I made my last prediction post back in January and now it is time for my February update. I am not using the sabermetrics to come up with my list. I have read other blogs and check other sources to make this post.

2011 February Power Rankings

1. Phillies – R2C2 says it all. Roy and Roy and Cole and Cliff. ‘nuff said.
2. Red Sox- Crawford had them in the #1 until Lee signs with Phillies.
3. Giants- rotation studly but Uribe gone hurts.
4. Rangers- Josh Hamilton health is key and Andrus time to shine
5. Twins- healthy M & M’s make Minnesota move up.
6. Yankees- not much off-season activity but still NYY.
7. Braves- Dan Uggla and 33 HR’s and 105 RBI’s looks good
8. Reds- some believe they overachieved but Votto for real
9. Rockies- very active locking up youngsters.
10. White Sox- Adam Dunn adds potent bat to lineup
11. Cardinals- Vegas moved their odds when Pujols didn’t sign from 14/1 to 20/1
12. Angels- Scott Downs addition and healthy Kendry Morales needed
13. Dodgers- Garland and Uribe additions help them in West
14. Brewers- Marcum and Greinke add needed arms for them
15. Tigers- Not sure Victor Martinez helps much
16. Cubs- Garza is solid and Pena capable of big numbers
17. Rays- hard team to judge with recent losses
18. Blue Jays- no significant changes here
19. Nationals- losing 38 dingers from Dunn is a big ouch
20. Marlins- Infante doesn’t do much for me
21. Athletics- David DeJesus and .318 average is good pickup
22. Mets- New GM and manager makes this tough work
23. Orioles- Does J.J. Hardy and Mark Reynolds get you excited?
24. Padres- Adrian Gonzalez is gone, time to re-tool.
25. Mariners- King Felix will like Brendan Ryan
26. Astros- They really set on their hands but got Bill Hall
27. Diamondbacks- they will have a better bullpen with J.J. Putz
28. Royals- nothing to say here but lots of potential
29. Pirates- good young unproven players-love McCutcheon
30. Indians-Cleveland will Choo on last place

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Why are the divisions not equal?

I would think that unions would bark that so hard they wouldn’t give up until it was done. That is an unfair advantage/disadvantage for several teams every year.

Here is what I found on a fan forum:

Because that would make the leagues 15 teams each. there would have to be and inter league game everyday and MLB likes to group most of the inter league games into the same time periods. Also it would probably play havoc with the schedule.

With this type of schedule you would have to schedule inter-league games year round. What is wrong with that?

They won’t ever realign the divisions to have 5 teams to a division because there isn’t year round interleague play. 5 teams a division would put 15 teams to a league meaning that there would be an odd team out every day. The only way that divisions will be evened up is if 2 teams are added to the MLB, then I think you’ll see divisions like the NFL, 4 teams to a division.

What’s so bad about that? Either add or contract but make them even. The six teams division, the National League Central, has been at a disadvantage for a long time and the American League West takes advantage of it.

You don’t have to add teams, just a bit of realignment in the National League and things could work out. Why not put the NL in 4 divisions of 4 teams each and allow the American League to keep their current 3 division winners and 1 wild card winner to advance to the post-season?

NL East
New York Mets
Philadelphia Phillies
Pittsburgh Pirates
Washington Nationals

NL South
Atlanta Braves
Cincinnati Reds
Florida Marlins
Houston Astros

NL Central
Chicago Cubs
Colorado Rockies
Milwaukee Brewers
St. Louis Cardinals

NL West
Arizona Diamondbacks
Los Angeles Dodgers
San Diego Padres
San Francisco Giants

It just is too unequal the way it is. Time to make it happen.

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As announced yesterday, Jim Edmonds has retired from baseball/

Who is happier today?

Colby Rasmus- He won’t have playing time taken away by TLR’s obsession with get veteran in the game. I am not convinced he would have anyway but it might make Rasmus feel a bit better

John Jay- He gets his old #15 uniform back and he won’t have to share any left handed hitting AB’s with Edmonds.

Allen Craig- It appeared that if Jim Edmonds made the Opening Day roster it may have been at the expense of Craig.

National League hitters- No more robbing them at the wall and taking way extra base hits. Jim may have been a step slower but he always seemed to get a good jump on the ball.

National League pitchers- Look at his stats. Yes, even from the last year. The man could still rake the ball.

Mark McGwire- I could see the hitters spending time with Jimmy and asking for advice even at the expense of not asking Big Mac.

Jim Edmonds- He can spend time at home with family or head out to his restaurant. Maybe some quality time with his wife.

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Today Jim Edmonds announced his retirement from baseball. He had surgery in January on his Achilles and he is not ready to respond to Spring Training. He was a very good Cardinal player and quite well loved and respected.

Instead of me listing all his stats, here is a link to his Baseball Reference page.

Do these numbers warrant first ballot Hall of Fame entry?

Here is his official press release statement.

“After speaking with Dr. Paletta and a number of doctors about the potential risk of future permanent damage, I have decided to retire,” said Edmonds.  “Although I feel that I can still play and contribute, the risk of permanent injury is too much for me to chance.  As much as I regret this announcement, I feel that it is for the best.”

“We are disappointed that Jim could not continue playing,” stated Cardinals Senior Vice President/General Manager John Mozeliak.  “When he decided to give it one more try with the Cardinals, we were pleased to give him the opportunity.  Having had the privilege of watching him from 2000-07, we certainly appreciate his great career.  The entire Cardinals organization wishes Jim and his family the very best in retirement and we hope to see him around the ballpark.”

Thanks Jim Edmonds for your service to the St Louis Cardinals.

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Could you switch teams? Is that really possible?

You must not be much of a fan…or are you so much of a fan you feel the need for some reason?

This is for the serious baseball fans, not the bandwagoners or the casual observer.

I am serious, what would it take for you to become a fan of another baseball team?

I am sure some of you have moved to another city that hosts major league baseball, have you or did you become a fan of that team? Or did you just “adopt” that team and remain a Cardinals fan?

Which other team could you see yourself becoming a fan of? I just returned from the Los Angeles area and I could see my self becoming absorbed in their culture and begin to follow the Angels and the Dodgers and with time become a fan of theirs. Afterall, if you are going to the games you don’t want that team to loses games, you want a winner. Could you take a team like the Astros or the Cubs and fully envelope yourself into their fandom? Maybe you feel it is ok to have a favorite National League team and American League team. I know several like that. Is that acceptable and still be a true-blue Cardinals fan?

What would it take to make you mad and quit becoming a fan of your favorite team?

Last question: Which team other than the Cardinals could you accept hitting the “like” button on and why?

For the RECORD: I will always stay a Cardinals fan but could “like” another team.

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I am heading to Spring Training in Jupiter, Florida soon and will be doing live blogging from Roger Dean Stadium. I am heading up to Viera, Florida to watch the Nationals. Any other place Spring Training site I “must see” while down there?

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HEADLINES FROM AROUND BASEBALL

• Tigers’ Miguel Cabrera charged with DUI in Florida
  Detroit Free Press
• Pujols arrives at Camp Cardinals
  St. Louis Post-Dispatch
• Blue Jays, Bautista agree to five-year deal
  Toronto Sun
• Weeks agrees to long-term deal with Brewers
  Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
• D-Backs sign Branyan to minor league deal
  Arizona Republic
• Orlando Cabrera officially signs one-year $1 million deal
  Cleveland Plain Dealer
• Trade talks ongoing, but Michael Young still with Rangers
  Fort Worth Star-Telegram
• Joba Chamberlain arrives at Yankees spring training noticeably overweight, annoyed by questions
  New York Daily News
• Pujols: “Hope to revisit talks ” with Cardinals later
  St. Louis Post-Dispatch
• Jays sign Podsednik to minor-league contract
  Toronto Sun

Just a small recap from 2010

Offensive numbers for the Cardinals at year-end and their rank with other teams.

DEFENSE

TEAM LEADERS

Let’s get down to the serious business of Spring Training and get some real baseball stuff from Jupiter.

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He didn’t sign.

A guy has to do what he feels is the right thing to do for his family. Good Luck, Albert.

So now we move forward for 2011 with Albert Pujols wearing the Birds on the Bat.

We have the tools put in place to win this sucker. Let’s remember the Reds had many career years in 2010 and we din’t follow behind them very far. My concerns are mainly:

• Can Carpenter hold up another year?
• Will Franklin continue to man the closer role?
• Do we have enough left handed pitching that is quality?
• Is the middle infield adequate?
• David Freese?
• What kind of production is left in Lance Berkman?
• Distraction or not? Can Pujols play to his standards even though he maintains this won’t be a distraction?

Life goes on.

Let’s play ball!

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Let’s look at the Cardinals payroll for the next few years. We, as fans of the team, usually just scream pay pay pay pay. It’s not our money. But let’s assume it is and look at our books at the player personnel.

2011- We have 17 players that are currently soaking up$104,362,500 that need to be paid out. We carry a 25 man roster so many to be added will be minimum wage earners.

2012- Currently the team is on the books for  $49.288M with Matt Holliday and Kyle Lohse taking up about $29M of that salary.No Pujols, no Berkman, no Franklin and Carpenter gets $1M buyout. That doesn:t sound so hot, now does it? ($79.288M)

2013- Three get all the money so far on this year. Holliday, Lohse and Zach Cox take all of the $29.950M already obligated for this year. ($59.950M)

2014 and 2015 we find the only money on the books in player salaries come from the contract of Matt Holliday at $17M per year. ($47M)

Now go back and look at the numbers I put in parentheses and that is what it would look like with Albert Pujols making $30M per year. When I look at it this way, it doesn’t look so bad when it comes to payroll.

I hear that it isn’t the price tag as much as it is the number of years of the contract. Many fans wave it off and say things like..well the Cardinals got a discount the first time so now they are just retroactively paying him for past contributions. It doesn’t work that way often and shouldn’t here either.

I am all for a 7 year contract at $30M a year and that’s it. If he is still tearing the cover off the ball at age 38, then we go through this process again. Now remember what I wrote at the beginning is still ringing true.

It’s not my money.

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President Barack Obama will award Stan Musial the Presidential Medal of Freedom on February 15 in a ceremony scheduled for 12:30pm CST in the East Room of the White House. Fans can watch the live presentation on the web at http://www.whitehouse.gov/.

Stan “The Man” Musial will be one of fifteen recipients along with Boston Celtics’ great Bill Russell, President George H.W. Bush, Chancellor Angela Merkel, Congressman John Lewis, John H. Adams, Maya Angelou, Warren Buffett, Jasper Johns, Gerda Weissmann Klein, Dr. Tom Little, Yo-Yo Ma, Sylvia Mendez, Jean Kennedy Smith and John J. Sweeney.

The Medal of Freedom is the Nation’s highest civilian honor and bestowed to individuals who have made especially meritorious contributions to the security or national interests of the United States, to world peace or to cultural or other significant public or private endeavors. Though individuals may be honored for singular acts of momentous import, it is generally offered for a lifetime of service or at the conclusion of a distinguished career.

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