weekend edition

by lboros on Nov 10, 2007 9:44 AM EST in St. Louis Cardinals News

random notes for weekend discussion:

the phillies might not be the only team to move their 2007 closer into the 2008 rotation. the cubs are contemplating doing the same thing with dempster. and if dempster is in the rotation, then presumably jason marquis is out; the only other guy dempster might nudge aside is sean marshall, and since marshall is better and cheaper than marquis i don't know why he'd take the fall.
if you haven't read john mozeliak's diary yet, recording his thoughts / actions during his early days on the job, it's a must-read.

here's a little trivia about one of the pitchers frequently mentioned as an stl trade target, ervin santana: he's got a persistent, ugly home-road split.

HOME	w-l	era	avg/obp/slg	AWAY	w-l	era	avg/obp/slg
2005	9-3	3.18	.233/.297/.361	2005	3-5	7.43	.321/.394/.596
2006	10-2	3.02	.224/.292/.342	2006	6-6	5.95	.262/.334/.461
2007	6-4	3.27	.250/.314/.382	2007	1-10	8.38	.325/.398/.607
career	25-9	3.14	.234/.300/.359	career	10-21	7.14	.299/.372/.546

i don't quite know what to make of that. anaheim does have a pitcher-friendly park, but the effect isn't that pronounced. moreover, 2 of the other 3 parks in his division (seattle and oakland), where he makes a disproportionate number of his road starts, are decidedly pro-pitcher; doesn't make a whole lotta sense. i think he, like anthony reyes, has more ability than his w-l and era figures suggest, and he's still 3 years away from free agency. . . . if they can get him on reasonable terms, i like the idea in spite of the home/road thing.

could greg maddux make it to 400 wins? he needs 53 more to get there, and at least one person thinks he's got a shot at it.
carlos gomez is working for the diamondbacks now. . . .
despite having stolen only 3 bases in 3 games, the 1986 cardinals are off to a good start: 2 wins in their first 3 games. willie mcgee's batting .500, jack clark is at .556 with an ops over 1.400, and all 3 starting pitchers so far (cox tudor and forsch) have turned in quality starts. greg mathews faces the expos today . . . .
head over to Future Redbirds and vote in the Readers' Top 25 poll, a followup to the top 25 series erik and azru did last week.

Tweet Comment 22 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

Thanks for the link

to the maddux article...I really enjoyed that.

by siddfynch on Nov 10, 2007 9:52 AM EST reply actions

Boo

Carlos Gomez. I never liked that guy. Now, if he were working for my favourite organisation, I would love him, but he's not, so... I guess congratulations are in order. (sigh)

That Mozeliak diary was absolutely brilliant. Hooray Hinkster!

The Dempster move is interesting. If I remember correctly he was pretty awful as a starter, even before he started having injury problems. Personally, I wouldn't mind the Cards having two or three shots at him with the whole lineup. Maybe Marquis is available for trade now? Oh. Sorry, I just threw up in my mouth a little.

I don't think Maddux is going to make it. He may get pretty close, but I don't think he has much left in the tank. I hope he proves me wrong; one of the all time smartest guys in the game, and a great competitor.

Ervin Santana is interesting, in spite of the splits, but I don't see him being a very good fit here. He's not the type of pitcher that Duncan and Tony like working with, and I just fear there would be a bad working relationship. We don't need anymore of those.

Why do all of the ads on this site this morning seem to be either for women's bathing suits or bras? Very odd. Also odd that someone 27 years old would call it a bathing suit, as if he were living sometime in the 1930's. On the upside, the fedora market and Coney Island both look very promising.

The 2007 offseason: Butter? Or Steel?

by the red baron on Nov 10, 2007 9:59 AM EST reply actions

I should

amend my Maddux comment. I meant to say I don't think he has that much left in the tank. He still looks awfully damned good for a man with that many innings, and years, on his arm. But 53 more wins would take not quite four more years if he won 14 each year. Four more years, from a man of 41, seems a bit much, even for someone as unique as Maddux.

My original comment came off as somewhat derogatory, after I read it, and that wasn't at all my intention.

The 2007 offseason: Butter? Or Steel?

by the red baron on Nov 10, 2007 10:06 AM EST up reply actions

Greg Maddux

Valley High School, Las Vegas, NV

Go Vikings.

It happened on a Sunday afternoon, August 22, 1982.

by Glenn Brummer stole home on Nov 10, 2007 11:06 AM EST up reply actions

Maddux has a very low effort delivery

As non-knuckleballers go he is pretty unique. I know that many around here love young pitchers that throw hard but yet its Maddux, Moyer, and Glavine that are all still going while the hard throwers flame out.

If PJ Walters was able to match the post 35 part of Maddux's career I think we would all be esctatic.

by DriverZn on Nov 10, 2007 11:11 AM EST up reply actions

Maddux and Marquis

Maddux has always been one of my favorite non-Cardinals pitchers, what a career he's had. I too doubt he makes it to 400 wins, but he'll get pretty darn close.

Marquis on the other hand.. I'm really hoping that the Cubs don't find a way to move him and wind up stuck with that awful contract they gave him. It would be extra special if he sucks coming out of the bullpen, but even if he's halfway effective they'd be paying him a ridiculous amount of money to not start in games. First Wainwright, then a day in the life of Ray King, and now a big screw in the cogs for the Cubs--that JD Drew trade really could turn into the gift that keeps on giving.

"A great catch is like watching girls go by; the last one you see is always the prettiest." - Bob Gibson

by stl tyler on Nov 10, 2007 3:11 PM EST up reply actions

... the gift that keeps on giving.

Funny.

by cardsgirl95 on Nov 10, 2007 4:44 PM EST up reply actions

Gomez

If I was a D'Backs fan, I'd be nervous.

Gomez clearly doesn't understand the root cause of Mark Prior's problems or how poor arm action leads to elbow and shoulder problems. In fact, he thinks that bad things are good.

We need to trade Reyes to the D'Backs ASAP. I'm sure Gomez would love to have him.

by thepainguy on Nov 10, 2007 8:43 PM EST up reply actions

Hilarious

No other comment needed....

by ChadBradfordWannabe on Nov 17, 2007 11:55 AM EST up reply actions

Runner's Reluctance - Parts One & Two

Excellent article by Ross Roley over at Baseball Analysts:

http://baseballanalysts.com/archives/2007/11/runners_relucta_1.php

Watching the Playoffs as Reigning Champs is not a bad thing.

by Birds on the Bat on Nov 10, 2007 12:00 PM EST reply actions

ervin santana

I don't know what to make of his splits either, but I suspect his overall lack in performance might have something to do with the 204 innings he pitched at 23 years old, and pitching 193 at 22 in 05 and 06 respectively.

also as we've discussed before, when targeting players, keep Tony's preference in mind, E.S. 37% ground ball rate would be hard pressed to qualify.

by Dave Barry on Nov 10, 2007 12:03 PM EST reply actions

Watch Baseball Live on Nifty-TV

Thanks again to Woodwork for posting yesterday the link to Nifty-TV:

For those of you interested in seeing Colby (or Anderson, or Perez) in action, http://www.nifty-tv.com/ transmits a number of games of team USA in the current world cup live, and after the game they are available in archive.

USA japan on right now.

Watching the Playoffs as Reigning Champs is not a bad thing.

by Birds on the Bat on Nov 10, 2007 12:07 PM EST reply actions

Braaaa

Waitin' for the first pitch.................................... in the regular season.
Here's a vote to cut spring training by 15 games.
It is the off season. Time to lift, run work on each individual skill, and fatten up.
Looking for some more home grown gas on the mound and beef with the lumber.
If it is broken........ fix it.

by Yadier on Nov 10, 2007 12:08 PM EST reply actions

Watch Baseball Live on Nifty-TV

Thanks again to Woodwork for posting yesterday the link to Nifty-TV:

USA japan on right now.

Watching the Playoffs as Reigning Champs is not a bad thing.

by Birds on the Bat on Nov 10, 2007 12:09 PM EST reply actions

I'm sure this

has been posted, but available at mlb tv for free viewing is the solar sox vs. surprise rafters nov. 6th game. several cardinal prospects are in the game

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/events/winterleagues/multimedia/?league=afl

by Dave Barry on Nov 10, 2007 1:13 PM EST up reply actions

Carlos Gomez and the D-Backs......

I think it's just a fantastic hire. They really are taking a chance on someone that has a unique perspective on how to evaluate talent. I was hoping the Cards would find a spot for him.....

by jillsinmo on Nov 10, 2007 12:15 PM EST reply actions

Thank you

and for that matter, everyone else who sends their best.

Carlos, aka Chadbradfordwannabe

by ChadBradfordWannabe on Nov 17, 2007 11:55 AM EST up reply actions

Birds on the Bat

receiving baseball in the off season........................priceless
Thanks for the gift of baseball in these dark days of off season.................. Now If I could just figure out how to upgrade my antiquated pc to play it.

by Yadier on Nov 10, 2007 12:48 PM EST reply actions

Congratulations to Carlos

Although he'll be missed as a public resource.

by liam on Nov 10, 2007 3:54 PM EST reply actions

The 86...

I wonder why people would play with the bottom teams knowing they're doomed?

"How depressing is it being you? Would you equate it to being a lifelong Cubs fan?"

by rocKStark5 on Nov 10, 2007 6:27 PM EST reply actions

Word in Chicago

is that if Dempster goes to the rotation, Marshall goes back down to AAA, and that they'd try to trade Marquis and acquire a better pitcher.

by sdrone on Nov 10, 2007 10:14 PM EST reply actions

More Central News

The Brewers are shopping Sheets. Not sure what kind of return they'd get for him--he'd certainly be one of the better pitchers available on the market, but his injury history is pretty rough. Note that I'm not saying we should go after him, I definitely don't think we should, nor do I believe the Brewers would do an inter-division trade. Just reporting on a move that could effect one of our divisional rivals next season. I don't know if the Brewers have a prospect pitcher to add to the rotation next season or something, but I don't see how they could deal Sheets without significantly damaging the quality of their rotation. Capuano might also be available. The Brewers allegedly have interest in the Tampa Bay Not Devil Rays pitcher Carl Crawford.

The Cubs and Tigers are discussing a Jacque Jones for Omar Infante trade. I'm not sure what they're trying to accomplish with their hoarding of mediocre middle infield talent, Infante's career numbers are Neifi Perezian. He did log time at six positions this season, but I fail to see how he's an upgrade over utilityman DeRosa. They've still got Theriot, Fontenot, and Cedano, none of whom are great, but are probably better than Infante. Moving Jones would mean they're definitely aggressive in their pursuit of Fukodome. There's also a rumor that they're prepared to offer a 3-year deal to entice Kaz Matsui away from Coors Field and kill his career. I would assume one of those deals would negate the other, though if they signed Matsui they'd probably still want to move JJ and his $5m before signing Fukodome.

When you get down about how much money the Cardinals have to spend this off-season, remember that it could always be worse--the Cincinnati Reds are expected to have a payroll of $75m going into 2008. They're currently on the books for $69m of that.

The Indians and Orioles have both shown interest in available Pirates outfielder Jason Bay. A number of sources have claimed that while the Indians are very interested, teams may be waiting to see if his statistical drop indicates that he's in Mitchell report, a stigma sure to accompany more than a few available players this off-season. Craig Wilson has expressed interest in returning to the Pirates. Bucco Blog doesn't see why the Pirates would agree to that.

The Astros have joined the ranks of clubs that have contacted the Marlins about Dontrelle Willis. I really hope we're not on that list. The Tigers have also been confirmed as suitors, apparently after Kenny Rogers changed his mind and decided that he's going to test the market after all.

As always, there's a perfectly good chance that none of this will come to pass.

"A great catch is like watching girls go by; the last one you see is always the prettiest." - Bob Gibson

by stl tyler on Nov 11, 2007 1:24 AM EST reply actions