Claib’s Call With Mike Claiborne
The trade deadline has come and gone. And much to the dismay of many Cardinals fans, the Redbirds did not hit a homerun when it came to acquiring needed help. After the dust settled, the Cardinals made due with a skilled second baseman in Ronny Beliard from Cleveland and bullpen help in Jorge Sosa, formerly of the Atlanta Braves. What does this all mean? The Cardinals may have some explaining to do when it comes to the apparent song and dance as to why they were not in on the big name players snatched up by other teams. The Yankees got Bobby Abreau for four minor leaguers. Other deals saw players go for what was considered by some to be prospects and in some case suspects. So why were the cardinals not more in the thick of it? Especially when they have new money rolling into a sold out ballpark each night?
The answer is simple, yet complicated. First of all, the Cardinals do not have as much talent in the minor league system as one might think. Trades, bad drafts and key prospect injuries have slowed down the Cardinals’ farm system’s growth. Add the Cardinals being among the last teams to make a real commitment to Caribbean and Latin American players and you will have some of the reasons why they currently do not have much to offer when it comes to available big name players. Pitchers Adam Wainwright and Anthony Reyes were the first names of interest. Considering that the Cardinals have only one string pitcher signed through next year gives you the feeling that one – if not both – of the kids will be in the rotation next season. Either of them is ready and they will not cost a lot of money.
Second, the Cardinals did not want to get held up for players that were either going to be free agents after this season or they were not as good as advertised. Understandable, but not accepted by all. Cardinals’ fans have adopted a win now philosophy and they want the team’s ownership to spend money. OK, other than Bobby Abreau, how many of the players that got moved were under long term deals or really had something to offer after this season? There may have been a couple of players that may have fit that role but at what price? This is not about the Cardinals spending money. We know they have it and could have easily paid Abreau the 14 million due to him next year. The question is what player could they not afford? The Answer is they could afford it. The problem is that in order to make trades you have to bring something to the bartering table. The Cardinals are a little short in the trading department right now.
There is hope. The Cardinals can still acquire players after the trade deadline, but those players would then have to clear waivers. That may be a little tricky considering how many teams are still in and they may claim those players before the Cardinals have a chance. Do not be surprised if some big name players and contracts are on the move soon. The question will then be are the Cardinals going to spend money? The asking price for prospects will not be as high, but the salaries will. The next move will now be on the Cardinals. Your fans are waiting.
It seems as if the trade deadline date is almost as important as opening day to fans and players. Fans shouldn’t pin your hopes on one weekend in the season where a 35 homerun or 18-win pitcher is going to fall out of the sky. It is easy for fans to blame ownership for not doing anything. Maybe it is a rite of passage for the self anointed “Best Baseball Fans in the World”. For management, better planning is a must. The plan cannot consist of waiting until July to do something that could have been handled in the prior off-season. The second base situation has been a disaster after Mark Grudzlaniek left. Does anyone remember the Junior Spivey experiment? It was a disaster. And Aaron Miles’ range was comparable to a gas range – not to mention his offense starting to slide a bit. A better farm system is now a must in order for the Cardinals to compete now and certainly in the future. Stay tuned. Cardinal baseball could turn out to be fun down the stretch. For the first time in a while there may be a team or two knocking at the door late in September. Let’s hope the Cardinals have an answer.
