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I found this on Cards Talk. Thought it was so stupid I had to share it.
Glendale, Ariz. - It's an old argument, but Brewers general manager Doug Melvin says he's going to keep beating that dead horse until nothing is remaining.
And that's the September call-up rule that allows teams to have as many as 40 players on the roster after Sept. 1. Of course, many small-market teams can't afford to do it. Melvin would like to see it standardized to 30.
"I kill this thing to death and nothing ever happens," Melvin said. "Why in September do we have unbalanced rosters? We're creating another playoff team and you still don't have balanced rosters of 30-on-30 in September. It still favors the large markets."
Melvin speculated that the St. Louis Cardinals - who made the playoffs last season as a wild card, beat the Brewers in the NLCS and went on to win the World Series - would not have been in the post-season otherwise.
"I still say that St. Louis doesn't get in if it's 30-on-30," he said. "Tony La Russa was a master at manipulating all the players that he had. They had a kid, (Adron) Chambers. They won a couple of games pinch-running with him late. They got Arthur Rhodes late. They play a team like Houston late in the season. They say they're rebuilding with minimum-salary guys. They're not going to bring up guys to accumulate service time. That's my biggest beef."
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I suppose "the Cardinals cheated" plays well in Milwaukee, but another way of looking at it is Melvin is admitting LaRussa is a superior manager because he was able to better use the tools that were given to him under the existing rules. And let's not forget LaRussa's best 25 beat Melvin's best 25 in the playoffs.
Melvin does have a point about roster expansion in September. But taking into consideration the circumstances of last year, it comes off as whining from a sore loser.
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I dont see it as a point at all. Look at the guys that were called up. Chambers, Hamilton maybe a pitcher or two. Lynn and Sanchez were both hurt so they really didnt get to carry a heavy bullpen. If his point is that the Brewers cant afford to pay an extra 15 players the MLB minimum for a month I think he is reaching. I am not sure what that extra cost would be but I am sure every team can afford to pay it.
Rough math. MLB Min is 500,000 a year. Sept call ups are for one month. That is roughly 1/5 of the season. So it would cost a team 1.5 million to add 15 players.
Last edited by APRTW (3/08/2012 12:17 pm)
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And the assertion St. Louis is a comparatively "large market" is absurd. Both teams had almost the exact same attendance last season. While the Cardinals average price per ticket is about $9 higher than the Brewers, remember Miller Park was built mostly with public funds. The Cardinals built their statium with mostly private funds, and they have pay about $16 million per year on the bond.
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I found this site interesting:
The Cardinals were 16 on the list in income in 2011 and the Brewers were 19th. Total revenue, the Cardinals are 11th and the Brewers are 19th (28million difference). In all reality the gap isnt that big. Surely not bif enough that 1.5 million and sept callups is the reason the Cardinals beat the Brewers.
Last edited by APRTW (3/08/2012 1:14 pm)
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Wow, and I thought we were the whiny bitches.
Seriously, this is one of the stupidest arguments I've ever heard. First, did the Cardinals actually call up 15 extra players? I seriously doubt it. Larussa has long been vocal about not calling up players because he doesn't want them to become a distraction. Second, as AP pointed out, the cost is negligible. It's actually less than you calculated AP because the season is 6 months long. 15 players at 1 month of minimum salary is about $1.2M.
I may be wrong, but I don't remember a major league team ever playing short handed because it can't afford to place a player on the DL. If a team has 5 players on the DL and a 25 man roster, it's paying 30 salaries. Would Melvin have us believe that the Brewers have never had more than 5 players on the DL?
Someone needs a crying towel.
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forsberg_us wrote:
Someone needs a crying towel.
Melvin is suckin' hind tit........
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The Cardinals only fielded 39 different players during 2011. Of those several were either traded, cut, injured or simple not called up during sept. My guess is at the most 7-10 extra players were on the roster.
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forsberg_us wrote:
Second, as AP pointed out, the cost is negligible. It's actually less than you calculated AP because the season is 6 months long. 15 players at 1 month of minimum salary is about $1.2M.
And MLB just made the minimum salary 500,000. It was closer to 450 last year I believe. Another thing is I thought Memphis made the playoffs and normaly when that happens they dont call to many extra players up till the triple A season is over.
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From Stlcardinals.com
09/01/11 St. Louis Cardinals recalled RHP Brandon Dickson from Memphis Redbirds.
09/02/11 St. Louis Cardinals called up CF Shane Robinson from Memphis Redbirds.
09/03/11 St. Louis Cardinals recalled RHP Maikel Cleto from Memphis Redbirds.
09/06/11 St. Louis Cardinals activated 2B Nick Punto from the 15-Day disabled list.
St. Louis Cardinals recalled C Tony Cruz from Memphis Redbirds.
St. Louis Cardinals recalled CF Adron Chambers from Memphis Redbirds.
St. Louis Cardinals recalled 2B Tyler Greene from Memphis Redbirds.
09/13/11 St. Louis Cardinals activated RHP Eduardo Sanchez from the 60-Day disabled list.
From Milwaukee's official page
09/01/11 Milwaukee Brewers activated C Martin Maldonado.
Milwaukee Brewers activated CF Carlos Gomez from the 15-Day disabled list.
Milwaukee Brewers called up CF Logan Schafer from Nashville Sounds.
Milwaukee Brewers recalled Martin Maldonado from Nashville Sounds.
09/05/11 Milwaukee Brewers recalled RHP Tim Dillard from Nashville Sounds.
09/08/11 Milwaukee Brewers activated 2B Rickie Weeks from the 15-Day disabled list.
09/10/11 Milwaukee Brewers called up RHP Michael Fiers from Nashville Sounds.
The Cardinals maxed out at 33 players. Milwaukee had 31.
Yeah, Larussa had a HUGE advantage over Milwaukee.
Last edited by forsberg_us (3/09/2012 8:59 am)