No Miles, No Fuentes. . . no help?
Cardinals manager Tony La Russa lamented the loss of Aaron Miles and even Brian Fuentes, whom the Cardinals actually never had. Some of you seem to agree, especially in the case of Miles. Now, what happens? You have questions. We’ll try to have some answers.
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Q: Commish, I have been thinking for weeks about why Tony seemed so adamant to acquire a hard-throwing lefty out of the pen. Then it came to me. I remembered the “Nasty Boys.” I heard on the new MLB network Barry Larkin speaking about that bullpen of the 1990 Reds. Larkin said , “We knew every day that we were playing a six-inning game. If we had the lead after six, it was over.” Perez, Motte and Fuentes would have also been pretty nasty. This brings me to the question, what is happening with Tyler Johnson? If he could be almost what he was he could be that third piece of nasty. Thanks, Mr. Hummel.
Roger
A: Tyler Johnson still is on the 40-man roster but is recovering from elbow surgery of last spring. He probably won’t be ready until some time early in the season. But I wouldn’t reject him down the line if he can throw as he did in 2006.
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Thanks again for your insight,
Andy
A: If they could get the likes of Randy Wolf or Oliver Perez for a two-year contract, they would be interested in that. But the starting pitching market, while still relatively deep, won’t shake out more until Derek Lowe, who is the at the top of the list, decides what to do with his offer from the Mets.
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Q: Rick - Fuentes signs with LAA for $17.5 for two years and a club option for a third. Miles goes to ChiCubs for just a bit more than the Cards would give him. Lopez is let go and signs for a reasonable amount out west. What’s the real deal here? Is Mo outright lying to us or is he just incompetent?
Kevin
A: Here’s how I see this. Fuentes didn’t want to play here if the Angels made him an offer, so there wasn’t much John Mozeliak could do about that. No question Miles would be a valuable re-sign and he will be missed, but the Cardinals refuse to pay their backups starter-type money. Now, should Miles not be considered a backup? That is another question. His bat says he is a regular. His defense is modest at best but he has shown himself to be a winning player. If Lopez had agreed to a one-year deal with the Cardinals before exploring other options, the Cardinals still would have him. Timing was everything here. By the time Lopez signed for one year, the Cardinals, who apparently hadn’t heard that kind of talk from his agent before, were too late.
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Q: Hi Commish, Happy New Year. Is there any news on Jamie Garcia and how he is recovering from surgery? I thought, considering he was hurt, that he had some gutty performances during his callup. And do you think the signing of Miles by the Cubs causes us to look at bringing Barden up? He played well at AAA last year and could cover all the infield positions too. What do you think of him as a player?
Dennis
A: Garcia had elbow surgery and likely will be out till the last part of the 2009 season. Barden hasn’t been given much of a sniff in his call-ups the last two years but he showed himself to be both an accomplished hitter and defensive player at Class AAA Memphis and for the Olympic team. If he doesn’t get a chance this spring, this means the Cardinals never really have liked him.
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Q: The very best of the New Year, Mr. Commish: I am really sore that the Cubs signed Aaron Miles and Fuentes went to the Angels. One expected, the other a complete surprise. I have watched my beloved Redbirds skimp on second basemen for years. Time for that to end. I like and am comfortable with Adam Kennedy, and I think he’ll have a great year, but be injured. Does that now open a spot for Brendan Ryan and get him out of Tony’s doghouse?
Secondly, I’m happy that Fuentes went away. He’s not the kind of guy I’d want on the Birds. I know that Mo and Dunc will be creative finding a guy to close, but they had better do it soon. If we wait to June, we’ll be watching everyone else win. So what do you think about a closer, disregarding the two rookies? Last, since we’re not trading for a regular second baseman, who do you think would make a equal or better replacement for Mr. Miles? It is so disconcerting seeing so may Cardinals needs just six weeks before spring training.
All the best,
Thom
A: Thanks, Thom. I’m not that concerned yet because I foresee much more player movement among teams this spring than in most other seasons. Yes, Brendan Ryan has another chance to play himself back into favor. If he does, he well could be Mr. Miles’ replacement. The next closer? I must admit I don’t know who that is.
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(12 votes, average: 3.58 out of 5)
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I’m sorry, Commish, but Miles bat says he is a regular? What am I missing? He had an okay year last year and occasionally hits for a decent average but before ‘08 his numbers are awful:
2007: .676 OPS
2006: .671 OPS
2005: .661 OPS (and these two years were in
2004: .697 OPS Colorado!)
And I have a hard time believing that at age 32 he’s suddenly learned how to hit. Last year was a fluke.
And on top of that by all defensive metrics he’s a lousy shortstop and a below average second baseman. So you have a middle infielder who can’t hit and can’t play defense. But I guess he is “scrappy”. And a “gamer”. A “winner”.
It’s also worth pointing out that the Cards did not lose every one of those 31 blown saves. They’re record when blowing a save was 13-18. 31 blown saves is way too many to be sure, but the Cards have younger, cheaper options in Perez and Motte. Will they blow some games too? Probably. But at some point you’ve got to give the kids a chance. This is the whole point of having a renewable talent base. You can’t trade ‘em off forever.