St. Louis Cardinals: Re-tooling of a Champion

beamon05 · 09-19-2007, 01:56 PM

March 2, 2007

Well if you've been living under a rock for the last year, let me introduce myself. My name is Trevor Anthony, and I won the competition in season one of "Can You Manage?". The controversial reality show pitted me against 9 other competitors, where the winner ended up being rewarded with a one-year contract as the GM of the St. Louis Cardinals. As part of the stipulation, I am required to keep fans of the show up to date with a blog where I discuss everything going on with the team and my position that I am allowed to, in accordance with MLB laws. So this first entry takes place on March 2nd, the beginning of spring training 2007.

It's been a very busy winter, getting accustomed to how the business of running a Major League Baseball team works. The Cardinals won the World Series last year, but they have hardly left me in an easy position for the upcoming season. Injuries, bad contracts and age are just some of the issues I am going to have to deal with this year. The Cardinals squeaked into the playoffs last year, and we're going to have a much tougher time this year. The pitching staff is mediocre at best. Mark Mulder, once thought of as one of the best pitchers in baseball, is not likely to feature in a game until at least August. Jeff Weaver and Jeff Suppan left via free agency, so there are a lot of holes in the rotation. I'm depending a lot on young guys like Adam Wainwright and Anthony Reyes to fill in the gaps. Our bullpen is also pretty shallow, especially with Wainwright and Braden Looper joining the rotation.
Behind Albert Pujols, our lineup has a lot of question marks. Jim Edmonds and Scott Rolen are trying to stay injury-free and fight off the effects of age. David Eckstein, last year's World Series MVP is also not getting any younger. With very little help in the minor leagues, it's likely to be a problem spot all year long.

In case you missed it, there were a couple moves made around the league in the last month or so, but only two real signifcant ones. The Dodgers traded Nomar Garciaparra to the Cubs for Cliff Floyd, which left a lot of people scratching their heads. I'm not sure where the Cubs plan to play Nomar (shortstop!?), and we all now about the injuries he had last time he played for them, so I'm not sure what their motivation was for that trade. But we have ourselves to worry about before we worry about the Cubs, so I guess we'll just see what happens. The other major deal was also a little strange, with the Padres sending pitcher Chris Young, who I think has a very bright future, to the Devil Rays for Ty Wigginton.

We made a couple transactions ourselves over the past month. The Dodgers offered us Wilson Betemit for Scott Speizio and minor league pitcher Frank Pol, which I decided to accept. Betemit is young and versatile, giving us depth at all the infield positions, and protects us if there's an injury. The move also freed a few million dollars in salary over the next couple of years. Also, we picked up Carlos Marmol after the Cubs released him. I think he could help our bullpen out, and is only costing us $550,000.

That's all for now. I need to focus on spring training, but I will report back when I have the time. Until then, let's go Red Birds!

beamon05 · 09-20-2007, 03:51 PM

March 30, 2007

Well it's time to suit up and get the regular season going, though it's tough to leave behind the sunshine in Jupiter, Florida. All things considering, despite finishing spring training with a record of 10-14, I still view the time as a success. We've sorted out the roster nicely, and avoided any long-term injuries. A couple guys missed some time during the spring, but we start the regular season with the same guys healthy that we had going into spring training. Chris Carpenter will be taking the ball Sunday night, and I look forward to us starting our World Championship defense in style with a win over the Mets. The owner wants us to at least get to the playoffs this year, which honestly is not going to be an easy task, but we will do our best to make it happen.

Who says no transactions ever happen during spring training? There was a huge trade this month, where the Tigers shipped Magglio Ordonez over to the Dodgers for Brad Penny. The Tigers rotation is nasty now, and you can't underestimate what Ordonez will bring to that Dodgers offense. I think that trade will work out well for both teams. The free agent market for next winter continues to get thinner, as Jermaine Dye signed a 4 year extension, as did Bobby Abreu. Jorge Posada and Mariano Rivera also extended their contracts, and it's rumored that A-Rod is about to put pen to paper on a 4 year deal, worth about $100 million. We did a little bit of business, re-signing David Eckstein to a 3 year contract, at about $500,000 a year. I don't expect him to be starting during that contract, but he gives us some great defense and speed, and contributes a lot to the team.

Well, the plane for St. Louis leaves soon, so I must end this. See you on opening night!

Andy · 09-20-2007, 04:08 PM

Cardinals fan here, I'll be following!

beamon05 · 09-20-2007, 04:10 PM

April 1, 2007

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- It won't make up for last year's loss in game 7 of the NLCS, but the Mets got a little retribution against the Cardinals on opening night. A home run from the bat of Carlos Beltran off Jason Isringhausen in the 11th inning wound up being the winning run as the Mets defeated the Cardinals 6-5 in front of a packed Busch Stadium, eager to see their defending champion Cardinals start the season off on the right note.

It looked bleak right away, as the Mets scored 3 times off Chris Carpenter in the first inning, the big blow being a 2 run double from Carlos Delgado. The Cardinals answered back in the 3rd, scoring 4 times to take a 4-3 lead, thanks in large part to a 3-run home run from Eli Marrero. Carpenter was unable to hold onto the lead though, as Jose Reyes doubled in 2 runs in the 5th inning, giving the Mets a 5-4 advantage. But just when it looked like the Cardinals were dead, Marrero delivered again, hitting his 2nd home run of the game, and tying the score at 5 in the bottom of the 8th.

But that was all the Cardinals could muster, with Mets closer Billy Wagner pitching 2 innings in relief to get the victory. It was not the night the Cardinals were hoping for to start their quest for a repeat, and the team will look to rebound on Tuesday.

beamon05 · 09-20-2007, 04:27 PM

May 1, 2007

Well nobody said being the GM of a baseball team is easy, and I can see why. I was definitely hoping for a fast start to the season, but things have not worked out as planned to this point. We slumped to a 11-15 record in April, but it's not all bad. Yes, we'd definitely like our record to be much better, but there's plenty of time left.

First up, the negative. Our offense has been woeful. We rank last, or very close to it in all the main offensive categories. Our team batting average is less than .220, and you obviously can't win many games with a stat like that. Jim Edmonds has been our best hitter this month, but even he is struggling. He hit 8 home runs and knocked in 20 in April, and while he's on pace for over 40 home runs, that .211 batting average is not getting it done. And he's not alone in struggling. David Eckstein has rewarded us for signing him to an extension by batting .180, and has been moved to the bottom of the batting order. Wilson Betemit has been solid coming off the bench, and I think he might start taking at-bats away from Eckstein soon. So Taguchi and Chris Duncan also are performing well in limited chances, so you might see their playing time increase real soon. Also, our back end of the bullpen has not been performing up to task. Jason Isringhausen is 1-4 with an ERA approaching 8.00, and has been taken out of the closer's role, with his spot being taken by Tyler Johnson.

On the plus side, our starting pitching has been outstanding. Chris Carpenter received the NL Pitcher of the Month award, going 5-0 with an ERA of 2.76, and 49 IP. Despite Kip Wells and Anthony Reyes going down for two weeks at a time, our starters ERA is the best in the league, at just a shade above 3.00. Because of our terrible offensive production, only Carpenter has a winning record, but hopefully things will even out when our hitters start producing.

Like I said, it's early, but you don't want to fall into a hole and have to battle your way back to the top for the remainder of the season. I know our offense is capable of more than they've showed to this point, so I expect them to start heating up soon and help get our record above .500.

Record: 11-15, 5 GB of the Cubs

P.S., thanks for reading, Andy!

beamon05 · 09-20-2007, 04:47 PM

May 2, 2007

Duncan Strains Bicep, Out 6 Weeks

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- The St. Louis Cardinals, struggling to find their form this season at 12-15, got a piece of bad news today as Chris Duncan injured himself while working out. Test results confirmed the injury as a strained right biceps, and Duncan will miss about 6 weeks. The injury was bad timing for Duncan, after manager Tony La Russa announced the previous day that Duncan would be getting extended playing time, due to the continued struggles of members in the lineup.

"It sucks, yeah," Duncan said by telephone, "I felt that I was really going to help this team score some runs, and now I'm going to have to sit on the sidelines for a while. But when I get back, I fully expect to contribute and be a big part of this team getting back to the playoffs." Duncan was moved to the 15-day DL, and outfielder Jon Jay was called up from Triple-A to take his place in the lineup. It is expected that So Taguchi and John Rodriguez will get the bulk of the playing time in left field.

beamon05 · 09-21-2007, 02:26 PM

July 1, 2007

Well we're almost halfway through the season (80 games down, 82 to go), and the team is starting to show what it's made of. Despite being 4 games under .500 at the end of April, the team is now 42-38, and back in contention for the playoffs. Unfortunately the Astros are looking very strong, and we currently trail them by 3.5 games, but we do have a one-game lead in the wild card over the Cubs.
Chris Carpenter continues to have an excellent season for us, and picked up his 2nd NL Pitcher of the Month award this season. He went 5-1 with a 2.76 ERA in June, and is now 13-3, with a 3.26 ERA for the season. Tyler Johnson has done extremely well in the closer's role, picking up 18 saves to date, with an ERA below 2.30. Our starting pitching has been excellent, with our 3.94 ERA good enough for #1 in the NL. Unfortunately our bullpen has been a big weakness, ranking 15th in the NL with an ERA of 5.01.
Our offense has definitely been picking up the slack of late. Jim Edmonds and Albert Pujols lead the team in most categories, and John Rodriguez is having a very good under-the-radar season as well. Our batting average is now 5th in the NL, which is outstanding, considering it was dead last at the end of April. Edmonds and David Eckstein have really brought their averages up since then, which has made a big difference in the team's success.

Around the league, the divisional races are really starting to show, and some teams have clearly given up on the season. Surprisingly, the Tigers have the worst record in baseball, and have thrown in the towel, recently trading Justin Verlander to the Diamondbacks for Orlando Hudson and a prospect. Verlander and Brandon Webb makes Arizona very dangerous. I'm not sure how getting Hudson is the best move for Detroit, but hey, it's none of my concern. But the Tigers have some excellent players, and they could prove to be a good potential trade partner. In our division, Pittsburgh and Milwaukee are both pretty much out of it, making it a 4-team race at the moment.

Well, that's it for today. It's time to get back to the field and hopefully gain some ground on the Astros.

Record: 42-38, 3.5 GB Astros

beamon05 · 09-28-2007, 02:31 PM

August 1, 2007

Wow, where do I start? What an eventful couple of weeks we've had. Let's start with our record in the league. We finished July with a 57-47 record, which leaves us 2.5 games behind the Astros for the division lead. On the wild card side, we hold a 2 game lead over the Cubs. Our pitching staff has been excellent. Brad Thompson and Tyler Johnson have come out of nowhere to really hold things down. Thompson is 9-4 with an ERA of 3.21. Johnson has excelled since taking over the closer's role. He's currently 5-0 with a 1.70 ERA, and has saved 21 games. For his work, we have rewarded him with a 2-year extension, at $570,000 per year. Chris Carpenter has also been outstanding, which leads me to our next major point of discussion.

Despite our great pitching, we've run into some serious bad luck. First, Adam Wainwright went on the shelf with a torn labrum, and is likely out the rest of the season. Wainwright was 4-5 with a 4.26 ERA, but was putting together some outstanding performances as of late. Wainwright has been replaced in the rotation by Jaime Garcia. Garcia was 6-6 with a 4.57 ERA, but we really feel he can provide some stability in the rotation. And as if things couldn't be worse, our ace, Chris Carpenter, has gone down with a herniated disc in his back, and may not be back in time for the end of the season. Carpenter was 16-5, well on the way to another 20-win season, with an ERA of 3.43. Obviously, his loss is devastating, but we're just going to have to hope the rest of the staff can hold it together in his absence. Chris Narveson has been called up from the minors to take his spot on the roster.

Finally, we were definitely the headline makers at the trading deadline, pulling off 3 big trades. First up, we traded Wilson Betemit to the Mets for Phil Humber. Betemit was not getting a lot of playing time, and was not really able to produce when he was in the lineup. Humber is young, and was having an outstanding first season with the Mets, so we jumped at the opportunity. While it was tempting to hold onto Humber, we decided to actually trade him within the division, shipping him to the Brewers in exchange for young 3B Ryan Braun, and SP Chris Capuano. Braun's batting average is low, but he's showing some power, and we feel he will be a big part of our infield for years to come. And while we certainly don't look forward to facing Humber in the future, we felt this was a trade we needed to make.
To make room for Braun, we pulled off our most controversial trade, giving up Scott Rolen and Jason Isringhausen to the Texas Rangers in exchange for closer Eric Gagne and 2B Ian Kinsler. Our fans our obviously upset about losing Rolen, but the reaction to getting Kinsler was overwhelmingly positive. I feel the trades we made have helped us get younger, lower payroll and remain competitive. We were hoping to sign Gagne to an extension, but he wants to test the market in the Winter. However, that doesn't mean we won't want him when that time comes. But with Tyler Johnson performing so well, we're going to use Gagne in the setup role for the time-being. Here's a look at the players involved in all the trades:

Philip Humber: 9-2, 3.91 ERA. 106 IP, 98 H, 64 K
Wilson Betemit: .231, 3 HR, 16 RBI, 169 AB

Ryan Braun: .247, 14 HR,40 RBI
Chris Capuano: 5-5, 4.17 ERA, 110 IP, 121 H, 88 K

Scott Rolen: .261, 16 HR, 46 RBI
Jason Isringhausen: 3-6, 4.45 ERA, 5 SV
Eric Gagne: 3-5, 3.86 ERA, 20 SV
Ian Kinsler: .336, 14 HR, 81 RBI

With Braun, Kinsler, and Pujols, we have a solid infield for years to come, and hopefully Capuano can help the rotation get some stability back until Mark Mulder, and hopefully Chris Carpenter, can arrive. We're right in the thick of the pennant race, and I look forward to our new guys chipping in and helping us play deep into October.

beamon05 · 10-01-2007, 01:45 PM

August 18, 2007

Cardinals Trade Flores for Renteria

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- With their team out of contention, the Atlanta Braves pulled off a trade to create some financial flexibility, trading shortstop Edgar Renteria to the St. Louis Cardinals, in exchange for relief pitcher Randy Flores. For Renteria, it's a return to the team he helped get to the World Series in 2004, and the place where he enjoyed some of his most successful seasons.
"I'm ecstatic to be back in St. Louis," Renteria commented over the phone. "I never wanted to leave, and while I enjoyed my time in Atlanta, I feel at home here, and look forward to getting this team back to the World Series."
At the time of the trade, Renteria is batting .271, with 9 home runs and 51 RBIs. Flores, who has been one of the top relievers on the Cardinals staff, was 5-3, with 3 saves and an ERA of 3.26. In 85 innings, he has struck out 71 and batters are hitting .230 against him.
Both players had to clear waivers to allow the trade to go through. The Cardinals are on the hook for Renteria through the 2008 season as well, when he'll make $10 million. He joins Ryan Braun, Ian Kinsler and Albert Pujols, to form a highly improved St. Louis infield, for both this season and the future. The bullpen, which has been a weakness all year, is going to need to step it up in the absence of Flores.

Later in the day, the Cardinals announced that they have re-signed starter Chris Capuano to a 2-year, $2.26 million contract. Capuano, who came over from the Milwaukee Brewers at the July 31 trading deadline, is 2-1, with a 3.12 ERA in 3 starts with the Cardinals.

09-20-2007, 03:51 PM	#2
beamon05 Bat Boy Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 15	Spring Training Wrapup March 30, 2007 Well it's time to suit up and get the regular season going, though it's tough to leave behind the sunshine in Jupiter, Florida. All things considering, despite finishing spring training with a record of 10-14, I still view the time as a success. We've sorted out the roster nicely, and avoided any long-term injuries. A couple guys missed some time during the spring, but we start the regular season with the same guys healthy that we had going into spring training. Chris Carpenter will be taking the ball Sunday night, and I look forward to us starting our World Championship defense in style with a win over the Mets. The owner wants us to at least get to the playoffs this year, which honestly is not going to be an easy task, but we will do our best to make it happen. Who says no transactions ever happen during spring training? There was a huge trade this month, where the Tigers shipped Magglio Ordonez over to the Dodgers for Brad Penny. The Tigers rotation is nasty now, and you can't underestimate what Ordonez will bring to that Dodgers offense. I think that trade will work out well for both teams. The free agent market for next winter continues to get thinner, as Jermaine Dye signed a 4 year extension, as did Bobby Abreu. Jorge Posada and Mariano Rivera also extended their contracts, and it's rumored that A-Rod is about to put pen to paper on a 4 year deal, worth about $100 million. We did a little bit of business, re-signing David Eckstein to a 3 year contract, at about $500,000 a year. I don't expect him to be starting during that contract, but he gives us some great defense and speed, and contributes a lot to the team. Well, the plane for St. Louis leaves soon, so I must end this. See you on opening night!

09-20-2007, 04:10 PM	#4
beamon05 Bat Boy Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 15	Cardinals Start Season On Sour Note April 1, 2007 ST. LOUIS (AP) -- It won't make up for last year's loss in game 7 of the NLCS, but the Mets got a little retribution against the Cardinals on opening night. A home run from the bat of Carlos Beltran off Jason Isringhausen in the 11th inning wound up being the winning run as the Mets defeated the Cardinals 6-5 in front of a packed Busch Stadium, eager to see their defending champion Cardinals start the season off on the right note. It looked bleak right away, as the Mets scored 3 times off Chris Carpenter in the first inning, the big blow being a 2 run double from Carlos Delgado. The Cardinals answered back in the 3rd, scoring 4 times to take a 4-3 lead, thanks in large part to a 3-run home run from Eli Marrero. Carpenter was unable to hold onto the lead though, as Jose Reyes doubled in 2 runs in the 5th inning, giving the Mets a 5-4 advantage. But just when it looked like the Cardinals were dead, Marrero delivered again, hitting his 2nd home run of the game, and tying the score at 5 in the bottom of the 8th. But that was all the Cardinals could muster, with Mets closer Billy Wagner pitching 2 innings in relief to get the victory. It was not the night the Cardinals were hoping for to start their quest for a repeat, and the team will look to rebound on Tuesday.

09-20-2007, 04:27 PM	#5
beamon05 Bat Boy Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 15	Looking Back at April May 1, 2007 Well nobody said being the GM of a baseball team is easy, and I can see why. I was definitely hoping for a fast start to the season, but things have not worked out as planned to this point. We slumped to a 11-15 record in April, but it's not all bad. Yes, we'd definitely like our record to be much better, but there's plenty of time left. First up, the negative. Our offense has been woeful. We rank last, or very close to it in all the main offensive categories. Our team batting average is less than .220, and you obviously can't win many games with a stat like that. Jim Edmonds has been our best hitter this month, but even he is struggling. He hit 8 home runs and knocked in 20 in April, and while he's on pace for over 40 home runs, that .211 batting average is not getting it done. And he's not alone in struggling. David Eckstein has rewarded us for signing him to an extension by batting .180, and has been moved to the bottom of the batting order. Wilson Betemit has been solid coming off the bench, and I think he might start taking at-bats away from Eckstein soon. So Taguchi and Chris Duncan also are performing well in limited chances, so you might see their playing time increase real soon. Also, our back end of the bullpen has not been performing up to task. Jason Isringhausen is 1-4 with an ERA approaching 8.00, and has been taken out of the closer's role, with his spot being taken by Tyler Johnson. On the plus side, our starting pitching has been outstanding. Chris Carpenter received the NL Pitcher of the Month award, going 5-0 with an ERA of 2.76, and 49 IP. Despite Kip Wells and Anthony Reyes going down for two weeks at a time, our starters ERA is the best in the league, at just a shade above 3.00. Because of our terrible offensive production, only Carpenter has a winning record, but hopefully things will even out when our hitters start producing. Like I said, it's early, but you don't want to fall into a hole and have to battle your way back to the top for the remainder of the season. I know our offense is capable of more than they've showed to this point, so I expect them to start heating up soon and help get our record above .500. Record: 11-15, 5 GB of the Cubs P.S., thanks for reading, Andy!

09-20-2007, 04:47 PM	#6
beamon05 Bat Boy Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 15	Duncan Out May 2, 2007 Duncan Strains Bicep, Out 6 Weeks ST. LOUIS (AP) -- The St. Louis Cardinals, struggling to find their form this season at 12-15, got a piece of bad news today as Chris Duncan injured himself while working out. Test results confirmed the injury as a strained right biceps, and Duncan will miss about 6 weeks. The injury was bad timing for Duncan, after manager Tony La Russa announced the previous day that Duncan would be getting extended playing time, due to the continued struggles of members in the lineup. "It sucks, yeah," Duncan said by telephone, "I felt that I was really going to help this team score some runs, and now I'm going to have to sit on the sidelines for a while. But when I get back, I fully expect to contribute and be a big part of this team getting back to the playoffs." Duncan was moved to the 15-day DL, and outfielder Jon Jay was called up from Triple-A to take his place in the lineup. It is expected that So Taguchi and John Rodriguez will get the bulk of the playing time in left field.

09-21-2007, 02:26 PM	#7
beamon05 Bat Boy Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 15	July 1, 2007 Well we're almost halfway through the season (80 games down, 82 to go), and the team is starting to show what it's made of. Despite being 4 games under .500 at the end of April, the team is now 42-38, and back in contention for the playoffs. Unfortunately the Astros are looking very strong, and we currently trail them by 3.5 games, but we do have a one-game lead in the wild card over the Cubs. Chris Carpenter continues to have an excellent season for us, and picked up his 2nd NL Pitcher of the Month award this season. He went 5-1 with a 2.76 ERA in June, and is now 13-3, with a 3.26 ERA for the season. Tyler Johnson has done extremely well in the closer's role, picking up 18 saves to date, with an ERA below 2.30. Our starting pitching has been excellent, with our 3.94 ERA good enough for #1 in the NL. Unfortunately our bullpen has been a big weakness, ranking 15th in the NL with an ERA of 5.01. Our offense has definitely been picking up the slack of late. Jim Edmonds and Albert Pujols lead the team in most categories, and John Rodriguez is having a very good under-the-radar season as well. Our batting average is now 5th in the NL, which is outstanding, considering it was dead last at the end of April. Edmonds and David Eckstein have really brought their averages up since then, which has made a big difference in the team's success. Around the league, the divisional races are really starting to show, and some teams have clearly given up on the season. Surprisingly, the Tigers have the worst record in baseball, and have thrown in the towel, recently trading Justin Verlander to the Diamondbacks for Orlando Hudson and a prospect. Verlander and Brandon Webb makes Arizona very dangerous. I'm not sure how getting Hudson is the best move for Detroit, but hey, it's none of my concern. But the Tigers have some excellent players, and they could prove to be a good potential trade partner. In our division, Pittsburgh and Milwaukee are both pretty much out of it, making it a 4-team race at the moment. Well, that's it for today. It's time to get back to the field and hopefully gain some ground on the Astros. *Record: 42-38, 3.5 GB Astros* Last edited by beamon05; 09-21-2007 at 02:27 PM.

09-19-2007, 01:56 PM	#1
beamon05 Bat Boy Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 15	St. Louis Cardinals: Re-tooling of a Champion March 2, 2007 Well if you've been living under a rock for the last year, let me introduce myself. My name is Trevor Anthony, and I won the competition in season one of "Can You Manage?". The controversial reality show pitted me against 9 other competitors, where the winner ended up being rewarded with a one-year contract as the GM of the St. Louis Cardinals. As part of the stipulation, I am required to keep fans of the show up to date with a blog where I discuss everything going on with the team and my position that I am allowed to, in accordance with MLB laws. So this first entry takes place on March 2nd, the beginning of spring training 2007. It's been a very busy winter, getting accustomed to how the business of running a Major League Baseball team works. The Cardinals won the World Series last year, but they have hardly left me in an easy position for the upcoming season. Injuries, bad contracts and age are just some of the issues I am going to have to deal with this year. The Cardinals squeaked into the playoffs last year, and we're going to have a much tougher time this year. The pitching staff is mediocre at best. Mark Mulder, once thought of as one of the best pitchers in baseball, is not likely to feature in a game until at least August. Jeff Weaver and Jeff Suppan left via free agency, so there are a lot of holes in the rotation. I'm depending a lot on young guys like Adam Wainwright and Anthony Reyes to fill in the gaps. Our bullpen is also pretty shallow, especially with Wainwright and Braden Looper joining the rotation. Behind Albert Pujols, our lineup has a lot of question marks. Jim Edmonds and Scott Rolen are trying to stay injury-free and fight off the effects of age. David Eckstein, last year's World Series MVP is also not getting any younger. With very little help in the minor leagues, it's likely to be a problem spot all year long. In case you missed it, there were a couple moves made around the league in the last month or so, but only two real signifcant ones. The Dodgers traded Nomar Garciaparra to the Cubs for Cliff Floyd, which left a lot of people scratching their heads. I'm not sure where the Cubs plan to play Nomar (shortstop!?), and we all now about the injuries he had last time he played for them, so I'm not sure what their motivation was for that trade. But we have ourselves to worry about before we worry about the Cubs, so I guess we'll just see what happens. The other major deal was also a little strange, with the Padres sending pitcher Chris Young, who I think has a very bright future, to the Devil Rays for Ty Wigginton. We made a couple transactions ourselves over the past month. The Dodgers offered us Wilson Betemit for Scott Speizio and minor league pitcher Frank Pol, which I decided to accept. Betemit is young and versatile, giving us depth at all the infield positions, and protects us if there's an injury. The move also freed a few million dollars in salary over the next couple of years. Also, we picked up Carlos Marmol after the Cubs released him. I think he could help our bullpen out, and is only costing us $550,000. That's all for now. I need to focus on spring training, but I will report back when I have the time. Until then, let's go Red Birds!

09-20-2007, 04:08 PM	#3
Andy Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Dayton, OH Posts: 2,263	Cardinals fan here, I'll be following!

09-28-2007, 02:31 PM	#8
beamon05 Bat Boy Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 15	Catching Up August 1, 2007 Wow, where do I start? What an eventful couple of weeks we've had. Let's start with our record in the league. We finished July with a 57-47 record, which leaves us 2.5 games behind the Astros for the division lead. On the wild card side, we hold a 2 game lead over the Cubs. Our pitching staff has been excellent. Brad Thompson and Tyler Johnson have come out of nowhere to really hold things down. Thompson is 9-4 with an ERA of 3.21. Johnson has excelled since taking over the closer's role. He's currently 5-0 with a 1.70 ERA, and has saved 21 games. For his work, we have rewarded him with a 2-year extension, at $570,000 per year. Chris Carpenter has also been outstanding, which leads me to our next major point of discussion. Despite our great pitching, we've run into some serious bad luck. First, Adam Wainwright went on the shelf with a torn labrum, and is likely out the rest of the season. Wainwright was 4-5 with a 4.26 ERA, but was putting together some outstanding performances as of late. Wainwright has been replaced in the rotation by Jaime Garcia. Garcia was 6-6 with a 4.57 ERA, but we really feel he can provide some stability in the rotation. And as if things couldn't be worse, our ace, Chris Carpenter, has gone down with a herniated disc in his back, and may not be back in time for the end of the season. Carpenter was 16-5, well on the way to another 20-win season, with an ERA of 3.43. Obviously, his loss is devastating, but we're just going to have to hope the rest of the staff can hold it together in his absence. Chris Narveson has been called up from the minors to take his spot on the roster. Finally, we were definitely the headline makers at the trading deadline, pulling off 3 big trades. First up, we traded Wilson Betemit to the Mets for Phil Humber. Betemit was not getting a lot of playing time, and was not really able to produce when he was in the lineup. Humber is young, and was having an outstanding first season with the Mets, so we jumped at the opportunity. While it was tempting to hold onto Humber, we decided to actually trade him within the division, shipping him to the Brewers in exchange for young 3B Ryan Braun, and SP Chris Capuano. Braun's batting average is low, but he's showing some power, and we feel he will be a big part of our infield for years to come. And while we certainly don't look forward to facing Humber in the future, we felt this was a trade we needed to make. To make room for Braun, we pulled off our most controversial trade, giving up Scott Rolen and Jason Isringhausen to the Texas Rangers in exchange for closer Eric Gagne and 2B Ian Kinsler. Our fans our obviously upset about losing Rolen, but the reaction to getting Kinsler was overwhelmingly positive. I feel the trades we made have helped us get younger, lower payroll and remain competitive. We were hoping to sign Gagne to an extension, but he wants to test the market in the Winter. However, that doesn't mean we won't want him when that time comes. But with Tyler Johnson performing so well, we're going to use Gagne in the setup role for the time-being. Here's a look at the players involved in all the trades: Philip Humber: 9-2, 3.91 ERA. 106 IP, 98 H, 64 K Wilson Betemit: .231, 3 HR, 16 RBI, 169 AB Ryan Braun: .247, 14 HR,40 RBI Chris Capuano: 5-5, 4.17 ERA, 110 IP, 121 H, 88 K Scott Rolen: .261, 16 HR, 46 RBI Jason Isringhausen: 3-6, 4.45 ERA, 5 SV Eric Gagne: 3-5, 3.86 ERA, 20 SV Ian Kinsler: .336, 14 HR, 81 RBI With Braun, Kinsler, and Pujols, we have a solid infield for years to come, and hopefully Capuano can help the rotation get some stability back until Mark Mulder, and hopefully Chris Carpenter, can arrive. We're right in the thick of the pennant race, and I look forward to our new guys chipping in and helping us play deep into October.

10-01-2007, 01:45 PM	#9
beamon05 Bat Boy Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 15	Cardinals Pick Up Renteria August 18, 2007 Cardinals Trade Flores for Renteria ST. LOUIS (AP) -- With their team out of contention, the Atlanta Braves pulled off a trade to create some financial flexibility, trading shortstop Edgar Renteria to the St. Louis Cardinals, in exchange for relief pitcher Randy Flores. For Renteria, it's a return to the team he helped get to the World Series in 2004, and the place where he enjoyed some of his most successful seasons. "I'm ecstatic to be back in St. Louis," Renteria commented over the phone. "I never wanted to leave, and while I enjoyed my time in Atlanta, I feel at home here, and look forward to getting this team back to the World Series." At the time of the trade, Renteria is batting .271, with 9 home runs and 51 RBIs. Flores, who has been one of the top relievers on the Cardinals staff, was 5-3, with 3 saves and an ERA of 3.26. In 85 innings, he has struck out 71 and batters are hitting .230 against him. Both players had to clear waivers to allow the trade to go through. The Cardinals are on the hook for Renteria through the 2008 season as well, when he'll make $10 million. He joins Ryan Braun, Ian Kinsler and Albert Pujols, to form a highly improved St. Louis infield, for both this season and the future. The bullpen, which has been a weakness all year, is going to need to step it up in the absence of Flores. Later in the day, the Cardinals announced that they have re-signed starter Chris Capuano to a 2-year, $2.26 million contract. Capuano, who came over from the Milwaukee Brewers at the July 31 trading deadline, is 2-1, with a 3.12 ERA in 3 starts with the Cardinals.