The United Cardinal Bloggers (UCB) are an awesome group of passionate fans that are proud of discussing their team and everything Cardinals related.

The question today; Mulder’s contract has been bought out. He has been terminated. What other current Cardinal contracts would you like to see bought out or terminated?

Well, I think the obvious one is Adam Kennedy.

The problem with contract termination in baseball is that the contract is guaranteed.  So they can terminate all they want, but they’re still paying the salary, so what’s the point?

The only advantages I could ever see to an outright release would be if there was ever a rift between upper management and on-field management over who should be getting playing time, and the GM decided to release a player so the manager couldn’t use him.  Right or wrong, this is what comes to mind immediately for me when I think of ensuring that the Cardinal youngsters get the proper opportunity under LaRussa’s management (although he certainly showed a willingness to go with some youth in 2008).

The other case would be Kennedy’s – it’s clear he had found LaRussa’s doghouse over the course of the season, and has expressed his desire to move on.  I guess if you were worried about him “pulling an Edmonds” or something, it might be worthwhile to just bury him, despite his wishes.  In this case, what’s the point of him taking up a roster spot?

From Pitchers Hit Eighth

It’s tough to come up with one other than Adam Kennedy.  I’d probably lean toward Joel Pineiro, though, if we had to make another selection.  Pineiro’s not likely to be of much use, save perhaps keeping a prospect in Memphis, and he’s going to tie up more than he’s worth

Words of C70 at the Bat

It’s Adam Kennedy, and only Adam Kennedy.  There are a handful of guys on the team that I wouldn’t miss if they were traded, however.  Those would include Brad Thompson, Chris Duncan, Joel Pineiro, and Ryan Franklin.  Good luck dumping that group on someone huh?

Mike on the Cards enlightens us

To me, it has to be Jo-El. I know, everyone just wants Kennedy to disappear, but in truth, his glove was good enough that he was actually almost tolerable. Plus, there isn’t really anyone kicking down the middle infield door in the Cards’ minor leagues.

El Pinata, on the other hand, could be replaced by Brad Thompson, Mitch Boggs, Clay Mortensen, Jess Todd, or my dead grandmother and the Cardinals wouldn’t lose any performance. He’s set to make 7.5 million this year, I believe, and I didn’t see anything last year to make me think that five and change ERA he vomited up there was the result of anything but good old fashioned suck.

In short, yes, I would looove to see an upgrade in the MI over the scrappy, caucasian hydra the Cardinals ran out there last year, but Kennedy adds enough value with his glove that I can stomach another go ’round with him. Pineiro, in my ever so humble estimation, is the player on this roster who would best serve the Cards by not being one.

Written by Riverfront Times

Let’s face it, the Cardinals have paid Chris Carpenter $19 million to pitch 21 1/3 innings over the last two seasons, and they’re on the hook for another $58.5 million over the next four seasons for an oft-injured pitcher who turns early 34 next season. Who among us doesn’t love the Carpenter? Nobody, but it looks like the pundits who questioned this deal were right. Now, $14-15 million a season when Carp’s on his game is good deal in today’s market, but how many 180-200 inning seasons does he have left?

Cardinal Diaspora’s words of wisdom

Adam Kennedy’s roster spot is worth more than the $4 million he is due. I remember a few years ago a good article on how the Red Sox felt compelled to play Doug Mientkiewicz (typed that without looking, btw) because he was on their roster earning money, though it probably wasn’t in their best interests (sorry I can’t find the link for you all). I think the same applies to Kennedy, who will necessarily get playing time if he’s on the team in 2009 (not likely). If he offered any positional versatility at all (corner outfield doesn’t count), such as third base, he could be justified. The team can do more with a roster spot reserved for a player who can only play second base against righties.

As for the others mentioned, Pineiro’s contract is bad, but he can at least provide some return on it; eating $7.5 just isn’t an option for a team not named the Yankees, Red Sox or Mets. Ditto Carpenter, obviously, but trading him (outside the scope of this question, I know) — giving him away — makes very good sense. Good luck finding a buyer, though.

Fungoes

Piniero’s $7.5M gagger of a contract for next year is the clear winner to me (and love the El Pinata nickname, by the way).  I’d dump that.  Kennedy?  $4M is a lot, especially for a part time player, but he’s only part time based on how LaRussa has decided to use him.  That contract doesn’t bother me.

If Carpenter doesn’t recover from his 2008 injuries to throw 150+ innings a year for the remainder of his deal, then, sadly, he’ll jump onto this list too.

And to beat this dead horse again, but the Lohse deal will eventually come back to haunt us.  His WPA/LI of 1.70 last season was definitely serviceable, and he has shown improvement over his recent past seasons overall; but if he regresses to the pitcher he has been, instead of improving on the pitcher he is now, this deal will far outdistance the $7.5M we gave to Piniero (or lit on fire in the middle of the street, I can’t decide which) as one we regret.

Stan Musial’s Stance

Wow, these guys know their stuff. Feel free to look at past and then be prepared for future discussions of this knowledgeable group.

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There was a sentence written this week by one of the Cardinals beat writers that insinuates the Cards are interested in re-signing Isringhausen. WHAT?

Please don’t tell me that TLR is just wanting to get him his 300th save in a Bird on the Bat uniform. That doesn’t set well with me.

Let Izzy get things straightened out somewhere else. Some argue if it is cheap enough than it is ok. NO IT IS NOT!!! He continually for the last 2-3 years blew saves for us. Let the youth of the team have this job.

I will always be a Cardinals fan and things like this will not change my allegiance, they just make me sick to my stomach.

JUST SAY NO!!!!!!

Izzy

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It wasnt the Tommy John type. That we will continue to hear about.

He had surgery on his right elbow earlier today in a procedure that included decompression
and transposition of the ulnar nerve.

Does this mean he will be even better next year?

This man is amazing.

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The UCB (United Cardinals Bloggers) will have a question of the day that the bloggers will discuss. Each blogger will then provie a transcript of the topic.

This looks to be interesting and very knowledgeable for the readers. Be sure to check these bloggers site on the day described.

October 7: The Cardinal Virtue
October 8: Rockin’ the Red
October 9: The Redbird Blog
October 10: Mike on the Cards
October 13: CardinalNationGlobe
October 14: The Rundown
October 15: Redbird Report
October 16: Redbird Ramblings
October 17: BertFlex
October 20: Fungoes
October 21: Pitchers Hit Eighth
October 22: CardinalsGM
October 23: That’s a Winner
October 24: Redbirds Fun
October 27: Stan Musial’s Stance
October 28: C70 At the Bat

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Dave Duncan signs, 1 year and an option for 2010.

This is a good sign. Looks to me like Tony and Dave will give it one more year and Dunc hedge in case they want another one.

Cards are certainly taking care of business early this offseason.

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4 yr contract too long….

no trade makes it even worse….

Mo is said to have uttered that this is the arm we are getting this winter….

——————–

Huh? We can’t win with the SP that we had last year, I believe. A new arm with some pop is needed.

Lots of time left so maybe they will surprise us.

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I believe there are a number of teams that had they obtained Sabathia would be in the same boat as the Brewers right now. The Cards being one of those teams.

Would you have approved a deal for Sabathia even if it included giving up Colby Rasmus, if you were guaranteed a playoff spot due to the trade?

———

You can’t keep playing for the future. When you are THAT close you have to go for it. We didn’t go remotely close for it. I would have made the deal.

There is nothing that says Rasmus will pan out. If you have a chance to get a proven ACE like Sabathia, you have to make the deal.

We stumbled and we fell.

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I always look forward to it just as much as the season. Well, not quite but almost. That, to me, is the real time to blog, to post thoughts.

The in-season for blogging doesn’t get real far with me. Everyone grabs the hot topic and writes about it. that isn’t interesting to me. The winter gives a chance to get fresh approaches to many topics.

I will be writing more once the baseball season has concluded.

That’s just me.

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It burns.

Pack it in. Fold it up. Whatever you want to say. The teams has laid down and it starts with LaRussa. His lineup is atrocious on a daily basis. What is this junk of infielders playing the outfield every game? Why couldn’t we have allow someone, anyone from Memphis the opportunity to get those major league at bats?

I am disgusted with the September record of this team. They have ALMOST negated the good stuff they did earlier this year.

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This can topic can be debated many people for a long time and very few will agree 100% of the time. With that being said I give you my Top 7 Cardinal Minor Leaguers.

Bryan Anderson- Many are already screaming blasphemy for writing that. The top spot should go to Rasmus. Well, it is close but I figure that Bryan Anderson gets it for this reason:

The position he plays is a hard position to get quality players. Outfielders are plentiful and teams can go several different ways with them. With Anderson we have a catcher. The Cardinals have Molina and he is a top-of-the-line catcher and will not be supplanted from that in his Cardinals years. SO, Anderson is #1 due to the fact that he can be traded for a top of the line player. A proven commodity, at his hard to find position, that some team has because their catchers are not very good. He is our #1 trading chip for this offseason and could possibly bring in a haul.

Colby Rasmus- Well, can’t the same thing be said for Colby? Not exactly. I already mentioned the abundance of outfielders but the underlying facts are that his star has a tarnished edge for two reasons. Tony LaRussa did not see fit to bring him in to the fold for the September call-ups. This is a damning indication that Colby is either not ready or has become hard to work with this year. Possibly, it is the fact that his dad has been a noise maker that has indicted LaRussa a bit this year. Also, Colby didn’t have that absolutely wonderful season in Memphis. The tools may be there but he didn’t get them all out of the shed to be put on display. Colby could bring a good player or players in an exchange but they will point to the absence of major league time to softly backpedal any deal.

Chris Perez- Chris has had a large cup of coffee this year with the big club but spent a majority of time with the AAA affiliate. Chris is the future closer for the Cardinals. He is the heir apparent for Jason Isringhausen’s departure from this team. Chris has proven worthy for a majority of the time. The Cards need Chris to plug the gaping hole of 30 bullpen losses.

Jason Motte- Jason got his chance at seasons end to be the ever important set-up man for whomever the closer will be. He has that mid 90’s fastball that can come in and smoke the 8^th inning. This spot is just a tad lower, in my opinion, than the closer. More pitchers can fill this spot than can a closer role.

Brett Wallace- The meteoric rise through the system has been a bright star for the Cardinals and for Wallace. He can hit and has hit at each level. Now he needs to field. Where? Probably third base. With another year of Troy Glaus manning the hot corner coupled with Wallace’s year of seasoning at Memphis, this appears to be where we are headed. Wallace is important to the future of the Cardinals.

Peter Kozma- PK comes from a position of great importance. An up the middle fielder is critical to teams. With the current makeup of the team, the Cards keep shuffling players from the scrap heap into second and shortstop. Kozma will need another 2 years of seasoning to be a viable major leaguer.

Jaime Garcia- Starting pitchers from the left-handed side can hang around for years and years. The Cards don’t really have one and are critical to mix things up. The news that surgery is in the offing is not good. We need Jaime to bring us some relief.

Many players were omitted from my list and not particularly for any reason. Players like Mather, Stavinoha, Boggs and Phelps will make plenty of lists and rightfully so.

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