Walton’s Wanderings

 

Lee Cunningham

Our Houston friend, Dr. Bill McCurdy, points out another story on Lee Cunningham, the oldest living former major leaguer and oldest living former Cardinal.  He and former Astros manager Larry Dierker are going out to see Lee again next week.  We’ll get a report then.  http://houston.astros.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/hou/news/hou_news.jsp?ymd=20050127&content_id=935985&vkey=news_hou&fext=.jsp

 

Berkman stays

Houston slugger Lance Berkman basically split the difference between his and the teams’ arbitration offers, settling on a one-year deal for  $10.5 million.  A nice deal for a guy who will start the season on the disabled list due to a flag football injury.  Berkman will be a free-agent after the 2005 season, is in a strong bargaining position for a long-term deal, given the aging core of Astros players and the recent loss of Carlos Beltran.

 

A for Astros and Arbitration

The difficult off-season in Houston continues.  Even after signing Berkman, the ‘Stros are preparing for arbitration hearings with three pitchers - Pete Munro, Roy Oswalt and Tim Redding.  No team has more cases pending.  These hearings are scheduled starting the week after next.

 

Sosa goes

Sammy Sosa’s trade to the Baltimore Orioles is close to being completed, says the AP.  The Cubs get a very good second baseman/outfielder, Jerry Hairston, plus prospects.  In return, they ship Sosa and a boatload of cash to the O’s.  So much money in fact, that it will make the Cards dumping of Tino Martinez appear to be a bargain.  OK, maybe not… Anyway, Hairston will look nice as the Cubbies new leadoff man, but the Baby Bruins are still at least one outfielder short coming into the 2005 season.  Magglio Ordonez?  http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylc=X3oDMTBpNWZic251BF9TAzI1NjY0ODI1BHNlYwN0aA--?slug=ap-cubs-orioles-sosa&prov=ap&type=lgns

 

Sorenson in slammer

Former Cardinal Lary Sorenson (1981) is in deep trouble with alcohol abuse and the law.  A very sad story.  http://www.detnews.com/2005/tigers/0501/28/H03-73112.htm

 

Porter a Yank

Another more recent former Cardinal, outfielder Colin Porter (2004), signed a minor league deal with the Yankees back on December 10.  I think I may have missed the signing at the time.  Good luck to a fine young man who never showed enough with the bat to impress the Cardinals brass after being claimed on waivers from the Astros last January.

 

Season ticket holders

Check your mail, as seating location info for the new ballpark has been sent out.

 

MLB Owner Unrest

Pittsburgh managing general partner Kevin McClatchy blasts his peers for their free-spending ways.  http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/baseball/mlb/01/28/bc.bbn.mcclatchy.salary.ap/index.html

 

Stark View

Last week, ESPN’s Jayson Stark presented another side of the free-agent situation, noting the lack of collusion among owners helped to escalate contracts this off-season.  http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/story?columnist=stark_jayson&id=1971920

 

Walton’s Wanderings

 

Marquis’ Roots

Jason Marquis was honored as “Sportsman of the Year” back in his Staten Island, NY home.  http://www.silive.com/hssports/advance/index.ssf?/base/Sports/1106316906108690.xml

 

Buck Honor

The late Jack Buck will be inducted into the National Association of Broadcasting Hall of Fame on Tuesday, April 19 in Las Vegas.  http://www.nab.org/Newsroom/PressRel/n2005/nab2005_jackbuck.htm

 

Gammons Speaks

ESPN’s Peter Gammons on the “great Jim Edmonds”, why Mark Mulder will do better in the National League and more.  http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/gammons/story?id=1976318

 

Non-Roster Invitees and Winter Ball Update

Courtesy of MLB.com’s Matthew Leach.  Catchers Brad Cresse, Gabe Johnson, Jason Motte and Dan Moylan will help out with the large numbers of pitchers early on.  Outfielder Skip Schumaker plus starting pitchers Anthony Reyes and Brad Thompson were also invited to the big league camp, as was well-traveled hurler Nerio Rodriguez.  Also updates on Hector Luna, Julian Tavarez and John Gall in winter league action.  http://stlouis.cardinals.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/stl/news/stl_news.jsp?ymd=20050128&content_id=936157&vkey=news_stl&fext=.jsp

 

St. Charles Trade Show in April

For those looking for player appearances, Mark Mulder and Jeff Suppan are expected to participate with more players to be added later.  http://tristarshows.com/shows/upcomshindex.htm

 

St. Louis Baseball Card Show February 25 

Scheduled to sign are Ozzie, Lou, Red, Stan the Man and Gibby.  http://www.stlsportscollectors.com/CalendarDisplay.asp?date=2/25/2005&task=N

 

Benes drives Whitey and Fredbird to Evansville

What more can I say?

http://www.courierpress.com/ecp/local_sports/article/0,1626,ECP_749_3501398,00.html

 

Cardinals Care Receives $165,000 from Rally Band Sales

Hardees announced the take earlier this week.  BTW, two of them will be given out on March 1 as second prize in our Cardinals Free Agent Contest.  We are awaiting the final number of free-agent signees and whether or not Ray Lankford signs a deal somewhere.  http://www.bizjournals.com/industries/sports_business/general/2005/01/24/stlouis_daily23.html

 

That Damn Ball

Even after being traded, Minky loans it to Red Sox to accompany World Series trophy tour.  http://breakingnews.nypost.com/dynamic/stories/B/BBA_RED_SOX_MIENTKIEWICZ_BALL?SITE=NYNYP&SECTION=SPORTS

 

 

Walton’s Wanderings

 

Cards not settled at second, after all

In “The Buzz” column from the February 26-March 1 USA Today Sports Weekly, writer Bob Nightengale reports that before signing with Tampa Bay, Roberto Alomar was promised the starting job at second by the Cardinals.  Assuming that is true, the team must have guaranteed the offer.  It also signals that they are not as confident in Mark Grudzielanek as we may have been led to believe.  Could a trade still be in the offing?

 

Pujols for Nike Pro apparel

Some may have already seen the new Nike advertising featuring six prominent athletes, including Albert Pujols.  His segment is called Game Face.  It is spread all over ESPN.com’s home page this week.  But, the best way to view the video clip of Albert’s commercial is to go here.

http://niketown.nike.com/niketown/catalog/category.jsp?categoryId=52627&navType=nikepro

 

Nike campaign

Here is some background detail about the Nike campaign from the New York Times.  http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/24/business/media/24adcol.html?ex=1109221200&en=607ce8da682beb29&ei=5087

 

Sickels leaving ESPN

One of the best minor league experts out there, John Sickels, is leaving the employ of ESPN.com.  Sickels pens the regular “Down on the Farm” feature articles there and is the author of “The Baseball Prospect Book”.  His future plans have not been divulged, but note that his website, www.johnsickels.com, is hosted by Jason Grey and his team at Mastersball.com.  Sickels' announcement is here. Sickels leaving ESPN

 

Rolen story

Tim Kurkjian of ESPN penned a great article about Scott Rolen and the brand of baseball that he plays.  A great read if you haven’t seen it already.  ESPN Rolen story

 

Mariners make sabermetric signing

Another prominent writer who did time at USA Today Sports Weekly, Mat Olkin, of “Mat at Bat” fame, was hired by the Seattle Mariners as a “player acquisition consultant”.  Olkin has a long history in the stats community and has a distinguished resume’.  Cards consultant Ron Shandler is mentioned in the story here.  Olkin signs with M's

 

Important Cardinals upcoming dates

Pitchers and catchers report – February 18

Pitchers and catchers first workout – February 19

Position players report – February 22

First full-squad workout – February 23

 

 

Balling in Beantown

 

That damn ball.

 

At Busch Stadium on October 27 at 10:40pm Central time, Edgar Renteria bounced to pitcher Keith Foulke, who softly tossed the baseball underhand to Boston Red Sox first baseman and defensive replacement, Doug Mientkiewicz.  With that, the 2004 World Series was history.

 

After 86 years of frustration was released, the long-tortured Red Sox faithful apparently didn’t know how to act.  With primadonna Pedro Martinez gone, goofball and Series MVP Manny Ramirez quiet and caveman Johnny Damon on his honeymoon, the Beantowners managed to create their own issue out of virtually nothing.

 

A call to Mientkiewicz from a Boston Globe writer hoping to unearth some fresh dirt on the first base rivalry between Minky and Kevin Millar didn’t achieve its objective.  So, instead, the writer changed his approach.  As a result, Minky was blindsided in a January 7 story and before he knew it was cast far and wide as an evil, money-grubbing villain for keeping that final-out ball from the Series.

 

Minky’s comments were twisted and misconstrued as the story was told and retold.  But, several points are clear:  MLB declared the ball was his and any issues were between Minky and the Red Sox.  Also clear was the fact that at the time the story broke, no one from the Sox had even asked Minky for the ball.

 

In addition, it quickly came to light that other respected players and past World Series heroes such as Cal Ripken, Jr. and A.J. Burnett had kept their teams’ Series final out balls and no one seemed to care.  Not so in the east coast land of frustration, where it became front-page news.

 

After ignoring this story for weeks, the reason I finally broke down and wrote this is due to reader emails from those who keep seeing this repeated and morphed in the media.  In fact, some have gone as far as to assert that the Cardinals have the most valid claim for that damn ball.  Well, I say, who cares?

 

Yet, the Mientkiewicz stories go on and on.  When I was in Boston a couple of weeks ago, I though it was over.  In fact, Sox general manager Theo Epstein announced on stage to tremendous cheers at the “Hot Stove, Cool Music” charity event that an agreement had been struck with Minky and the ball was on its way to Boston.  I guess that hasn’t happened yet.

 

By the way, one of the most prominent Sox players in the post-season, yet one who was run out of town, pitcher Derek Lowe, has the ALCS-winning game ball in his possession, presented to him by none other than Mientkiewicz.  Reportedly, Lowe has no intention of giving that up despite the fact that many seem to value the victory over the Yankees far more than the win over St. Louis.  Lowe is now employed by the Los Angeles Dodgers. 

 

Despite his defensive strengths, Mientkiewicz’ job has also been in jeopardy since he hit .215 in his 107 regular-season at-bats with Boston.  But, matters got even tenser on December 17, when Millar came out in the press and said one of the two of them had to go.  With his Red Sox career on the line, perhaps Minky wants to maintain a bit of leverage with those who both hold his contract and treasure his prized baseball.

 

Folks, get a grip.  It’s all a game.

 

As a recent MLB.com story observed, the likely scenario is that Mientkiewicz will maintain ownership of the ball and loan it to the Sox for display.  I’ve held the 2004 World Series trophy and I can assure you it is several thousand times more impressive than a garden-variety baseball, anyway.

 

What a non-story.  Leave to the Red Sox Nation to turn it into one.

 

P.S.  For those who just can’t get enough of this gripping tale, here are some links for your reading entertainment.

 

Original Boston Globe story:  http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/articles/2005/01/07/for_now_hes_having_a_ball?pg=full

 

Red Sox Nation (16 pages of fan forum discussion and debate before thread locked due to lack of relevancy):  http://www.redsoxnation.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=13209

 

Sons of Sam Horn (14 more pages of fan talk and growing):  http://p086.ezboard.com/fsonsofsamhornbostonredsox.showMessage?topicID=14838.topic

 

MLB.com article about ownership of the ball:  http://boston.redsox.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/bos/news/bos_news.jsp?ymd=20050107&content_id=928470&vkey=news_bos&fext=.jsp

 

MLB.com article about the expected compromise:

http://boston.redsox.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/bos/news/bos_news.jsp?ymd=20050122&content_id=933468&vkey=news_bos&fext=.jsp

 

Red Sox Nation for $9.95 or Cardinal Nation for Free

 

Some might conclude that I am overly concerned about the Boston Red Sox, given my recent spurt of stories about them.  It might have something to do with the unfortunate series in October or the untimely abandonment by the Cardinals’ former shortstop.  However, the reality of the matter is that World Champs bring negative focus on themselves due to their money-grubbing attitude toward fans.

 

Was winning the World Series a license for greed?  We’ve already seen what it meant for their spring training ticket prices.  Now, the latest is something called “Red Sox Nation”.  The team apparently devised this money-making scheme to actually squeeze a bit more from their loyal fans. 

 

I received an email yesterday learning of this.  The note informed me that I was selected for a special “Exclusive Ticket Opportunity” to get a chance in a drawing to maybe buy Red Sox tickets for selected games before sale to the general public.  All I need to do is fork over $9.95 to join the Red Sox Nation.  That way, I could learn more, like basics such as what games at what prices, for example.

 

Or, looking at it the other way, unless you pay some juice up front, tickets to the games you may want could be long gone before you ever knew what hit you.

 

Yeah, they throw in some other stuff for the $9.95, but Joe or Jane average fan may or may not value them.  Things like a newsletter, a special web page, special offers at the RedSox.com shop, GameDay audio and best of all, an “Official Red Sox Nation Citizenship Card”.

 

I don’t need to buy a super cool laminated membership card or a decoder ring to validate and remind me which team I follow.  The Sox fans can buy their loyalty.  But, being a member of the Cardinal Nation is priceless!

 

Red Sox Nation

 

The $40 Million Rotation

 

Yesterday, I hinted about the contract problems facing the Cardinals next off-season with respect to the starting rotation.  It further underlines the importance of not having traded away the young future starters, as the team will not be able to afford all of the current six starting pitchers in 2006.

 

To make the point, let’s assume that each of the six (Mulder, Carpenter, Marquis, Suppan, Morris and Ankiel) each win 15 games in 2005.  Now, I know that isn’t likely to happen due to injury or ineffectiveness, yet five of them did reach 15 wins in 2004.  So, the bar is not set that high.  In fact, some will hopefully do better, but remember, this is an illustration.

 

I used Baseball Reference’s comparison feature to identify players on other teams whose stats are similar to the Cardinals starters.  That was to help ascertain and validate market value for these guys.  Let’s see what each might command next season in this scenario.

 

Mulder – This one is easy as the team has a $7.25 million option on Mulder’s services for 2006.

 

Carpenter – Back-to-back 15 win seasons in the prime of his career.  Among the comparable pitchers are Jeff Weaver ($9.25 million in 2005) and Eric Milton (average $8.5 million over three years).  With inflation, a $10 million 2006 salary is not out of the question.

 

Marquis – Settled for $3 million in 2005 as last season was his first in the spotlight.  Walt Jocketty was quoted as wanting to go year-to-year with Marquis, since the 2005 market prices for pitching were so crazy.  Who’s to say it will get better?  With two solid seasons under Marquis’ belt, comparables could include Adam Eaton ($3.2 million) and Joe Mays ($7.25 million).  Let’s assume Marquis could be signed for $5 million for 2006.  He might be able to get even more in arbitration.

 

Suppan – His current deal includes a 2006 option at $4 million.  Let’s take the simple route and assume the Cards will pay.

 

Morris – Another 15-win season for Morris is short of his career-best, but he could still command a deal somewhere in the same $10 million range that Carpenter might get.  Remember that is less than the $12.5 million Morris earned in 2004.  For reference, a comparable, Chicago White Sox pitcher Freddy Garcia, recently signed for a $9 million average over three seasons.  Another comparable, Tim Hudson, will likely fetch even more next off-season.

 

Ankiel – If Ankiel proves his mettle to the tune of 15 wins, expect he will surely get at least the $3 million that Marquis got in 2005, and likely more.  I will estimate $4 million here.  Again, that may be conservative.

 

So, there you have it.  A reasonably-successful 2005 season for the six Cardinals starters could easily lead to this rotation costing $40 million in 2006.  No one can assume that is affordable.  So, could a trade or two be made down the road to fill other team needs?  Worst case, the Cardinals will get high draft picks for Carpenter and/or Morris if they leave via free agency in the next off-season.  Clearly, at this point, those two look to be most likely to depart for big bucks elsewhere.

 

Speaking of other team needs, closer Jason Isringhausen and the entire bullpen except for Ray King, the second baseman and 2/3 of the starting outfield are not under contract for 2006.  Even if that were not the case, I would be pushing Walt to get some extensions in place. 

 

Or, is Walt buying time, hoping Ankiel can come back?  That could enable his 2006 rotation to be Mulder, Ankiel, Marquis, Suppan and a rookie, with Carpenter and Morris being let go.  That rotation would cost about $20 million, which is comparable or slightly less than 2005 when incentives are taken into account.  This is surely more in line with the Cardinals’ budget and ability to spend, with so many other pressing 2006 needs, as well.

 

But, for now, let’s enjoy in 2005 what is arguably a $40 million starting staff.  It looks to be a one-time-only opportunity.