Cardinals pitching: don’t believe the hype
Here we go again.
The Cardinals sign a starting pitcher who is coming off surgery and a lengthy absence.
(In other words, his price was low, just the way team management likes it).
We are told that the pitcher is rehabbing wonderfully and will be ready to go by spring training, no problems, no worries, no fears. The Cardinals not only say that about the repaired pitchers they sign from the outside; they also make the same claims about their own pitchers who have undergone surgery and rehab. The best example, of course, is Mark Mulder.
Then in spring training, it is revealed that the pitcher isn’t quite ready, and that the timetable will be adjusted, and he’ll be pushed back, and Opening Day is unlikely.
Of course, when the Cardinals signed Matt Clement, we were told he was golden.
Fully recovered from shoulder surgery. Good to go.
Uh, wrong again.
Looks like we were fooled again.
Pitching coach Dave Duncan doesn’t believe Clement will have the arm strength to be ready by April.
This episode is an important reminder: never believe it when the Cardinals insist that a rehabbing pitcher will return on schedule. The ballclub has simply been wrong too many times to have a shred of credibility on these matters.
Clement was a low-risk signing, and he still could pay off big. It wasn’t a bad move to take a chance on him. And Cardinals GM John Mozeliak didn’t mention the risk involved — but only in terms of performance, and not health, a disctinction that apparently has eluded otherwise intelligent Cardinals fans.
The point is, I’m tired of the Cardinals spinning their nonsense on the medical status of their injured players. It just happens too often.
And like an idiot, I continually try to give them the benefit of the doubt, only to get burned again.
So with Clement’s status unclear, the Cardinals have only three starting pitchers that they can comfortably count on when the regular season opens: Adam Wainwright, Joel Pineiro and Braden Looper.
Workhorse Livan Hernandez, who cranks out 200-plus innings each year, could have been signed to a one-year contract for $5 million. That’s what Minnesota landed Hernandez for. Other non-rehabbing, non-injured starters are still on the market, including Jeff Weaver, Kyle Lohse, and Josh Fogg.
Here’s a novel idea: why not sign a guy who is healthy, and who is capable of pitching as soon as he puts the uniform on?
Then again, those type of pitchers cost money, right?
Certainly, a team that sets attendance records in a profit-driving new ballpark can’t afford to spend money on starting pitching…
(Miklasz wrote, sarcastically).
As for Clement: we’ll see you when you’re finally ready to go. This isn’t your fault.
Have fun hanging out with Mulder in Dr. Paletta’s office.
-B
bernie - i see this cardinal debacle as easy to solve. you do one of two things. either rebuild or contend.
to contend dewitt will have to come on in the the twenty-first century where top of the line players cost big, big bucks. right now, we have a great player to build around few years, and we have him on the cheap. the money pujols would bring on the free agent market would be astounding. with duncan, ankiel, yadi and wainwright there is a good core of youngsters not to mention rasmus and perez. to contend we must have a frontline pitcher. an ace. a proven commodity. and we must hope either carp, mulder, or clement can be his old self by july. unfortunately, the time for this approach is gone for this year.
to rebuild - trade albert. get pitching. put duncan on first. bring up rasmus and perez. see if izzy would be open to a trade. in other words pull a florida. dump albert while he will command santana type returns. get all the promising young players onto the major league roster and play them. the cardinals are wasting albert’s talents by not putting a contending team around him. for mr dewitt, it’s time to crap or get off the pot.
[...] Don’t believe the hype about the Cardinals pitching, says Bernie Miklasz. [...]
[...] WebNews 02-18-08 Cardinals Pitching
you’re comfortable in counting on Looper and Piniero? that’s charitable, in my opinion.
Bernie:
Our dear friend “Billy Boy” DeWitt is just like his “Lover” George W., lie after lie. One thing is clear that a minimum amout of money is going to be spent on pitching and after the 2009 all star game the team will be for sale.
St. Louis, DeWitt will do the same with the Ball Park Village like the Laurie’s did with the Kiel Opera House…NOTHING!!!!!
Good luck to Cardinal Fans for 2008, maybe you will see 70 wins out of this pitching staff!
Good Article Bernie.
Good Article. I couldn’t agree more, it is very frustrating to try to understand what is actually happening and what we can expect. I personally would be much more tolerant and understanding of decisions that were made if I knew that the information I was provided was the truth and we could see the direction (as noted in the post by roger - although I think Albert should be here for life - a Musial type whose value and name recognition transends his stats or how the team is doing).
Finally a little shot at the media in general. A few weeks ago many in the media seemed upset/annoyed by fans constant questioning as to whether Linahan was going to be fired, even though many of you (includeing yourself) said that he definetely wasn’t going to be fired. The reason people ask is that the organizations (save possibly the Blues at the moment) and the media have no credibility in delivering the truth or full story. Where as I’m sure you are not purposely reporting incorrect information, the media has become a medium through which people can get ratings/readers/whatever and further their personal/organizational agendas. From Channel 2 to even yourself - weren’t you the one a year or two back declaring that Spezio would not return from his drug rehab and participate in the rest of that season only to have Spezio not only on the team but playing down the stretch.
I would just suggest a little more tolerance for those questioning and perhaps a little more questioning of the statements from management. For example, instead of just reporting that the cardinals had fully checked Clement out, ask who checked him out? It’s good to know that Albert and Yadi etc. have seen Jaun Gone bat, wouldn’t it have been prudent for Duncan or the like to have seen Clement rehab.
Any time someone starts out with a non-authentic representation about what someone else said or sets up a straw man, you should question the legitimacy of what follows. I don’t think anyone ever said anything close to Clement was “golden” or made any comment about “no problems, no worries, no fears”. No need to exaggerate or misrepresent to make what might otherwise be a valid point. Overstatement is the enemy of pursuasive argument.
I didn’t misrepresent anything; in my interviews with Mozeliak and DeWitt they were emphatic on the point that Clement was healthy and good to go, physically. If they gave different answers to other media people, I’m not in charge of that. I only know what I was told in multiple interviews. As they told me, the risk involved in the signing was related to performance, not health. Regards.
I have always taken any teams’ statements on players health issues with a grain of salt and an understanding that any recovery predictions are at best an opinion and at worst a hope. I don’t take them as either promises or statements of fact. You had personal conversations with the actors in this drama so only you can know exactly what you were told and with what degree of certainty the statements to you were made. I didn’t intend to suggest that you had made a conscious misrepresentation of the statements made to you. I was suggesting overstatement or hyperbole. I believe the statements you attribute to the team most likely differed in the degree of certainty implied and that the terms you used were chosen to make a journalistic point. I, of course, could be wrong. If they said that Clement was “golden” and that there was no chance that Clement wouldn’t be ready to pitch on opening day then they are dumber than even their worst critics have alleged and I retract my prior post.
I too think the team ought to sign one of the still available, currently healthy (if mediocre) pitchers and concur in the general thesis of your article.
blues tunes wrote: after the 2009 all star game the team will be for sale.
I must say that I have been telling people this for years. This is what they did with the Rangers in Texas. They will make a TOIN of money on the sale. The team will be in sorriest condition any of us is old enough to remember. BUT….this is still St. Louis and these are still the Cardinals and they will recover. The Redbirds stay at the bottom of the NL will be a short one. The fans will stay faithful to a great extent and new ownership will be good.
Having said all of that, it must be admitted that the team has enjoyed the greatest run of success in their history these past 8 years or so. But they have had a great GM and have been unbelievably lucky with Edmonds, Rolen, the trade with Atlanta and a certain 47th round nobody who now is a certain Hall of Famer.
So don’t be decieved by any of this my brothers and sisters. Our team has been hijacked by pirates. They will treat the club like TWA in it’s final years and club will be left for dead. But will rise again. VIVA LA Birds!!
Bluer tunes wrote: after the 2009 all star game the team will be for sale.
I have to say that I have been telling people this for years. This is what they did with the Rangers in Texas. Our team will be left in the sorriest condition any of us are old enough to remember. But…this is still the ST. Louis Cardinals and they will recover because of that. Another team, with other fans would take a decade to return to prominence. But the Cardinals stay at the bottom of the NL will be a short one. Our team has been taken over by pirates who are going to make a TON of money of the sale and the team will be left for dead by them.
Having said all of that, it must be admitted that the franchise has enjoyed the greatest run of success in their history, with the exception of the war years. But, they had a great GM and were very lucky with Edmonds, Rolen, and the Atlanta trade. Not to mention a 47th round nobody who now is a certain Hall of Famer. They were simply lucky beyond reason.
We have won our last WS for a while. But not our last. St. Louis and the Cardinals are a match made in heaven and the Birds will soar again. VIVA LA CARDINALS!!! OUR CARDINALS…not the pirates who are making a fortune off of them
extra money…
Thanks for that, you nailed it….
McLovin…
Dork….
Tom…
Nice article….
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