Doldrums
« It Was A Good Read | Main | Zippity Doo Da »I obviously don't have a lot to say right now. I'd like to claim I've been too busy, which is sorta true, but I've also been traveling and I've had time to think about the roster and, well, there isn't a lot to say. Since the Cardinals roster stands right now as follows:
Rotation: Carpenter, Mulder, Suppan, Marquis, Ponson
Bullpen: Isringhausen, Rincon, Flores, Thompson, Looper, Mateo, Reyes/FRodriguez/HoHum
Lineup: Molina, Pujols, Spivey, Eckstein, Rolen, Bigbie, Edmonds, Encarnacion
Bench: Bennett, Cruz, Miles/Luna, JRodriguez, Taguchi
Aside from the last reliever, that looks like a finished roster. The Cardinals don't have much to trade that could upgrade that group and the need for depth, particularly for pitching, serves as a disincentive for a trade anyway. I won't speculate on rumors and the like, since I expect little, if any, movement from the Cardinals. Now the next logical step would be to project the group, but unfortunately my favorite projection engine seems to have been derailed. I have some thoughts unrelated to the offseason maneuvers, but I'm not ready to go off in another direction. So I'm stuck in a holding pattern.
OK, here's one little thing, perhaps related to Dan Szymborski's delay. Consider these free agent signings:
Jeremy Burnitz 2 years, $12 million
Juan Encarnacion 3 years, $15 million
Jacque Jones 3 years, $16 million (plus a draft pick)
Reggie Sanders 2 years, $10 million
Sanders would easily be the best of the bunch were it not for durability issues. Otherwise they're relatively similar players, corner outfielders with decent power but not so good on-base skills. Each generally was panned by the fans of the acquiring teams (maybe not the Royals fans, but they seem to have given up). The contracts are pretty similar, especially when you take age into account. Teams seem to have treated these four like largely interchangeable VORP commodities. If that's the case, then it gets a lot harder to find bargains. Teams may well have caught up with Baseball Prospectus, just the commodity is more expensive than any outsider realized.
Posted by Rob at December 30, 2005 11:57 AMHey guys, just wanted you to know that F*** Your Couch has gone defunct, replaced with the glorious new http://thefyc.blogspot.com.
It's essesntially the exact same thing...just without having to type in an eff bomb.
Happy New Years.
Posted by: Alex at December 30, 2005 09:18 PMRob, nice recap of the current situation.
I continue to be dumbfounded though as to why people think Reggie Sanders would have been a good option for out team next year? There's a good reason he's playing in KC.
Encarnacion doesn't make me jump up and down, but I'd take him over the other deals in your list and Sanders last.
Any predictions about moving Reyes into the lineup and dealing Marquis during the season? Are we even that confident now that Ponson will even make the team let alone the starting 5?
I hope I enjoy Bigbie and Encarnacion this year. At the very least, it's nice knowing we have solid defensive backup for Edmonds...
Posted by: Ryan at December 31, 2005 02:42 PMI may be to much of an optimist, but I like the way the offseason has unfolded. My points.
Team has gotten younger. Grudz, tavarez, sanders, all on the wrong side of 30. Bigbie was noted as a player on the rise in 04. Juan is solid and both are good defensive players. The rotation of miles, luna and spivey should be able to match what grudz did last year.
Posted by: kevin at January 2, 2006 07:12 PMIt hasn't been a pretty offseason, but I'm not complaining. It does seem the Cardinals have a little more depth than they've had in the recent past.
Posted by: Rob at January 2, 2006 07:31 PM