Around the horn: Declining So
It’s looking more and more like the Cardinals’ offseason shopping list will include, in addition to shortstop and starting pitcher, some bench players. With the team declining its option on So Taguchi today, the second such declination of the week (Gary Bennett being the other), the Cardinals are looking to save some money among the latter few of the 25-man roster. In refusing Taguchi, the team effectively saves $1 million. Though the Japanese outfielder can still sign with St. Louis, it would be interesting to see just how much of a pay cut he would take.
We’re mixed on the decision. At first glance, with the glut of corner outfielders and the need to get younger, Taguchi appears expendable. And the fact that he’s righthanded doesn’t necessarily qualify him to stay, in a group that’s predominantly southpaw, because he doesn’t exhibit a pronounced platoon differential (career GPA vs. LHP: .251, vs. RHP .247). But the team is going to have to pay a rookie at least $400,000 to fill the spot, and we’re not convinced the team has anyone who can fill in for Jim Edmonds in centerfield as well as Taguchi can. We’re not thrilled about his projected .227 GPA next season, but we wonder if declining his option — while spending, say, $13 million on Joel Pineiro — is a case of being penny-wise and pound-foolish.
Oh, and by the way, the Strauss and Goold dispatch had a curious non-sequitur (emphasis ours): “Taguchi hit .290 this year and, for the third consecutive season, scored at least 40 runs for the Cardinals as a backup outfielder.” We’re not sure of the significance of “40 runs,” but we’d just as soon learn that he ate 267 pounds of sushi last season.
How embarrassing
Add Dustin Mattison at The Birdhouse to the list of people to ridiculously suggest the possibility of Barry Bonds coming to St. Louis. We bring this up not because of the idea itself but because of Mattison’s rationale:
Let me state from the beginning, Bonds is not a perfect fit. He brings a lot of baggage, including possible perjury charges and the suspicions of performance enhancing drugs. But, if Cardinal fans can keep an open mind in regards to Mark McGwire and Rick Ankiel, would it not be hypocritical to not to keep an open mind in regards to Bonds?
Here’s hoping Mattison is mistaken in his reading of Cardinal Nation.
Reason to hate the Red Sox, I
“We were confident, but not as confident as we were in the 2004 World Series,” said Henry, recalling their sweep over the St. Louis Cardinals. “I had never seen Theo so confident than in the 2004 World Series. He was not worried at all. He and (Francona) were almost giddy. — USA Today
Reason to hate the Red Sox, II
Curt Schilling tooted his own horn on his blog today, announcing his one-year deal with — surprise! — the Red Sox. He managed to condescend to Cardinal fans, writing:
The fans of St Louis were incredibly graceful and respectful in wanting me to come there.
Gee, thanks, Curt. We hayseeds appreciate the chance to gracefully bolster your ego!
News you can use
Free agents mean big bucks — Post-Dispatch headline
Babyface got back
Rusch to get back — Yahoo! Sports headline
Who says baseball’s not serious about PEDs?
Indians pick up club option on Byrd, who admitted HGH use — AP headline
“We refuse to stand like the NFL refs do”
Umpires seek chair at instant-replay table — ESPN headline
Be careful what you wish for
MLBTradeRumors listed its top 50 free agents and their predicted destinations, and the Cardinals had two. One was a pitcher, Kyle Lohse, who showed up in our little list of possibly undervalued pitchers (by FIP-ERA).
The other was Jose Guillen, the latest player exposed as a cheat in the ongoing bust of Rick Ankiel’s PED supplier, Palm Beach Rejuvenation Center. Ironically, MLBTradeRumors suggests that “the Cards could use a right fielder with 25 HR pop.” Is there anyone still out there who thinks that Ankiel’s drug use was innocent?
November 7th, 2007 at 10:52 am
[...] Cardinals have declined the option on outfielder So Taguchi. Pip at Fungoes has a mixed take on this one. I’ve appreciated what So has done here in St. Louis, but it [...]
November 7th, 2007 at 3:27 pm
“Is there anyone still out there who thinks that Ankiel’s drug use was innocent?”
What exactly do you mean by innocent?
November 7th, 2007 at 11:32 pm
What do I mean by “innocent”? That he did not do the following:
-take PEDs
-take them for reasons other than “injury recovery”
-use (or continue to use) HGH in conjunction with steroids
November 8th, 2007 at 1:46 am
pip, in reference to the last question of your post, I would say I doubt there are very many. I, for one, do not, but then again, i believe a significant minority, if not majority, of players are still doing so.