Comments on: Lance Berkman says re-signing with Cardinals “would be my first choice”

By: paperlions

paperlions — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 21:59:57 +0000

Actually, right after that there was another power struggle. LaRussa has DeWitt’s ear, and while he doesn’t control the draft, he and Duncan have a lot of say in player development approaches that have led to some discord. LaRussa calls most of the shots when it comes to roster composition, who to trade away and trade targets….no, he doesn’t design the deal, but the deals are always ones he wants done.

IMO, the problem came from a lack of continuity. After the ouster of Jockety they didn’t stick with the new plan, they nearly immediately reverted back to doing things the old way (trading nearly every valuable prospect for veterans). If you decide on a plan of action that requires long-term commitment, you can’t bail on it 2 years later and claim it failed….you didn’t give a chance to succeed.

The problem now is that the Cardinals are being left behind by many other clubs that understand value estimation and how performance translates to wins. They are still using a 1980s model in a 2010s market.

By: okwhitefalcon

okwhitefalcon — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 21:26:20 +0000

I do think Mo is caught in the middle to a degree but he also had the most to gain in the Luhnow/Jocketty battle for power.

Dewitt backed Luhnow and his business school approach and things have gone downhill since, I’m not saying things would be much better if Jocketty was still around but at least there would be some continuity in organizational philosophy from front office to field of play.

By: paperlions

paperlions — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 20:46:59 +0000

Agreed. In the end, the fault is that of DeWitt and the man he backed. Mo (IMO) is trying to make the best of a bad situation, having had much of his rightful power as GM taken from him. Unfortunately, the organization has opted to keep fungible resources in lieu of difficult to place ones….and yeah, I think it is going to hurt….unless DeWitt somehow decides to up payroll by about $30M/year.

By: okwhitefalcon

okwhitefalcon — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 20:02:55 +0000

In reality, the only 2 prospects/suspects that were “ran off” were Raz and Ryan and were done so because they’d worn out their welcome with this regime and clubhouse. IE, Mozeliak, TLR, Pujols and Carpenter.

Problem is, 2 of the four very well may not be back (Pujols and Carp) 1 will do his annual Brett Favre (TLR) and the other isn’t going anywhere (Mo).

The whole ‘all in” rhetoric from Mo was just goofy, they didn’t have the firepower to match up with anyone in the playoffs either before or after the deadline.

Bottom line is the organization has been split since the Mo/Luhnow powerplay a few years ago, Dewitt made the choice and the organization is paying the price.

By: paperlions

paperlions — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 18:45:51 +0000

Yeah, when you keep trading away and running off the prospects you do have in favor of old dudes…..that whole “kind of fucked” thing has a way of creeping up on ya if you don’t have an unlimited budget.

By: jeffa43

jeffa43 — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 18:26:24 +0000

As Lance said, Ed Wade told me “Beat it, you no longer fit in our organization” No way was Ed Wade about to fork out 8 million for Berkman who lead them to their only World Series, and a home town favorote.

Instead, Wade gave 5 million to Bill Hall… In 54 games Hall was almost tops in the league in Strike outs, and hitting a cool .200 before being released.

For those of you who do not know this, Berkman has played 8 games in Houston this year, and he has as many home runs (5) as any other Astro playing in the stadium ALL YEAR.

Good for Lance Berkman, as an Astro loyalist, I hope he pounds us for years to come. A lot of good poople have lost jobs this past couple of years.

HOW DOES WADE STILL HAVE A JOB?

The Bourn deal was awesome as well… jack ass!

By: okwhitefalcon

okwhitefalcon — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 17:42:24 +0000

Puma’s been a good fit for the Cards, doesn’t get too high or low and gets along with everyone apparently.

That said, the Cards are in for one of their most pivotal off seasons ever – they probably don’t have the budget to hold onto all their vets that could contribute and don’t have the farm system to replenish the major league roster and remain competitive.

They’re kinda fucked really…

By: Old Gator

Old Gator — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 17:36:17 +0000

You mean, like, veteran leadership?

By: stinkfingers

stinkfingers — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 17:25:13 +0000

WTF?

By: hasbeen5

hasbeen5 — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 17:08:02 +0000

Even if he regresses, La Russa will always need a LH high-fiver on the bench. Those guys are hard to find.

By: Old Gator

Old Gator — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 17:00:00 +0000

Berkman will sign a multiyear contract with the Feesh, and become known in Macondo as the Florid a Puma. Then, Scrooge McLoria will give him an accursed blood diamond studded .290 amulet which will cause him to sustain one minor injury after another and commit his career to the lurking god Coriolis. It would be a tragedy and a waste of Scrooge McLoria’s scarce resources (nyuknyuknyuknyuk), but it might be the best way to get Pazuzu off’n Hanley if he can be coaxed to jump from a .342 amulet to a .290 one. The trick is for Berkman to be standing near an open window in one of the new skyboxes when it happens.