St. Louis Cardinals fans finally got their Christmas/New Year’s wish: leftfielder Matt Holliday. With the Cardinals in the second half of 2009, Holliday provided protection for slugger Albert Pujols by hitting .353 with a .419 on-base percentage in 63 games. He hit 13 homeruns and drove in 55. He was only 2-for-12 (a homerun was on of the two hits) in the Division Series against the LA Dodgers (no one else produced offensively in the Dodgers three-game sweep either) but many will remember him for the 9^th inning dropped fly ball in a game the Cardinals would lose later that inning.

Holliday’s contract is for seven years (with an option for 2017) for $120 million (pending a physical). He also has a full no-trade clause, which is a provision that is an emphasis of agent Scott Boras. Holliday got the long and lucrative contract that he wanted and the Cardinals got the player they wanted (and gave up a lot to acquire at the trading deadline in 2009). His contract is the largest in the Cardinals’ club history, surpassing Pujols’ 7 year, $100 million contract. Holliday’s contract is also the largest this offseason, surpassing John Lackey’s 5 year, $82.5 million contract with the Boston Red Sox.

“The way Cardinals fans treated me the entire time I was there, from the first at-bat until the last at-bat, I definitely think that’s something you consider, and something I did consider,” Holliday told Doug Gottlieb on ESPN Radio. Cardinals fans have been known to be some of the best in all of sports, so who wouldn’t want to play in St. Louis?

Matt Holliday

I like that the Cardinals signed Holliday because he has been a force in the National League since his rookie year in 2004 with the Colorado Rockies. However, were those numbers inflated because he played half of his games at Coors Field? Holliday can hit and that never really has been questioned (though he struggled in Oakland). He will provide the protection of Pujols that the Cardinals so desperately need. The combination of Holliday, Colby Rasmus, and Ryan Ludwick in the outfield is pretty potent. The biggest concern is his defense. He is not the greatest of defensive outfielders as his blunder in the playoffs showed. Holliday made 5 errors combined between Oakland and St. Louis and had 7 assists (though he only had 1 error and 1 assist with the Cardinals). My biggest concern with the entire deal is that the game’s best player is Pujols and his contract will be expiring soon. Will the Cardinals have the money to re-sign Pujols for the rest of his career? We all know he is a better player than Holliday, so he will ask for more than $17 million a season. Hopefully the Cardinals will not be a cast of characters around Pujols and Holliday because they won’t be able to afford any other top-notch players (like re-signing Adam Wainwright, Chris Carpenter, or Rasmus). I just think the Cardinals may have overpaid for Holliday, despite the fact that his offensive numbers are great and he is only going to be 30. Can Holliday continue his offensive barrage into his mid-to-late 30s? Only time will tell.

Tags:

Albert Pujols, Matt Holliday, St. Louis Cardinals

Albert Pujols

The St. Louis Cardinals will always be in contention with perennial MVP Albert Pujols in its lineup. However to win it all, they need hitters around Pujols, a solid pitching staff, and a reliable bullpen. In 2009, the Cardinals boasted the best 1-2 punch at the top of the rotation. Chris Carpenter (17-4 with a 2.24 ERA in 28 starts with 144 strikeouts) and Adam Wainwright (19-8 with a 2.63 ERA in 233 innings pitched and 212 strikeouts) finished second and third in the CY Young voting, and were joined by Joel Pineiro to give opposing clubs jitters when facing the Cardinals for a 3-game set. But it wasn’t until July that the Cardinals took over the National League Central. Sure “Super” Joe Thurston, Skip Schumaker, Brendan Ryan, Colby Rasmus, Ryan Ludwick, and Yadier Molina were solid batting around Pujols. New GM John Mozeliak added thunder around King Albert in July with Julio Lugo, Mark DeRosa, and Matt Holliday, which led to the take off of the Cardinals. Holliday awoke from his Oakland slumber and Redbird’s fans quickly fell in love.

Ryan Franklin earned the closer’s role after the season started but late in the year began to falter (4-3 with a 1.92 ERA in 62 games and converted 38 of 43 save opportunities). Outside of Franklin and their two left-handed relievers (Trever Miller and Dennys Reyes), the Cardinals bullpen was hardly lights out.

Winning the NL Central in 2009 did nothing to help them in the playoffs as the offense went to sleep and the pitching staff pitched poorly (except for Wainwright and John Smoltz in relief), leading to a three-game sweep at the hands of the LA Dodgers. It has been a very quiet offseason for the Cardinals, despite having quite a few holes to fill and many free agents (Rick Ankiel, DeRosa, Holliday, Pineiro, Thurston, etc). Mozeliak will need to make some moves to make the Cardinals better or King Albert may just file for free agency and leave St. Louis. Here’s their wish list:

1. 

   Matt Holliday

   Re-sign Matt Holliday: Maybe this is why the Cardinals have been so quiet this offseason. They are playing the waiting game with Holliday. St. Louis desperately wants him back but his price range and length of contract may be too high and may put them out of the running for Pujols when he becomes a free agent. Many want the deal done soon, which may lead to the Cardinals to look for another leftfielder. Skip Schumaker could move back out there after a year at second base with Brendan Ryan moving to second.

2. Starting pitching: The Cardinals have two aces in Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright, both of whom who are workhorses when healthy. However pitching coach Dave Duncan’s reclamation project, Joel Pineiro, is a free agent and will probably get big money elsewhere. Kyle Lohse, who pitched well in 2008, struggled for much of 2009 (6-10 with a 4.74 ERA in 22 starts) and the Cardinals will need him to step up in 2010. The number five spot in the rotation was a rotating cast of characters who were inconsistent (Todd Wellemeyer, Brad Thompson, Mitchell Boggs, PJ Walters, and John Smoltz). The one signing this offseason was of starter Brad Penny, who pitched brilliantly for the SF Giants in the second half (4-1 with a 2.59 ERA in 6 starts with 20 Ks). The key is to have that Penny pitch in 2010. The Cardinals could use two more starters to push both Penny and Lohse and to battle for the 5^th spot in the rotation.
3. A third baseman: The Cardinals traded Gold Glove winner Scott Rolen for Troy Glaus and Glaus spent his tenure on the DL. They traded top prospect Brett Wallace to Oakland for Holliday. In the second half of 2009, third base was filled by now free agent Mark DeRosa. “Super” Joe Thurston played everywhere and got a lot of time at third, but he just signed with Atlanta.
4. A bench: The Cardinals did re-sign backup catcher Jason LaRue, giving them a reliable catcher to give Yadier Molina an occasional rest. After that, the bench is pretty bare. They could use a middle infielder, an outfielder, and someone with power. Tyler Greene will probably fill the middle infield spot and the Cardinals have a few outfielders (Joe Mather and Nick Stavinoha). However none have much power.
5. Upgrades to the bullpen: The Cardinals need experience at the back end of the bullpen, preferably someone with closing capabilities. They desperately need a setup man if they’re going to stick with Ryan Franklin as the closer.

Tags:

Adam Wainwright, Albert Pujols, Brad Penny, Chris Carpenter, Joe Thurston, Joel Pineiro, Kyle Lohse, Mark DeRosa, Matt Holliday, Ryan Franklin, Skip Schumaker, St. Louis Cardinals

Zack Greinke

The CY Young awards were a hot debate. Despite dominating virtually every opponent all season long in the American League, many thought that the Kansas City Royals ace’s win total was not enough. However after the votes were tallied, Zack Greinke was indeed the winner. He accumulated 25 of the 28 first place votes and a total of 134 points, well ahead of second-place finisher Felix Hernandez (80 points) of the Seattle Mariners. Even Greinke felt that the vote would be closer because he thought “Felix had an amazing year and that he would get a little more credit than he did…” King Felix finished the season 19-5 (tied for the most wins with the other CY Young hopefuls Justin Verlander and CC Sabathia) to go with a 2.49 ERA, though he is virtually unknown to people outside of the inner baseball circle.

Now back to Greinke. Playing for the bottom feeder Royals seemed to hurt him all year long when the “talking heads” discussed who should win the award. Despite a Major League Baseball best 2.16 ERA, he had just 16 wins (16-8 overall) due to a lack of offensive support and bullpen implosions. Greinke started the year hot going 6-0 with a 0.40 ERA and ended the year hot going 6-1 with a 1.75 ERA in 11 starts. Greinke also racked up 242 strikeouts.

Tim Lincecum

The voting in the National League illustrated the debate as it was one of the closest CY Young races. Adam Wainwright of the St. Louis Cardinals garnered the most first place votes, yet he came in third place. His teammate Chris Carpenter garnered the most second place votes, which put him in second place. It seemed that the Cardinals teammates took votes away from each other. However the top three spots were only separated by ten votes. Not that the San Francisco Giants ace Tim Lincecum did not deserve the award. He was in the same boat as the Royals Greinke. He led the majors in making 7 starts, working 8 innings without allowing an earned run. Lincecum finished the season 15-7, due to a lack of offensive support, with a 2.48 ERA and led the NL in strikeouts (261). Lincecum is a repeat winner, as he won the award in 2008, which he admitted that the first one still hasn’t really sunk in yet. Towards the end of the season, I picked Wainwright as the winner because he had similar numbers to Lincecum (19-8, 2.63 ERA, and 212 K) but he had more innings pitched than everyone else and was carrying the Cardinals into the playoffs. However even Wainwright felt he shouldn’t win the award because he wasn’t the best pitcher on his team.

Joe Mauer

The MVP races ended up being virtually unanimous selections. In the American League, the Minnesota Twins catcher Joe Mauer accumulated 27 of the 28 first place votes. NY Yankees teammates Mark Teixeira and Derek Jeter placed second and third respectively, seemed to fit the same bill as Cardinals teammates Adam Wainwright and Chris Carpenter: they took votes from each other. Mauer, on the season, led the American League in hitting with a .365 average, adding 28 homeruns and 96 RBIs, which were all career highs. He also added 30 doubles and walked more than he struck out (76 BB/ 63 K). Mauer also plays the most demanding position: he’s a catcher and catching a young pitching staff. My only complaint about him winning the award was that he missed the first month of the season and he tailed off at the end when Justin Morneau went down with an injury.

Albert Pujols

In the National League, Florida Marlins shortstop Hanley Ramirez would have won the award if there wasn’t a certain first baseman from the St. Louis Cardinals playing. Albert Pujols was a unanimous selection, garnering all of the 32 first place votes. This is Pujols’ second straight MVP award and third overall. Who can argue with his selection? Pujols hit .327 (which was third in the NL), with 47 homeruns (which led the majors) and 135 RBIs (which was third in the NL). He also had 45 doubles (which was second in the NL) and scored 124 runs (which led the NL). While playing in 160 games and carrying the Cardinals into the postseason, Pujols also walked way more times than he struck out (115 BB/ 65 K) and even stole 16 bases.

Tags:

Adam Wainwright, Albert Pujols, American League, Cy Young, Felix Hernandez, Joe Mauer, MVP, National League, Tim Lincecum, Zack Greinke

Phillies @ Rockies PPD: Game 3 between the   and Phillies at Coors Field in Denver, Colorado was postponed until Sunday, with Game 4 on Monday and Game 5 (if necessary) in Philadelphia on Tuesday.

The two teams were faced with temperatures in the 20’s and snow, so MLB decided it was best for players and fans alike to wait until Sunday to play. With the extra day off, Philadelphia Phillies manager Charlie Manuel has decided to go with lefty JA Happ in Game 3, instead of the veteran Pedro Martinez. In two outings against the Rockies, Happ has been brilliant going 11.1 innings and giving up just 5 hits and no runs with a .139 batting average against him.

On August 5th in Philadelphia, Happ threw a complete-game shutout against the Rockies. Also, the Phillies could start Game 1 starter Cliff Lee in Game 4 on regular rest, along with Cole Hamels (the Game 2 starter) in Game 5. For the Rockies, they are staying with Jason Hammel in Game 3, with a possibility of coming back with Ubaldo Jimenez in Game 4 and Aaron Cook in Game 5. Hammel has just 2 losses since the start of August.

Dodgers 5, Cardinals 1: With the games on the line, Los Angeles Dodgers manager Joe Torre was not afraid to go to his closer Jonathon Broxton and his 100mph fastball. In all three games of the divisional series, Torre did just that. Broxton mainly threw just fastballs and was in to close out Game 3, finishing it out by striking out pinch-hitter Rick Ankiel.

Dodgers starter Vicente Padilla overmatched the Cardinals lineup, throwing seven shutout innings and giving up just four hits. On the other hand, Cardinals starter Joel Pineiro lasted just four innings, giving up four runs on seven hits. The 3-4 hitters for the Dodgers (Andre Ethier and Manny Ramirez) combined to go 6-for-10 with 4 RBIs. In the 3 game sweep, Dodgers pitchers held the Cardinals offense to just six runs. The Cardinals offense was just 4-for-30 with runners in scoring position.

This sweep of the Cardinals was similar to last season’s divisional series sweep of the Chicago Cubs. The Dodgers were not picked to beat the Cubs, yet they did in dominating fashion. This year, the Dodgers were not picked to be able to compete against the Big Two of the Cardinals, yet they won all three. For the Cardinals, despite the loss, they had a successful season.

They won the NL Central in dominating fashion, with an 11 game lead. This in a division that they were not picked in spring training to finish in the top two. Albert Pujols had another MVP season, they have two CY Young candidates, Ryan Franklin turned into a fairly reliable closer, and they successfully moved Skip Schumaker from the outfield to second base. The Dodgers will now sit and wait to see who their NLCS opponent will be: the Rockies or the Phillies. The NLCS begins on Thursday.

Tags:

Albert Pujols, Charlie Manuel, Cole Hamels, Manny Ramirez, Pedro Martinez, Philadelphia, Rick Ankiel, Rockies, Ubaldo Jimenez, Vicente Padilla

The Los Angeles Dodgers and St. Louis Cardinals , will meet Wednesday in the NLDS with 16 World Series titles between them. Both have playoff-tested managers in Joe Torre and Tony LaRussa. Both have dangerous, middle-of-the-order sluggers in Manny Ramirez and Albert Pujols. During the regular season, the Cardinals won 5 out of 7, with Dodgers scoring just 6 runs in 38 innings against the Carpenter, Wainwright, and Pineiro.
Game 1: Chris Carpenter @ Randy Wolf
Game 2: Adam Wainwright @ Clayton Kershaw
Game 3: Joel Piniero vs. Chad Billingsley
Game 4: Kyle Lohse/John Smoltz vs. Vicente Padilla/Jon Garland

LA Dodgers Strengths:*The bullpen: Not many teams can say they have 2 closers, but the Dodgers do, one from the left side (George Sherrill) and one from the right side (Jonathon Broxton). With the starting rotation up in the air, the bullpen will be key to them winning or losing the divisional series.

*Andre Ethier’s clutch hitting: Ethier leads the Majors with 6 walk-off hits (4 homers). The Dodgers have relied on him since Manny’s 50-game suspension and his slumping return.Ethier hit .455 against the Cardinals at home, but only .125 at Busch in 4 games. Ethier could carry the Dodgers to the championship series if he proves to be more clutch.

LA Dodgers Weaknesses:
*The rotation: This has been a weakness throughout the season and has only gotten worse since the injury to Hiroki Kuroda, who was their best pitcher in last year’s postseason. The Dodgers will have to rely on Randy Wolf, Clayton Kershaw, Chad Billingsley, and some combination of Vicente Padilla and Jon Garland, all of which have been inconsistent except for Wolf.

*The inability to score runs: The offense has been known for its slumps and hot streaks, but which one will show up against the Cardinals? The Dodgers rely so heavily on Matt Kemp and Ethier that they are 21-40 when they don’t drive in a run. This is where Manny needs to come alive.

Dodgers Key Players:
*George Sherrill: In his last ten outings, he only gave up 1 run
(8.2 IP, 4 H, 9 K). Sherrill is the key to getting the game to closer Jonathon Broxton. In one game against the Cardinals, Sherrill pitched 1.1 innings, giving up just one hit. He could be called on to pitch the seventh and eighth innings, or just to face a few lefties in the lineup late in the game, like Skip Schumaker, Colby Rasmus, and Rick Ankiel.

*Juan Pierre and Jim Thome: With these two coming off the bench and pinch-hitting, you get a slap hitter with speed and a power-hitter. Both can cause chaos for any pitcher and manager and could be key to any late-inning comeback for the Dodgers.

St. Louis Cardinals Strengths:
*The rotation (1-3): Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright are CY Young candidates and are expected to dominate. In 15 innings against the Dodgers, Carpenter gave up 3 runs on 14 hits with 10 strikeouts. In 15 innings against the Dodgers, Wainwright gave up just 2 runs on 12 hits. Joel Pineiro has been just as dominant without all the press coverage (8 IP, 6 H, 1R, 7 K against the Dodgers).

*Albert Pujols: Who wouldn’t want Pujols in their lineup? The offense begins and ends with him. He makes everyone around him better because they will see better pitches all because he is looming or on base. Against the Dodgers this season though, Pujols hasn’t had much luck (6 hits in 27 at-bats, with just one homerun and 2 RBIs). His luck against the Dodgers will have to change for the Cardinals to move on to the championship series.

St. Louis Cardinals Weaknesses:*The bullpen: If the rotation doesn’t go 8 innings to get to Ryan Franklin, the bullpen will have to pitch and pitch well. This has been their biggest flaw all season. Franklin had been dominant most of the season, but struggled late in the year, maybe due to too much work. The lefthanders out of the bullpen have been great all year (Trevor Miller [3-1, 0.31 ERA in 29 innings with 38 Ks] and Dennys Reyes [26.1 IP, 1.71 ERA, 19 H, 17 K]). The right-handers (Blake Hawksworth, Kyle McClellan, Jason Motte, and Brad Thompson) will have to come up big. The Cardinals will have Smoltz and Lohse available out of the bullpen early in the series.

*The offense around Pujols: Yes the addition of Matt Holliday has helped, but what about everyone else? Whoever bats in front of Pujols (either Brendan Ryan, Julio Lugo, or Rick Ankiel) and Ryan Ludwick (who bats behind Holliday) will have to step up and drive in runs. The Cardinals have be more than just Pujols. The Cardinals are 15-24 when Pujols goes hitless.

Cardinals Key Players:*Joel Pineiro: He doesn’t get the limelight or press that Carpenter and Wainwright, but he has 21 quality starts and no walks in 13 of his starts. He could be starting in a clinching game.
*Skip Schumaker: He is the sparkplug as the leadoff hitter, scoring 85 runs. If he gets on base, it will put the pressure on the Dodgers pitching staff because Pujols will be looming with someone on base.

Tags:

Albert Pujols, Carpenter, Joe Torre, Los Angeles Dodgers, Manny Ramirez, NLDS, Pineiro, St. Louis Cardinals, Tony LaRussa