so.


Show your appreciation Cardinal Nation and Stand for Stan

[Credits: (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)

Don't Look for Cliff Lee to Join Cardinals This Season

Cliff Lee is on the trading block.  That's what the rumors say.  And rumors are floating everywhere (it seems) that the St. Louis Cardinals are buyers for starting pitching because of the injuries to Brad Penny and Kyle Lohse.   These rumors aren't just twitter or talk-radio generated.  Respected national and local sportswriters are speculating on the matter.  Bloggers are crazily abuzz - as us will bloggers do. 


The Seattle Mariners lefty starter has been sensational after starting the season on the disabled list.  He is 8-3 with a miniscule (by American League standards) ERA of 2.34 over 103.2 innings with 5 complete games and 1 shutout.  The Mariners are going nowhere fast.  They are 34-50, in last place in the AL West, and 16 games behind the Texas Rangers.  It's been a sorely disappointing season, and the rumors of trading a valuable commodity like Lee for a crop of young, cheap top-tier prospects seems like a prudent course.  And the Cardinals could put together a package with Shelby Miller, Allen Craig, John Jay and/or Tyler Greene.  


That's an incredibly steep price to pay.  Then you have to add in Lee's contract.  There is approximately $4 million remaining on Lee's contract for this year.  Not too steep for a team with valid pennant expectations.  But Albert Pujols' contract is due for renegotiations or worse (free agency negotiations - Heaven forbid), the Cardinals have plans for those players.  As Derrick Goold stated this past January those younger (read cheap) players are needed to keep the club's $100 million dollar budget within reason of sustainability.  If the franchise is to carry the contracts of Pujols, Matt Holliday, and Chris Carpenter it must rely upon a roster full of players making the minimum salary but playing above their pay.  Oh, let's not forget Adam Wainwright's wonderfully low long-term contract will be expiring in 2013.  After shedding the likes of Luke Gregerson, Brett Wallace, and Jess Todd last year to boost the roster, how can GM John Mozeliak responsibly trade away even more of the desperately need roster fillers for a short term need?  And unless team President Bill Dewitt opens up the wallet - and unless Mozeliak is deranged - he won't.


     One can use a broad brush to paint my logic over the names of Dan Haren, Ted Lilly, Carlos Zambrano (maybe for chief groundskeeper), or just insert any SP on a losing team.


     So this sage's advice to Redbirds fans is to pray that Brad Penny's set-back is minimal, that Kyle Lohse's muscle sheaths make medical history, or that Blake Hawksworth finds salvation at the altar of Dave Duncan's genius.  No other prayer from Heaven is bound to help this staff this season.


     If you disagree - or if you have viable trade options in mind - let the world know in the comments.


     If you disagree, or have some viable trade options, let everyone know in the comments.

Waino Goes All The Way, Again

It was a superlative performance by St Louis Cardinals starter Adam Wainwright on the day he was named to his first All-Star roster. Wainwright only needed 99 pitches to dispatch the Brewers on Independence Day, and provided all the fireworks needed with a
bases-loaded 3-run double in third inning. Marred only by a solo shot by fellow All-Star Corey Hart after being staked to a 6-run lead, Wainwright cruised to his 4th complete game of the year.

And his 4 complete games already this year had me raise a question on twitter about who’s had the most Cardinal CG’s since John Tudor’s outstanding 1985 season. My twitter friend Bob Netherton had an answer for me. And what an answer! On his Throatwarbler’s Blog, Bob broke down the Cardinals team leaders in complete games.

This got me thinking of a new question. Tony LaRussa is generally considered the manager most responsible for situational relief pitching and the constant parade of RP we now see in the latter innings of games. So how does Wainwright’s first half compare with other SP’s LaRussa has managed in his long career?

Bob broke down the Cardinals CG history since 1985. TLR didn’t truly become infamous for his hook until he started managing the Oakland Athletics. 1987 was his first full season as the A’s skipper, so that makes a good comparison with Bob’s research.

Athletics

1987      8- Dave Stewart

1988     14- Dave Stewart (Bob Welch was 2nd on the club with only 4)

1989      8- Dave Stewart

1990     11- Dave Stewart (Mike Moore was 2nd with 3)

1991       7- Bob Welch

1992       4- Ron Darling

1993       5- Bobby Witt (Ron Darling had 3, no other CG’s)

1994*      5- Bobby Witt

1995**     2- Steve Ontiveros & Todd Stottlemyre

Cardinals

1996       5- Todd Stottlemyre

1997       3- Matt Morris

1998       2- Matt Morris

1999       2- Darren Oliver & Jose Jimenez

2000       5- Darryl Kile (R.I.P)

2001       3- Woody Williams

2002       1- Matt Morris/W. Williams/Andy Benes/Chuck Finley

2003       5- Matt Morris

2004       3- Matt Morris

2005       7- Chris Carpenter     Won Cy Young Award

2006       5- Chris Carpenter

2007       1- Braden Looper & Anthony Reyes

2008       1- Adam Wainwright & Braden Looper

2009      3- Chris Carpenter & Joel Pineiro

2010      4- Adam Wainwright (so far)

* 114 games due to strike

** 144 games due to firing

It’s apparent on LaRussa’s teams complete games are tough to come by. But with 4 in the first half of the season, Wainwright is on pace to match the most complete games for a TLR managed club since the day of that old war-horse of the A’s – Dave Stewart. And that includes Chris Carpenter’s uninjured brilliance with the Birds on the Bat across his chest.

It’s quite apparent the lanky right-hander from Georgia is dead set on collecting this year’s Cy Young Award – Ubaldo Jimenez and Stephen Strasburg be damned!