DG, what do you think about the Cards taking a run at Heilman? He was always a dependable starter in the minors, had a few bad starts and was sent to the bullpen. He was one of the best relievers for a few years, and had one bad year last year.

I think it’d benefit us to give him a chance to earn a starting role. Would the Mets price tag be that high for a disenfranchised pitcher who the fans already openly berate?

Brian,

With the way the Cardinals currently view their pitching situation, I’m not sure they could offer Heilman any more of a guarantee he’ll start than the Mets can right now. He is still an intriguing arm (read: insurance), especially because he can shift from bullpen to rotation.

dg
-30-

I heard on CNN that is was Junior Griffey’s birthday today as well. That’s even more of an odd coincidence for the #1 and #2 home run hitters from Donora, PA.

That is correct: Both Ken Griffey Jr. and Stan Musial were born on the same day in the same town 49 years apart. Somebody check the birth announcements in 10 years for the next Hall of Famer … Or, maybe the Next One comes 10 years early.

I always thought this was interesting about the two Nov. 21 Donora, Penn., stars:

One was “The Man”, the other has always been called “The Kid.”

Perfect.

dg
-30-

I have no doubt that Mussina belongs in the Hall of Fame.

He won 270 games in his 20 year career, and remember, he spent all 20 of his big league seasons in the AL East. A division where he reguarly faced some of the best hitters in the game. In some ways it makes since for Mussina to retire after his 20 win season in 2008, because this way in some regard he could go out on top. But, I’d find it hard to walk away from the game with only 30 wins needed to reach 300 career victories. If he reached 300 wins he’d be a lock to make the Hall of Fame. I couldn’t walk away from baseball, knowing that I needed only 30 more wins to reach 300…best of luck to Mussina, however…

Happy Birthday to Stan the Man…

Both Howard and Pujols are great for the game. Two great sluggers, whom respect each other and are always in the news for the right reasons…both are really great for the game of baseball.

I’m all for Carpenter being healthy and being a constant part of this rotation, but I do struggle to understand the entire concept of us waiting on more news about Carp’s health before we venture into the mode of acquiring another SP. Now we have mentioned getting a swing-arm….umm Heilman?….Sounds like a winner to me.

I’ve read where the Mets are listening to offers on both of their catchers and in search of someone different to fill the role. Enter Bryan Anderson. What do we think about trading Bryan Anderson for Aaron Heilman, and inform Heilman that it’s a competition - TLR loves those - between him and Pineiro for the 5th spot in the event Carp is good to go.

The opportunity to start would be in his hands, and would give us a good “swing-arm” in the pen. Though I also have to wonder if the Cards have mentioned to McLellan that he should get into “starter-shape” coming into ST, for a possible shot at the 5th spot?

from 1994 to 2001, Mussina finished no lower than 6th in Cy Young voting. In those same years, he finished no lower than 6th in ERA and 6th in wins.

He is a lock for HOF, he was a great pitcher in a great division for a long time.

Actually in 98′ he seems to have finished lower than 6th in the CY voting. My reference doesn’t show anything about his rank in the voting for that year. Regardless he had a stellar career, but I don’t see him being a first ballot HOF’er just because he never lead the league in K’s and only led the league in W’s once. The voters will notice that and keep him out on the first ballot, but he’ll get in on the next whenever they notice that he was in the top ten for both of those 10 times and 9 times respectively.

Actually who’s his real competition going to be? He might make it easily afterall.

Also I need to note my TYPO on McClellan in my previous post.

Keep in mind that Ken Griffey, Sr. was born in Donora. Ken Jr. was born in Cincinnati. Still, it’s a nice coincidence that they have the link.

Mussina’s record over 18 years compares more than favorably with Bob Gibson’s. More wins; fewer losses. He should make the Hall, it seems to me.

Favorably to Bob Gibson?! Are you serious. Sure he had 19 more wins, but he never ever came close to the dominance of Gibson. I’d put Bert Blyleven in the hall before Mussina. Let’s have a look.
Wins/ CG/ SO/ era/ 20win/ era under3.00/ GS/ IP/ K/ IPP/
Gibson 251 255 56 2.91 5 7 seasons 482 3884 3117 8
Blyleven 287 242 60 3.31 1 9 ” 685 4970 3701 7.2
Mussina 270 57 23 3.68 1 1.5 ” 536 3563 2813 6.6

Mussina was an above average pitcher on great hitting teams. If having one 20 win season is HOF material then Blyleven should go in first. He played on horrible teams with no run support; Pirates, Indians, Twins (2nd), Rangers. Blyleven pitched 9 seasons with an era under 3; Gibson 7. Mussina had 198 fewer complete games than Gibson; 185 less than Blyleven. Life as easy for Mussina; pitch 6 or 7 innings and let Rivera take care of the rest. I’ll bet Mussina’s run support was way higher then Gibson or Blyleven. Don’t get caught up in the New York hype! Mussina is NOT a Hall of Famer!!!

Jack,

Actually both Ken Griffey Sr. and Ken Griffey Jr. have Donora, Pa., listed as their birthplace. Ken Griffey Jr. went to high school in Cincinnati, where his father played for the Reds, but “The Kid” was born just like the father and “The Man.”

I have talked with Junior about this connection in the past.

You can also double-check me at Baseball-Reference.com:

http://www.baseball-reference.com/g/griffke02.shtml

dg
-30-

Don’t forget Randall J that Mussina also pitched for Baltimore, which wasn’t the offensive force that the Yank’s are. He did pretty well in Baltimore as well. You can’t completely discount him as a HOF’er.

I agree with you on Blyleven though.

It’s unjust to penalize a pitcher such as Mussina, simply because of the era of the game that he played in. They didn’t use the bullpen back then the way they use it now, so don’t blame Mussina for the way the game is played now. If you want to go ahead and blame him for the way the game is played under the current era, than you must also award him for the Steroid fueled batters that he had to face as opposed to the one’s Bly did.

Moose may deserve the HOF– but no way does his career equal Gibby’s. Gibson was dominant for 5-7 years and generally thought to be the toughest competitor and the “guy you would most want on the mound if you needed a win.” Granted the eras are different– but Mussina never dominated the game the way Gibby did. And BTW, Baltimore did provide offensive support for Moose. What many contemporary fans fail to realize is that Gibby pitched for several Cardinal teams that were just not that good– all the while carrying the “ace” tag. He also competed many times against Mays, Aaron, Clemente, Stargell, McCovey, F Robby(prior to ‘66), et al (as hitters) and was typically matched against the likes of Jenkins, Marichal, Drysdale, Koufax, Maloney, Perry, et al (as pitchers)– and I would challenge anyone to find equals from Mussina’s era.