Beliard - The one that got away

by plawcas on Mar 20, 2008 11:08 AM EDT

Ronnie Belliard, hitting .459 this spring. Also, a team player. From the Washington Post http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/18/AR2008031803196.html

This may be the one that got away. I live in DC and have watched Belliard make smart baseball play after smart baseball play for the Nats, all the while acting like a stand up guy. The Nats are trying to decide between Felipe Lopez and Belliard at second this year. Here are the quotes:

"Bench?" López said Tuesday following a 9-1 thumping of the Detroit Tigers. "No. I already said that. No. Hell, no."

Belliard, speaking diagonally across the same cramped locker room from López, countered with: "I'm not going to get upset. Whatever they decide is good with me."

This attitude, while hitting .459 this Spring. Give me a break. As a die hard Cardinal fan, I'm always giving our WS winning 2B props at the park. I'd rather be watching him on the tube and reading about him in the paper though, as a Redbird.

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Sp mistake

How can I screw the guy's name up right in the post. My apologies Ronnie.

by plawcas on Mar 20, 2008 11:12 AM EDT reply actions

I was going to say something-it's Belliard with two LL's

Me thinks they were judging him by his sloppy look and heaviness. And the bat that didn't come around, not taking into consideration that he was adjusting to a new league and new pitchers. Just one of many mistakes they have made when judging players. I guess Mr. LaRussa didn't see the right "intangibles" in Mr. Bellird.

I wish him continued success. He seems like a good guy.

She isn't crazy, she's just not impressed.

by jillsinmo on Mar 20, 2008 11:20 AM EDT reply actions

I don't Think It was Mr. LaRussa's Choice.

And at the time AK was more of a sidegrade anyway.

by Evilfrog on Mar 20, 2008 11:39 AM EDT up reply actions

Mr. Mr.

Mr Belliard IS knocking the laces off the ball.....right now!

Yep, who knew?...and he could be in Mexico by June or July. C'mon AK, back me up now!

If Mrs. Jill ever starts calling you Mr.______, you know your in for it! Mr. Cardschinmusic is a lot to type so maybe I'm safe? ; )

"Son, we'd like to keep you around for the season but we're gonna try to win the pennant." Old Casey

by cardschinmusic on Mar 21, 2008 6:26 AM EDT up reply actions

Who knew?

It does look like we got the short end of 2B stick (both literally and figuritavely) but I don't think there were many fans who were cursing at the AK signing and clamoring to get The Belly back at the time. Hindsight is always 20-20

by redpoet on Mar 20, 2008 11:30 AM EDT reply actions

People were pretty annoyed

when they saw how little Belliard signed for.

"You say the world has lost it's love. I say embrace what it's made of" - Dar Williams

by Valatan on Mar 20, 2008 11:39 AM EDT up reply actions

i couldn't agree more

That and not to mention the whole east stl blackmail thing, and at the time the money was going to be about the same for which ever one they signed

"Textbooks are Soviet propaganda" - Rev. Jerry Falwell

by elirock83 on Mar 20, 2008 11:40 AM EDT up reply actions

I made a similar point

in a comment to this fan post.

Back in November 2006, the Cardinals made the decision to opt for Kennedy rather than Belliard. Looking back on it, I do not see the rationale, but I do remember at the time having been nonplussed with Belliard, even though he had a good year at the plate overall in 2006.

In the end, this seems like an error in player evaluation. Belliard appears to have more longevity as a player than Kennedy, whose production has been on a downward trajectory for several years now.

While I expect Kennedy to bounce back from his horrendous year last year, I do not expect him to outperform the Belly.

by Titus Pullo on Mar 20, 2008 12:19 PM EDT reply actions

"Nonplussed"

means "confused" or "perplexed."

I see it misused a lot to mean "unaffected by" or "unimpressed by."

Regarding Belli, I was surprised by (1) how poorly he hit given his past numbers; (2) how well he seemed to field--he played very deep and seemed to get to an awful lot of grounders; and (3) how, when the fielding ratings came out during that offseason, how poorly he fared, grading out at mediocre at best, if not below average.

My biggest problem with him was that disgusting tongue.

by salvomania on Mar 20, 2008 1:39 PM EDT up reply actions

Reflecting

I think I can see why the Cardinals decided to go after Kennedy though, at the time in the offseason I believe the Mets had been talking to Belliard and after their spending spree the year before, the Cardinals were probably penny pinching. Which is still rediculous, we just won a World Series, sign the better player for slightly more. Hindsight is 20/20, I know.

I''m a Jenius!

by gibbons on Mar 20, 2008 6:00 PM EDT up reply actions

East Side

Back in August of '06 I met Belliard at OZ Nightclub on the East Side at around 4am.
He let my hammered friend sample some of the Dom Perignon and OJ drink he was sippin' on. Stand up guy if you ask me!

by cd on Mar 20, 2008 12:37 PM EDT reply actions

Personally

I think they didn't resign him b/c he simply didn't hit at all when he was here. He started almost every game during his regular season run here, even though he didn't hit a lick, and then was bolted firmly to the bench for the last few WS games. I think that was why they went with Kennedy, figuring that he would have been an offensive upgrade. Of course, that didn't work out worth a darn. It would have been nice if WJ would have just resigned Grudzielanek, who has since won a GG over with the Royals.

"Your Holiness, I'm Joseph Medwick. I, too, used to be a Cardinal."-Joe Medwick, to Pope Pius XII.

by redbirdnation8206 on Mar 20, 2008 12:47 PM EDT reply actions

Amen!

Grudz has played very well for some piss poor Royals teams and would have come back with a 3-4 year deal similar to what we ended up paying for the Luna/Belliard/Kennedy crapfest that we've had the last couple of years. He should have been resigned and then we also wouldn't have the Aaron Miles continuing saga....

I'm not a big believer in Belliard, and Kennedy is a better defensive keystone when healthy so I think it was the right move -- Kennedy just hasn't performed up to expectations thus far.

"I just wish that the late Harry Caray were still around so I could hear him mispronounce 'Kosuke Fukudome' every fukun' night" -- Dennis Miller

by fourstick on Mar 20, 2008 1:20 PM EDT up reply actions

glove

You can't discount Belli's play in the 07 playoffs though. Especially in the NLDS. Some nice glovework too. Granted, he was picked up as a backup by Wash for 07. Came off the bench though and produced. What are you gonna do?

by plawcas on Mar 20, 2008 2:07 PM EDT reply actions

There's some revisionist history going on

First of all, Jocketty admittedly misjudged the 2B market that year and Belliard signed for peanuts but that wasn't something I think many people anticipated.

Second, Kennedy's contract was very team friendly. Kennedy's decline was somewhat unexpected especially on the defensive side. If Kennedy had hit at 80% of his career averages and played good defense he would have been a fine 2B last year. Who knows how much the knee injury really affected him.

Third, Belliard was a terrible hitter in STL. Now I'm not one to use that sample size as representative but I can see how the front office would be hesitant to re-sign a .687 OPS.

Personally, I've never been enamored of Belliard. I think he's a poor defensive 2B who looks decent because he plays SOOO deep in the hole. His range was unimpressive and I thought his arm was just average. I think most metrics have him at average (I haven't looked and can't right now) but I wasn't displeased to see him go. I, too, was far more disappointed to see Grudz leave.

by azruavatar on Mar 20, 2008 2:27 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs

Yup.

I wish Belliard well, but wish we'd kept Grudz! I think you're dead on: playing that deep made for some surprising snags, but overall he was not a plus in the field. His UZRs bear that out, I'll bet.

by random on Mar 20, 2008 11:57 PM EDT up reply actions

I'll never lose much sleep over it...

I liked Belliard, but the biggest mistake was letting Grudz go.

by birdsonbat on Mar 20, 2008 5:45 PM EDT reply actions

wow haven't heard this in a bit

it got so tiring in 06 hearing about grudz and Reggie. None of the options mentioned is a long term solution. Grudz could have been a 3-4 guy. Lets see how Kennedy does his second yr back in the NL. as in every year since 06 this team has more issues than 2b. Not sure having both at this point makes them a contender, I wonder whne we will ever stop hearing it...its over..oh and I think 06 ended well

I can't believe i gave up a homerun to that punchinjudy hitter-major league 2

by punchinjudy on Mar 20, 2008 6:09 PM EDT up reply actions

2006 was fun...

and i know my opinion smacks of hindsight 20/20 thinking, but I wsa under the impression that we were looking for stability at 2nd base at that time. Arguably, with Grudz we would have had that. He wanted to stay, he wasnt asking for too much and LaRussa was a fan. Has anyone played better everyday at 2nd base since then? Was the four or five people that we have thrown at the position over the last few years a long term solution? Like I said, no complaints about 2006 and I never mentioned Reggie, but letting Grudz go, in my opinion, was a mistake.

by birdsonbat on Mar 21, 2008 12:03 PM EDT up reply actions

Belliard was also wrapped up in that super weird extortion case that off season. Between that, his extracurricular activities around the stadium and at the east side, and the fact he really wasn't very good in 06, it wasn't much of a surprise Walt went elsewhere for 2b.

Thanks for October '06 and best of luck though, Ronnie.

by Alxfritz on Mar 21, 2008 12:08 AM EDT reply actions