Comments on: Cardinals may view Jimmy Rollins as fallback target if Albert Pujols doesn’t re-sign

By: unlost1

unlost1 — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 17:58:05 +0000

“albert no more” has gone viral
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150493876644703.427544.552334702&type=1&l=f7a096392a

By: westcoastredbird

westcoastredbird — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 05:21:09 +0000

I would rather see Prince Fielder as the backup plan instead of JRoll if Albert wigs out. Resign Rafael Furcal and Dotel and we’ll see you back in the playoffs. Boras who was Holliday’s agent and Mo have a working relationship from last year and could get a deal done. Albert would be a moron to leave but stranger things have happened since his agent has financial and moral issues.

By: mojosmagic

mojosmagic — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 00:44:25 +0000

Who planted this story, Rollins agent? If Pujos leaves then the Cards will need to replace his bat with a bat not an aging glove/speed guy.

By: okwhitefalcon

okwhitefalcon — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 23:36:54 +0000

The thought of Rollins as a fall back to losing Albert frightens me nearly as much as signing Albert and Tyler Greene starting the season as the Cards everyday shortstop and getting Albert killed at first.

By: FromThisSeat.com

FromThisSeat.com — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 21:32:40 +0000

No La Russa? No Pujols? No Furcal? How much longer will Lance Berkman keep on playing?
Not sure if the Cardinals have it in them to keep reloading the way the Red Sox and Yankees do.

By: xmatt0926x

xmatt0926x — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 20:40:29 +0000

People that can look long-term can see how crippled the Cards may be in year 5 or 6 of a 9 year deal when Albert is a shell of the legend he has been so far and the Cards will still be on the hook for 3 or 4 years at $25-30 million per season. Only the Yankees can foolishly blow that kind of money and not be crippled by it.

By: foreverchipper10

foreverchipper10 — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 19:18:12 +0000

I am sick and tired of hearing people say Pujols “is going to regress” or that he “isn’t worth the money” or anything similar to it. He is arguably the greatest hitter of his generation and any single person on this site who is saying this negative nonsense is an idiot and/or a fool because anyone would be thrilled if Pujols suited up for their favorite team next year. Think about it and tell me you wouldn’t love it. Idiots.

By: CJ

CJ — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 19:04:22 +0000

FC,

Only those who look at his reputation over his stats. Certainly no Phillies fans. But I know many on the outside looking in who still think Rollins can be an above average leadoff hitter.

To wihch I usually say, BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

By: marshmallowsnake

marshmallowsnake — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 18:47:55 +0000

I just loved that it was worded like he was a replacement…when you read the article you realize otherwise…but the humor was great.

And, Pujols will stay in STL, in my opinion.

By: Francisco (FC)

Francisco (FC) — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 18:47:24 +0000

Contrary to the belief of many, Rollins just isn’t well-suited to bat 1st.

Who? As far as I know only J-Roll thinks he’s a lead-off man, every Phillie fan I know wants him batting 6th in the lineup.

By: CJ

CJ — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 18:31:50 +0000

Paper,

1) Your hypothesis is based on the assumption that the seasons Craig and Berkman had last year are sustainable. Though no one knows for sure obviously, I would think the odds are much better they both regress at least a bit next year.

2) Your hypothesis also is based on the idea that the Cards would do nothing further to address the SS vacancy. If they spend to keep Pujols, I’d think thye’d find a way to manage to bring in an improvement over Green. I think htey could keep Furcal for a modest price, even after spending big on Pujols. So I’d look at it as Berkman/Pujols/Furcal vs. Berkman/Craig/Rollins. And don’t underestimate the dropoff from Furcal to Rollins when it comes to batting leadoff. Contrary to the belief of many, Rollins just isn’t well-suited to bat 1st.

3) Based on #2, Berkman obviously is a constant regardless, and Rollins may be considered am overall improvement over Furcal (though at a greater price), I wouldn’t consider it major (and this is from a Phils fan). So it basically comes down to the production of Pujols vs. Craig IMO, which isn’t even close. Also note that Pujols played hurt for much of this year, so even if he doesn’t return to his career averages, his numbers will improve over last year.

I know that’s skewing your premise since you wer eassuming Green is the starting SS, but if they spend the dough to keep Pujols, they’ll go a little extra to get a proven SS and make another run. I think it’s foolish to assume they go “all-in” by keeping Pujols but would refuse to fork over an extra $5M or so for a proven SS and choose instead to leave a gaping hope in their lineup

By: benedick47

benedick47 — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 17:58:40 +0000

Rollins and Pujols have the same agent.

By: paperlions

paperlions — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 17:55:16 +0000

Pujols is going to be 32, you can’t expect him to put up his career average numbers on a regular basis at that age…well…you can expect it, but you will usually be disappointed.

I am not saying that I am for this move (I am not)…just saying that it may not be as huge a drop off as one may first think.

By: stlouis1baseball

stlouis1baseball — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 17:35:46 +0000

Well…look at the career numbers of both. Lance had a hell of a comeback year…no doubt about it. Can we expect that to be duplicated in 2012? I am not so sure. I choose to believe A.P.’s numbers in 2011 were an anomoly and I fully expect him to return a lot closer to his career numbers. If so…the drop off would be drastic (in my opinion).

By: paperlions

paperlions — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 17:31:13 +0000

Not saying that there isn’t a drop off, but how different would the production be from Pujols, Berkman, Green to Berkman, Craig, and Rollins. The last group would be far cheaper, and significantly upgrade defense at SS and RF with a downgrade at 1B. Yeah, there would be some offensive dropoff, but overall, the difference wouldn’t be that big….of course, Berkman probably only has 1 or 2 yrs left….but for 2012, it wouldn’t be that bad.

By: stlouis1baseball

stlouis1baseball — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 17:18:35 +0000

What CJ said.

By: CJ

CJ — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 17:08:15 +0000

I love JRoll, but really? Pujols to Rollins isn’t a “fallback” target in the normal sense of the word. There has to be a more harsh word for that, there’s no comparison there.

I know Berkman could move to first and Craig play full time, but that’s still a huge dropoff IMO.

By: stlouis1baseball

stlouis1baseball — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 16:51:04 +0000

Oh I am with you 100% Marshamallow.
I almost spit my coffee out when it came across my email.
Another thought…if we can’t sign Albert…maybe we can coax Ritchie Sexton out of retirement.

By: Charles Gates

Charles Gates — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 16:49:05 +0000

And now Jimmy Rollins? This certainly is the year of middling middle infielders.
/end sarcasm…sort of

By: marshmallowsnake

marshmallowsnake — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 16:36:21 +0000

I really tried not to laugh out loud when I read this headline…

By: paperlions

paperlions — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 16:26:56 +0000

Devry? That’s harsh.

Jamie Carrol = Devry

Rollins = U Mass (keeping with the MA, theme)

By: Jonny 5

Jonny 5 — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 15:38:06 +0000

GTFO!!!

By: Francisco (FC)

Francisco (FC) — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 15:26:41 +0000

Actually the only connection here is financial: locking up Pujols to a new contract severely restricts St. Louis in spending big on any other free agents to adress different needs. A more appropriate comparison is to say that getting a nice 55″ LED screen depends on whether or not you purchase that SUV you leased a few years ago.

By: phukyouk

phukyouk — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 15:17:44 +0000

Sounds like the guy that applies to Harvard as his first choice but Devry as his backup… just in case