Offline
MONEY!
Ah but for want of a few million dollars. Look who all are still unsigned: Vlad, Glaus, . . .
I wonder what Vlad will sign for, and if our $8 million on Berkman would've been beter spent on Guerrero. He's a bona fide RF, who played the position regularly in 2009, and hit WAY better than Berkman in 2010. Sounds like a perfect fit for the Cards, to me.
Offline
I talked alot about signing Vlad last year when the Holliday talks were dragging on. For some reason I see Berkman's personality as a better fit but I wouldnt have minded Vlad either.
Offline
Texas tried Vlad in RF Game 1 of the World Series. He made 2 errors, looked awful on several other balls and sat the bench in Game 2.
Offline
forsberg_us wrote:
Texas tried Vlad in RF Game 1 of the World Series. He made 2 errors, looked awful on several other balls and sat the bench in Game 2.
Nobody's tried Berkman at all in RF in the past three seasons. By contrast, Vlad played 108 games, exclusively, in RF that same year. Ya never know.
I thought Vlad was just about the best hitter in baseball when Montreal lost him. That was quite a few years ago, but he seems to have aged a bit better than Berkman.
Anyhoo, let's see how much he signs for. If he gets lots more than $8 million, then it is just a fantasy for us.
Offline
Chris Duncan was a regular outfielder more recently than either Guerrero or Berkman. Does that make him a better outfielder?
Offline
forsberg_us wrote:
Chris Duncan was a regular outfielder more recently than either Guerrero or Berkman. Does that make him a better outfielder?
KA-BOOM ! (wink)
Offline
In 2008 Vlad played 830some innings in RF and only committed 4 errors. In 2009 he basicly played none in the outfield. In 2008 he hit 27hr/91rbis. I guess he had to be hurt alot in 2009 and had 15hrs/50RBIS. In 2010 he had 29HRs/115RBIS. We all know he is a RBI demond by contact. He doesnt SO or BB alot and would be another DP problem.
If the Holliday talks would have fallen through I would have liked to see Vlad signed. Based on 2008 one would have assumed that his production at the plate would have out weighed his fielding issues. I would have rather seen them go with Vlad based on his 2010 production over Jay or Craig. However I think Berkman is better fit then Vlad.
Due to playing most of his career in a country that doesnt like basebal I think Vlad's career has been unreated. If you throw out a low RBI year in 2003 his first full 10 years in the league looks very Pujols like. He has hit below .300 once in his career in 2009 when he hit .295. Now he has got to the point that he is a DH only and there are not many teams willing to spend the kind of money his production is worth for a DH.
Offline
Guerrero's career number offensively are HOF-worthy. But one thing that's notable is that Vlad's OBP has fallen pretty sharply. .365 in 2008, .334 in 2009 and .345 in 2010. It's almost inconceivable that someone who hit .300 can only have an OBP of .345.
IMO, the Cardinals offense needed an infusion of people who get on base. I think that's part of the reason Ludwick fell out of favor (if he ever fell into favor). For all the good things he did, Ludwick was a streaky hitter who didn't get on base at a very high clip. Even in a down year last season, Berkman's OBP was still pretty high (higher than Ludwick or Guerrero) and they are obviously counting on a bounce-back season.
No question the clubhouse issues played a role. I can't say anything bad about Vlad in that sense, but there's clearly more familiarity with Berkman.
I also think this is another situation where we're talking in complete hypotheticals. Has there even been anything to indicate that Vlad would even consider coming back to the NL? I agree with AP. I think Vlad is perfectly content being a DH. I do find it interesting, however, that Texas chose to part ways with him after a pretty good 2010.
Offline
"I do find it interesting, however, that Texas chose to part ways with him after a pretty good 2010."
They paid him 5 1/2 million last year and based on his production he would have got the same or more. I am guessing they figured it smarter to invest their money in Beltre then a positionless player.