Let’s make a deal? A few more suggestions
Off to Wyoming for an annual three-day outing, but before I go, some fans have broached other ways for the Cardinals to solve a few of their problems: See you again Sunday night.
Q: Commish - I’m very interested in pitching this off-season because pitching wins championships first and foremost. Besides picking up a few relievers to complement the youth in the pen we really need another starter. I have no faith in Carp and if he is healthy, then your rotation is that much stronger. Has there been any talk of Oliver Perez from the Mets? He’s young and still has plus-stuff. I think he would be a more realistic option at starter than trying to make a trade for a bigger name and his age and ability have me interested as to how he’ll fit into our team and it’s plans for the future.
A: Oliver Perez will be a much sought-after pitcher even after going 10-7 for the Mets. But the Cardinals, right or wrong, have prioritized starting pitching behind lefthanded relief and middle infield until they think they’ve got a better read on Carpenter’s status. Perez is one of those guys who probably will get more money than he’s worth but he’s young, (28), lefthanded and wasn’t hurt last season, so he’s got three things going for him.
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Q: Commish,
Thanks for this. Couple trade ideas that i would like your opinion on:
Duncan to Oakland for Bobby Crosby (may be some throw-ins on either side) I understand that both are injury risks and that the A’s are the frontrunner for Furcal. Hence, they are shopping him. Duncan is built for the AL and would fit well into the A’s line-up.
Glaus to the Angels for Howie Kendrick. (may be some throw-ins on either side; Scot Shields would be nice) We have plenty of talent behind Glaus, he is at the top of his market right now, we will lose him next year, he would waive his NTC to go to the Angels and we need a 2B.
This move would free up cash for a FA signing, or maybe allow the front office to justify taking on Peavy’s salary.
A: Herb, I think (a healthy) Crosby would be a nice acquisition but it would take more than Duncan to get him and you’re probably not going to be able to move Chris until teams can see next spring that he has recovered from the disk surgery he had in his neck this year. I think Duncan is going to bounce back but it might be better for him _ and the fans would be happier _ if he played somewhere else.
I don’t think the Angels have any intention of moving Kendrick and, so far, third base is the only position they have for sparkplug Chone Figgins. The Cardinals are deep in third base talent in their system and Glaus well could somewhere by the end of next season, but I’m not sure there’s a match here. I don’t see the Cardinals have the right talent to satisfy San Diego right now for Peavy. They don’t have enough young starting pitchng or young middle infielders.
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Q: Hi Mr. Hummel;
Who are the middle infield players you think it would take to get us into October, and have you any knowledge of them being on Mo’s radar?
Thank you Mr. Hummel
A: David, I think Renteria and Felipe Lopez (short and second) may be the leaders in the clubhouse although I’m sure they’re looking at Orlando Hudson and perhaps making a deal. What you want is to get more offense out of the middle without sacrificing too much defense, but ultimately it will be their pitching that gets them into October or not. (Actually the season stretches into the first week of October anyway next year).
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Q: Commish- speaking of high priced free agents- which ones would the Cards be targeting via trade? Cano? Freddy Sanchez? Michael Young?
A: Bert, Young and Cano interest me the most, especially Young, who is an accomplished second baseman and shortstop besides .300 hitter. He wouldn’t come cheaply and Texas fans love him. Sanchez was kind of a one-year wonder, I think, and is hurt too much.
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Q: What’s the status of Tyler Johnson? We never hear of him anymore yet he proved to be nasty when healthy!
A: He’s healing from elbow surgery of last spring. He’ll be in camp but isn’t likely to make Opening-Day roster. Could help later in the season.
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Q: .hmmessage P { margin:0px; padding:0px } body.hmmessage { font-size: 10pt; font-family:Verdana } Rick,
Look I understand the Cards do not like to spend a lot and they always try to be creative, but as a fan it gets frustrating because you watch teams that do spend pass you by. Hudson for 4 yrs 40mil is a very nice deal we should lock that up, make a deal for escobar not johnson (he won;t be able to play everyday because he doesn’t hit lefties too well) and make a play for burnett. Hudson is nasty, great attitude a leader, slick fielder nice swing and can play the all-around game. It would be nice to have some speed up the middle _ something we haven’t had in awhile. If we get anything from Carp this year I would be happy. I am not banking on it but you can never have too much starting pitching EVER…Trevor Miller and Kyle Lohse can not be our big off-season signings or deals unless the Cards stop raising ticket prices and tell us that fourth place is great. Thank you for your great work..What are your thoughts?
Kevin
A: Thanks, Kevin. What you propose the Cardinals don’t have enough money for, i.e., Hudson and Burnett. One or the other would fit into their budget although Burnett is going to get huge money and teams are wondering a bit about Hudson’s fragility. He was hurt down the stretch in each of the last two seasons. He would never get four years on those terms. I know Trever Miller is only a blip on the big radar screen but you have to start somewhere. And don’t forget that Mo locked up Lohse the day after the season ended for what seems to be a good deal as we look at it now. Let’s give this two or three more weeks before we go into panic mode.
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Q: What ever happened to second baseman Josh Barfield of the Padres?? I know he was traded to the Indians for third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff. Barfield was going to be a star at second base,GOOD hitter for years to come. What happened to him??
A: Good question, Bryan. Both Padres and then Indians soured on Barfield, who spent time in minors last season. Why he has fallen from favor, I don’t know, but I don’t think you could count on him if you brought him in.
Thanks,
Cmsh
(11 votes, average: 4.64 out of 5)
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Mr. Hummel - hope you have a great trip to Wyoming. The Big Horn Mountains are beautiful as well as the Powder River Valley. Maybe by the time you get back we’ll have that other lefty reliever. Who will it be?
Mr. Hummel, I see the cards signed a minor league contract with a thirty year old lefty from the Detroit organization. His AAA stats are very impressive. With the tigers need for relievers, why did our new lefty not get called up? Thanks Commish
dear commish,why did we send izturis packin ? I thought he was a solid ss.always put th ball in play.
How about this: I know Uggla (Dan) hasn’t been the slickest fielder in the game, but wouldn’t it be ok to sacrifice some range at second for some power as long as we had an above average fielder at short? What would it take to get him? Maybe Schumaker, Brendan Ryan, and maybe even Brad Thompson? They havent seemed to want to use Thompson for anything other than a fill in/mop up role. What could it hurt?
Mr. Hummel: I’ve never before sent an e-mail to Hall Of Fame Baseball Reporter. It’s a pleasure for me. I’m an old, old baseball fan. Erv Fischer was a good friend of mine. My Cardinal loyalty goes back to the days of Jimmy Brown, Ray Sanders, Ducky Medwick, etc. Here is my concern. For many years the Cubs philosophy was why spend money on players–the fans are filling the stands every day with the players we have. I’m afraid current owners may adopt that same philosophy because Cardinal fans are loyal and very supportive. I hope this concern does not come to pass. This stated philosophy of picking from “low hanging fruit” does not spark confidence relative to fielding a quality team. One question have regards the minor league talent. If they are as good as Vardinal management thinks they are someone has to go because there are not enough positions on a major league roster for such talent if they are as good as management thinks they are. What none of us do not know is the marching ordes Mo has from DeWitt. Management promised LaRussa they would make the Cards competetive. I hope they meant it. Thank you for your attention and best wishes for continued success.
Hi, Cardinal farm system has several players, especially pictures, on the verge. Maybe we should take the year to merge young blood with the old and be ready for 2010. Boggs was voted the top starter in AAA. Todd, Mortenson are not far behind, and Garcia will be ready in 2010. Anderson should either be traded or brought up mid season. I believe Mathers, Rasmus, and Jay are ready and should be on the roster by end of season. So there is no need to spend a lot of bucks on a starting pitcher, just beef up the bullpen. As much as I love Ludwick, check his 2nd half stats, and his injury history. Let’s trade him for a top knotch middle infielder while we can. We have plenty of outfielders. What do you think?
GO FOR BROKE and lock up Peavy for several years. Compared to other pitchers of his caliber he’s a steal, and he wants to come here. I have no faith in Carpenter returning. But a Wainwright/Peavy one two punch, with Lohse and hopefully Carpenter would make this one of the best starting rotations in baseball.
Besides- you pay
Loshe 41 million over 4 year for a
(career) 78-80 4.67
(last year) 1.30whip 3.78 ERA (his best)
why would you not trade anything but Albert and Rasmus to get
Peavy -
(career) 86-62 1.19whip .232BAA 3.25 ERA
(last year) 10-11 1.18whip .229BAA 2.85 ERA
This guy is a stud on a bad team, MO should work a deal.
Anyone remember how the D-Backs won with Schilling/Johnson or the Braves with Smoltz, Glavine, Maddux. It’s a no-brainer. Get three starters with Wainwright, Peavy and Carpenter and let TLR change the line-up every night and win with pitching.
It’s also the best thing to do fiscally. Give your team a chance to win 4 out of every 5 games - and the fans will hit the turn-style.
I even promise to buy a Peavy shirt.
Dear Commish,
Why is everyone talking about starting pitching, didn’t the cards blow a major league leading 30 saves? I believe the cards should go after K-Rod or even Kerry Wood to show that they do not want to loose the division because of blown saves. Don;t get me wrong Peavy would be awesome, but lets fix what cost us the division first!!!!!!
Commish,
Long time listener, first time caller as they say. Though signing Trevor Miller is not a groundbreaking deal, I think it is essential in solidifying the bullpen. He is a great improvement over Flores and we need that lefty specialist that can come in and actually not allow a runner to score. What does a deal not being completed because of ”language” mean? Should this be a cause of concern in finalizing the Trevor Miller deal? Also what do you think of the chances of the Cardinals resigning Villone?
Thank you sir,
John
Just FYI - that is not THEblindhomer that posted the previous message. It is an impostor.