Done Deal: Rolen-Glaus lineup checkup
TOWER GROVE — Newest Cardinal Troy Glaus and departing Gold Glover Scott Rolen passed physicals early Monday and shortly before 5 p.m. St. Louis time the commissioner’s office approved the perpetually reported swap of All-Star third basemen between the Cardinals and Toronto.
The Blue Jays will formally introduce Rolen on Tuesday.
The Cardinals, out of deference to Marty Hendin’s visitation, will hold a press conference Wednesday to introduce Glaus.
Glaus came to town as scheduled this morning to meet with Cardinals’ team physicians . According to an article in Toronto this morning, Rolen is also underwent a physical today, in Florida.
That leaves only some tricky financials to complete before the deal is done.
A puree of sources I’ve spoke to and reports around baseball have painted different pictures of the cash involved in the deal that will send Rolen to the Blues Jays and bring Glaus here. There has been speculation no cash is exchanging hands; there has been a report that it exceeds $1 million and could reach $4 million. It’s most likely that cash is going both ways — with the Cardinals handling some of Rolen’s deferred payments and the Blue Jays covering portions of Glaus’ contract related to the dollar exchange rate originally written in when he was traded from Arizona to Toronto.
The money looks nettlesome from here.
What the Cardinals’ lineup will look like is a little more tangible.
Glaus, a former 40-homer slugger, slides instantly in as the Cardinals’ cleanup hitter, one of many radical changes to the 2008 lineup from the 2007 lineup and certainly from the 2006 World Series lineup. Using the same lineup generator that provided the numbers for a blog a few weeks ago, I ran the pencil-and-paper numbers on what this new lineup looks like compared to its recent incarnations.
The stats are for entertainment purposes only.
The generator uses on-base percentage and slugging percentage to calculate production; the numbers I used for each player is written next to the player’s name. (Note: I used a general line — Braden Looper’s – for the pitcher’s stats.)
- The 2006 World Series lineup:
1. David Eckstein, SS, .350/.344
2. Chris Duncan, LF, .363/.589
3. Albert Pujols, 1B, .431/.671
4. Jim Edmonds, CF, .350/471
5. Scott Rolen, 3B, .369/.518
6. Ronnie Belliard, 2B, .322/.405
7. Yadier Molina, C, .274/.321
8. So Taguchi, RF, .335/.351
9. Joe Pitcher, RHP, .259/.226
Runs Per Game: 5.145. Range: 4.573-5.325.
- The 2007 ideal Cardinals lineup:
1. Eckstein, SS, .357/.375
2. Duncan, LF, .356/.528
3. Pujols, 1B, .430/.615
4. Rolen, 3B, .347/.452
5. Edmonds, CF, .357/.475
6. Juan Encarnacion, RF, .330/.445
7. Molina, C, .302/.348
8. Joe Pitcher, RHP, .259/.226
9. Adam Kennedy, 2B, .329/.356
Runs Per Game: 5.117. Range: 4.594-5.198
- The New 2008 Cardinals lineup (order subject to obvious debate):
1. Rick Ankiel, CF, .328/.535
2. Kennedy, 2B, .329/.356
3. Pujols, 1B, .430/.615
4. Troy Glaus, 3B, .361/.506
5. Duncan, LF, .356/.528
6. Ryan Ludwick, RF, .339/.483
7. Molina, C, .302/.348
8. Johnny Pitcher, RHP, .259/.226
9. Cesar Izturis, SS, .300/.319
Runs Per Game: 5.029. Range: 4.554-5.204.
A little surprised, but then the numbers still include some of the heyday from the MV3. Here’s thinking Glaus will add a power jolt to a lineup that we can all agree needs one.
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How many 100-K players are there in that lineup? And no we’re not talking dollars.
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Any thoughts on the new look of the blog, it’s blogroll? That, Mr. Fuhrig, is a tag cloud.
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COMIC INTERLUDE
Went looking for a comic cover that fit the subject here. We’re talking power and looking for thunder in the lineup, so why not go with lightning. Shazam!
And if there are any comic book nuts out there, check out the villain in the fine print. Yes, the worm in the right-hand corner is the bad guy. Mr. Mind is his name, but he looks a whole like the Bookworm over at Yahoo!.
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Derrick Goold said he was going to Mizzou for capital-J journalism, but after growing up in the Time Zone Baseball Forgot he was really drawn to MU sitting between two major-league cities. Goold joined the Post-Dispatch in 2001 after working for The Times-Picayune and Rocky Mountain News, covering sports from LSU to NHL and every level of baseball in between. 
Good Blog
Ugly Line Up
DG-
What’s all this noise I’m hearing about artificial surfaces exacerbating/causing problems? I was under the impression that Field Turf was a massive improvement over the ole “painted asphalt” of Astroturf, since it’s a cushioned surface. Marshall Faulk played a long (for a RB) career on the stuff without too many problems.
And wouldn’t Pujols’ recurring problems with the same injury as Glaus (plantar fasciitis) lend credence to say Glaus’ injury risk may not go down at all? Anecdotal evidence, one case, etc, but please, could you provide some depth here?
I disagree with the lineup for next year.
1. Schumacher/Barton
2. Ankiel
3. Pujols
4. Glaus
5. Duncan
6. Molina
7. Kennedy
8. Pitcher
9. Ryan
with a lot of ABs for Ludwick
I think that offers significantly more speed and potentially more power than the last couple years.
Chris
The lineup could be:
1. Rasmus
2. Ankiel
3. Pujols
4. Duncan
5. Glaus
6. Molina
7. Kennedy
8. Jimenez
9. Pitcher
Clearly Shazam beat that throw. What a crock. Kill the ump! Swallow the Worm!
What happens to the numbers if you slide Kenny Lofton into the leadoff spot and slide Ankiel over to platoon over in RF with Ludwick?
What happens if you insert Jack Wilson at SS? Do you believe Wilson’s 2007 numbers (.350 / .440) or his career averages (.312 / .378)?
Lofton helps even at 41. Wilson not so much unless he’s really figured out plate discipline.
I like what Mo has done in his first couple of months on the job. I would like to see another SP, but could live with things as they are assuming Mulder and Carp are going to contribute as expected.
I live in Round Rock and look forward to seeing Rasmus, Hoff and several of the young pitchers when they come to town in April. I hope to be in StL. in June to see Rasmus again. This will be a year of changes for the Redbirds and the beginning a bright future.
Assuming you have the starting 8 correct (no Rasmus, Schumaker, Ryan) I like it this way:
Ludwick
Duncan
Pujols
Glaus
Ankiel
Kennedy
Molina
Pitcher
Izturis
Duncan will get on ahead of Pujols a lot more often than Ankiel.
Pick the lineup anyway you want….. Unfortunately, the cards wont finish closer than third, second at best ( doubtful ) in the division. The cubs seem to be heading in the right direction, and we ( the cardinals ) are heading in the wrong direction! One sure move would have been getting rid of LaRussa…. Right or wrong…. its my opinion… But, I’m willing to bet that I am right!
TLR just got rid of Rolen … and now you want to pair La Russa with Kenny Lofton? It would end in a murder-suicide. Please.