The Cardinals & Matt Clement
This is a sound, low-risk move by Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak.
Matt Clement is healthy and will be ready to pitch as soon as he checks into spring training next month.
Fragility isn’t an issue.
The rehab stage of Clement’s comeback is complete.
The question isn’t if Clement will pitch — but how effective he will be.
After missing part of 2006 and all of 2007 to recover from shoulder surgery, Clement was hitting 85-88 mph on the radar gun a couple of months ago during the early stages of this throwing program. At his peak, Clement’s velocity registered between 88 and 91, so he isn’t that far off.
If Clement can regenerate his form, he’ll get lots of groundball outs through his heavy-sink fastball. And he’ll pile up some Ks with his biting slider. From 1999 through 2004, Clement had the fifth-best groundball rate among NL starting pitchers, and as we know, that’s the style preferred by Cardinals pitching coach Dave Duncan.
From 1999-2004, Clement’s ERA of 4.33 during that time put him in the top 30 of the NL. His strikeout/walk rate was solid, ranking 30th among all NL starters.
Clement has upside. If he can get close to what he was before — he had a 3.80 ERA over three seasons with the Cubs from 2002-2004 — then the Cardinals will have a solid No. 3 or No. 4 starter, and they can pick up the option on Clement for 2009. And he’ll make more money through incentives.
Will Clement be able to repeat what he’s done in the past, in his better days? Hard to say. Shoulder surgeries are tough to bounce back from. The Cardinals got Clement because other teams were reluctant to guarantee him money for 2008. But the Cardinals didn’t guarantee all that much, so it’s no big deal. But obviously, other teams had concerns.
If Clement struggles to regain the movement and sizzle on his pitches, the Cardinals are only on the hook for a low base salary for 2008, and don’t have to pick up the option for ‘09.
As a visiting pitcher, Clement didn’t pitch effectively at the old Busch Stadium, going 1-4 with a 4.86 ERA in eight starts. I don’t know how much that means considering the Cardinals are in a new home, and Clement hasn’t pitched in St. Louis since June 6, 2005.
In analyzing this move independent of all other factors and fans’ desires, Clement is worth the look.
The rotation for 2008 is still sketchy… but at least the Cardinals can now pretty much lock in four guys: Wainwright, Looper, Pineiro and Clement. And Mozeliak believes a May 1 return for Mark Mulder is a realistic date. Anthony Reyes, Brad Thompson, Todd Wellemeyer and others are in the mix.
And if everything falls into place the Cardinals could be looking at this rotation for 2009:
Carpenter
Wainwright
Mulder
Clement
Pineiro
You can win some games with that rotation — if it’s healthy.
If …
Thanks for reading…
B
It is indeed wishful thinking. Love the signing but we need two more like it for backup in case on of those shoulders blow out. How about another right handed bat with some pop while you’re at it, Mo!
Yeah, it’s a low risk move, but the reward potential is also pretty low. The recovery rate for pitchers who have had the particular surgery that Clement had is very poor. This is the kind of signing you make for a fallback position in case one of your five starters gets hurt. You can’t sign a guy like this and count on him to be one of your five starters. Although, I guess it really doesn’t matter when your team’s upside is a 70 to 72 win season.
Considering how much some of the available pitching out there has been WAYYYY overpaid for, at least the Cards didn’t break the bank getting Clement. And who knows, he may not be a bad pickup. I’d have to say it is worth the risk all things considered…
Sooner or later this ownership needs to crap or get off the pot. They have their new stadium, a WS victory, record attendance and revenue, the best hitter not named in the Mitchell report, and yet they sit on their hands.
Either make an honest attempt to get a few quality players or sell the damn team and take your money and run.
There are NO quality players out there that make any financial sense. The Cards do NOT have the youngsters to trade for one at this time. This is the perfect move by Mo in the current situation.
I’m amazed by the lunacy of Amazedbythelunacy.
Fan Up Cardinal Nation!! The season to be could be better than expected. If Rasmus proves ready for prime time, If Rolen stays healthy and dreams of seeing TLR’s picture on a milk carton like we all do concerning our boss, if The Natural proves to be so, and proves his hitting is no fluke, if Duncan hits all year long, if Yadi continues to improve his bat, if Ryan shows he is ready to ascend the throne of awesome Redbird Shortstops, if Kennedy proves more valuable than a used jockstrap, and if Carpenter and Mulder comback to form our team will scare some people. Take away all those ifs, and the people they scare may be Cardinal Nation!!! Could be worse, we could all have been born in Chicago!!
Lacking logic, After winning the series in 06, we came into 07 with Carpenter and 3 guys that never were starters in the bigs and Kip Wells for a staff. Wainwright, Looper, and Thompson were all relievers the year before and don’t get me started on Kip Wells.
Now this year, we are building our rotation around Wainwright, Looper and surgerically repaired shoulders.
Now, go renew those season tickets buddy, Dewitt needs your money.
Clement IS a fine signing.As far as picking up a big righty that has power, WHO? Where are the names, who do we give up? Yes the owners are money grubbing bastards, but until we have a new owner(s) that is willing to spend for better players, what can we expect? Patience…
Fans (of any team) who want to see the payroll clogged up by overpaying mediocre players by signing them to long-term contracts are the true lunatics.
It is a relief to see a thought-out and measured move. There is an up-side, not a lot of risk, and does not pull in someone who may be healthy but not as good.
Looks like it could work! We need to support the organization. They may have a little money this time, but the talent pool is seriously chlorinated!