Thanks for the update Derrick.

Any idea what his fastball MPH is now?
What are the odds that Clement actually makes this team after his 30 days are up? I’m guessing 20%, I heard Mo say this AM on the radio that it may have been a failed experiment to sign him.

Just think of what could be had for Mulder + Clement money this season by a replacement player. Through Amanda Kennedy and Juan E in there and you’ve got a top notch starter and then some (salary wise).

Trading Dan Herron for Mark Mulder will probably go down as Walt’s worst trade of his tenure with the Cardinals. But who knew at the time? I’m amazed that this 2008 edition of the Cardinals continues to win without it’s big name pitchers. The Cardinals have a lot invested in it’s disabled list. Mo has done the right thing in giving youth a chance and getting rid of some of the veterans that were in the twilight of their careers. The only exception was David Eckstein. This guy was a Cardinal. He is missed.

Chris, I disagree with you about Eckstein. Izturis has him beaten defensively and offensively he has held his own. Pitching wise, I hope Dave Duncan is getting paid well. He’s put up with everything, especially the past few years. He’s had sucesses and failures. But, look at Wellemeyer. His stats this year are similar to Dan Haren’s. Check out the line between both. Remember, Wellemeyer got dumped by KC last year.

P.S. I’m not surprised the Cardinals have a winning record. They have a strong manager and a superb pitching coach. True Cardinals fans shouldn’t be surprised either.

Chris,

I too disagree with you. In his tenure as a Cardinal Eck was fun to watch. There is no one in the league right now that plays with the energy of Eck. But the signing of Izturis may just have been the best move by the Cardinal front office. Izturis is younger and is a TlR type player: smart and good at covering his position.

I was never big on the Clement deal. Another guy whos career is in jeporady is just what we need. you want to talk about a bad front office move just look at the Clement deal.

Welleymeyer has absolutley been dominant. Great job by Papa Dunc. Duncan has this ability to see things in a pitcher that no one else sees(With the exception of Kip Wells).

I don’t think the Clement deal was bad at all.

The team didn’t invest much money in the deal, and none of the younger pitchers have lost any opportunities (yet). Plus, think back to when the deal was made. At that time, there were a lot more question marks in the rotation than there are today. Hindsight being what it is, I still think Mo made a very defendable decision to sign Clement to a one-year deal.

If arm strength is really the only issue at this point, we stand a good chance to benefit from Clement later in the season. Even if we use him out of the bullpen, it gives us an opportunity to get better. We’ll have to wait and see.