APRTW wrote:

If dotel is headed to the Tigers and Buerhle to he Marlins I am disappointed.  It is unrealistic expectations but both would have been awesome.  Buerhle really interested me.  A second lefty in the rotation and another top flight pitcher would have given the Cardinals a clear advantage for best rotation in the league.

This is just more vintage Cardinals being nipped in the FA market another team that was willing to commit way more years and money, and the FO pretending like they were in the thick of the chase right up until the end.

IMO, they lost Dotel because they put everything on the back burner while tending to Pujols.  I'm not aware they ever made an offer.

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=AjLLh5mL3r1Pl7uNQmG3cuCFCLcF?slug=sportsxchange-000496111_tigers-sign-octavio-dotel-to-a-oneyear-deal

I don like Buerhle contract.  I think the Marlins over paid him and wuld want that contract to be the Cardinals.  However I would like them to add anoher starter to give them a even stronger rotation.  You do that and Loshe or Westbrook are begging to leave. 

Since we are already talking about money coming off the books in 2013 here is the free agent list.  I believe Kemp signe an extension and I believe Yadi's deal is up.  Still a pretty impressive class.  With all the players there will be some great deals to be had.

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Will Join The '13 Group If '12 Options Are Exercised

Yadier Molina, Kelly Shoppach, Edwin Encarnacion, Eric Hinske, Nick Swisher, Brandon Phillips, Marco Scutaro, Grady Sizemore, Bobby Abreu, Chris Carpenter, Ryan Dempster, Octavio Dotel, Jon Rauch, Koji Uehara, Jose Valverde, Jason Frasor, Michael Wuertz, and Arthur Rhodes are among those who may join the '13 free agent class if their '12 options vest or are picked up.

On The '13 List In Name Only

Players such as Brian McCann, Ian Kinsler, David Wright, Kevin Youkilis, Fausto Carmona, Gavin Floyd, Dan Haren, Tim Hudson, Brett Myers, James Shields, J.J. Putz, and Joakim Soria are among those with reasonable '13 options who will be removed from the list if they are exercised.

Non-Tender Candidates

Several players currently on the '13 list stand a decent chance of being non-tendered after the '11 season, making them free agents.  Kevin Kouzmanoff, James Loney, Jack Cust, Mike Napoli, and Joe Saunders are candidates.

Youth Is Served

Free agents who will be under 30 for the '13 season: Miguel Montero, James Loney, Howie Kendrick, Erick Aybar, Mark Reynolds, Delmon Young, B.J. Upton, Matt Cain, Matt Kemp, John Danks, Scott Feldman, Zack Greinke, Cole Hamels, Francisco Liriano, Brandon McCarthy, Anibal Sanchez, Leo Nunez, Huston Street, Carlos Villanueva, and J.P. Howell.  It's not easy to accrue six years service time before you turn 30.  Young will turn 27 in September of 2012, which is impressive.

$100MM Contracts Coming?

As always, we must note that many of the players currently on the '13 list will not make it to free agency after the '12 season, because they'll be locked up beforehand.  However, players such as Cain, Danks, Greinke, Hamels, Stephen Drew, Josh Hamilton, Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier, and Jered Weaver could be in line for $100MM+ free agent contracts depending on how their '11 and '12 seasons go.

So Much Starting Pitching

This group will thin out before the '12 season ends, of course.  But imagine a free agent class with Cain, Danks, Greinke, Hamels, Weaver, Liriano, Jeremy Guthrie, Shaun Marcum, Anibal Sanchez, Jonathan Sanchez, Ervin Santana, Jake Peavy, and plenty of solid innings eaters.  There is something to be said for a team sitting out the upcoming offseason and trying to snag pitching in the following one.

Finally Over   

After the 2012 season, the contracts of Carlos Lee, Aaron Rowand, and Carlos Zambrano are finally up.

Arizona bolstered its pitching staff with a trade. I don't know about the prospects Oakland gave up, but Cahill impressed me when he pitched against the Cardinals last year. Those home/away splits look a little scary, though. Chase Field isn't as forgiving as whatever the Oakland Coliseum is called these days.

Rosenthal reports that Cards and J.C. Romero may be close to a 1 year deal .

[url]https://twitter.com/#!/Ken_Rosenthal/status/147100674218409985[/url]

Last edited by don.rob11 (12/14/2011 7:02 pm)

APRTW wrote:

Joe Strauss: There may be interest in Oswalt. No less a figure than Berkman went on STL radio Tuesday to proclaim that the Cardinals need him. Of course, they are very good friends form their shared days in Houston. Oswalt carries health risks

Read more: http://interact.stltoday.com/discussions/sports/joe-strauss-live/LD1213111613/all#ixzz1gZzApSIJ

I also do not see Oswalt as much more than a good middle-of-the-rotation pitcher.

As it stands, Carp, Wainwright, and Garcia have the potential to be an awesome 1-2-3 in any given season.  Most teams, expect maybe the Phillies, would pee their pants at the prospect of having Lohse and Westbrook for 4-5.  If you add another starter now, it's insurance against a drop-off in performance.  Not entirely stupid, but it was just a year or two back that DeWitt said something like "I don't know of any team that goes into the season with 6 starting pitchers".

So, I am not sure if the are working in a straight line here.  First, Oswalt might not even be an impact acquisition at this point, and second, a starting pitcher is not where they need to be focusing time and resources, unless they're positioning themselves for 2013.

Cuddyer signs with the Rockies.  3 years, $31.5M

The good news is that it takes the rockies out of the mix for Beltran.  The bad news is the length/price of that deal.  Going to be tough to sign Beltran for something less than those figures.

If nothing else, I think this means you have to wait and hope the market for Beltran goes dry.

Last edited by forsberg_us (12/16/2011 11:22 am)

I read the Boston might be interested in Beltran, and if that's serious, then he's likely way out of our league. 

It would be interesting to hear what FAs feel about coming to St. Louis, now that Pujols has moved on.  Are they intrigued by the pot of money and opportunity for leadership?  Or are they turned off by the FOs failure to extend the face of the franchise?

Big move today by TTTIB. Alonso and Grandal are two of their three best prospects. They'd obviously run out of patience with Sideshow Ed, but he might flourish in a big ballpark. Latos' FB ratio was 41 percent last year, so I don't know if he's the right guy, but the Reds needed to do something.

http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/12/17/padres-net-a-huge-haul-from-reds-in-return-for-mat-latos/

Interesting move. I remember Latos had arm issues at the start of 2011.   Wasn't Alonso the Reds insurance policy for when Votto likely walked?  I guess they figure with Pujols and Fielders off the Cardinals and Brewers, they decided their time was now.

APRTW wrote:

This makes the Reds better next year it sounds like a pretty stupid move.

Grandal was blocked by Mesoroco, and Alonso's trial as an outfielder didn't go well, so he has to play first. The happiest guy on the Reds' roster today ought to be Votto. They're going to have to pay him or have a hole in the lineup they won't be able to fill now with Alonso. And I don't recall any statements from Votto about wanting to remain in Cincinnati for life.

"Chicago's interest in Fielder is nothing more than a smokescreen and that the hefty first baseman may wind up taking a shorter-term deal."

Interesting. If I'm Moz, I'd call Boras and offer a 10-year deal, just to piss off DeeDee Pujols.