artie_fufkin wrote:

forsberg_us wrote:

The Cardinals have shown a pretty good ability to adapt to the changing times.  The thing is they will need to address the offense through the draft.  I think we're seeing a developing trend in which more and more teams will lock up their young quality players for a year or two after free agency-eligibility, meaning more and more players won't hit free agency until they're a little older, making their contract a little riskier.  It's a bit more like the NHL, where most free agents are a bit past their prime.  The Cardinals will need to do a good job in the draft, and pull off an occasional wise trade.  In particular, they're going to need to figure out how to address their offense.  There doesn't appear to be much help in the minor league system.  Of course as those older players come off the books, the team will have more money available to address issues that arise.

It's going to be interesting to see what happens with their draft post-Luhnow. I think Luhnow's last draft was 2011. In the drafts since then, Wacha and Marco Gonzalez have already made it to the majors, and Piscotty is probably no more than a year away. Ramsey got them Masterson, for what that's worth.
 

Now it's post-Luhnow, post-Kantrovitz.  I have no idea who's in charge of the draft this season.

forsberg_us wrote:

APIAD wrote:

forsberg_us wrote:

Motte to the Cubs. 1 year, $4.5M

 

I thought the cards should have took a run at him. He has an upside that could make a huge difference to them. However, i didnt think the price tag would be that high. I was thinking more alomg the lines of 1 million. This is to steep. Alot lf fastballs are going to land in the street. Wrong ballpark for him.

I think when you start to see contracts like Justin Masterson, $9M, Brett Anderson $10M and Pat Neshek $6.5M, you need to accept that the price of baseball has gone up.

The one bargain left to be had in baseball was middle relief, until Rafael Soriano got paid $10 million to set up Mariano Rivera. As with most bad things in baseball, the blame lays at the feet of the Yankees.

 

APIAD wrote:

artie_fufkin wrote:

APIAD wrote:

 

I thought the cards should have took a run at him. He has an upside that could make a huge difference to them. However, i didnt think the price tag would be that high. I was thinking more alomg the lines of 1 million. This is to steep. Alot lf fastballs are going to land in the street. Wrong ballpark for him.

Yeah, I can't seem him flourishing at Wrigley with the pus he featured last season. But, supposedly, the year after the year of a TJ is the bounce-back year, so we'll see what kind of velocity Motte comes up with this season. He was trending toward the mid-90s at the end of last year, but if he's not consistently around 98-99, then he's going to get hammered.
 

Seems like even in his prime when aanyone hit the ball in the air i went along way. Thats going to happen when you throw 100mph. With the wind and short porch....chicago isnt going to be the place motte.
 

I don't know if you saw Lester's introductory press conference yesterday, but I found it funny that he claimed one of the appealing things about coming to the Cubs is because they've "never won a World Series." Terrific. All these poor people have to cling to is the 1907-08 dynasty, and now their best pitcher won't even acknowledge it.
 

APIAD wrote:

forsberg_us wrote:

APIAD wrote:

 

I thought the cards should have took a run at him. He has an upside that could make a huge difference to them. However, i didnt think the price tag would be that high. I was thinking more alomg the lines of 1 million. This is to steep. Alot lf fastballs are going to land in the street. Wrong ballpark for him.

I think when you start to see contracts like Justin Masterson, $9M, Brett Anderson $10M and Pat Neshek $6.5M, you need to accept that the price of baseball has gone up.

 
Still, those are bad contracts. Plus, id rather get a top of the rotarion pitcher for 20 million then a mid to lower rotation pitcher for 10. I dont think teams should ever spend that type of money on bullpen guys. They are hit and miss.

A top of the rotation pitcher will cost you closer to $30M than $20M.  Lester just got $26M/year from the Cubs.  Scherzer will likely get more.  The point being, the price for everything (even mediocre talent) has gone up significantly.  That's why it's harder to acquire talent when the player is young.

The thing about Motte's deal is it's only for one year.  Even if it flops, it's over after October and you can move on.  Better to sign Motte for 1 year, $4.5M than someone like Choate for 3 years at $3M each year.

Descalso to Colorado, 2 years, $3.6M

forsberg_us wrote:

Descalso to Colorado, 2 years, $3.6M

 

He will hit 15 hr there.

APIAD wrote:

Listening to the guys on mlb now discuss allen craig like he isstill a relevant baseball player.

Saw something on Rotoworld suggesting the Red Sox were trying desperately to trade him.

artie_fufkin wrote:

I nominate TK.

Does it get me out of the news room hellhole I'm preparing to head to at 4:30 a.m. tomorrow?

The Cardinals' real scouting director now is Chris Correa. He'll probably be another team's GM in the next five years. And so it goes.

As for Allen Craig, supposedly Milwaukee has been interested. I don't see any way a team takes Craig on at this point.

Maybe Mo can land the North Korean shortstop..........

Matheny likes jason in his 2 hole.

"“I can see Jason as a ‘2’ or ‘3’ guy,” said Matheny. “And I really like him in the ‘2’ hole.”

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mlb-big-league-stew/starlin-castro-arrested-and-questioned-in-connection-to-shooting-191910118.html;_ylt=A0LEV0NGpKFUBfIA11DBGOd_

APIAD wrote:

Some funny stuff here

http://www.vivaelbirdos.com/2015/1/1/7471953/mike-mathenys-new-years-resolutions

Loved the hunting accident reference.
 

This killed me...

"I still can't believe Matheny's "wouldn't it be neat if this happened" managerial philosophy didn't work out."