Mailbag: Rolen's value to the club
11/07/2005
Welcome to the last Cardinals mailbag that will run while old Busch Stadium is still standing.
We got a wider range of questions this week, with some fans still wanting to break down the frustrations of the NL Championship Series, while many others are starting to look more ahead. The first moves of the Hot Stove have started to happen, and it's only going to pick up from here.
As always, if you have a question, use the link below to submit it -- and please be sure to include your first name, last initial and hometown, and to use the word "mailbag" in the subject header. Otherwise your mail may be directed to the spam folder, or ignored in an unbecoming manner.
Scott Rolen, without a doubt, is a great player. But is he worth keeping? Year after year he spends time on the DL. He isn't much help to us there, is he? He also his getting quite a bit of money. He is signed until 2010. What would the Cardinals do if they wanted to part with Rolen? And do you think we should? If we let him go, that opens up our pocketbooks and gives us an everyday player. -- Matt T., Ferguson, Mo.
I got a distressingly high number of questions addressing this topic this week, and the first several I didn't put in my "to-be-answered" folder. Then I realized how many fans had this notion, and I figured I had to address it.
I just couldn't disagree more.
First, and most important, you win with great players. You can build around them wisely, but without a core of special players, you're just not going to win a lot -- and Rolen is that kind of player. There's not another third baseman in the NL who matches his combination of power, on-base ability, baserunning and defense. Abraham Nunez is a nice player, but the dropoff from what Rolen can do, to what Nunez can do, is enormous.
Moreover, it's not as though Rolen has muscle aches and sits out. He's not fragile. There's no reason to think that the things that have happened to him will happen again. He's been in two freakish collisions, and he fouled a ball off his leg, causing him to run really awkwardly and hurt his calf. If he were brittle or fragile, if he kept having strains and sprains and things, I'd be more inclined to put him in that kind of category.
Finally, from a pure business perspective, the fact is that baseball economics have changed since Rolen signed. Even as great as he is, there aren't many teams that would want to pick up a player with five years remaining on his contract, unless you're talking about somebody like Alex Rodriguez.
Mr. Leach, first of all I would like to thank you for the great responses you give to all of these wonderful questions. My question is how much of a factor, if any, will the new stadium have an effect financially trying to re-sign players and trying to fill some holes via free agency? And how much spending room do we have to try and fill these voids? I know Walt [Jocketty, GM] likes to try and stay between the $85-93 million range. Plus, I don't know what I would do without MLB.TV since I am in the military. Thanks again! -- Christopher A., Pensacola, Fla.
May you all learn a valuable lesson from Christopher's e-mail -- if you say nice things about me, I'm more likely to answer your question. Also, greetings to the north Florida gulf coast. Christopher, you're only a few hours from where I grew up, and even closer to the greatest beach in the world.
Anyway, as for the payroll, the Cardinals actually won't have as much wiggle room as you might think this offseason. Larry Walker's contract comes off the books, but the Cards were paying less than $6 million of that. Matt Morris comes off as well. However, lots of players get raises this year, and there is not expected to be a significant bump in payroll in the first year in the new stadium. So there's some room, but not a lot.
One little thing -- just so everyone knows, I think if Jocketty had his druthers, he'd spend more than $85-90 million on payroll. That's a mandate from ownership.
I was wondering what your thoughts are as far as Gold Glove voting. I think all National League winners are very deserving of the award, however my biggest beef is that Mark Grudzielanek had a fielding percentage two points higher than Luis Castillo, they both committed the same astounding number of errors (seven) but Grudzielanek played 17 more games, 146 more innings, had 21 more double plays, had 90 more assists, and meant more to our team that MADE THE PLAYOFFS yet still got snubbed. -- Tim S., West Branch, Iowa
Unfortunately, Gold Gloves seem to be a lifetime appointment. Once you win one, you're likely to win a lot more. I'll say this, though -- if there's one Cardinal who I thought should have won a Gold Glove and didn't, it's Yadier Molina. The young man dominated the running game like nobody's business and handled a pitching staff that finished first in the league in ERA. With nothing but respect and fondness for Mike Matheny, the award should have gone to Molina this year.
As for Grudzielanek and Castillo, I think one other name at least needs to be in the conversation, and that's Arizona's Craig Counsell.
I think errors and fielding percentage border on being useless stats, thanks to the vagaries of official scoring at various parks. But Castillo and Counsell tied for the best range factor among starters (ahead of Grudzielanek), and that's despite the fact that Grudzielanek played behind an extreme ground-ball staff. The double plays are a big factor in Grudzielanek's favor, though.
In short, I think any of the three would have been a fine choice. They all had good years, and team achievement and value to team are not considered -- it's just a matter of who played the best second base. Grudzielanek would have been deserving, but Castillo was not a bad choice in my opinion.
Will Colby Rasmus have a future in St. Louis, or will the organization trade him for a veteran player? -- Payton G., Kansas City
It remains to be seen whether they'll move him, but this much is sure: Rasmus is an exciting talent. The Cards' first draft pick this year did a lot of things well in his professional debut. Rasmus hit for a very nice .296/.362/.514 (average/on-base/slugging) line at rookie-level Johnson City, but what may have been most exciting was how he came on at the end.
It appears that after about six weeks, Rasmus made the adjustment to wood bats. In his last month at J.C., he hit seven homers and cranked 16 extra-base hits, slugging .653 for the month. Put it this way: whether he plays for the Cardinals or gets traded, his future is bright, and he's a guy to watch.
How can MLB justify allowing FOX Sports to treat the NLCS as if it had less importance than the ALCS? Throughout the playoffs, the NL games were given terrible time slots and "B" team commentators. It is very hard to reconcile how hometown boy Joe Buck and self-proclaimed Cardinal great Tim McCarver were nowhere near St. Louis or any place the Cardinals played in the postseason. The only thing more glaringly wrong and inequitable was the "fix-was-in" umpiring and the apparent blind eye by FOX commentators. Funny how FOX did not bust out the available technology on pitch location until after the Cardinals were cheated out of several dozen or so bad calls at the plate. Next year, I will catch the big games on the radio. -- Phillip M., Edwardsville, Ill.
There's a multi-part question here, so here goes. As for the first part, about the broadcast teams and the game times, it's as simple as this: if FOX believed that Cardinals-Astros would draw more fans than White Sox-Angels, it would have put the NLCS in the more glorified time slots. They're a business. They're not biased for or against anyone -- they just want to maximize viewership and ad revenue.
As for the umpiring, there was no fix. There were plenty of missed calls in all directions. The strike zone in Game 1 had the Astros and their fans frustrated. And the technology, well, let's put it this way -- if the Cardinals had been in the World Series, they would have broken it out then, just the same.
There wasn't a conspiracy. I promise.
What kind of season did the pitcher drafted out of Baylor University have this year? Any word on his prospects for advancement in the Minors? -- Ray G., Victoria, Tex.
Lots of draftee questions this week. The young man you're asking about, Ray, is right-hander Mark McCormick. And it was a mixed bag for the hard-throwing former Baylor Bear.
McCormick began his pro career in the short-season New York-Penn League, and it took the Cardinals two starts to realize that he wasn't being challenged. He made two appearances, pitched six innings, struck out 10 and allowed one hit before a promotion to full-season Quad Cities.
Upon reaching Quad Cities, though, it was more hit-and-miss for McCormick. He had some brilliant games and some rough ones, struggling with his control. The good news is that he struck out 45 in 42 2/3 innings in the Midwest League, and strikeout rate is an extremely valuable predictor of future success. The bad news is that he walked 28 and had a 5.48 ERA.
It wouldn't be shocking if McCormick began the year at low A again, but I expect he'll see high Class A Palm Beach before long. His stuff is so good that he'll be given every chance to progress.
Source: http://stlouis.cardinals.mlb.com/
Welcome to the last Cardinals mailbag that will run while old Busch Stadium is still standing.
We got a wider range of questions this week, with some fans still wanting to break down the frustrations of the NL Championship Series, while many others are starting to look more ahead. The first moves of the Hot Stove have started to happen, and it's only going to pick up from here.
As always, if you have a question, use the link below to submit it -- and please be sure to include your first name, last initial and hometown, and to use the word "mailbag" in the subject header. Otherwise your mail may be directed to the spam folder, or ignored in an unbecoming manner.
Scott Rolen, without a doubt, is a great player. But is he worth keeping? Year after year he spends time on the DL. He isn't much help to us there, is he? He also his getting quite a bit of money. He is signed until 2010. What would the Cardinals do if they wanted to part with Rolen? And do you think we should? If we let him go, that opens up our pocketbooks and gives us an everyday player. -- Matt T., Ferguson, Mo.
I got a distressingly high number of questions addressing this topic this week, and the first several I didn't put in my "to-be-answered" folder. Then I realized how many fans had this notion, and I figured I had to address it.
I just couldn't disagree more.
First, and most important, you win with great players. You can build around them wisely, but without a core of special players, you're just not going to win a lot -- and Rolen is that kind of player. There's not another third baseman in the NL who matches his combination of power, on-base ability, baserunning and defense. Abraham Nunez is a nice player, but the dropoff from what Rolen can do, to what Nunez can do, is enormous.
Moreover, it's not as though Rolen has muscle aches and sits out. He's not fragile. There's no reason to think that the things that have happened to him will happen again. He's been in two freakish collisions, and he fouled a ball off his leg, causing him to run really awkwardly and hurt his calf. If he were brittle or fragile, if he kept having strains and sprains and things, I'd be more inclined to put him in that kind of category.
Finally, from a pure business perspective, the fact is that baseball economics have changed since Rolen signed. Even as great as he is, there aren't many teams that would want to pick up a player with five years remaining on his contract, unless you're talking about somebody like Alex Rodriguez.
Mr. Leach, first of all I would like to thank you for the great responses you give to all of these wonderful questions. My question is how much of a factor, if any, will the new stadium have an effect financially trying to re-sign players and trying to fill some holes via free agency? And how much spending room do we have to try and fill these voids? I know Walt [Jocketty, GM] likes to try and stay between the $85-93 million range. Plus, I don't know what I would do without MLB.TV since I am in the military. Thanks again! -- Christopher A., Pensacola, Fla.
May you all learn a valuable lesson from Christopher's e-mail -- if you say nice things about me, I'm more likely to answer your question. Also, greetings to the north Florida gulf coast. Christopher, you're only a few hours from where I grew up, and even closer to the greatest beach in the world.
Anyway, as for the payroll, the Cardinals actually won't have as much wiggle room as you might think this offseason. Larry Walker's contract comes off the books, but the Cards were paying less than $6 million of that. Matt Morris comes off as well. However, lots of players get raises this year, and there is not expected to be a significant bump in payroll in the first year in the new stadium. So there's some room, but not a lot.
One little thing -- just so everyone knows, I think if Jocketty had his druthers, he'd spend more than $85-90 million on payroll. That's a mandate from ownership.
I was wondering what your thoughts are as far as Gold Glove voting. I think all National League winners are very deserving of the award, however my biggest beef is that Mark Grudzielanek had a fielding percentage two points higher than Luis Castillo, they both committed the same astounding number of errors (seven) but Grudzielanek played 17 more games, 146 more innings, had 21 more double plays, had 90 more assists, and meant more to our team that MADE THE PLAYOFFS yet still got snubbed. -- Tim S., West Branch, Iowa
Unfortunately, Gold Gloves seem to be a lifetime appointment. Once you win one, you're likely to win a lot more. I'll say this, though -- if there's one Cardinal who I thought should have won a Gold Glove and didn't, it's Yadier Molina. The young man dominated the running game like nobody's business and handled a pitching staff that finished first in the league in ERA. With nothing but respect and fondness for Mike Matheny, the award should have gone to Molina this year.
As for Grudzielanek and Castillo, I think one other name at least needs to be in the conversation, and that's Arizona's Craig Counsell.
I think errors and fielding percentage border on being useless stats, thanks to the vagaries of official scoring at various parks. But Castillo and Counsell tied for the best range factor among starters (ahead of Grudzielanek), and that's despite the fact that Grudzielanek played behind an extreme ground-ball staff. The double plays are a big factor in Grudzielanek's favor, though.
In short, I think any of the three would have been a fine choice. They all had good years, and team achievement and value to team are not considered -- it's just a matter of who played the best second base. Grudzielanek would have been deserving, but Castillo was not a bad choice in my opinion.
Will Colby Rasmus have a future in St. Louis, or will the organization trade him for a veteran player? -- Payton G., Kansas City
It remains to be seen whether they'll move him, but this much is sure: Rasmus is an exciting talent. The Cards' first draft pick this year did a lot of things well in his professional debut. Rasmus hit for a very nice .296/.362/.514 (average/on-base/slugging) line at rookie-level Johnson City, but what may have been most exciting was how he came on at the end.
It appears that after about six weeks, Rasmus made the adjustment to wood bats. In his last month at J.C., he hit seven homers and cranked 16 extra-base hits, slugging .653 for the month. Put it this way: whether he plays for the Cardinals or gets traded, his future is bright, and he's a guy to watch.
How can MLB justify allowing FOX Sports to treat the NLCS as if it had less importance than the ALCS? Throughout the playoffs, the NL games were given terrible time slots and "B" team commentators. It is very hard to reconcile how hometown boy Joe Buck and self-proclaimed Cardinal great Tim McCarver were nowhere near St. Louis or any place the Cardinals played in the postseason. The only thing more glaringly wrong and inequitable was the "fix-was-in" umpiring and the apparent blind eye by FOX commentators. Funny how FOX did not bust out the available technology on pitch location until after the Cardinals were cheated out of several dozen or so bad calls at the plate. Next year, I will catch the big games on the radio. -- Phillip M., Edwardsville, Ill.
There's a multi-part question here, so here goes. As for the first part, about the broadcast teams and the game times, it's as simple as this: if FOX believed that Cardinals-Astros would draw more fans than White Sox-Angels, it would have put the NLCS in the more glorified time slots. They're a business. They're not biased for or against anyone -- they just want to maximize viewership and ad revenue.
As for the umpiring, there was no fix. There were plenty of missed calls in all directions. The strike zone in Game 1 had the Astros and their fans frustrated. And the technology, well, let's put it this way -- if the Cardinals had been in the World Series, they would have broken it out then, just the same.
There wasn't a conspiracy. I promise.
What kind of season did the pitcher drafted out of Baylor University have this year? Any word on his prospects for advancement in the Minors? -- Ray G., Victoria, Tex.
Lots of draftee questions this week. The young man you're asking about, Ray, is right-hander Mark McCormick. And it was a mixed bag for the hard-throwing former Baylor Bear.
McCormick began his pro career in the short-season New York-Penn League, and it took the Cardinals two starts to realize that he wasn't being challenged. He made two appearances, pitched six innings, struck out 10 and allowed one hit before a promotion to full-season Quad Cities.
Upon reaching Quad Cities, though, it was more hit-and-miss for McCormick. He had some brilliant games and some rough ones, struggling with his control. The good news is that he struck out 45 in 42 2/3 innings in the Midwest League, and strikeout rate is an extremely valuable predictor of future success. The bad news is that he walked 28 and had a 5.48 ERA.
It wouldn't be shocking if McCormick began the year at low A again, but I expect he'll see high Class A Palm Beach before long. His stuff is so good that he'll be given every chance to progress.
Source: http://stlouis.cardinals.mlb.com/
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