Wow! 4 smart local media members calling for Mozeliak to get another SP. Hmmmm…..I guess they are all “out of touch Mozeliak bashers” too right Bobbyballgame, RonnyDobbs, JackDonaghy, etc. ????

What does it matter anyway? We all know the lineup and rotation are set for next year. Dewitt and Mo have no intentions of spending any money.

I found the Rick Reilly piece very interesting also. I thought he made great points and I agree with him.

As far as the Cardinals are concerned … I have no idea what to expect, but I’m getting tired of looking forward to news and never getting any!

I read that the Rangers’ Michael Young is not wanted to switch back to 2nd from Shortstop, but may consider doing so for a different team. Adam Kennedy for Michael Young, anyone?

Keeping their spending habits in mind might I suggest Ernie Camacho?

Oliver Perez? Really? When I think of over rated, his name is the first name that comes to mind…..Stay away from Oliver Perez!

Hummel and Goold agree with me. GO AFTER SHEETS, MO!!

Proceed with caution on Perez. This guy could have been had for peanuts and a pair of cleats in 2006. To give him anything more than a 2 year $18 million deal could be a disaster. He has great stuff and maybe Dunc could work more magic, but I would still be careful to hope that this guy will be any more than a #3 or #4 at best.

Dear Mr. Hummel:

I respectfully disagree with your estimation of those three pitchers. Please consider the following:

Randy Wolf (IP)
2008: 190.1
2007: 102.2
2006: 56.2
2005: 80.0

Oliver Perez (IP)
2008: 194.0
2007: 177.0
2006: 112.2
2005: 103.0

Ben Sheets (IP)
2008: 198.1
2007: 141.1
2006: 106.0
2005: 156.2

Randy Wolf has pitched far fewer innings than Sheets. Perez has only pitched marginally more innings than Sheets, and Sheets is decisively a better pitcher. I don’t know how out of these three pitchers Ben Sheets became “the injury risk” but it is clearly undeserved.

Michael Young would be a great addition (bat 2nd, get 200 hits a year in front of Albert, play a good 2nd base, too) but I don’t see them picking up a 62million contract anytime soon. Even if TX picked up 10 million that’s 52 million over 5 years — DeWallett is not going to open that wide!

I agree with the panel, the Cards might get a deal on one of the free agent pitchers with one year and maybe an option for a second. Wolf or Sheets would be great insurance!

Then I would trade Duncan (once he proves he’s healthy in the spring) or Schumaker plus prospects to SF to get a rising young lefthander Sanchez (who they are willing to trade for offense) or to Toronto for one of their surplus GOOD lefthanded relievers.

If they were really smart they would put together a package for Sanchez and Velez their good, young 2nd baseman.

I know MO is being cautious and that pays off once in a while — but when you need to move on a trade (not free agents which you can wait for the market to develop) you need to move — see Greene on the positive side Putz on the negative side.

Sometimes you have to overpay for premium players in terms of dollars or players but if you wind up playing inferior players just to save money e.g. with Kennedy playing 2nd base (he wasn’t good enough to play their last year - is he better this year)that’s what makes intelligent fans peowed at the management.

I am giving MO the benefit of the doubt until Spring Training then I would scrutinize him more — so far he’s made good deals and with only one major blunder - Pinero but getting a closer should have been the priority and then starting pitching — he still has some options left with starting pitching but Putz (the Mets did not give up a whole lot from their roster to get him) and Fuentes were his best options so far for closer.

Now you might get a decent closer but you pay a premium with draft pick instead of paying a premium in dollars or other players.

Get Wolf or Sheets and add Sanchez or a good lefty reliever and I would feel a whole lot better about next year!!

Thank heaven for Goold

I’m confident that if BIG MAC made the HOF he would have plenty of GOOD things about the game of baseball to say and GOOD people to reflect on.

In regard to the meeting of the “great” minds at the watercooler, I think you all need to move the watercooler over to Mo’s house and discuss your thoughts with him.

I don’t agree with the talk about needing a left-handed starter. We need a starter, period - and one who will give us 200 innings. It doesn’t matter whether he’s a lefty or not.

Gordo,

You must have heard me preaching the same thoughts on Oliver Perez twice in the last 3 weeks on MLB Radio (XM 175).

You stated almost the exact same things I said on the air.

Was it when Rob Dibble agreed with me that you decided to use it?

I’d like to add that a 2 year contract will bring Perez, who’s a nice 4 or 5 guy in the rotation, an opportunity to work out issues with Duncan. Assuming he does well and increases his value, he’ll only be 29 at the end of the contract and Boras can then negotiate a longer deal with someone else. By then, the Cards should have younger talent to pick up the slack when he leaves.

I’ll keep feeding you the material as long as you give credit where credit is due.

Mike Diersen
Ft. Worth, TX

I am very tired of hearing about that keeping the payroll at the same level will keep us competitive. We were competitive last year and ended up in fourth place. Are fans, we knew it Izzy experiment was a bad idea at $8 Million for a closer that is well past his prime. Two years ago instead of picking up a one year option on Edmonds, they signed him to a two year deal and ate most of that bad salary. I can name many more issues with veterans that have not panned out. The low hanging fruit has produced only a few good contracts over the years. Sometimes I am not sure the Cards no the difference between the LOW HANGING and the Laying on the Ground use to be fruit. I have to lay some of the blame on Tony and his coaching style. He has yet to really develop a decent young team. He like the vets and the Cards do not want to spend the money on the good vets so we go for the retreads. I realize the farm system is now just getting to the point that we can count on them to provide help, but, at some point in time you have to try.

Let’s take a short look at Bobby Jenks. He never pitched passed the AA level in the minors and he has a career save percentage of 88. If that Cards had that percentage last year, we easily make the playoffs. I think the left side of the bullpen is far below average at best right now, but, the right side is strong. I am not in favor of spending money in the bullpen just to do so. I believe the starting rotation is the place to secure a free agent if a trade does not work out. For the past several years, Tony wears out the pen by June because we do not have enough starts that pitch past the 5th to 6th inning. Lyle McCellan is the prime example from 2008. They all run out of gas from overuse.

The last item I want to discuss is the payroll itself. I do not care what other teams spend. I care about weather we have a chance to win. If we get another starter that can eat innings and have a 4.00 ish ERA, we can win. That is also assuming no or very few short stints of injury for many of the main cogs in the wheel. At 3.4 million in attendance last year, the payroll dollars would have been met with only an average of $30.00 per seat. That is butts in seats only. That does not include concessions, souvenirs, or any other money making avenue the Cardinals have. I am sure that I am not along in the fact that the price of the ticket is not the most expensive park of the day. Weather I bring my family or clients, it is always an expensive evening at ballpark.

I hear that the tickets sales have slowed this year. It might be because the Cards indicated that they would be aggressive this year to improve the team. Many fans may be waiting for that aggressiveness prior to buying tickets for 2009. I for one will soon have to make a decision on how many seats we buy and it currently appears to be half or few of what we have in the past. I will not continue to go an support a team that is trying to stay at the same level of payroll and yet increase the price of tickets and concessions year in and year out. Thanks for your time and have a great new year.

TheBirdIsTheWord nailed it — Cards need another quality starting pitcher, period. Left- or right-handed doesn’t matter. I’m talking about not heading into another season with zero rotation depth, where Brad Thompson ends up being one of TLR and Dunc’s “best five” by the end of April. A good left-handed starter is a nice luxury to have, but not one I think the Cards need to focus on given the way they’ve been piecemealing the rotation together for several years now. I’m not expecting Jake Peavy, but I also don’t think it’s asking too much to want an honest-to-God major league starting pitcher who can start 30+ games, work 200 innings, and not fall into 10 start slumps where he can’t get anyone out.

I also agree with the sentiment that the left-handed relief isn’t nearly as improved as some seem to think. Based on what they’ve done to this point in their careers, Charlie Manning and Royce Ring combined don’t equal one marginal major league reliever.

The negativity I feel towards Cards’ Management is off the charts.I’m sick and tired of the lies.There has been NO effort to improve this team this off-season.Greene,Ring,Manning????!!!! Give me a BREAK!!!PATHETIC.Actions speak louder than words.We were told they were gonna be “aggressive”,but every move that has been made has been ALL about saving $$$.Greene(last year under contract-no commitment),Ring(8.00 era in 2008-better than anything we already had? of course not),Manning(unwanted by the WORST TEAM IN THE LEAGUE-washington in 2008!).If management wont commit to imoroving our team for 2009 I’ll commit to not financely supporting management.It may contribute to the vicious cycle(managent using fewer ticket sales as more of an excuse to not invest $ into team)but what choice do I have?I’m not going to shell out my hard-earned $ for a fourth-place product.I’m a loyal,bleed-red Cardinal fan,but I will not be taken advantaged of and lied to without consequences.

Living in Milwaukee, I’ve seen Sheets come down with the most bizare injuries I have ever seen. With that being said, he is one of the most dominating pitchers in the league when healthy. IF, and that’s a big if, they sign Sheets AND Carpenter is healthy, 2009 WORLD SERIES. Who can match Carpenter, Sheets, Wainwright in the National League?

As a business owner I appreciate the situation that management is in. They already have a better than average payroll overall and a very solid one for a small market like st. louis. They can also expect some significant player raises when the arbitration numbers come in. Plus the line up of players is reasonably solid.

THAT SAID, they have a starting pitcher deficiency with carpenter up in the air and they NEED to close that liability. Sure they can wait but there are some great names still on the board that are available for a very reasonable (in baseball terms) price. Why risk waiting when you can lock up a solid arm in Sheets, Perez or Wolf??? The answer is you shouldn’t.

Even if carp comes back healthy you could always deal away a starting pitcher or push the low performer back into the bullpen. Additionally, to help offset the cost of the smart, proactive pitching signing the team has the flexibility to deal one of their many highly qualified “starter ready” outfielders in the spring once their health is proved out.

Lastly, while a stone-cold closer would be a nice acquisition, with the likes of motte, perez, franklin and kinney, it is a “want” and not a “need”.

MO, please make it happen and let’s move the blogging comments onto to more optimistic topics like how we are going to put the cubs back in their place.

GO CARDS!

“Speaking of McGwire, I’m beginning to wonder if his omission from Hall of Fame voting has less to do with his suspected used of performance enhancers and more to do with how poor his Hall of Fame induction speech might be when he got to the podium and simply said, ‘I’m not here to talk about the past.’”

Cracked my Sh.it up. Great stuff.

Please,please get Michael Young and put him batting number 2 in front of Pujols playing 2B. Trade Kennedy, 3B prospect and whatever else it takes. You can get a certified commodity in that he can play SS/2B, bats for average(something STL desperately needs ahead of Pujols), has speed, scores runs, can knock in RBI’s and can shore up the middle of the defense. Put a crowbar in the wallet and redeem some favor with the STL fans. Add Sheets and Oliver Perez; you’ll be a hero with the fans, increase greatly your revenue, increase your competitiveness and not be a laughing stock of the league with the All-Star game in STL this year.

Why do I keep reading about all the NL Central teams reloading and yet the Cardinals stay put. At some point you have do something to keep the best fans in baseball happy. Throw us a bone, because the luster of the new staduim and recent World Series will soon wear off. The last thing we need to do is fall back into mediocrity. I am in the military and live in Tampa right now so I understand how a good farm system (RAYS) can get you along way but there was ten years of horrific baseball before then. I was born and raised in St. Louis and plan to come back after I retire from the Air Force and I don’t want to come back to a middle of the road team. So Cards leadership stop bargain shopping at the Goodwill and take a trip to Macy’s and get us a name brand that hasn’t been past around for years and covered in stiches. Oh yeah I almost forgot CUBS SUCK!!!

Oliver Perez is left-handed, a strikeout pitcher, and only 27 years old.

It would give the Cardinals a long-term solution to a rotation spot.
It would give the Cardinals the left-handed pitcher they thought Mulder was.
It would give the Cardinals flexibility to have Wellemeyer or Piniero be Carpenter’s insurance.
It would give the Cardinals flexibility to have Carpenter or Wainwright be a temporary closer.
It would give the Cardinals a long-term replacement if Carpenter is no longer an option.

Understand everyone’s concern about Oliver Perez but there’s an one overriding factor that makes him worth the gamble:
1)He’s baseball’s #1 commodity — a young lefthanded pitcher.

To even discuss the overrated, often-injured righty Sheets and the lefty Perez shows a total lack of understanding of Cardinal baseball. Homegrown lefties to amount to anything over the past 40 years Carlton, Royce, Magrane did I miss one besides Ankiel.

I would give Perez the 3 years in a heartbeat. And I’d get Wolf too.

How about making a run at Manny Ramirez. Throw 40-50M his way for 2 years and watch pitchers decide who to throw to.