{"id":3005,"date":"2010-03-05T21:46:46","date_gmt":"2010-03-05T21:46:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.seamheads.com\/?p=3005"},"modified":"2010-03-05T21:46:46","modified_gmt":"2010-03-05T21:46:46","slug":"stumbling-out-of-the-gate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/2010\/03\/05\/stumbling-out-of-the-gate\/","title":{"rendered":"Stumbling Out of the Gate"},"content":{"rendered":"

Well, that<\/a><\/em> wasn’t the way Cardinal fans wanted to see things get started.<\/p>\n

OK, let’s put in the usual disclaimers. \u00c2\u00a0It was a spring training game. \u00c2\u00a0Most of the regulars weren’t in there, and you can’t take a lot away from one game, especially the first of the year. \u00c2\u00a0So I’m not drawing any conclusions from this game, just to make that perfectly clear.<\/div>\n
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About the only thing you might be able to take out of that contest is that Charlie Zink isn’t going to be going north<\/a> with the team, but we knew that already. \u00c2\u00a0Francisco Samuel didn’t look all that good either, though I believe command’s been an issue with him in the past. \u00c2\u00a0Nice to see Adam Ottovino have a decent game, though his command apparently wasn’t all there either.<\/div>\n
Out of those that actually are going to be on the 2010 Cardinals, Ryan Ludwick gave some positive signs, with a double and a home run. \u00c2\u00a0It took a while last year for him to get going, so perhaps working with Mark McGwire (who noticed a mechanical issue early in camp) has had some results already.<\/div>\n
It was surprising to see the defense be so shaky. \u00c2\u00a0Again, there were a lot of people in that game that won’t even sniff St. Louis and conditions in Florida are notoriously tough at times, but you still hate to see Colby Rasmus lose the first ball hit to him in the sun.<\/div>\n
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On the battle front, Joe Mather chipped in two hits<\/a>, which has to help his standing somewhat. \u00c2\u00a0He was charged with an error, though it doesn’t sound like it was entirely his fault (couldn’t catch a throw by Rasmus, which may have been him, Rasmus, or the wind). \u00c2\u00a0It’s early, but I think Tony LaRussa has Mather mentally penciled in for the bench, with the possibility of Mather playing his way out of it. \u00c2\u00a0So far, that’s not happening.<\/div>\n
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Today the Cards face the Mets again, this time at home, and start Brad Penny<\/a>. \u00c2\u00a0Many of us here in Cardinal Nation have been very interested to see Penny in a competitive game. \u00c2\u00a0The big bats will be in the lineup for the Cardinals today, as Albert Pujols, Matt Holliday and Yadier Molina make their debuts. \u00c2\u00a0With more of a regular look to the lineup, hopefully it will be a more professional game, at least until the subs come in.<\/div>\n
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Before I wrap this up, I wanted to comment on the GM rankings put out by Sports Illustrated<\/em><\/a>. John Mozeliak was ranked 18th. \u00c2\u00a0To which I say, really?<\/div>\n
It seems to me that the rankings were a bit of a hodgepodge. \u00c2\u00a0You’ve got Andrew Friedman of the Rays on top. \u00c2\u00a0I can go with that. \u00c2\u00a0Built up a young team, developed them into a contender. \u00c2\u00a0Sure.<\/div>\n
Then you’ve got Theo Epstein of the BoSox. \u00c2\u00a0Again, solid pick. \u00c2\u00a0Even though he’s got a budget that can absorb a lot of things (and again, thanks for Julio Lugo and John Smoltz, guys!), they have done a good job of making the smart moves.<\/div>\n
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Third you have Brian Cashman. \u00c2\u00a0Wow, the top three GMs just happen to be in the AL East. \u00c2\u00a0Hmm, shocking. \u00c2\u00a0Cashman is a fine GM, don’t get me wrong, but he also presides over a payroll that is roughly $200 million. \u00c2\u00a0How much of a true test is that?<\/div>\n
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Then you have the Marlins’ GM, which makes some sense, I guess, in that they’ve also made a couple of trades, built a farm system, and have been competitive at least.<\/div>\n
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So, even if you disagree, it’s about results with the top four. \u00c2\u00a0Results would seem to be the best way to go about measuring something like this, so that’s fine. \u00c2\u00a0I think I’d have done a little differently, but sure, that’s our measuring stick.<\/div>\n
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So at number five we have….Jack Zduriencik? \u00c2\u00a0The Seattle GM was the darling of the offseason, it’s true, but have we seen any results out of that yet? \u00c2\u00a0It seems like he’s getting ranked up here\u00c2\u00a0solely\u00c2\u00a0by reputation of his “baseball mind” instead of what he’s been able to produce. \u00c2\u00a0His offseason looked good, but this isn’t a ranking of offseasons.<\/div>\n
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Jon Daniels at 8? \u00c2\u00a0Yeah, Texas has some young guys coming up, but do you remember Adrian Gonzalez and Chris Young for Adam Eaton? \u00c2\u00a0That trade alone has to knock you down into the latter half. \u00c2\u00a0There’s not necessarily been a lot of return from that Mark Teixeira trade either.<\/div>\n
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Then they put our old friend Walt Jocketty 14th, while saying it’s tough to know how good of a GM he was since Albert Pujols, TLR and Dave Duncan were on the squad. \u00c2\u00a0Seriously? \u00c2\u00a0You are going there? Because it’s darn tough to see how good Brian Cashman is when he’s signed huge free agents and been able to put an All-Star at every position.<\/div>\n
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All that to say that I believe Mozeliak is woefully\u00c2\u00a0underrated\u00c2\u00a0on this list. \u00c2\u00a0In less than three years on the job, he’s moved a third baseman everyone knew he had to trade and got back quality in return, moved an outfielder and made a smart decision on which minor leaguer to get back, pulled the trade for the most coveted bat on the market and then played hardball to get him signed, gotten freebies from overstuffed payrolls (again, thanks Boston!) that have turned out extremely well.<\/div>\n
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There’s not much that Mo’s done in his tenure that has blown up in his face, which is more than a lot of guys ahead of him on that list can say. \u00c2\u00a0Honestly, Mo has to be in the top 10, I think, and possibly knocking on the door of the top five. \u00c2\u00a0If he can keep Albert in St. Louis, though, we’ll all rank him #1 in our hearts!<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Well, that wasn’t the way Cardinal fans wanted to see things get started. OK, let’s put in the usual disclaimers. \u00c2\u00a0It was a spring training game. \u00c2\u00a0Most of the regulars weren’t in there, and you can’t take a lot away from one game, especially the first of the year. \u00c2\u00a0So I’m not drawing any conclusions […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":347,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[796,1415,1757,336,4001,4038,524,1079,4041,2730,4039,46,402,3572,3275,391,85,4040,207,2421],"class_list":["post-3005","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general","tag-albert-pujols","tag-bats","tag-bench","tag-brad-penny","tag-cardinal-fans","tag-cardinal-nation","tag-cardinals","tag-charlie-zink","tag-colby","tag-conclusions","tag-decent-game","tag-mark-mcgwire","tag-mather","tag-positive-signs","tag-regulars","tag-ryan-ludwick","tag-spring-training","tag-time-at-home","tag-tony-larussa","tag-training-game"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t