Kuzul

The Baseball Hall of Fame—holy ground for America’s national pastime. Within Cooperstown’s pantheon are honored 296 of the diamond’s royalty. Some are gods; some many have never heard of. A few don’t truly belong; others, having received the sport’s ultimate reward, remain under-appreciated.

Each of them was immortalized by vote, a process vulnerable to an array of human foibles. Whereas most Hall of Famers fully deserve their honor, more than a few waited for enshrinement long after their achievements warranted such recognition (sometimes for decades), or, occasionally in the case of the Veterans Committee, wormed their way in via cronyism, inflated reputation or voter incompetence.

Because (since 1958) the ballot permits—but does not require—voting to the 10th place, some very mediocre players garner votes. Often, this safeguard prohibits too many candidates from making the cut—lest the Hall grow even more overpopulated than it already is— although it occasionally detracts votes from worthy players who should make it in but wait many unnecessary years, or never make it at all.

Why the electorate felt compelled to cast votes for the pedestrian likes of Mike Jorgensen, Terry Puhl, and Eddie Miksis is a wonder. Maybe those responsible also pulled the lever for Harold Stassen…

In 1981, Gates Brown received a vote. A talented batsman who, at his retirement, stood third all-time in pinch hits, Gates enjoyed a superlative year as a sub during the Detroit Tigers championship season of 1968.

Coming off the bench and delivering key hits time and again, Brown contributed mightily to Detroit’s pennant run. A career total of 582 hits, however, stands as far from the stuff of legend as the 119-loss Tigers of 2003 did from first place. Yet Brown shared 27th spot in the voting with five other nondescript players.

This means that some voter penciled Brown as a 10th-place selection over 17 far more Hall-worthy players. If the top nine vote-getters are excluded, which any sane person—including, presumably, the voter in question—would when making Gates his final pick on the ballot, then Brown received a vote instead of later inductees Luis Aparicio, Bill Mazeroski, Orlando Cepeda and Richie Ashburn, as well as Roger Maris and Maury Wills.

Remember, electors are chosen for their expert knowledge of the game.

Poor Bill Buckner. Never mind that he won a batting crown, seven times hit .300, and came within a season and a half of the elite 3,000-hit club—his outstanding career is forever lost in the glare of a single gaffe that didn’t send the Boston Red Sox to another cursed World Series defeat (it merely enabled the hard-luck Bosox to drop the Series the next evening).

Buckner isn’t Hall of Fame material, but his numbers—including, ironically, a solid fielding record (and the penultimate mark for assists in a season by a first baseman)—exceed that of many Hall of Famers. Yet he qualified for the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA) ballot only once, earning a paltry 10 votes, which permanently dropped him from eligibility.

Considering the ballot’s hangers-on who collect comparable numbers over multiple elections, it’s obvious that voters ignored Buckner’s 22 seasons because of one unfortunate occurrence.

Case-in-point: one-trick pony Don Larsen. Yes, that lone trick, a perfect game in the 1956 World Series, amounted to one of the most fantastic feats in baseball history. But the Hall isn’t permitted to enshrine players for a single event.

Yet Larsen received no fewer than 22 votes for 15 consecutive years. Not big numbers, but far more generous than his career totals: an 81-91 record (including a 3-21 season), a solitary 100-strikeout year, and an ERA often topping 4.00.

Even so, Larsen’s relatively hefty vote totals—entirely attributable to a spectacular moment in a lackluster 14-year career—left in the dust such terrific, if not Hall-caliber, hurlers as Jim Perry, Billy Pierce and Dave McNally.

A voter shows himself more misguided to reward a player for one triumphant effort than to punish a player for one catastrophic incident.

Such specious voting extends to Johnny Vander Meer, who was just as liable to walk a batter as strike him out. Vandy’s wildness culminated in a meer 119-121 career record—yet, thanks to his consecutive no-hitters, he polled twice as many votes in 1966 as Arky Vaughan, one of the best shortstops ever (not to mention further outdistancing Ernie Lombardi, Hal Newhouser, Billy Herman and Bob Lemon—each eminently more deserving than he).

In fact, Vander Meer, who consistently finished higher than at least half a dozen future Hall of Famers during his years of eligibility, outpaced Newhouser all eight years that they appeared together on the ballot.

Whether or not one views Newhouser as a bona fide Hall of Famer, he did win back-to-back MVPs—and nearly a third—whereas Vander Meer never finished higher than 18th in MVP polling (incidentally, the very season he tossed his no-nos—so how could writers rank Vander Meer so highly for his career when they didn’t even rank him highly for his season of glory?).

Averaging 72 votes a year, Vander Meer’s claim to fame was taken too literally by some writers.

Whether the BBWAA has always known what’s it’s doing when it comes to casting Hall of Fame ballots is debatable (it’s done a largely admirable job in recent decades). However, one can peruse the vote totals of virtually any year and drop a jaw at who scored higher than whom.

As in 1949, for example, when Pepper Martin—a scrappy hitter and, for the time, terror on the base paths—parlayed a pair of heroic World Series performances that made him a legend of the Depressed Midwest into more votes than 25 future Hall of Famers. And even though quite a few of those eventual entrants likely didn’t merit enshrinement, they undoubtedly enjoyed more laudable careers than Pepper. (Certainly Goose Goslin, Sam Rice and Zack Wheat—absolutely deserving—should have scored higher than Martin.)

But that’s the human element of the Hall of Fame, and it’s still preferable to some statistically based program like the college BCS—heaven forbid, some egghead ever devises something similar for Cooperstown…

The 2012 election likely will usher into Cooperstown several great players from among 27 candidates. And if Barry Larkin and Jack Morris, the two favorites, ascend to Baseball Heaven—or even Tim Raines and several borderline candidates—then the BBWAA surely will have done its job.

But I’ll be scanning the bottom of the ballot to see how many wayward votes went to Terry Mulholland, Brad Radke and Tony Womack. 

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This level of excitement, anticipation and heartache is generally reserved for March, but baseball has staked its claim as the most exciting sport of 2011.  

The last day of the regular season sparked the beginning of a breathtaking nine days of baseball.

Heavyweights like the New York Yankees and Philadelphia Phillies fell in dramatic Game 5 finishes, and slugging up-and-comers like the Milwaukee Brewers and Texas Rangers seized the moment and captured the nation’s attention.

We’ve encountered Beast Mode, T Plush, expletive-filled post game celebration and squirrels; and that’s just the National League.

What can the LCS possibly bring us?

Here are 7 things I expect to see when the LCS rounds start tonight with Game 1 between the Rangers and Tigers. 

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Have the St. Louis Cardinals and Milwaukee Brewers managers Tony La Russa and Ron Roenicke traded places in the NL Central’s hierarchy? Is there a new NL Central sheriff in town?  

Roenicke appears to be gaining respect in MLB circles, while La Russa seems to be losing it—even among his hometown fans. How quickly roles reverse.

Trading Places was a cult classic starring comedian Eddie Murphy of Beverly Hills Cop and Saturday Night Live fame. In the movie, Murphy portrays a street bum who gets turned into a multimillionaire by two experimenting billionaire brothers. Tell me about opposite styles.

In real life, brother La Russa was busy experimenting with his iron-fisted arguing almost every call and complaining about almost everything technique, it seems, while Roenicke was allowing his players to have fun—witness Nyjer Morgan—as long as they are producing.

Did someone say producing? The Brewers last night completed a runaway victory over their NL Central foes in this year’s division race. They had a 10.5 game lead with about 20 games left in the season.

The seasoned Redbirds’ psyche took a hit after losing two best-of-threes to Milwaukee in the first two weeks of August. Then the rest of the NL poured cooking oil on the Birds.

But, the Cardinals bounced back to pull within six games of the Brewers and about two of the Braves with about one week left in the season. The Cardinals started to look much different from the team they were four weeks ago.

At that time on the banks of three different rivers, lefty Garrett Jones’ extra-inning, walk-off home run at PNC Park on Aug. 16 all but put the Redbirds’ fire out. The Cardinals were already playing uninspired baseball, but Jones’ blast dropped them to a low psyche.

It came off the newly acquired left-hander Arthur Rhodes who has been a good pitcher in this league. It was another blown opportunity, however, by the bullpen and pointed some of the blame and most of the focus on John Mozeliak and Tony La Russa.

Their hastily revamped Cardinals fell to seven games behind Milwaukee after the Redbirds’ further fire-sapping extra-inning loss in Pittsburgh. The team’s mental focus hadn’t been the same until 9/11 weekend, when the Cardinals swept the Braves.

The Cards had won the Brewers series that week, but still couldn’t dent the standings.

Roenicke’s Brewers were in the throes of winning 21 of 25 games during their decisive run that basically clinched and dented the division around the second week in August. The Brew Crew could sip their own Kool-Aid. Only the Philadelphia Phillies had a larger division lead.

The division lead would soon balloon to double digits for Milwaukee. St. Louis was on the cusp of experiencing more major problems. After losing the must-have series with the Pirates, the Redbirds lost a best-of-three series to the lowly Cubs and got swept in three by the last-place Dodgers in St. Louis.

The boo birds started to chirp over La Russa’s head while he was in the dugout and especially when he stepped foot on the field. His alleged trying to get into the Brewers’ heads idea failed.

In a Monday night broadcast from Pittsburgh during the Jones home run series, the local announcers first claimed La Russa was complaining about the lighted ribbon around Miller Park in Milwaukee. TLR did, in fact, make the headlines for claiming the lights were brighter when the Cardinals batted. 

The broadcasters went on to say La Russa usually has evidence to back up his claims. Well, Tony, show me. I’m from Missouri, and I’ll wait.

I understand managing and waiting on 25 players is not an easy task. La Russa sees his team on a daily basis during the season. He knows what the media, fans and opponents don’t know. But, Tony Sigmund Freud La Russa should have stuck to baseball and left pop psychiatry and psychology out of the situation.

The scenario got stickier after September rolled around sooner than wanted and the Redbirds weren’t rolling hard enough. They tried to flap their wings, but they were stuck in what appeared to be bullpen mud and crud from the Gulf oil spill.

The unnatural disaster hurt Busch Stadium’s environment—empty seats and tepid turnstiles became very noticeable. The Cards drew three million fans again this year, but the local media began to question whether or not LaRussa should return in 2012.

Ron Roenicke the rookie manager could run for mayor of Milwaukee and win. Despite having more pennant-chasing and playoff experience than his Brewers, LaRussa’s Redbirds got rolled.

It was Milwaukee playing like the grizzled NL veterans while the Cardinals flailed. 

St. Louis played like they felt the pressure after Mozeliak and TLR traded Colby Rasmus—the young, left-handed, fleet-footed, smooth-swinging and power-hitting center fielder. The center of Cardinal Nation started to collapse not long after that late-July trade.

Roenicke unleashed his team’s best baseball soon after. Even after Rickie Weeks was injured, the manager’s decision to move Corey Hart to the leadoff spot kick-started their right fielder, who then began to lay down the offensive law.

Yes, there is a new NL sheriff; Roenicke and La Russa have traded places.

Contact Lake Cruise: lakecruise@att.net.

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You may have heard the Milwaukee Brewers won their first division championship since 1982 when they were the Brew Crew—29 years ago—but have you heard the Cardinals are still alive for a postseason entry?

If you haven’t, then you’d better ask someone.

The Cardinals lost to the Cubs on Friday night and handed the Milwaukee Brewers a gift-wrapped NL Central title, but St. Louis can still get it popping in the playoffs and shock their NL Central rivals.

Join me on this brief-but-entertaining ride of reasoning, on the banks of the Mississippi River, thinking about how the Cards can pull off the impossible and win the NL Wild Card.

Just don’t put the Redbirds on the grill or choke on your popcorn just yet.

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Did the St. Louis Cardinals make a mistake by extending Lance Berkman’s contract? The slugger re-upped for a reported $12 million in 2012—a $4 million raise from 2011.

The Redbirds need a closer, a second baseman and another top of the line starting pitcher if they want to win it all. So, was paying Berkman, 35, almost half of Matt Holliday’s salary their best move?

Lance will be moving to the 36-year-old age range on February 10. Maybe he’ll exchange Valentine’s Day gifts with the fans and maybe not. But, it’s been a heartwarming relationship between Berkman and Cardinal Nation.

Join me for my heartfelt analysis of the reasons why this was the right move and the best move in lieu of the spending Cardinals’ next move.

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Did ESPN analyst and Stamford, Conn. current Director of Public Safety and Public Health, Bobby Valentine, leave a piece of his heart in impressive old St. Louis? 

Known for cow towing at Mike Shannon’s with the likes of controversial umpire “Country” Joe West and praising the wonderful fans of St. Louis via KMOX, it appears he wants in and is smart enough to know how to discreetly go about it.

Since 2009, he’s reportedly been either a quiet candidate or interviewed for the Baltimore Orioles, Milwaukee Brewers, Florida Marlins, New York Mets and Toronto Blue Jays managerial positions.

Sounding like general manager John Mozeliak’s and Jon Jay’s biggest fan, Valentine’s praise of the 2011 trade deadline moves by the Cardinals was unwavering.  Bobby and Peter Gammons were the most ardent supporters of the trade.

Well, since then, the Redbirds have fallen seven games out of first place—shades of last year after the Ryan Ludwick deal.

In fact, as Bernie Miklasz pointed out in a St. Louis Post Dispatch column last Sunday, the Cardinals have been collapsing late in the season almost every years since they won World Series championship No. 10 (2006).

As an analyst, Valentine, 61, obviously realizes this.  He’s LaRussa’s contemporary and has managed against him in the Majors.

Valentine’s Mets bloodied LaRussa and the Cardinals, 4-1, in the 2001 NLCS on the way to the Subway Series against the Yankees.  Like a shark, he could be smelling blood rolling along the banks of the mighty Mississippi River near Busch Stadium in downtown St. Louis. 

Even if the bloodied but unbowed Tony LaRussa is still the skipper in 2012, he can’t manage forever.  TLR will have to depart someday hopefully very soon in the eyes of a lot of fans.

I personally can’t see third base coach Jose “The Secret Weapon” Oquendo getting a fair shake for consideration as manager of the Redbirds after LaRussa leaves.  I’d love to see Jose’s former superior on the depth chart—the great Ozzie Smith—as the manager next season. 

This probably won’t be the case.  If LaRussa gets wind of Ozzie being considered, then TLR will want to stay for as long as possible.  There haven’t been any heartfelt feelings between Tony and Ozzie for the last 15-16 years and counting.

“Count” Valentine came into the Majors as a utility player with the L.A. Dodgers in 1969.  He still reveres Tommy LaSorda and evidently Groucho Marx. 

Valentine is the manager remembered for donning a fake mustache and coming back into the dugout to oversee his team after being ejected while with the Mets in 1999.  MLB summarily fined him $5,000 and suspended him for three games. 

Here’s a summary of his managerial record in the Majors:

Starting in 1985 with the Texas Rangers, he’s managed 2,169 games in 15 seasons.  LaRussa had about 2,680 wins at the time of this writing in some 30 years a manager in the Majors. 

With a .510 winning percentage (1,117-1,072) in MLB, Valentine also trails LaRussa in this category (.535).  Valentine’s winning percentage was .534 with the Mets from 1996-2002—his last stint in the Majors.

He played during the good old baseball days of outfield chain link fences.  Valentine probably wishes those days never were; he suffered a horrible leg injury after his spikes got stuck while chasing a fly ball in Anaheim.  Largely due to the fence accident, Bobby V. retired as a player at 29 years old.

An interesting tidbit is Valentine’s relationship with former Mets general manager turned ESPN analyst, Steve Phillips.  The latter fired Bobby in 2002, but in 2009 Valentine was hired after Phillips was terminated in a scandal involving a female employee at the cable giant.

Valentine is somewhat revered as a giant in Japanese baseball lore.  He managed the Chiba Lotte Marines of the Japanese Pacific League to the Japanese Series championship in 2005.  Later that year, he led the Marines to the championship over Korea in the first Asia Series.

He was reportedly fired after conflicts with the general manager of Chiba Lotte Marines of the Japanese Pacific League.  Conflicts of interest aside, I believe Valentine would love to manage the Cardinals if LaRussa doesn’t return in 2012.

Do you, my beloved readers, believe he’d do a good job?

Comment or contact Lake Cruise at rjspann@swbell.net.

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Where does Albert Pujols rank on the all-time Cardinals list of best players in franchise history?  Keep reading, and I’ll tell you what I think. You tell me how you took it.

Pujols took another leap forward for man and womankind, St. Louis Cardinals fans. In the new Busch Stadium, he came, saw and conquered another milestone last Friday night before the disgruntled faces of beleaguered Chicago Cubs and their faithful.

By a 9-2 score, the long-suffering lovable losers from the North Side of “The Chi (shy)” took it on the chin again, courtesy of the popping bats of Pujols and the Redbirds. The crushing victory was the icing on the cake for the current baseball king of the city.

According to the Redbirds’ broadcasters, Pujols became the latest Saint Louis Cardinal to reach 2,000 hits—while wearing the historically significant St. Louis Cardinals uniform. Only certain individuals get to wear the birds on the bat, and Pujols knows it.

Hall of Fame ballers Rogers Hornsby, Stan “The Man” Musial, Rogers Hornsby and Lou Brock all wore it for most—if not all—of their MLB careers. They have their own statuettes outside of the new stadium, and Pujols knows it.

He sports the classic uniform—one of the most recognizable in all of the world’s sports—with the pride and class it deserves, and once again proved to be a much better hitter than his current batting coach.

Ouch. 

Pujols could someday be—without question—the best St. Louis Cardinals player ever.  If he isn’t already, that is. He’s not done, yet, though, most folks in the STL hope. There could be another World Series, or hopefully more, under his helmet.

It seems to me like Albert just added about as much pressure as can be to the Cardinals’ front office to keep him. They almost have to re-sign him now, right?  We’ll see. Judging by moves in the last two years, there is no telling what the brass is planning to pull off.

Stay tuned to the Laker, and I’ll let you all know, my beloved readers, what’s really going on after the season in terms of Pujols—the former baseball prince of the city. He’s quickly becoming one of the eight wonders of MLB history.

For his 2,000th career smash off against pitching in the Majors, on Friday night of the eighth inning with two outs, Albert smashed a peppery steak (RBI) double down the third base line—making the scoreboard bling for the Redbirds against the lowly Cubs. 

What was most impressive was the way Pujols sped around the bases as if it was the bottom of the ninth inning in the seventh game of the World Series—like he was carrying the championship-winning run. It’s called hustling in the Gashouse Gang tradition.

You Cubs fans wouldn’t know anything about that, I don’t imagine. Imagine this, though, as much as the Redbirds and Cardinals face one another, Pujols could end up getting his hit No. 3,000 against Chicago…this season…double ouch.

After No 2,000, I felt like the Cardinals had the painful for the traveling pack of fanatics from Illinois game in hand, and Pujols could’ve been taken out of the game. While the fans showered him with blessings, he looked like he wanted to shed tears of thanksgiving. Take him out for a pinch-runner, why didn’t the manager? 

Who knows?

The classy Cardinal he is, Pujols twice tipped his helmet, while standing at second base. It looked like LaRussa pulled a classy move, though, and ordered the next batter to step out of the batter’s box, so the fans could salute Albert even more.

How do you like it in Saint Louis? You all love it. We (MLB fans) love it. Pujols the great Redbird grinder did it with his left wrist in what looks like a cast. Ouch.

The leading man in this cast of Redbirds characters, he’s starring in an almost Hollywood career full of flavor. Lights, cameras and action to the tune of 3,000 hits could be the next feature film Pujols produces in a Cardinals uniform. 

What a shame it would be if this doesn’t happen. First Ryan Ludwick gets traded and the team’s title hopes head south for the winter 2010. Then Colby Rasmus gets run in 2011 and the Redbirds immediately loose two demoralizing games at home to lowly Houston. 

Albert’s milestone could be the spark the Redbirds need to get them going. Then Albert is allowed to walk after the season? No way, right? You tell me, I’m not a participating party.

I’m telling the world that it’s probably a party in Saint Louis for right now. I have a feeling Albert’s teammates know this could very well be his last go around in the circle of St. Louis as a Redbird. 

What a crying Cardinal shame it would truly be.

Enjoy the ride, though, with about two full months left in the season, Albert could have close to 100 more hits left in him in 2011. If that happens, then it could mean a deep playoff run for the Redbirds. Lou Brock and the rest of the living Cardinals greats will be watching.

This has been the almost great Lake Cruise reporting live from the banks of the Mississippi River close to Pierre Laclede’s Landing. Right now, as I write, Pujols is landing at about A-1 on the list of all-time best Cardinals. But that’s just me. 

 What do you think, my beloved? Meanwhile, catch me next time on the latest edition of Lake’s Pujols Papers. I’m out.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Overall, the upcoming MLB free agency class for the 2011 offseason is fairly weak.  Unlike 2010 when baseball fans anxiously watched to see where pitcher Cliff Lee and All-Star outfielder Carl Crawford would end up, 2011 will figure to be a quiet offseason.

Yet, among the 2011 free agents, one name stands out.  For the first time in his career, St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols will be on the open market.  Given how he is only 31 years old and already has a career batting average of .330, 414 home runs and 1,242 RBI, he will surely command big money.

The Cardinals attempted to negotiate a new contract with Pujols this past offseason and into spring training.  Pujols actually set February 14 as the deadline for a new deal, otherwise negotiations would end.  No deal was reached, so it’s clear that Pujols’s next contract will set a new standard for free agents in future years.

Here are 11 potential free agents whose next contracts will be shaped by the conclusion of the Pujols saga.

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Nicknames and baseball go together like peanut butter and jelly. 

There are literally thousands of different nicknames that baseball players have acquired though their careers, and we all have our favorites. 

Making a list of the top 50 nicknames is difficult, because there are some great players and nicknames that have to be left off the list.  So I guess I’m apologizing in advance if I left your favorite off the list.

Here are the top 50 nicknames in MLB history:

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According to reports by ESPN.com, “Cardinals outfielder Matt Holliday was having an appendectomy Friday and the team is unsure how long he will be out.”

While it is tentatively believed that it was caught rather early in the process and he should recover before a big chunk of the season is missed, nothing can be deemed a certainty.

This sudden bad break can be added to the growing list of hurdles being thrown in the path of the St. Louis Cardinals during the 2011 season.

First came a tough contract negotiation with Albert Pujols that ended with nothing more than an agreement to disagree until after the season concludes.

Then the Cardinals were slapped with a season-ending injury to dominant ace and Cy Young candidate Adam Wainwright—a loss that I’m not sure any contender can overcome in a competitive division race.

Next was an injury to replacement ace Chris Carpenter that had placed the beginning of 2011 in question—though it thankfully turned out to be nothing more than a tweak.

Now St. Louis must face the realization of how quickly a season can go from all smiles to trepidation, and it’s becoming more and more clear how poor a decision Pujols’ $25-30 million per year would be for the franchise.

While the Cardinals fanbase is a loyal one and the organization is one of the most respected in the sport, they remain in a “mid-market” payroll threshold. They typically hover between $85 million and $100 million in total player salaries, and this is unlikely to change in the near future.

Pujols taking up between 25 and 30-plus percent of the payroll will limit their ability to place talent around him and will leave the team even more susceptible to injuries crippling their season (due to a lack of quality depth).

Instead of paying Pujols upwards of $300 million over 10 years, they can instead split that money up into five quality pieces on a playoff-caliber roster.

A farm system ranked anywhere from 17th to 24th in MLB (according to Baseball America and AOL Sporting News) will not provide quite enough cheap aid to compensate for the lack of additional payroll, and St. Louis would struggle to compete without receiving MVP-caliber seasons every year from their 30-something slugger.

Due to Wainwright’s uncertainty in terms of 2012 performance, they will likely have to pick up Chris Carpenter’s option in order to compete—further strapping their ability to sign quality free agents if retaining “The Machine.”

This experiment has been completed before in MLB, as the Texas Rangers handed Alex Rodriguez a little less than 25 percent of their payroll in a similar situation.

While St. Louis undoubtedly possesses a larger talent pool moving forward than Texas had in 2001, the general principles of why this can create an issue rang loud and clear.

Virtually no team can lose its ace and second-best hitter while continuing to contend, but the early misfortunes of 2011 are a clear reminder how much more it takes to win than one immortal offensive force.

Holliday will return before too long, and it is doubtful that his 2011 season will be derailed by this surgery. That said, injuries like these can ruin a team when it’s so dependent on the health and success of one high-salary player.

The Cardinals should take this as a wake-up call that as painful as it will be to watch Pujols walk out the door, letting him go may be the best thing for long-term success within the franchise.

The Seattle Mariners won 116 games the year after making that same tough decision, and the Minnesota Twins have not lost a beat after trading Johan Santana after 2007.

Additionally, the Colorado Rockies won 92 games the year after letting Holliday walk, and the Florida Marlins have done well since Miguel Cabrera left town (even while getting little help from any of their young trade acquisitions).

The decision is a very, very difficult one—one that most fans will rightfully lash out against. At the end of the day, however, it is oftentimes the right decision for small- to mid-market franchises to move on.

The Cardinals have won a championship thanks to Pujols’ immense talent, but it may be time to try winning one without him after 2011.

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