Opening Day and Weekend have come and gone and the season is underway. The new look Cubs have started out 2011 looking much like the 2010 version. Here are some things we can take away from the first series:

- The Cubs still can’t figure out the Pirates. They really could have won all 3 but always found a way to make the one mistake they couldn’t afford to make.

- Starlin Castro is a superstar right now. He’s still going to throw some balls away and make some throws he shouldn’t make (like the one that allowed the go-ahead run to score today), but the kid can hit and field. He has eight hits already and tripled in consecutive at bats today. The 21 year old led off today, but someday soon he’ll be in the 3 spot.

- Carlos Marmol is unhittable. He struck out all three hitters he faced on Saturday and they never really had a chance. Sunday was a different story- Marmol blew the save by giving up 2 hits, but the hit that scored two runs was an infield single that Castro should have put in his pocket. You just have the feeling that if he can keep his walks down, Marmol is going to save a lot of games this year.

- The starting pitching is going to be adequate. Dempster, Zambrano, and Garza probably aren’t going to be dominate too often- but they should be reliable enough to eat up a lot of innings and keep the Cubs in almost every game they pitch. Dempster made one really bad pitch on Opening Day, but he’ll be solid. Zambrano dealt with more cramping, but it was good to see him start strong this season after the Opening Day debacle last season. Garza’s start today was odd- he went seven innings and struck out a career-high tying 12 men, but also gave up 11 hits against a McCutchen-less Pirate lineup. We’ll see how he looks next time out, but he was constantly walking the line today.

- The bullpen can be really good. Unlike last year where a handful of games were lost in April/May due to the bullpen blowing up, the Cubs shouldn’t have that issue this year. With Kerry Wood and Sean Marshall setting up for Carlos Mamol, the Cubs should be able to hold onto their leads this year.

- We don’t have a second baseman. I’m going to go out on a limb and say that the Barney/Baker/DeWitt trio isn’t a good long term solution to the 2B void, but it looks like what we’re going to get for a while. It looks like Quade has come to terms with the fact that he doesn’t have a great option at 2B, so he’s going to let Barney play his solid defense and bloop some singles into right field every four at bats or so.

- The team seems to have a much better chemistry this year. Regardless of whether or not it’s fair to blame a lot of the problems last year on Piniella, you can’t deny that the team seems to be more cohesive and happy. They really like Quade and they seem to really like each other. Now that Silva is gone, the Cubs look like they are rid of all the team cancers. As much as we heard over the years that Derrek Lee was a great “lead by example” guy, he wasn’t a guy that could pump the team up. Now the Cubs have Carlos Pena, Kerry Wood, Ryan Dempster, etc. that can be good, vocal leaders in the clubhouse.

- The lineup is going to be streaky. They can score runs in bunches, but they will also go through some stretches where they are held down for a while.

- The NL Central looks like it could be a four team race for a while. With the Wainwright injury, I don’t see St. Louis running away with the division. The Brewers still have pitching issues that may still linger after Greinke returns. The Reds looked really good this weekend, but I’m still not sold on their pitching either. Dusty will make sure the young arms deal with more injuries soon. If the Cubs stay healthy, they have just as good of a shot at staying in the race as the other three teams. The Pirates are improved, but only enough to finish ahead of a horrible Astros team.

- None of the Central teams should make any noise in the playoffs, but the season should be exciting enough to see which team gets to play a few extra meaningful games in October.

When I first heard that Wainwright was out for the season I thought the Central Division would be out of reach for the Cardinals. But the more I think about it no one pitcher has to replace Adam Wainwright. Kyle McClellan will get his first year of being in the starting rotation and reports this spring sound like he can fill the 5th spot adequately, but he is no Adam Wainwright, and he doesn’t have to be. Now I’m playing with numbers here and it is pure speculation but, because of Kyle Lohse’s terrible season last year, all McClellan and Lohse have to do is be better than Wainwright and Lohse last year.

Wainwright 2010

20 Wins
11 Losses
213 K’s
56 Walks
62 Earned Runs
230 Innings Pitched Lohse 2010

4 Wins
8 Losses
54 K’s
35 Walks
67 Earned Runs
92 Innings Pitched Combined 2010

24 Wins
19 Losses
267 K’s
91 Walks
129 Earned Runs
322 Innings Pitched

Now if my thinking is correct then the Cardinals need to hope they can get 24 Wins, 267 Strikeouts and a 3.60 ERA out of Lohse and McClellan. This would all be easier is Kyle Lohse could pitch the way he did in 2008. Lohse was 15-8 with 119 Strikeouts and a 3.78 ERA; I think the way McClellan pitched in the spring we can hope for 9 wins out of him. Now I know that this is not a perfect comparison because Lohse only appeared in 18 games, but this is also the first full season with Jake Westbrook, which should also pickup some of the stats put up by Wainwright last year. This idea in my head doesn’t make me think the Cardinals will run away with the division, but if someone jokes that Kyle McClellan is half the pitcher that Adam Wainwright is, they will be right, but that might be good enough.

Roy Halladay, who ripped the front office and new pitching coach Mark Riggins on Saturday when he didn’t make the opening roster, was unconditionally released Sunday morning. The Cubs will eat the $11.5  million left on his contract rather than keep him around while trying to trade him.

‘‘Obviously,’’ general manager Jim Hendry said, ‘‘we’re dealing with a man that at this particular point in his career is not willing to face the facts that what he’s done the last few years, except for a two-month period, is well below major-league standards and who seems to make the continual [habit] of blaming everybody but himself.’’

Halladay has compiled a career record of 169-86 with a 3.32 ERA. He is a 7 time All-Star and a two-time Cy Young award winner.

Halladay, who was one of the worst performers in camp until his most recent start Wednesday, said the Cubs misled him about his status and criticized Riggins in particular for that, saying, ‘‘He has to learn he’s in the big leagues now.’’ Riggins previously was the Cubs’ minor-league pitching coordinator.
Cubs officials, who say Halladay was respectful in conversations with them, were livid about the hefty right-hander’s public comments.

‘‘First of all, he’s dead f—ing wrong about my pitching coach. And I got no f—ing time for that,’’ manager Mike Quade said. ‘‘And second, respect is a two-way street, period. If you’re not willing to give it, you’re not getting it.

‘‘And the third thing — that everybody needs to know — this was my call. If you want to be irritated with somebody, this is on me.’’

Riggins, one of Halladay’s supporters this spring, took the high road.

‘‘Roy has his opinion, and I’ll leave it at that,’’ Riggins said. ‘‘I try to stay positive with everything. It’s water under the bridge. . . . It happens. I understand the emotions that go with things.’’

Asked if Halladay had apologized, Riggins said, ‘‘I’ll make no comment on that. . . . This game gives people a lot of character. Most people in baseball are very successful once they leave the game. And so I wish him the best, and if I can help him in any way, the door’s always open.’’

Halladay, who showed up to spring training out of shape after being assigned an offseason conditioning plan, was uncompetitive out of the gate this spring, even causing a dugout dustup with teammate Aramis Ramirez after just his first inning pitched.

‘‘Basically, he wasn’t good enough to make the team,’’ Hendry said. ‘‘You factor in not only spring training, but you try to go back and factor in the second half last year, and you’re looking at a guy that had a 14-something ERA from July 11 on and that came to camp with the notion that he already had a spot in the rotation.’’

The Cubs had planned to take the next several days to try to trade Halladay, obviously prepared to absorb the lion’s share of the $11.5 million left on his contract. Halladay also was scheduled to pitch Monday.

All of that went by the wayside after the comments Saturday.

‘‘I won’t tolerate it,’’ Hendry said.

**UPDATE: Apparently, the story above contains an error. Replace every occurrence of “Roy Halladay” with “Carlos Silva”. This makes more sense from what the Cubs side, but it becomes really confusing when reading Silva’s comments.

For those of you keeping score at home, the dugout “scuffle” on Wednesday was the second time in the last year involving a starting pitcher named Carlos and a position player who has been a mainstay in Chicago for the last few years. Last season it was Carlos Zambrano and Derek Lee getting into a shouting match. Wednesday it was Carlos Silva and Aramis Ramirez. Both incidents seemed to stem from poor defense. I happen to believe that Zambrano, in his own crazy way, really was trying to pump up the team and get their heads back in the game. Unfortunately, he’s a little nuts and screaming in the dugout didn’t do it for Lee.

The issue with Silva, though, seemed like something that Mike Quade could have avoided. Here’s what I mean- Quade has stated that the first three starting rotations spots are filled by Dempster, Zambrano, and Garza. That leaves two spots open and we have heard Quade list a whole bunch of possible guys that could take those spots: Randy Wells, Carlos Silva, Andrew Cashner, James Russell, Casey Coleman, Thomas Diamond, Tom Gorzelanny (until he was traded), and even Jeff Samardzija.

Aside from Wells and Silva, those are a lot of young guys that have a lot to prove. It seems like Quade may have been trying to light a fire under these guys to see what they can do in the spring. But let’s be honest- if Jeff Russell has a tremendous spring, is he really going to be in the Cubs rotation to start the season? I can only pray that is taken as a rhetorical question by Quade.

Randy Wells and Carlos Silva are your 4th and 5th starters. That’s it. Done. The fact that I say that is saying something too because I was ready for the Cubs to ship Wells to the minors last year and when someone had to go to the bullpen, I was pining for it to be Silva. But let’s face it, Silva was the Cubs best pitcher for the first half of the season. Yes, that is indeed sad. But this whole “go out there and earn your spot in the rotation” thing isn’t working on Silva and it’s obvious that he doesn’t appreciate it. I wouldn’t go so far as saying that he’s earned his spot in the rotation- he isn’t exactly… well… since the Cubs are kind of short on examples, think of a team that has a good, veteran pitcher that has been around for awhile- he’s not like that guy you’re thinking of. But because of what he was able to put together to start the season last year you have to assume he deserves that chance again.

Same thing with Randy Wells. He didn’t have the best year ever- but neither did most of the Cubs roster. The only other guy out of those I listed earlier that I would like to see in the rotation eventually is Andrew Cashner. But this is only his second year. This is the last season that Silva is under contract- let him start in the rotation and let Cashner get some more major league experience. He’s going to have plenty of time to prove he belongs. But this Jeff Russell talk has got to stop. Am I the only one that noticed he sucked last year? How about we focus on throwing strikes before we put a guy in the rotation because he learned how to write with the wrong hand?

When it’s June and we’re out of it, we can try some young kids in the rotation experiments. But until then, let’s pretend we’re a real ball club competing for a division title. The other side of it is- if the Cubs happen to luck out and get another good first half of the season from Silva, they can use him as trade bait and potentially save paying him for the final couple of months of the season.

And isn’t that what this season is really about- saving money so we can go blow it on free agents in the offseason?

The point is, in his own way, Quade kind of brought this situation upon himself. You’ve got a veteran who believes he deserves to be in the rotation and whose pride is a little hurt that he even is in a situation where he has to win the job in Spring Training. Now that he’s out there, he has to try and get seven outs an inning while his infielders are kicking the ball around the field because they’re not really interested in these spring training games. It’s a recipe for disaster. Of course, giving up 2 home runs in the inning doesn’t help your cause either.

Quade is known for being a player’s manager. We’ll see that put to the test when he holds a team meeting on Thursday. Regardless of the outcome, the Cubs don’t head north for Wrigley for a few more weeks and a team that already doesn’t have many believers can’t afford to fight amongst themselves.

Wake me up when it’s 2012.

On Wednesday, we asked the United Cardinal Bloggers the following question:

Can the Pujols situation turn into the Carmelo situation? I know this probably won’t happen because Pujols says he will reject any trade. But if late July rolls around and the Cardinals are out of the race in the Central (again not likely) and it becomes clear that he has no intention of signing, would the Cardinals try to move him? If all of these things fall strangely in place, what would the Cardinals ask for in return for Albert?

Here are the responses:

I would have answered this differently about 5 hours ago. Now, in light of the news about Adam Wainwright’s elbow, it’s not so far-fetched to think the Cardinals could seek an ace starting pitcher as part of a package for Albert Pujols.

Mark, RetroSimba

The season has not started, and anything can still happen, but if Wainwright is indeed lost for the season that shoots a rather large hole in our post-season chances. They would/will certainly be in the market for pitching help. Lance Lynn may not be ready and I have no faith in Ian Snell.

However I think the season would have to turn into a disaster similar to the Cubs’ 2006 one (66-96) for the front office to seriously consider moving Pujols. Even then, I don’t think it will happen for many of the reasons already put forward. No team is going to ransack their farm system for 2 months of AP knowing he’ll hit the free agent market after the season, and I think AP would invoke the same negotiating rules for his new team that he’s used with St Louis the past 2 off-seasons (no contract discussions during the season).

Call me a cynic.

Mike, Stan Musial’s Stance

Even if Albert waived his 10/5 rights, the situation would be a far cry from the Carmelo situation. First, the NBA trade rules are greatly different from the MLB rules, so the Cardinals couldn’t ransack another team for young talent, future draft picks, and $3M in cash. Second, it’s highly doubtful that any team would pay a premium for a half season rental of Pujols, because they know he’s bound for free agency anyway. The Knicks have a slight advantage over most of the other NBA teams in that they can offer a max contract to someone like Deron Williams or Chris Paul to add to Melo and Stoudemire. That potentially gives them 3 All-Stars out of 5 starters. I can’t really see any team in baseball that could promise Albert that kind of supporting cast. Finally, the Cardinals don’t have the same motivation to move Albert that the Nuggets had to move Melo. It’s far easier to replace a star player in baseball, because teams have minor league talent pipelines as well as free agency. Again, this is all based on a huge “IF” that I really can’t envision happening at all.

- Dennis, Pitchers Hit Eighth

No, for two reasons:

1) Albert has the 10/5 rights. That means, of course, since he’s been in the league 10 years and five years with the same team, he can veto any trade. With his public proclamations that he wants to stay in St. Louis and that he’d reject all deals, I don’t expect any thoughts of that.

2) The Cardinals still have the best chance of signing him. Even if things look bad in the middle of the season, they’ll want to keep the possibility open that he’ll return. Trading him off would pretty much slam that door.

- Daniel, C70 At The Bat

As the spring continues to unfold and the baseball world is aflutter with Albert Pujol’s impending free agency and the New York Yankees’ front office continually running their mouths, Michael Young of the Texas Rangers had been mired in his own drama after the Rangers told the infielder they were moving him to DH after the addition of first-time All-Star third-baseman Adrian Beltre (that’s a lot of hyphenated words in a row).

Young, having himself been an All-Star six out of the last seven seasons, has been asked to switch positions before. He switched from 2B to SS for Alfonso Soriano in 2004 (I wonder how that turned out?) and in 2009, immediately after winning a gold glove for his play at SS, he switched to 3B so Elvis Andrus could play everyday.

His strong play, consistency, and “team-first attitude” has won over the hearts of many fans through the years. He’s sort of like the Mark Grace of the Rangers. You can understand then why 3-year-old Gavin Justice-Farmers was in a bit of disbelief/denial when his mother gave him the news a couple weeks ago that Young was going to be traded.

Check it out for yourself (and try to ignore the fact that the mother kept her iPhone in the frustrating vertical position when taking the video):

Beyond just being cute, the kid’s words took me back to when the team you rooted for was basically just there to support your favorite player. He says it quite a bit: “Michael Young is my favorite team!”

We all grew up with our idols. Somewhere along the way, I lost a bit of that mentality though.

It used to be that it didn’t even matter if your favorite player was on a championship team, or heck, even on a winning team.

Let’s look at the world of basketball for a second. Michael Jordan reigned supreme as a lot of kids’ favorite player. He was bigger than the Chicago Bulls franchise. Too big, probably. The Bulls had no choice but to conform to Jordan’s larger-than-life image.

I always had a soft spot for players who were constant professionals, devoted to their team, and eventually saw dividends from their hard work. David Robinson, of the San Antonio Spurs comes to mind. He was one of the good guys who stuck with his team through the ups and downs. He retired with two championship rings. He was from the old-school, I guess you might say. He was also part of a dying breed.

Michael Jordan wrote the book by which the new breed of superstars live by. Players like LeBron and Carmelo are bigger than the franchise. It’s the same in baseball with guys like A-Rod and Manny. They can’t be confined to a team. They represent a brand. We talk about them without even using their whole names.

Michael Young is an old-school player. He reached out to Gavin, the boy in the video, to talk to him and try to explain himself and his frustrations.

Who does that? Nobody.

Then he reported to camp, seemingly prepared to play a new position.
I want to be like Mike (Young).

Who were your favorite players growing up?

Players that maybe weren’t in the first (or even second) tier of superstars, but were able to stay loyal to their franchise without making it all about them.

I’m not a Cardinals fan.  At all.  In fact, I despise the Cardinals.  But with the rest of baseball fans around the country, I have been following the Albert Pujols contract situation closely.  I’ve been trying to step back and look at this situation from all angles.

No matter how I look at it, if I were a Cardinals fan, I’d be disappointed in the organization right now. 

Perhaps the outcome of not being able to sign Pujols would have been the same no matter how it was handled.  Perhaps the Cardinals will still be able to sign Pujols after the season.  But to me, it sure doesn’t seem like they put themselves in a position for that to happen.

To better understand what’s going on, we need to look back further than just the past month that the negotiations were taking place (even though they never really seemed to take place).

The fact is, the Cardinals front office has known full well what was coming for a long time.  The fact that this was the last offseason the Cardinals could negotiate a new deal with Pujols before he hit free agency was no surprise.  But the impression that was given over the last few weeks is that everything was rushed and thrown together.  If reports are correct, only one offer was even made to Pujols.

The details that are coming out about that report say that the contract proposed to Pujols was for around 8 years with an annual salary average of around $20-22 million.

Now first let me say, I admire Albert Pujols.  As much as I hate to admit it as a Cubs fan, it’s hard to dislike the guy.  He’s a class act on the field and off of it.  I also get the sense from Albert that it’s not about the money.  $20 million a year is enough for anyone to live on.  What I think it comes down to for Pujols is respect. 

Albert Pujols hasn’t just been a Cardinal over the last ten years.  He has been the Cardinals.  He’s the face of the team.  He’s a nine time All-Star, has won 3 MVP awards, won two Gold Gloves, and won the Rookie of the Year award.  Five times he didn’t win the MVP, he finished in the top 3 in voting.  His average annual stats are .331 BA, 42 HR, 128 RBI, .426 OBP, .624 SLG, 95 BB, 67 SO.  He’s never played less than 143 games in a season and 8 out of his 10 seasons he has played more than 150 games.

On the field, there is no one better.

After his first three seasons in the league, he signed an 8 year, $111 million deal.  That’s $13.875 annually.  The fact that he agreed to an eight year deal when he could have signed a much shorter deal in order to get a big payday earlier showed his desire to stay with St. Louis and that it wasn’t about the money.

This time around if the Cardinals can’t re-sign Pujols, they’ll lead you to believe it is because they can’t afford him.  The fact is, the Cardinals have made so much money because of Pujols, they can afford him.  Think of all the money Pujols has brought in for the Cardinal organization through ticket sales, advertising, merchandise, etc.  Do you know a Cardinals fan without a Pujols jersey?  Ok, so maybe not everyone has a jersey.  But it’s likely that many people are Cardinal fans- or more active Cardinal fans, simply because of Albert Pujols.

Maybe Pujols really is seeking a 10 year, $300 million deal and won’t settle for less.  But look at it this way, if the Cardinals obliged and signed him to that deal, between the first extension and this extension, the Cardinals would have paid Pujols a total of $411 over 18 years.  An average of… $22.83 million a year.  And that’s not counting the first three years of Pujols career where he made close to the minimum each year.

Obviously that’s not how you look at things from a business standpoint, however.  Just because Pujols gave the Cardinals a deal by signing such a long term deal the first time around doesn’t mean that the Cardinals have to make the sacrifice in signing him to a ten year deal now that he’s coming to the end of his prime years.  From the Cardinals perspective, they’ve had a huge bargain over the past 10 years. 

The dilemma here is that no other team may benefit financially from a 10 year, $300 million deal with Pujols.  He’s already an icon and established in St. Louis.  Let’s say, for instance, that the Cubs signed him to that mega-contract.  On the front end, that’s pretty huge as far as merchandise, etc goes.  The Cubs already sell-out most of their games, so they’re not going to see a real substantial rise in ticket sales unless they raise ticket prices- which they would probably do.  But if Albert’s numbers start declining after a couple of years, now we’ve got another Soriano problem where so much money is tied up in one player that isn’t putting up the production to match what you’re paying him.  And if that happened, the Cubs fans don’t have the past 10 years of history with great Pujols years to fall back on. 

But in St. Louis, a declining 37 year old Pujols is still a fan favorite.  Even if he’s struggling.  Just as Mark Grace, Ryne Sandberg, etc. were at the ends of their Cubs careers.  Icons get a pass if they have a long-standing history of success with the organization. 

The fact is, the Cardinals don’t “owe” Pujols a $300 million contract.  In the end, it’s still a business and each team has to do what is best for the organization.  And if it takes $300 million, it’s probably better for the Cardinals to part with Pujols. 

But my point is, the Cardinals have known all of this all along.  Only coming up with one contract offer that would pay the best player in baseball a salary that is barely in the top 10 of annual salaries in baseball right now is an insult.  Offering Pujols a 5-6 year contract for $30+ million would have at least shown Pujols that the Cardinals respect him but also shows the limitation in the commitment they could make. 

An offer for an annual salary between $20-22 million sure seemed like an offer made to be rejected.  Again, the end result may have been that Pujols left for more money and years that the Cardinals could give him. 

All the Cardinals owe Pujols is respect.  And in my mind, that’s the one thing that they failed to offer him.

We are a proud & active member of the United Cardinal Bloggers. February is the United Cardinal Blogger’s roundtable discussion month. A blogger poses a question, everyone answers, and then the next day the blogger posts the transcript. I have included the daily question, a link to the transcript, and in quotations my response.

Monday, February 7: Tom, CardinalsGM

QUESTION: Do you trust the bullpen for 2011?

In other words: What do you see as the roles of the members of the bullpen? Do you think we can pencil in and have no qualms about Ryan Franklin as our closer? Do we have enough left handed pitching? What role do you envision for Jason Motte and Kyle McClellan? Are we lacking somewhere and need another pick-up? Would you like to see someone currently targeted for minor league action brought up and given a chance?

“I do trust Ryan Franklin. In 2010 he posted a 1.03 WHIP and only walked 10 hitters in 65 innings. Not an overly dominate closer but can get the job done. I don’t think any of us expected him to repeat what he did in 2009 (38 saves,1.92 ERA).

Our late inning set-up or as I like to call them “Bridges to Franklin”:

Inning 6: Righty Mitchell Boggs, Lefty Trever Miller

Inning 7: Righty Kyle McClellan, Lefty Brian Tallet

Inning 8: Righty Jason Motte, Lefty Nobody

Also mix in some Fernando Salas, P.J. Walters, Miguel Batista. I would love to see Fernando Salas take a bigger role in the late innings. He just needs to learn some control and harness that raw power (in 2010,29Ks,15BB,28 hits in 30 innings). Obviously our lefties are aging and mediocre, and with only John Gast being the highest touted lefty pitcher in our system, an outside trade or pickup wouldn’t hurt.”

Tuesday, February 8: Bill, i70baseball

Bill asked us for our slash line predictions and a short synopsis on our predictions.

Potential MVP – Albert Pujols
Potential CYA – Adam Wainwright
Needs a good year – David Freese
Was he worth it? – Lance Berkman

“Albert Pujols: .322/40/119 and lets tack on 12 steals.

Always dominating and just playing his game. Big Al posts another incredible MVP-worthy season and further cements himself as a Hall of Famer.

Adam Wainwright: 18-9/2.83/192Ks

A little regression after his stellar 2010 season. But still gets to pitch in the NL Central with a lineup that includes Pujols, Holliday & Berkman.

David Freese: .267/10/62

He had a great start last year and will be dependable at 3rd. But I don’t see him developing more power in the majors and posting 20-25 homeruns with 90+ RBIs as he did in high A and triple A ball.

Larry Walker, um I mean Lance Berkman: Yes. He was worth it. .272/22/82

He can still hit. Whether he needs the occasional day or half day off (late inning, pinch-hitting duties) he was worth it. What would you rather have in right field; Berkman at 1yr/$8M or Kosuke Fukudome at 1yr/13.5M

Wednesday, February 9: Mark, RetroSimba

Among the things the last four Cardinals World Series champions have had in common is an outstanding center fielder: 1964 (Curt Flood), 1967 (Curt Flood), 1982 (Willie McGee) and 2006 (Jim Edmonds).

Is Colby Rasmus a center fielder who can help lead the Cardinals to a World Series championship?

“I think that Colby has this year or the next to take that extra leadership role in the outfield and in the clubhouse. He has probably almost peaked in offensive production, but if he can consistently put up the numbers he did in 2010 then he can focus on becoming a defensive star in centerfield just as Flood, McGee, and Edmonds were.”

Thursday, February 10: Christine, Aaron Miles’ Fastball

With the Cardinals rotation set going into spring training next week, the biggest question mark for the starters is Kyle Lohse.  What’s your honest assessment of how he’ll do in 2011? Your prediction of his record?

“I am not so optimistic as my other Cardinal blogger brethren. I see Lohse still struggling and putting up an era of 5.00+ with about 6 wins. Of course I would love to see Shelby Miller make his MLB debut at Lohse’s expense, and I do mean expense (still owed over $11mil/yr for 2011 & 2012). It will just not click for Kyle and I think Dave Duncan and staff have to look for takers.”

Friday, February 11: Mike, Stan Musial’s Stance

Let’s project the batting order.  Our one constant is Pujols hitting third.  Of the remaining expected starters (Theriot, Schumaker, Rasmus, Molina, Holliday, Freese, Berkman) who would you hit where and why?  Would you insert Rasmus or Berkman between Holliday and Pujols?  Would you hit Rasmus high in the order?  Does Theriot lead off, do you give Schumaker another shot at the top spot, or stick someone else up there?  What is the best fit for Freese?  And most importantly do we put the pitcher back in the 8-slot?

“1- Theriot

2- Rasmus

3- Pujols

4- Holliday

5- Berkman

6- Molina

7- Freese

8- Pitcher

9- Schumaker

I would like to see Freese get off to a hot start and batting either in the 6 spot or in between Holliday and Berkman. The lead-off spot may be up for grabs between Theriot and Schumaker, but I think Theriot was brought in just for that specific reason. I love the pitcher in the 8-spot.”

*UPDATED 2/17/11*

With what has been labeled as “Albertageddon Day” upon us, some of our staff takes a look at the different perspectives this day brings from both the Cubs and Cardinals sides. 

First, a Cardinals fan perspective:

1)       If the Cardinals were to give Pujols a 10-year, $300 million contract, would you be happy?

Soebeck:  Sure. Will he be worth 30 million in 10 years? Is anyone ever worth 30 million? However, 7 or 8 more years of the best player in baseball is worth it.

Jeff:  I’d be happy for the first 5 years, sure. But I don’t think hamstringing the franchise in the long run is a good idea. Shorter years, higher annual value would be my preference.

 2)       What is the max contract offer you would like to see the Cardinals offer Pujols?

Soebeck:  32 million/yr for 7 years.

Jeff:  8 years/225 m.

3)      If Pujols doesn’t sign with the Cardinals, would you be happy if the Cubs sign him to a 10 year deal?

Soebeck:  Ummmm… no. I don’t want to see Albert in opposing gear 200 times in the next 10 years.

Jeff:  I wouldn’t be happy, but the Cubs are where a number of great Cardinals (see Dean, Dizzy; Hornsby, Rogers; Edmonds, Jim) go to die. So I guess there would be some precedent for it.

4)      If a deal doesn’t get done, will it be a distraction for the Cardinals during the season?

Soebeck:  Naw, we are strong. We are the freaking Cardinals… we aren’t the Cubs.

Jeff:  Losing will be the only distraction for the Cardinals during the season. I’m worried about the hard charging Reds and the lingering effects of last year’s mind numbingly incompetent team on this year’s squad, not contract negotiations.

5)      Prince Fielder is most likely going to be available after this season.  Would you be ok paying him $20-25 million a year for 4-5 years to replace Albert? 

Soebeck:  No, with his physical stature (or lack thereof – how does a vegetarian look like that?) he is a break down waiting to happen. I would be ok with absorbing Teixeira’s contract if we could work out a trade for him this season. 

Jeff:  Hell no. Bad body player who brings none of the defense or leadership that Albert brings.

6)      Will Albert Pujols be reporting to Spring Training in 2012 wearing another uniform?  If so, which one?

Soebeck:  I still really believe he will be wearing Cardinal red, but if not he will be a Yankee. When have they ever let money or the fact that they have a position covered stop them?

Jeff:  I think so. I think the smart $ is on the Angels. They have a chance to win in their weak ass division and I don’t think Pujols wants to play for a losing team like the Cubs.

From Cubs’ fans perspective:

1) If the Cardinals were to give Pujols a 10-year, $300 million contract, would you be happy?

Dustin:  Albert’s not getting any younger, so by the end of that contract I would be happy as a Cubs fan.

John Mark:  I would love to see the Cardinals pay Pujols $30 a season.  The truth is, he’s probably worth it.  When you factor in the discount Albert gave the Cardinals the first time around and then figure how much money Albert brings your organization in through ticket sales and merchandise, the Cardinals wouldn’t actually be spending that much more on Pujols than they would be on a Prince Fielder, etc. at millions less.  The salary looks scary, but the bottom line is probably about the same.  That being said, a payroll budget is still a budget.  After spending what would be around $50 million a year on Pujols and Holliday, I think it would give the Cubs an advantage down the road as the Cardinals would be strapped to make big additions.  Soriano’s contract has limited the Cubs options and so will $30 million a season going to Pujols- especially when he’s in his late 30’s and not putting up the same numbers as he is now.

2) If the Cardinals fail to sign Pujols, what is the max contract offer ($ and years) you would want to see the Cubs offer Pujols?

Dustin:  The max contract offer I would want to see is $30-35 million a year for 5 years.

John Mark:  I would be comfortable with the Cubs offering 6 years at $30 million a year, if only to stick it to the Cardinals.  I don’t think Pujols will take anything less than 6 years, and he may have a tough time finding anyone willing to give him more than 8.  Unfortunately if anyone will, it’s the Cubs. 

3) Who would you rather have playing first for the Cubs- Pujols for around $30 million a year, Prince Fielder for around $20-25 million a year, or someone else?

Dustin:  I would rather have Pujols at first for $30 million a year. What team doesn’t want Pujols? Albert is pricey because he is one of the best in the game today. If Ryan Howard can make $25 million a year, Pujols is worth the $30 million.

John Mark:  Again, I think after you factor in ticket sales and revenue from merchandise, $30 million a year for Pujols and around $23 million a year for Fielder is probably a wash.  It depends on how many years we’re talking.  Fielder is younger (and fatter).  I also don’t necessary believe that Pujols is only 31 either.  After the steroid era, players just don’t last as long and I’d be worried about the kind of production even a healthy Pujols could give you after 35.

4) If the Cubs sign Pujols to a $30 million deal, will they be able to compete with Pujols and Soriano making almost $50 million between them?

Dustin:  I think it would hurt, but the Cubs could count on a few young guys and find some deals in free agency to pick up some role players.

John Mark:  No.  We’ve already seen the financial constraints the Cubs have dealt with over the past couple of seasons because of bad contracts (Soriano, Bradley, Zambrano, Fukudome).  $50 million between Soriano and Pujols is just too much unless the Cubs somehow got career years from about 5 other guys in a season.  I think the Cubs would make more money and would contend for a division title every year with Pujols.  If that money is spent elsewhere (wisely), they would be a better team.  The Cubs could get two really good players for the amount they would be paying Albert.

5) Will Albert Pujols be reporting to Spring Training in 2012 wearing another uniform? If so, which one?

Dustin:  I think the Cardinals will find a way to resign Pujols, but if they don’t I would see him going to the Angels or Cubs.

John Mark:  I don’t see Pujols leaving St. Louis in the end.  As much as I can’t stand LaRussa and his constant whining about everything, I think he’s right when he says the players union is pushing Albert to hold out for the most money.  In the end, I think it will only raise the amount the Cardinals end up paying him.  I don’t think Pujols really cares about the money, though I think he does care about the respect he is given through the salary he is given.  Albert is too ingrained in the St. Louis culture to leave if the offer is anywhere near what he would like.  I think the only sticking point is the length of the contract.  Regardless of the deadline given, if Pujols and the Cardinals don’t reach an agreement by February 16^th I still think it can get done during or after the season.

Here they are, all the predictions together (click picture below):