ghostrunner wrote:But yeah, that lineup looks to me like the one right before DeRosa and Holliday came on board.
Troubling thing is, the offense didn't change a whole lot after they did come aboard. Holliday helped in the stretch, sure, but DeRosa was a serious disappointment.
His overall numbers with us, yes...primarily due to a really slow start, but I distinctly remember him contributing to a number of wins during that hot month and a half. He never felt to me like he was a serious disappointment.
Part of the offense not changing much is that Holliday took over for Albert while Albert took about a month off. Besides, I'm not sure how that's really troubling, especially moving forward. Unless we go crazy and spend way too much on Holliday.
There's a reason they invest such a big percentage of our payroll in our starters. That reason is Albert Pujols. The way that Albert can carry a team like he did this past season allows them to focus on paying for pitching instead of an amazing line-up around him. Filling it with players like Craig and Freese might be enough as long as our pitching keeps us in games.
ghostrunner wrote:But yeah, that lineup looks to me like the one right before DeRosa and Holliday came on board.
Troubling thing is, the offense didn't change a whole lot after they did come aboard. Holliday helped in the stretch, sure, but DeRosa was a serious disappointment.
His overall numbers with us, yes...primarily due to a really slow start, but I distinctly remember him contributing to a number of wins during that hot month and a half. He never felt to me like he was a serious disappointment.
Part of the offense not changing much is that Holliday took over for Albert while Albert took about a month off. Besides, I'm not sure how that's really troubling, especially moving forward. Unless we go crazy and spend way too much on Holliday.
I know it's been discussed here before, but what's the general consensus on what's too much for Holliday? I think it's conventional wisdom to overpay a star, but not overpay for good, not great (or for a flash in the pan). Holliday is exactly the kind of player they should target. As long as they are able to comfortably pay Albert, I'm fine with paying Holliday's premium and sticking with the stars and scrubs philosophy. Lohse's contract is Mo's primary mistake in his short tenure here. He'll need to avoid those contracts to keep this team competitive in the future. We don't have much in the pantry to trade. Make this one major move and we're contenders next year without crippling us for years to come.
Craig raked in spring training, won over scouts, and put up a Memphis line that translates to .296/.345/.516. He's moved through the minors at a perfectly acceptable rate and has been good to very good at every stop.
Freese may be a late arrival, but it has nothing to do with performance. The guy has been on pace to be a league-average 3B since college. Hell, last season projects solidly above league average without even giving him a break for essentially doing his spring training in-season.
The Cardinals absolutely cannot afford to pick up veteran insurance for young guys who project to be starter-quality just because of skittishness about young players, and Mozeliak is going to lose the respect he earned from me if he screws up the offseason by going down that road. Yeah, they can fail (Just as "MLB-proven" players like Ludwick can), but there is absolutely no way to win with our payroll by spending money on expensive mediocrity. Our insurance against a Freese blow-up has to be our second-tier prospects and minor league free agent NRIs. It's not fun to see replacement-level players in the starting lineup, but it isn't fun to see mid-market teams built through free agency either. Ask an Orioles fan how that works out.
ghostrunner wrote:But yeah, that lineup looks to me like the one right before DeRosa and Holliday came on board.
Troubling thing is, the offense didn't change a whole lot after they did come aboard. Holliday helped in the stretch, sure, but DeRosa was a serious disappointment.
His overall numbers with us, yes...primarily due to a really slow start, but I distinctly remember him contributing to a number of wins during that hot month and a half. He never felt to me like he was a serious disappointment.
Part of the offense not changing much is that Holliday took over for Albert while Albert took about a month off. Besides, I'm not sure how that's really troubling, especially moving forward. Unless we go crazy and spend way too much on Holliday.
I know it's been discussed here before, but what's the general consensus on what's too much for Holliday? I think it's conventional wisdom to overpay a star, but not overpay for good, not great (or for a flash in the pan). Holliday is exactly the kind of player they should target. As long as they are able to comfortably pay Albert, I'm fine with paying Holliday's premium and sticking with the stars and scrubs philosophy. Lohse's contract is Mo's primary mistake in his short tenure here. He'll need to avoid those contracts to keep this team competitive in the future. We don't have much in the pantry to trade. Make this one major move and we're contenders next year without crippling us for years to come.
That's what I think. Stars and scrubs, not just Pujols and scrubs. I'm okay with betting on the farm system if we've got enough insurance otherwise. By that I mean Pujols and Holliday, and if not Holliday then Bay. Two 30 HR players in Albert and Holliday/Bay, and then Ludwick and whoever else is enough for me. I don't think that's relying too much on free agency.
ghostrunner wrote:But yeah, that lineup looks to me like the one right before DeRosa and Holliday came on board.
Troubling thing is, the offense didn't change a whole lot after they did come aboard. Holliday helped in the stretch, sure, but DeRosa was a serious disappointment.
His overall numbers with us, yes...primarily due to a really slow start, but I distinctly remember him contributing to a number of wins during that hot month and a half. He never felt to me like he was a serious disappointment.
Part of the offense not changing much is that Holliday took over for Albert while Albert took about a month off. Besides, I'm not sure how that's really troubling, especially moving forward. Unless we go crazy and spend way too much on Holliday.
I know it's been discussed here before, but what's the general consensus on what's too much for Holliday? I think it's conventional wisdom to overpay a star, but not overpay for good, not great (or for a flash in the pan). Holliday is exactly the kind of player they should target. As long as they are able to comfortably pay Albert, I'm fine with paying Holliday's premium and sticking with the stars and scrubs philosophy. Lohse's contract is Mo's primary mistake in his short tenure here. He'll need to avoid those contracts to keep this team competitive in the future. We don't have much in the pantry to trade. Make this one major move and we're contenders next year without crippling us for years to come.
I wasn't necessarily warning about paying too much for Holliday. I was suggesting that's the only way I could see Cronos' point of the offense not changing much as being "troubling." Expecting too much out of one player, perhaps.
As far as Holliday's worth, I think it depends on the team. Every off season there are any number of teams where it makes sense to "overpay" for a player like Holliday and others where it probably doesn't. I see the Cardinals in a situation where it probably makes sense to go after him aggressively. Especially, when there doesn't seem to be much of a contingency plan that we would naturally expect to play out. Holliday or Jay in left? I say spend the money. Of course, I've never been the type of fan that worries too much about the financial aspect of the game. I know it's important and is responsible for the overall health of the organization but I don't necessarily rest easier at night knowing we're a certain million dollars under our self-imposed budget. Spend the damn money and get the players you and the fans want. You can't expect to continue to lure 3 million fans through the gate simply because you're the most fiscally responsible organization. Sometimes you've gotta roll the dice and spend some money. Having already lost Wallace in this deal, I think it makes all the more sense to go after Holliday.
BTW, I was wondering how Holliday will be remembered if he takes less money to go somewhere else?
With all of the money coming off the books, I do think we can afford some insurance in the form of a 1-year contract for someone like Cameron or DeRosa. If we don't retain Holliday. We could always trade Ludwick midseason if both Freese and Craig pan out.
But we probably shouldn't bother if we have to guarantee more than 1 year for Cameron/DeRosa.
