Bye-ku for Juan Gonzalez

Tony likes ‘roiders
So Igor got the invite
Good thing his ab’s bad.

It’s that time of year, time when, with almost all the cards dealt, you play the hand you have. The Cardinals, but for the not-minor detail of whom their last infielder will be, are fairly well settled now, what with the Reyes kerfuffle nearly resolved (or is it only beginning — again?). The team has survived its most tumultuous offseason since Tony La Russa took the reins back in 1996: Consider that, heading into the winter, the team didn’t know whether its manager was coming back, it had a different general manager at the helm, the pitching staff was a huge unknown and the players of record at centerfield, shortstop and third base — three of its most regular players over the last three years, with 20% of the team’s win shares between them over that period– were coming back (at least two of whom, anyway) under uncertain and tenuous circumstances. Since then, Tony La Russa — for better or worse — re-upped for another two seasons (theoretically), and John Mozeliak took over for the ousted Jocketty and, if he didn’t pull off a fullscale renovation, conducted a facelift so deftly that it’s easy to overlook the impact.

Going back to what we called his winter shopping list:

• Leadoff man with at least a .350 OBP
• Righthanded platoon partner for Adam Kennedy
• Young pitching
• Nothing stupid

On the first item, with Skip Schumaker — whose most bullish OBP projection is .339 (Marcel) — getting the initial nod as leadoff man, the team would appear to have missed the mark. Still it’s not as bad as it might’ve been (or still could be) if Kennedy, Cesar Izturis or Rick Ankiel had been tapped (or as bad as some NL Central opponents — see below). Speaking of Kennedy, a platoon partner may still be in the offing if Brendan Ryan comes back healthy and Kennedy struggles. We hate to root against a player succeeding, but a slow April from Kennedy may be the only thing that triggers a platoon.

So pitching, then. After much virtual gnashing of teeth among the scribbling class, the team waited out the market and got Kyle Lohse for a favorable deal, perhaps even the best buy of this offseason’s free-agent pitchers. The team locked up its best young pitcher, Adam Wainwright (something we actually asked Mo about more than a year ago), and didn’t sign any aged free agents. And Mozeliak didn’t deal Iron Cap, though we wonder if it was more out of inability due to LaRuncan depressing his value that from a true sense of wanting to keep him. (Plus, it still may be that a trade is in Reyes’s own best interests.) But the team’s GM didn’t overspend (if the silly contract extension to Pineiro was the worst, that’s pretty good).

Interestingly enough, Mozeliak cobbled together a group that supports the team’s ongoing claim that 2008 will not be a rebuilding year, at least not at the outset. Colby Rasmus will get at least a half season at Triple-A, as will the team’s best pitching prospects (save Kyle McClellan). Mozeliak was even somehow was able to get value (see poll) for Scott Rolen in Troy Glaus at a time when La Russa’s mouth had sunken Rolen’s trade value to new depths. The scuttled negotiations with David Eckstein, which resulted in Cesar Izturis, was one of the few indiscretions of the team’s offseason. With the season backweighted with possible returns of star pitchers and of Rasmus, the best is perhaps yet to come — and the team has put itself in a position to compete on Opening Day, to boot. All things considered, the Cardinals not only survived a long offseason but are coming out a better team than when they went in.

Grass is greener?
It’s often instructive to look beyond one’s own team to obtain perspective. No team has a perfect situation. Take the odds-on favorite to win the NL pennant, the Mets: According to Newsday, the Cardinals’ old friend Fernando Tatis may again play for a major-league team:

But with Moises Alou sidelined by hernia surgery and the Mets desperate to balance their lefty-heavy lineup, it appears that Tatis may have arrived just in time to make the Opening Day roster…
While his regular position is third base, Tatis was back in leftfield again yesterday, and the Mets are making it obvious that they’re leaning toward him.

When an also-ran like Tatis can land with a contender like the Mets, it makes Juan Gonzalez’s tryout with the Cardinals a bit less pathetic. And the Mets aren’t the only ones whose fans have been humbled by certain players on their rosters, some playing prominent roles. Among divisional rivals, things aren’t always greener, either. Consider that:

• Jason Marquis, projected 5.1 VORP, will be the Cubs’ fifth starter.
• Kaz Matsui, projected .313 OBP, will be leading off for the Astros.
• Woody Williams, projected 3.7 VORP, is the Astros’ fourth starter getting paid $6.5 million by the Astros not to play.
• Corey Patterson, .projected 317 OBP, will "kick start" the Reds’ offense.

When Anthony Reyes is your team’s 24th or 25th man, things could evidently be a lot worse.

But he’s not threatening to use it on anyone
McClellan appears to have made club — Post-Dispatch headline

Breaking news from 1993-2008
Pirates try to end losing ways — Post-Dispatch headline

That’s creative of him!
Jimenez making case for Cards roster — MLB.com headline

Reliable sources

• Reyes is likely to go to Memphis — Post-Dispatch headline
• Reyes looks to be bullpen front-runner — MLB.com headline
• Brad Thompson: Likely Headed to Bullpen — Yahoo! Sports headline
• Reyes sticks with Cardinals as long reliever — Yahoo! Sports headline
• Solid start could send Thompson to rotation — Post-Dispatch headline

Bottom stories of the day

• Blagojevich says Cubs should stay at Wrigley Field forever — CBS Sportsline headline
• Former Yankees staffer: ‘No way Alex was on juice’ –CBS Sportsline headline

Duties include collecting rosters
Cards’ McClellan makes case for bullpen job — MLB.com headline

Sherman’s predictions
Joel Sherman thinks he knows what’s going to happen this summer:

Those best of enemies, the Cardinals and Cubs, make a trade with rebuilding St. Louis dealing Jason Isringhausen to Chicago, which learns it cannot trust Kerry Wood in the end game.

Sherman clearly doesn’t follow the Cubs, nor is he much of a prognosticator. If Kerry Wood stays healthy long enough for the Cubs not to trust him in the end game, it’s obviously a sign of the endtimes.

This entry was posted by Pip on Friday, March 28th, 2008 at 10:55 pm and is filed under around the horn. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.