I cannot help but feel bad for the dude, when his manager calls him out publicly for lack of effort, then gets pissed when Juan voices his feelings about not being played (Bernie claims that Juan's comments led to his benching yesterday...not the 'sore knee'.

Despite his lack of 'hustle', Juan has been nothing short of clutch this year for the cardinals. He has come through with key hits in all sorts of situations and he has provided a semblance of power when two-thirds of the MV3 haven't been able to. It is really sad that he has to be the odd man out for the Ankiel resurgence.

If it really where about who 'earns' their playing time (as TLR claimed) then there is no doubt that our outfield should be - Dunc in left; Ankiel CF; Juan RF...I know, I know - Jimmy  has been 'hot' lately, but he has come nowhere near the level of Juan's consistency.

A final note - lboros notes that Juan is being treated 'differently' by fans, the manager, etc. I don't want to pull out a whole can of worms here, but I think this is - in part - racial. Fans and others are very quick to label Latino players (mainly domincan) players as lacking hustle and intensity. I've seen it hear in Boston as the fans are very, very quick to rant and rave about 'manny being manny' and 'silly willy mo', while 'dirtdogs' Trot Nixon and Mike Lowell - despite mental gaffs, errors - get idolized.  I'm not saying that sometimes these players do not show these traits, but I want to suggest they get put on a shorter leash - and the shortness, I think, is rooted in racial ideas white people have about brown people from tropical areas.

OK - last item - just to add to the 'other side'. I know a guy who is close with a member of the cardinals medical staff. And he said that Juan consistently did not show up for MRI's on his wrist last season. If you remember he didn't get surgery on it until (I think) december. If he had showed up for MRIS earlier, he could've had the surgery earlier, and then, perhaps, would have been a starter on opening day. So Tony's quip before hopping a jetplane about juan not showing for MRIs appears to have a long history.

That said, if we can find a team to take his salary for next year, even if we get next to nothing in return, we should.  

As for Mulder, I think he needs to pitch this year.  If he doesn't, he begins next Spring having not thrown a major league pitch for about 19 months.  I think he needs some work.

Whose spot will he take?  My guess is that, if the team is out of it, there's a good chance that Wainwright or Reyes will get shut down for the last couple of weeks to avoid having them throw too many innings this year.  I'm not saying it's the right thing to do, but it's what the team might do.

I still think there's a possibility that Wells gets traded this month.  He's been pitching well of late and a team may be willing to take a chance w/ a couple of starts from Wells in September.  And Pineiro, though very good last time out, wasn't his first time out.  He's far from a sure thing.

I'd say that the most likely candidate to remain in the rotation this year is Looper.  They need to decide where he belongs next year (rotation/pen) so they'll want to see him get as many starts as possible and see how the accumulating innings affect him as he gets close to 180 IP.

Do they go with a cheap middle infield rotation of Hoffpauir and Ryan?

Do they drop Kennedy and choose not to resign Eckstine?

Do they try and trade Edmonds and Juan?

If they could save enough money by moving Kennedy, Eck, Edmonds, and Juan, do they throw it at trying to sign someone like Andruw Jones?

This is of-course part of my issue with continuing to pursue 2007 post-season play. Seems like the Cards would be better off not having to push Mulder in 2007.

First off: don't be mad at Juan.  He is what he is and has always been (check stats above).  As far as the "lack" of hustle, I'm not sure how relevant that is.  I don't think he has gotten any "lazier" since we signed him, so don't compare him to other players.  Aaron Miles goes all out all the time, just ask the guy who tried to rob him; that doesn't make him a great player.  I appreciate hustle, but I'll take Manny's numbers any day no matter what you say about his hustle.

The reason this has become such an issue this year is simple: winning.  There was no upside with him, and I think we all knew that coming in.  But when you're in a rebuilding type mode as the Birds are in now, players getting paid quite a big for league average production just doesn't make sense.  Juan (according to PECOTA) should be worth about $5.3 mil this year, which is about what he is getting paid.  Consistency has a price tag and that is what Juan is worth. But when you're not competing for championships (which I doubt we will this year), it's obviously better to take guys like Ankiel and Ryan and see what production you can get out of them for the league minimum.

To sum up, on a rebuilding team, players like Juan don't make much sense.  Don't be pissed off at him for wanting to play and know where he stands; this is LaRussa/Jocketty's fault for not clearing things up with him about the direction of the team.

SD

The Red Birds have added Brian Barden to the organization.

Barden, 26-years old, was recently DFA by Arizona.

The Cardinals placed a claim and was awared Barden.

Barden, a 3B, registered a solid AAA season in 2005, and seemingly had a breakout season last year however has scuffled this season.

His defense has lapsed this season with D'Backs insiders believing his struggles at the plate touched his overall game.

Simply stated, his makeup is similar to several others signed throughout this decade that proved productive players for the Cardinals.

He has legit upside as well as versatility.

He has legit hands and throwing arm... his foundation position is 3B however he's capable of playing all four infield positions. He is considered a plus-player defensively.

Since elevating to Tucson (AAA for D'Backs) midway through the 2004 season... he improved in every aspect of game displaying a power potential (153 XBH in first 352 AAA games).

This season however has proven taxing for Barden leading the D'Backs to head in another direction.

That noted, Arizona is chock with big league and high-minor corner infield players... that's not the case with the Cardinals.

With the loss of Scott Spiezio... if Barden regains his stroke and levels his overall play... he could become a valued role player for the Cardinals in the near future.

In fact, with Travis Hanson failing to elevate his game... Barden enters into a tailor-made situation if he produces.

Racisim..I guess no one on here dogged reyes this yr he's not latino is he?

People ripped Mcgwire for his* i don't want to speak of the past*

first off as one of the most vocal fans against every thing Juan, i'm very offended by cardfaninmass saying race has any thing to do with how i feel towards the guy. I AM NOT A RACIST. my parents raised me to judge no man or woman by the color of their skin. and if i must judge them, judge them by their actions & what comes out of their mouth.

second, politics has no place here & i'm glad it was shot down quickly. BUT it's important to point out that cardsfaninmass by their own admision leans towards the left, as i'm sure a lot of people who post on here do. and it is a classic left trait to throw the race card into a issue when race has nothing to do with it because they dont have a better arguement to make.

and why does race have nothing to do with Juan? simply put the Cardinals and their fans have been pioneer's in having players other than white guys on their teams. and many many minorites have been fan favorites & heroes over the years. heck the Cards where the first team to have black players & white players stay in the same hotel in spring training, and on the road. Mr. Buch actully bought the hotel in Florida just so guys like Gibby, Curt & other black players & their families could stay with the rest of the team. the Cards have also had many Latin players as fan favorites. the Secret Weapon, Orlando Cepeda, Joaquin Andujar are the first ones to come to mind. heck i'm sure Keith Hernandez considers himself a Latin guy.

i also feel cardfaninmass argument that latin players show no emotion, or hustle is a weak argument with no legs to stand on. clearly they did not pay any attention while Pedro was in Boston. or to the thousands of intense latin fans that came to every game he started in. WWL & NESN camera's showed them waving their flags, and signs and going crazy in the stands over any little thing Pedro did. and they acted the same towards Manny when he first came over from the Indians. and those same latin fans showed just as much emotions towards Orland Cabrera while he played for Boston. OH and how could I forget Big Pappi? that guy never shows any emotion does he?

Boston does not the only latin players who show a lot of emotion. have you ever heard of a guy named Albert Pujols cardsfaninmass? dude is the biggest and loudes cheerleader on the Cardinals team. in fact, most latin guys are very outgoing and show a lot of emotion, hustle and grit on the diamond. Jose Reyes has made his rep as the "most exciting player in baseball" just because he's a high energy latin player. Albert's best friend in the world and former Cards utility guy Placido Polanco is another latin guy who shows a lot of emotion. and NO ONE has ever questioned his hustle or grit. in fact Juan is in the minority of latin guys in that respect. i think that could be one reason people think he does not give his all is because most latin players are always jumping around and running their tails off on & off the field. while in all honesty, most of the time he looks like he'd rather be any where else than on a baseball diamond.

simply put, race has NOTHING to do with why Juan is picked on. i cannot of course speak for every man, woman & child. but here is why i have such a big problem with Juan.

just like JD, i believe Juan is a HIGHLY talented individual. if he wanted to, i believe he could be a 40-40 guy. EASILY. but the fact is, he has no desire to put in the work to become a 40-40 guy. Juan by his own admition is completly satasfied with being a "average" player. and the fact is, on his best day, Juan is just that. average at best. its not that he glides in the outfield or on the basepaths. or shows no emotions when he strikes out, or lets a ball roll right through his legs. i feel Juan wastes his GOD given abilities. over his career he's had chance after chance to become a star in the bigs, yet he's not been willing to put the work in. it's a waste of his talent & ability for him to not be a 40-40 guy. i feel he has no idea just how lucky of a guy he is to be able to play a kids game, and make millions & millions of dollars playing this kids game. if i had talent, i know i'd work my tail off to be the best player i could be. BUT Juan does not.

that, and that alone is why i have a problem with Juan. it has nothing to do with the color of his skin, or if he's a liberal or conservative. jewish, muslim, catholic, baptist or an atheist.

i know cardsfaninmass didn't directly call me out by name. but by throwing out the race card as a reason most fans have a problem with Juan. they might as well should have called me out by name because every one who's been on here for the past two season knows i'm one of the loudest guys against Juan. and i dont believe that cardsfaninmass didn't want to "pull out a whole can of worms" as they put it by throwing out the race card. because that's exactly what a person trys to do when they do throw it out. its a hot button issue in this country, and has been for decades.

i dont have now, nor have i ever had any problem with cardsfaninmass. but i do have a problem with being called a racist just because someone doesn't have a better argument to make. i've had a lot of good back and forth during games with cardsfaninmass, and i hope to contine that in the future. all i ask that in the future cardsfaninsmass is more careful with your words, and think about how people might react to those words.  

it's after 1am out here on the east coast now, so i doubt any one will read this, but as a Juan "hater" i felt i had to defend myself. there are a lot of more important things than Juan's issues with Tony that we need to devote our time too. and i hope we can. the Cards are finally showing some life, and i'm actually looking foward to this weeks series. i hope the Cards dont let me down, but i'm preparing myself that they might. lets put this argument behind us for good. make it a great Tuesday every one. and i'll see you all, tomorrow night.

good night VEB.

Personally I hated him because the corner OFers needed refilled from 04-05 and who did they get to replace Larry Walker and Reggie Sanders??  Larry Bigbie and JuanE.  Most token STL fans hate JuanE because they don't take him for what he is, a very league average player but they take him as Larry Walker's replacement, which is unacceptable but that's Jocketty's fault, not JuanE.