Is it unsettling that the Cardinals needed late game heroics from Matt Holliday and Skip Schumaker to escape with wins on Saturday and Sunday? This sense of disquiet actually has nothing to do with the opponent, because the Royals are not only young and talented, but they represent exactly the kind of team that the Cardinals are not built to face. The Royals have a lot of speed at a lot of different positions, and they use it well. No, I found the need for late-game heroics unsettling, because it seemed like the Cardinals were relying heavily on the home run. There just seemed to be a sense that they were waiting for one of the “big guns” to hit a blast. Maybe that’s why Skip’s walkoff was such a refreshing surprise, because it represented a change from the norm. Admit it. There are some fans who start doing the math to figure out how many batters have to reach until Holliday or Berkman come to the plate. Anybody can catch lightning in a bottle, and today it was Skip’s turn. Good for Skip.
The two game winning streak doesn’t wipe out the memory of the 7 game losing streak, and it doesn’t erase my memory of some of the rumors that started to circulate last week. Once the rumor mill starts to churn out e-waste, it seems that it becomes a self-perpetuating media machine. Feel free to ignore it. Better yet, educate yourselves about what is relevant and what makes no sense at all. I consider myself a bit of an expert at what is irrelevant, so I’ll help with that part.
Consider the rumor that the Cardinals might be interested in JC Romero. Romero is a lefty, and he has a pulse, so naturally the Cardinals are going to be interested. What people should be pointing out is that Romero just happens to share an agent with one Albert Pujols. Just sayin.
The team also kicked the tires on Scott Kazmir, but it’s been reported many times over that only the most desperate teams will be seriously interested in Kazmir.
Of course, there is ALWAYS the Aaron Miles option……..
Who they should be interested in acquiring:
- Jeremy Guthrie – The Orioles are going nowhere soon, and they have a lot of needs. Guthrie is playing for $5.75M this season. He has a 3.56 era and 1.176 WHIP.
- Randy Choate – It’s unlikely that the Marlins would give up a guy with a 0.68 era and 0.825 WHIP, especially when he is only set to make $1M in 2011 and $1.5M in 2012, but it can’t hurt to ask.
- As long as you are talking to them, ask about Josh Johnson. Maybe the $7.75M they are paying him this year is palatable, but they owe him $13.75M each for 2012 and 2013. I’m getting ahead of myself a bit, but a 2013 rotation of Wainwright, Johnson, Miller, Lynn, and Garcia sounds both affordable and reasonable. [/dream sequence]
The really ginormous move:
- Call the A’s and ask about Trevor Cahill – They don’t have a regular starting position player with a batting average above .300 or OBP above .333.
- Call about Hanley Ramirez, David Wright, or Jose Reyes just to see what the price is…..ya never know.
- CJ Wilson – Never going to happen, but just put it on a post-it note that he’s scheduled to become a free agent after this season.
TIDBIT: This is the first year in a while that the Cardinals seem to have plenty of “pieces”, but they just don’t have all the pieces together at the right time. Still, they’ve managed to keep everything together well enough to stay at the head of the division, but I don’t think they can pull off that trick very long without getting most of their relievers back on the right track.
MORE BITS OF TID: Happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there and all the single moms who are doing double duty. To all of you who are missing a cherished loved one today, best wishes to you as you honor that special person. Peace, love, and humptyness from gr33nazn.
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