HumbleCards

Heilman Shopping Heilman....Should we?

2008-11-21T13:10:00.000-08:00

I've read where Aaron Heilman, the relief pitcher for the Mets, is requesting that they give him a starting role or trade him. I have also read that the Mets are listening to offers on both of their current catchers, in hopes that they could then find a better option to fill the position. Why on earth should we care? Well Carps health is still a mammoth question mark, and Mr. Mozeliak has mentioned that he would like to add a swing arm to the pitching staff before the season starts.

My thought is that we could acquire Heilman from the Mets in a trade that sends our current AAA catcher, Bryan Anderson, to them.....possibly straight up. They would fill the void at catcher with a solid offensive option, and be rid of a guy that could possibly become a clubhouse distraction if not given a chance to start in NY. While we get the "swing-arm" that Mr. Mozeliak has mentioned before, as well as a competitor for the 5th spot of the rotation even if Carpenter is healthy. We also allow Anderson to find a rightful home in the Major's, as he is certainly blocked of an honest chance if he remains with us.

Heilman has had is struggles starting at this level, all of those 25 starts coming in his first 3 seasons, but he's also found some decent success as a relief pitcher. His desire though is to be a starter, and he want's to have that shot again....NOW. We just happen to be in need of a guy to fill a role such as a #4/#5/LRP. Seems to me that he fits our needs, and if the rumors of the Mets looking for another option at Catcher are true, we have something that could fill their needs as well. Personally I would imagine a batting order of J. Reyes, B. Anderson, C. Beltran, D. Wright...etc...being a potent one to start your day off against. Certainly more dangerous than one with R. Castro instead of Anderson.

I like the idea of Heilman being in, best case scenario, a 5th starter competition with Piniero and possibly even McClellan through spring training. We all know that LaRussa enjoys his ST competitions, and that would be a nice one to have. I couldn't see any solid reason for the Cardinals to not suggest to K-Mac that he should come to ST in "starter-shape". I really think Piniero struggled through most of the season with a nagging shoulder, he had problems during spring training and I don't think he ever really was 100%. I'd hate to think that Piniero struggled the way he did last season without some sort of nagging shoulder issue. He looked like he had things figured out at the end of 07', but struggled to be consistent for us last year. Though a competition for the spot is certainly in need.

Anyway, I'd hate to see Anderson go.....especially to a NY based team.....but he isn't going to find any playing time here, and we can't just waste him down in AAA for the remaining 3 years of Yadi's contract. Let the kid go and get his career underway. Heilman wants to start, well we have an opening, with OR without Carpenter.

Trevor Miller comming aboard.....Thoughts.

2008-11-20T06:34:00.000-08:00

I like the pick up. He isn't really what I thought we were gunning for, but he fits nicely as the "Lefty Specialist" that we needed. He's certainly going to run us more than a re-signing of Villone, but might be in the same ballpark as what it would cost us to sign Rhodes. Miller earned $1.6MM last season and his option for $2MM in 09' wasn't picked up. That would lead me to believe that he will likely receive a contract from us of either 1-2 years at or below the $1.6MM that he earned last year, per year.

That's not a bad scenario, but with the signing of Miller it leaves me to wonder what direction our Cardinals are looking to go with their next lefty reliever. I seen Miller as someone kind of in the middle of what we wanted, or atleast of how we were heading. I expected a top lefty reliever and a cheap/old "lefty specialist". He's 35 and is likely to receive more than $1.5MM per, so he isn't exactly the cheap/old "specialist" I was expecting. Not to say that he's not a solid option, because he is if used in the proper role.

Do we go out and pick up the Ohman or Beimel that we still want, and that we know will be at least double what we're going to pay for Miller, or do we take a different path and sign someone that will be in about the same ballpark as what we pay Miller. The latter is someone that is more of a risk to place in the role that now needs to be filled, since we have now signed the "lefty specialist". That person is Arthur Rhodes. As I mentioned in the last entry, he also has a nice line against righty hitters too. The concern however is his age, and the ability to bounce back as frequently as might be needed. He's going to cost, likely, the same or slightly more than Miller but still be a cheaper option than Ohman or Beimel......Better option though? That's still yet to be seen, because he very well could be the better option over the two more coveted lefties available.

You just have to weigh your risks with his age/health and their price/length demands.

A followup to this move being a signing of Arthur Rhodes would not bother me at all, though I realize that many across Cardinl Nation will bash it and label it as another "bottom of the barrel" or "scrap heep" signing. Everyone will be overly critical of his health due to his age, while completely ignoring his numbers from 2008. I myself show concern over his age and health, but he showed good health over the course of last season, appearing in 61 games, and was quite dominant in his stint for the NL team.

I heard some rumblings that Ohman has been offered a nice contract from the Braves to come back there for a couple more year, so Ohman might be getting a bit pricey but that's not to say that Atlanta is going to sign him.

Arthur Rhodes just might be the right choice when you factor in Money & Length. The hangup might be health and recovery time however. If it's between Beimel and Rhodes for the role that needs filled, I find myself leaning toward Rhodes actually.

Lefty Relief.....Clocks Ticking!!

2008-11-19T06:48:00.000-08:00

When it comes to our issues on the left side of the bullpen, we seem to be running out of time getting those issues resolved. Mozeliak has mentioned himself that he expects the lefties on the market to continue going off the board at a rapid pace, so at least he realizes that there isn't any time to waste whenever it comes to signing one of the top options.

For me, those top options are down to two choices.....Joe Beimel & Will Ohman.....Many may be wondering why Fuentes isn't added in there, well that's simple to answer - Because he is WELL out of our price range. If you have ANY aspirations of the Cardinals signing Fuentes, it's time you bang your head against the wall and realize that just ISN'T going to happen. Get over it, take a deep breath and move on.

The way I see things we need two lefty relievers, actually I think we need more than that since all of our starters are righthanded, one as the "Lefty Specialist" that LaRussa desires so much and the other as someone who gets lefties out quite well, but can hold his own if he is forced to get out a number of righties. With Ohman and Beimel I feel that they can fill the latter of those two scenarios. They both have solid numbers against lefties, as one would expect, but below are their respective numbers against righties.

Beimel: .286 / .367 / .428
Ohman: .262 / .359 / .397

Now neither of them are exactly dominant against righties, but they shouldn't be forced to face righties too often with our surplus of righty relief and the before mentioned right heavy rotation. Thus their numbers are respectable enough to fill the role. I would imagine that either of them will be going for around $3-$4MM per over 2 or 3 years. The signing of Affeldt to only $4MM per earlier this offseason has forced their per year salary to be no more than $4MM, because he was the better option by far of the bunch. Signing either of these guys to more than what Affeldt is getting is a mistake by any team that chooses to do so. Personally anything more than $3.5MM per is a mistake if you ask me.

With either of them receiving the type of money they are going to receive, signing both of them is not an option for us. We can only afford to sign one, and then pick up that "Lefty Specialist" out of a group of cheaper options. If we didn't have the middle infield issue's to deal with, along with a likely need for another SOLID rotation guy, we could afford to sign both and be in extremely great shape. Sadly that is simply not realistic.

The choices for the "Lefty Specialist", on the cheaper side of things, is a short list too. For me it's either re-sign Villone or go and get Arthur Rhodes. Both should be within our price range when factoring the other needs that must be addressed. Their numbers against lefties in 08' follow.

Villone: .176 / .311 / .318
Rhodes: .221 / .289 / .325

Rhodes happens to have had some solid numbers against righties as well, but for me his age makes me a little wary of using him in the same role that I have outlined for Ohman & Beimel. Rhodes made $1MM last year while Villone only cost us $600K last season. I don't see Villone getting much of a salary increase if any, so he should remain within the $900K range at the very least. Rhodes on the other hand could sneek up to somewhere around $2-$2.5MM after the numbers he put up. His age will help to keep it from going too high, but a team might have to give him 2 guaranteed years of service if they are to keep him out of the $2MM range. Villone on the other hand will likely be an easy one year snag.

Rumor's have it that the Cards are leaning toward an Ohman/Rhodes duo, but I haven't read anything significant about serious offers being made to either. Anything much over $5MM to fill our lefty needs would have to be questioned. I would imagine a line of $5.5 being the highest high.

We should know quite soon, as to who our first signing is. It most certainly will be of the Ohman/Beimel options. I think missing out on either of these forces a trade scenario to be the only other option to fill this role.

MVP Award comes back to it's rightful owner!

2008-11-17T12:04:00.001-08:00

As I'm sure you all already are aware, Albert Pujols has been crowned the NL MVP for 2008.

Though in the minds of all Cardinal fans it was a no-brainer, there was certainly concern that he might once again get robbed of the MVP honer. Once again because his team failed to reach the playoffs. The last time was 2003 when he had better numbers than Bonds, the voters then decided that with his team not reaching the playoffs he shouldn't be awarded the MVP. Of course fast-forward a bit to 2006 and we witness Ryan Howard receiving the award while playing for a team that didn't make the playoffs. Nothing against Howard and his accomplishments in that year, or this one, but these voters have got to decide on a system for determining the MVP and stick to it. If it takes the team reaching the playoffs for a player to be seriously considered than fine we will all understand it and live with it. Although if you want to make the case that as long as the player puts up the numbers well deserving of the award he should certainly be a awarded said reward, that's fine too.....Just make up your mind and quit acting like a bunch of politicians. It's that easy.

Of course, as you might guess - I know I did - there are some Philly fans already moaning and making back-handed comments toward Pujols about what he was said to have stated in the days leading up to the 2006 MVP announcement. The story was that Pujols said that Howard didn't deserve the award because he didn't lead his team to the playoffs. We all learned shortly after the story came out, that Pujols did not make such a comment....at least not in the context as to which the Dominican columnist made it seem. The Philly fans, well the one's that are doing the whining, seem to either not have read the followup on the story or are simply ignoring it for the sake of having something to complain about. Must I mention that Albert also made a personal phone call to Mr. Howard to clarify his statement.

However, I can't blame the Philly/Howard fans for acting the way they might. Their guy certainly had a case for the award, and in the end all they are doing is being true FAN'S of their team and of their player. That part of the actions I fully respect.

Knowing the class act that is Albert Pujols, he will likely downplay things and commend Howard on his season.

In the end the voters got it correct. It's my opinion that you shouldn't penalize and individuals performance because the team around failed to have all it took to make it to the playoffs.

Congrats "El Hombre" on an AMAZING season!!

This Khalil Greene infatuation?!?!

2008-11-17T06:55:00.000-08:00

I have noticed over the past weeks or so, well I guess it even started during the season, that K. Greene has been mentioned by a number of fellow Cards fans as a guy to try and get to fill our Shortstop problems. I'm sorry folks, but I just don't get it. What is it that he brings that's going to really make a good enough impact. Is it his power? That would be my only guess, because he does bring more power from the SS position than we have ever witnessed as Cards fans.

Many are quick to point out that he had 27 dingers in 07', and I will gladly add that he also only hit .254 with a .291 OBP and 128 K's in that same season. To bring that up to perspective a bit more Izturis hit .261 with a .319 OBP with only 26 K's for us this season. This past season K. Greene hit an astounding .216 with a .260 OBP. His OBP was LESS than Izturis' batting AVG! Oh wait, but he did hit 10 HR's. Seriously?...c'mon.

Is it that his Defense is such that we can forgive his offensive woes, with the exception of his HR's of course, because he also provides a sure glove at SS? Well he owns a career .976 fielding percentage, which is certainly acceptable seeing as how Izturis' FP is .979. So yeah, his defense is good enough to make up for a little of what he lacks in other places. Although, I don't see why we should go ahead and pay K. Greene north of $4 million for 09 whenever Izturis is an even better option than him, and comes much cheaper.

Do not think however that I am pushing for the Cards to re-sign Izturis for 09. OH NO, I'm not wanting that at all, but I'd prefer Izturis over K. Greene...especially for the money/production ratio. My choices for SS are one of these two...Orlando Cabrera or Edgar Renteria...but that is a subject for future conversation. Today I just wanted to try and shed some light on bad idea that is Khalil Greene to the Cardinals.

Than again, maybe everyone likes him because he refused to sign with the Cubbies whenever they drafted him in 2001.

Birth of Newfound Cardinal Nation sanity....Hopefully!

2008-11-15T10:01:00.000-08:00

Here in a short while, sometime this weekend, will be the first installment of this newly generated blog. I hope to gather a larger group than just those within Cardinal Nation, but for those of you on the outside I will inform you now that most of my inserts will be on St. Louis Cardinal Baseball. There will certainly be other baseball news coverd, but the news of utmost importance is MY opinion on Cardinal Baseball. Just a warning to all others, and feel free to check in and see what I have to say.

Don't be too concerned about another blogger throwing around all of these lavish Sabermetric statistics, because that is not how I opperate. I prefer the good old fashion plain and simple stats, and even more old fashioned.....using my own two eyes, to gather my opinions. Here and there I might bring in a sabermetric stat or two, but in all I prefer to go by what my eyes are telling me.

My plan of attack is going to be based on daily rumors that I see swirling around, which I will post such rumors on here if I feel they deserve the attention...good or bad... I'll also check out various other Cardinal blogs as well as a couple forums to see what people are posting and or even suggesting the Cardinals do. In the future I hope to get some cooperation from such guys as Mathew Leach, Bernie Miklasz, Derrick Goold, Rick Hummel, Joe Strauss and others. Though many of those might be tough to get, and possibly they may even be restricted on doing such things through their current employers. Nonetheless, it won't hurt to try.

Well, I'll be back later to get things started and dig-in for this years off-season. Should be an interesting one. Don't look for the Cardinal brass to sit on their hands this winter.