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The BBWAA has finished their annual event of trolling baseball fans. The biggest causality of course was Jim Edmonds, who managed less than 5% of the vote in his first year and thus will be his only year on the ballot. I try my best not to care about the Hall of Fame voting and the ineptitude of the voters, but this one stings a little too close to home. Ozzie Smith made me love baseball, but the years Edmonds was a part of the Cardinals made me love the Cardinals.
But it wasn't only how little the writers voted for Edmonds that shows how silly of a charade the Hall of Fame currently is. Jeff Bagwell, Curt Schilling, Roger Clemens, and Edgar Martinez will all have to wait another year for a chance at the Hall of Fame despite the fact they were among the greatest of their generation to play the game.
Moving passed the Hall of Fame, The Red Baron released the third and final part of his Top 21(ish) Cardinals prospects list, counting down the Top 5 with plenty of thoughtful analysis on each player. My favorite is probably the ranking of Edmundo Sosa at number three. It's an aggressive move since he has yet to play in a full season league, but it's backed up by an advanced plate approach, some surprising oomph at the plate, the tools and smoothness to stick at shortstop, and an Edgar Renteria/Nomar Garciaparra comp.
If you live in China you'll be happy to know that MLB has stuck a deal to stream MLB games in the China. Even if you don't live in China though, this is pretty neat news. For MLB this is all about growing the brand internationally, with Baseball generally falling out of favor with the youth on the domestic front, in favor of the NBA and NFL.
Alex Gordon signed for $72M over 4 years with the Royals, the only organization he's ever played for. Seems like the Royals got a good deal there but there's also some reason to believe he took a discount to stay in Kansas City. Perhaps the Cardinals could have pried him away by guaranteeing him a 5th year and offering say, $88M/5 or something, but I'm also glad that they didn't lose their first round draft pick.
The Brewers signed the previously non-tendered Chris Carter to a one year deal for $2.5M plus incentives. I don't mind the Cardinals decision to tender Moss a contract, but at the same time it seems like Chris Carter could offer just as much at a cheaper price.
Some VEBers have considered Marcell Ozuna as a trade target for the Cardinals, and apparently his market is heating up. I don't think the Cardinals need anymore outfielders this year, but he'd also make an intriguing addition, especially in terms of 2017, when Holliday may or may not be a Cardinal anymore, and Moss almost certainly won't.
The Pirates signed Neftali Feliz to a one year deal for $3.9M plus incentives. Cardinals fans likely remember Feliz for blowing a save in a pretty crucial game for the Texas Rangers: Game 6 of the 2011 World Series. Hopefully Feliz can help the Birds on the Bat re-create some of that magic in 2016.