Kuzul

The show goes on in Philadelphia. Jimmy Rollins will be back after signing a three-year deal with the Phillies, along with a vesting option for a possible fourth year.

Rollins, No. 11, will make a reported $11 million annually for the contract to play with the team he’s been the starting shortstop the past 11 years.

So what can we expect from J-Roll the next few years? Maybe some more J-Roll moments. He’s had many already.

Here are the 11 greatest moments of the Phils $11 million/year shortstop, from the past 11 years. 

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Jimmy Rollins has agreed to a three-year deal with the Phillies, according to Jerry Crasnick of espn.com. The deal is said to be worth around $33 million with a fourth-year vesting option, according to Jim Salisbury of csnphilly.com. 

The Milwaukee Brewers were among other teams who were in the running for Rollins, but Crasnick himself stated, “Brewers made an offer, but he ultimately wanted to stay home.”

Rollins, who is 33 years old, hit .268 with 16 HR and 63 RBI last season. He has spent his entire career in Philadelphia, and Phillies fans will be satisfied to see him stay put.

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Chicago White Sox GM Kenny Williams is in dire need of a dictionary this Christmas.

It seems as if Williams needs to learn the meaning of the word “rebuilding”.

When it comes to that word, you’re either rebuilding or you’re not. Trying to go halfway doesn’t cut it. So why is Williams insisting on going off half-cocked on the White Sox this winter?

Earlier this week, Williams announced that the rebuilding had begun, moving Sergio Santos to Toronto for pitching prospect Nestor Molina. Okay, now where are the follow-up rebuilding moves?

You know, the trades involving contracts that pare down a bloated payroll and replace expensive players with younger more reasonably-priced talent? Because that’s what rebuilding is, Kenny.

Just days after his rebuilding pronouncement, Williams had this to say to Scott Merkin of MLB.com.

You know, if we have some guys have some bounce-back years and go back to their career norms, yeah,” said Williams of his team’s chances to contend with Detroit in the American League Central as presently constructed. “Mostly, if a number of things happen offensively, continued growth at third base and second, [Alejandro] De Aza continues to play the way he ended the year, and along with the obvious bigger names.

Wait a minute. What happened to the start of rebuilding? When are those big expiring contracts like Carlos Quentin, Gavin Floyd and John Danks going to be converted to talent for the future?

Williams said the following.

We will all have answers to that in the upcoming weeks and months. It’s still a work in progress, but I wouldn’t anticipate anything major unless the opportunity presents itself to add impact, young 0-3 [year]-type players. But if that doesn’t manifest itself, this just isn’t the time to make wholesale changes.

Now I’m really confused. We’re rebuilding, but we don’t want to make wholesale changes.

That’s akin to rebelling while not trying to make any waves.

Is Williams arrogant enough to think he can make questionable moves one day under the guise of rebuilding and not make obvious moves in the name of remaining a contender?

I only buy the Santos trade if it is the tip of a rebuilding iceberg. If that’s the rebuild, then it makes even less sense than when it went down Monday. The White Sox were looking to get younger and cut payroll. To do this, they traded their 28-year-old closer—who was set to make a million dollars in 2012—after resigning a 33-year-old set-up guy to a 2012 salary of $3.75 million.

Congratulations, Kenny. You got five years older in the pen and spent $2.75 million more to do it. I’m wrapping your dictionary as we speak.

Maybe Williams isn’t in an ego-driven mission to have his cake and eat it too. I have to believe that some of the trade candidates are moved before opening day this coming spring. Williams is just trying to maximize the value he gets for what he is putting on the trading block.

It had better be the case, because what Williams has accomplished right now is not rebuilding.

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Just as the Marlins were coasting enthusiastically through the offseason, wining and dining, and recently signing closer Heath Bell to a lucrative deal, they were dealt the usual blow when the US Securities & Exchanges Commission (SEC) opened a probe Friday investigating the controversial stadium deal green-lit by the City of Miami and Miami-Dade County. 

Usual you say? 

Why of course. The Marlins have gotten used to the highs and lows since their inception. They began as a thriving franchise with booming attendance numbers in 1993 but not even two seasons in and MLB grew dark as part of a players strike in 1994. This caused the attendance figures to never even come close to the over three million achieved during the inaugural season and with continuing mediocre play for these figures to get lower. 

Then a savior for the “Fighting Fish” was the 1997 season which saw the ballclub make strides and finally make it .500 and finally make it to the postseason. The end result was a World Series title after a pulse-pounding walk-off by Edgar Renteria in extra innings. The joy and spike in attendance was short-lived when the Marlins underwent a firesale in the offseason. 

The Marlins were left limping in standings the following seasons and bleeding fans as they pushed for some sort of hope for funding for a new ballpark. They were sold twice (by Wayne Huizenga in 1998 and again by John Henry in 2002) and hit a new low in 2002 when attendance was a mere 813,118 for the season. 

The Marlins finally breathed new life and got back on the saddle in 2003 when they won the World Series. But again failure to get a ballpark deal hurt them and caused a “Market Correction” in 2005. Just when it looked like the Marlins were going to relocate, they got hope of finally getting a ballpark in South Florida. 

After getting approved for a ballpark deal, former Philadelphia Eagles owner and local car dealer Norman Braman tries to stop it from getting built. Such fight by Braman caused the ballpark to ultimately delay its opening from 2011 to 2012. 

Just Another Usual Blow 

Now in 2011, the Marlins just fresh from formally transitioning from the Florida Marlins and making serious pushes for elite free agents are being sough after by federal authorities. 

According to The Miami Herald, the SEC is demanding financial documents dealing with the nearly $500 million in bond sales in addition to records of campaign contributions from the Marlins to local and state officials. 

Furthermore, the SEC is requesting that minutes of meetings between government officials, owner Jeffrey Loria, and Commissioner Bud Selig and the records of Marlins finances since 2007 be delivered by Jan. 6. 

While this looks like a blow to the Marlins plans in free agency, the ballclub came out with a statement today addressing the situation and how it affects their plans. 

From Joe Capozzi’s conversation with team VP PJ Loyello: “It will have no affect whatsoever on our roster plans,” said via text message by Loyello. 

From the Marlins themselves: “Yes, we are aware of the investigation that the SEC is conducting on the issuance of the county’s and city’s stadium and parking bonds. Of course we will fully cooperate with the SEC’s investigation as needed and assist in whatever way possible. Because this is an on-going matter, it is not appropriate to comment further.” 

Best and Worst Case Scenario 

At the moment, the Marlins say they are fully committed to staying the course and if they offer money the free agents will come because at the end of the day regardless of anything that happens down the road (from the teams standpoint) they are guaranteed of that salary. 

If this investigation turns sour for the Marlins, this could be a similar but yet different situation that soon to be former Dodgers owner Frank McCourt endured when dealing with finances of the team during a divorce with his wife, Jamie McCourt. 

Fans shouldn’t fear for another firesale because Major League Baseball will prevent it from happening by taking over operations like they did with the Los Angeles Dodgers. 

If Major League Baseball were to somehow ouster Jeffrey Loria in the wake of the investigation if it should come out that there were illegal doings, it can actually prove to be a good thing for some fans who just outright despise the owner for moves he has made (trading Miguel Cabrera and coming out with less than favorable logo and uniform schemes). 

If he should fail in his pursuit of the Dodgers, fans could see Mark Cuban throwing his hat in the ring for ownership of the Miami Marlins. 

Yes, its something fans would see as a savior for the franchise, put a fans’ owner in charge. However, first and foremost the best case scenario is that the investigation doesn’t derail the Miami Marlins goals and from the plan to finally be a competitive team every season.  

The last thing fans need is for this to have an effect on the teams performance on the field and for a scandal to be the headline for the Marlins with a brand new identity just establishing itself on the scene.  

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The Red Sox are purging themselves after blowing their playoff hopes with a huge wild-card lead.

Forget about the most recent World Series wins in 2004 and 2007 that reversed “the curse.”

Forget about all the positive steps the Red Sox have made in the past 10 years.

When a team doesn’t win, the pointed fingers jab in all directions; there’s always someone else to blame. 

On your way, Terry Francona.  Purge, purge. 

New is better.  Fresh, unattached, clean, and inspiring.  Welcome, Bobby Valentine. 

Valentine? He has been chosen as the fresh face in Beantown who will ensure Red Sox fans that wild-card leads will never be blown again?

It seemed as though Valentine’s career as a baseball analyst for ESPN would keep him surrounded by the game without being in the game.

Before getting overly critical of one of baseball’s most trademark people, let’s break it down as to why Valentine isn’t a good fit for the Red Sox. 

Managerial Skills: Valentine knows as much as anyone about the game of baseball, which has been demonstrated by the insightful comments he made as an analyst.

However, he’s not the best manager.  In his 15 years as a coach in the MLB, Valentine’s record was 1,117-1,072 (a win percentage of 51).  He won the NL pennant one time, and never finished first in the division. 

It’s hard to gauge a manager’s success because it’s up to players to execute wins; nevertheless, a good manager is able to motivate a mediocre team and lead them to victory. 

Coaching in Japan, Valentine led the Chiba Lotte Marines to a Japan Series title, but coaching in the MLB is much different, style-wise. 

Volatility: Unlike Boston’s most-recent manager, Francona, Valentine has an explosive personality and isn’t afraid to let people know what’s on his mind. 

Boston and its fans will provide Valentine with plenty of feedback—most of which will be negative—from the moment he walks into Fenway Park. 

Valentine is semi-prepared for criticism after the bleacher chatter he experienced in New York, but Boston will be his most challenging city to manage in. 

But Valentine won’t hesitate to counter any negative criticisms that arise in his first season as Red Sox manager, which will just intensify it all. 

Player Relations: Whether it’s due to their dislike of Valentine, or their immense love for Francona, Red Sox players aren’t being very receptive of Valentine.  ESPN’s Buster Olney elaborated on the players’ reception of Valentine:

“As Valentine emerged as a managerial candidate, some Red Sox players have been upset; they’ve been grumbling to each other, through texts and phone calls.  Maybe it’s because they heard Bobby critique their play on the air.  Maybe they haven’t liked his tone.  Maybe they haven’t liked his smile.  Maybe they’ve heard bad things.”

Whatever the reason may be that the players are not being receptive of Valentine, it’s a problem, not only for team chemistry, but especially with Valentine’s unfiltered personality. 

Carl Crawford and Josh Beckett will start off on a bad foot with the 61-year-old manager.  As an analyst, Valentine criticized their play.

According to the Boston Herald, Valentine made a snark about Crawford’s outfield play, saying, “I was probably a little faster, at least a half-step faster, than Carl, maybe a full step.” 

Of Beckett’s slow-paced pitching approach, Valentine commented, “That’s a half-hour added to this game of him standing around, and us sitting around, watching him do nothing.”

While these aren’t the most offensive things to be said, the cynical light under which the players view Valentine will not set the team off right.  Valentine will certainly address these comments with the players, but it’s not going to win him any brownie points in the clubhouse. 

Loyalty: This is an extension of Valentine’s volatility.  He seems to be unable to maintain his loyalty to his team and the front office. 

In his first stint in Japan with the Chiba Lotte Marines in 1995, Valentine was fired due to a personal conflict with the team’s general manager.

Then there was the “Whartongate Affair” in which Valentine allegedly made cynical comments about Mets players and the organization to the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business. 

To top off Valentine’s career with the Mets, his incendiary relationship with general manager Steve Phillips caused Phillips to fire Valentine after the 2002 season. 

And that’s where Valentine closed his career as a manager in the MLB—fired due to a crumby relationship with a general manager. 

So after a 10-year hiatus from the MLB, here he is. 

Wrap-Up: Valentine is one of the greatest living figures in baseball.  He knows the game better than most and has a true desire to win. 

However, his personality is not fit for Boston, and the critique from Bostonians won’t be good unless he lives up to the high expectations of Red Sox fans. 

So, in that respect, the fans’ expectations determine all. 

He’s a guy with a good sense of humor (who could forget his return to the dugout in disguise with a mustache after being ejected in the 12th inning in 1999?) and a good heart, but he’s not the best fit for Boston. 

Welcome to Beantown, Bobby.  Don’t get too comfortable.

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There were high expectations by the Cincinnati Reds front office for Mesoraco in 2007 as they drafted him 15th overall in the MLB amateur draft. Coming out of Punxsutawney High School in in Pennsylvania, scouts had projected Mesoraco as a 20+ home run hitter with the skills to stay at the catcher position for the long haul. The one weakness that they saw was a long swing at times which would lead to a low batting average. 

Mesoraco’s first professional season was a disappointment. In 40 games of rookie ball, he only managed a .219 batting average and one home run over 155 plate appearances. 

As Mesoraco moved up through A and A+ ball over the next two years, the results were still disappointing. Mesoraco was battling nagging injuries over these levels and it really showed as he only hit 17 home runs in 691 plate appearances. Expectations where slowly dwindling for this once top prospect. 

It all turned around for Mesoraco in 2010 as he tore through A+ and AA ball to finish the season one step away from the show in AAA. The power potential that the scouts had spoken of was finally showing as he hit 26 home runs over the three levels while batting .302. Mesoraco improved on defense as well, upping his previous years’ percentage of players caught stealing from 30 percent in 2009 to 41 percent in 2010. All signs were looking good for the 22 year old.

2011 was the real litmus test for Mesoraco as he would start the season in AAA and prove he is the catcher of the future for his young, up-and-coming franchise. Mesoraco did not disappoint one bit. At the highest level of the minors he put together a spectacular season. In 499 plate appearances Mesoraco had a .289 batting average, 52 extra base hits (15 going yard) and a solid 83/52 stikeout/walk ratio. 

In September of the 2011 season, Mesoraco was placed on the Reds 40-man roster and called up to the major leagues. 

How Devin Mesoraco Can Affect the Cincinnati Red’s Franchise

If not for veterans Ramon Hernandez and Ryan Hanigan having solid years in 2011, Mesoraco could have gotten the call earlier in the season. It is probably for the best that he was able to have a full season in AAA to get more experience and prove that he was ready to contribute to Reds offense. 

Two years removed from a spectacular 2010 season where they won the NL Central with 91 wins, the Reds will be looking for a rejuvenation in 2012 to get them back to the playoffs. Mesoraco could be a key contributor in this process.

In 2011, the Re’s offensive output was down in all categories across the board. The young players on the team just simply could not put up the numbers that had led them to 91 wins the previous year. With players such as Joey Votto and Jay Bruce leading the charge, we should see a revival of offense in 2012.  

One position that played average, but not great, was the catcher position. Veteran catchers Ramon Hernandez and Ryan Hanigan split time at the crouch position and put up mediocre numbers. Hernandez finished the year with a .282 batting average and 25 extra base hits while Hanigan hit at a .267 clip and only 12 extra base hits. 

With Mesoraco’s power numbers improving and his patience at the plate getting better, we should see better numbers out of the catcher position immediately. At 23 years old, Mesoraco has the opportunity to fit right into the middle of the Reds lineup and produce. It would not be a surprise to see Mesoraco hit 15+ home runs with about a .280 average in 2012.

With another consistent bat to help Votto and Bruce, plus the improving efforts of other young players like Drew Stubbs, Yonder Alonso and Zack Cozart, the Reds should have a competitive team for years to come. 

Best Outcome: Mesoraco becomes a staple in the middle of the Reds lineup in his rookie year and maintains that role for years to come. He consistently puts up 20+ home runs and 75+ RBI with a solid average. Mesoraco makes two or three All-Star games and helps in an effort to lead the Reds to multiple playoffs. 

Worst Outcome: Mesoraco cannot handle major league pitching and shows a large increase in strikeouts over a full season. He is eventually removed from the catcher role when Yasmani Grandal reaches the majors. Mesoraco ends up floating around the majors as a backup player with some power.  

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The Astros have finally been sold and that means two things for the team and the fans.  First it means that Jim Crane is going to make sure that our payroll is near the bottom of the league.  More importantly it means that the Astros are moving to the American League.  There is an upside and a downside to everything but there should be more upside.

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It remains to be seen whether Bobby Valentine will be the next manager of the Boston Red Sox, but one thing is certain: If Larry Lucchino and Boston’s ownership group are looking for a guy who knows how to bounce back from a tough year, this is their man.

Valentine was one of baseball’s top prospects in the late 1960s. The Connecticut native with sprinter’s speed headed west to USC and was the fifth pick (by the Dodgers) in the ’68 draft. Big things seemed in store when he was named Pacific Coast League MVP after batting .340 with 14 homers and 16 triples at Triple-A Spokane in 1970. A shortstop, he was the heir apparent to Maury Wills in Los Angeles.

Things didn’t go quite so smoothly. Valentine started out slow in the big leagues, partly due to torn knee cartilage sustained playing touch football, but seemed to be hitting his stride after being swapped up the freeway to the Angels.

A month into the ’73 campaign the 23-year-old had his average at .302 and was taking time off from shortstop to fill in for an injured teammate in the outfield when he ran back to the wall in pursuit of a Dick Green fly ball.

What happened next was a baseball equivalent of the Joe Theismann injury, with the vinyl fence at Anaheim Stadium playing the role of Lawrence Taylor.

As Sports Illustrated later described it: The ball missed Valentine’s glove by an inch, and his leg drove into the vinyl between the two support poles so that the tarp first yielded, then ensheathed his calf like a vise before flinging him back to the ground with a grotesque bend in the middle of the shin.

The incident fractured both of the bones in Valentine’s lower right leg, and he spent nearly six months in two different casts. When the second one was removed, doctors discovered that the bones had knit poorly—leaving an 18-degree bend between his knee and ankle.

Valentine had two choices: suck it up and learn to play in pain, or spend 13-16 more months undergoing surgery and leg reconstruction with screws and plates.

“In my mind,” he told SI, “to go with their plan meant not to be a ballplayer.” Doctors gave him a few months to decide, and by spring training he was jogging and ready to play. Valentine had a huge lump on his knee, a constant limp and his speed was gone. But he played 117 games anyway, batting .261 in his transition from superstar prospect to fringe performer.

Over the next five years he did whatever he could to stay on the roster—eventually playing every position but pitcher—and wound up getting into nearly 400 games on one good leg for four different teams. He knew adversity, but didn’t know how to quit.

In that regard he had a lot in common with his father-in-law, former Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher Ralph Branca, another guy who wore No. 13 and had been dealt a tough blow by fate (in Branca’s case, it was giving up Bobby Thomson’s “Shot Heard Round the World” that clinched the ’51 pennant for the Giants over the Dodgers). Imagine the late-night discussions those two had.

Nobody would have blamed Valentine for limping away from the game, but he loved it too much and wanted to help others succeed at it.

As manager of the Rangers and Mets, and in two stints skippering teams in Japan, he was not always loved by his ballplayers, but he was respected for his intelligence.

Peter Gammons, who has worked with him at ESPN during Valentine’s recent stint as an analyst, calls him, “One of the most brilliant men I’ve ever met.”

Cocky and at times abrasive, he rubbed many people the wrong way. He also could explode with the best of them, and wasn’t afraid to sit down under-performing players. 

Clearly this is one guy who would not let pitchers get fat and happy on beer and wings. He fought too hard to stay in the Show to let others give less than their best.

Terry Francona had a sterling reputation as a nice guy and a “player’s manager” who preferred letting others get the bulk of the attention and credit.

Valentine enjoys being in front and saying what he feels, even if players won’t want to hear it. And with a roster full of stars that could use some shaking up, Bobby V. may be just what Larry Lucchino and Red Sox ownership feel they need.

SAUL WISNIA is a former sports and news correspondent for The Washington Post and feature writer for The Boston Herald who is now senior publications editor at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. He has authored, co-authored or contributed to numerous books on Boston baseball history, including his latest — Fenway Park: The Centennialhttp://amzn.to/qWjQRS. His essays and articles have appeared in Sports Illustrated, Red Sox Magazine, and The Boston Globe, and he shares Fenway reflections in cyberspace athttp://saulwisnia.blogspot.com/. Wisnia lives 6.78 miles from MLB‘s oldest ballpark in Newton, MA, and can be reached at saulwizz@gmail.com or @saulwizz.

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Mets fans have been running to message boards for the last two weeks to vent their frustration with Mets ownership and the approach the organization has taken in the Jose Reyes “sweepstakes”.

Most fans demand that the organization do whatever it takes to keep Reyes at Citi Field while other fans don’t see Reyes as a part of the future. To those fans, Reyes is a symbol of an era in the team’s history that is infamous for underachieving and monumental collapse. It’s hard to disagree with those fans.

Reyes supporters see him as the premier leadoff hitter in baseball. A player who brings the type of explosiveness and energy to a lineup that simply cannot be replaced. It’s hard to disagree with those fans, too.

The real question Mets fans must ask themselves is: Does re-signing Jose Reyes improve our chances of winning a World Series? I do not believe that it will.

Now before I am attacked by the Reyes supporters, give me a few minutes to explain. My call for Mets ownership to let Reyes go is not without a plan in place. Re-signing Jose Reyes for say, five years $100 million would tie up $20 million a year in a player that has not helped take this team to the next level since he’s been here.

Since Reyes came on the scene in 2003, the Mets have made the playoffs just once. Just one playoff appearance in eight seasons. Reyes is commanding an average salary of $20 million. Albert Pujols will most likely land a contract that pays him between $24-25 million a season. Pujols has played with the Cardinals for 10 years and delivered seven playoff appearances, three trips to the World Series, and two rings. It makes a hell of a lot more sense for the Cardinals to hold on to their premier player then it does for the Mets to hold on to Reyes.

Now you may be saying that it isn’t fair to compare the two. I say that they are most definitely comparable. They are both going to command superstar salaries. Salaries that will effect the teams flexibility to upgrade other areas of the team for years to come. It is up to the Mets to walk away from the negotiation table and move on from Jose.

If Jose had a resume that was even HALF of Pujols’ I would re-think my stance, but it isn’t remotely close. I will never deny that Reyes is a fun player to watch but Mets fans need much more than a dancing bear. Mets fans need a winner and the numbers just don’t support a case for Reyes in that department.

Earlier I said that I would not suggest cutting Reyes loose without a plan. The plan is as such. Letting Reyes walk will net the Mets two solid draft picks. The value of those picks could change with a new CBA agreement but nonetheless the picks will most certainly put the Mets in slot where two serviceable prospects can be obtained.

Go into next season with all intentions of moving David Wright at the deadline. Wright has been a good soldier but his resume is the same as Reyes’. As a Mets fan, you love to hear Wright being quoted that he wants to be part of the solution but the bottom line is that the Mets are in a transitional phase. A transition that will not be complete until Wright is nearing the end of his prime.

With the way that Wright’s contract shakes out, the Mets will probably only be able to grab one decent prospect from a desperate team at the deadline. Similar to what they received for Carlos Beltran from the Giants.

So now you have just received three prospects for two underachieving athletes. Not so bad.

Next up is Johan Santana. If Johan comes back healthy and effective, believe me I understand that this is one giant IF, the Mets need to do whatever it takes to move him for a prospect or two. Yes, they will probably have to eat a large portion of his contract, but as was the case with Beltran the more money you eat the better prospect you will get in return.

Now we are up to four prospects for two underachieving athletes and one that has just had rotten luck since joining the team.

Team those four prospects with Zack Wheeler, Jeurys Familia, Matt Harvey, Wilmer Flores, Juan Lagares, and Jenrry Mejia. That is one impressive farm system. A farm system that can produce the type of players that will most certainly contend for a World Series in the near future. Plus, add in the draft pick they have this season as well as the one they’ll receive for what is most certain to be a trying 2012 season and the Mets are on their way.

I understand that most fans won’t agree with this approach and that’s fair but stop and ask yourself this question first: Do you honestly believe that holding on to Jose Reyes is the key to winning a championship?

For those of you that say yes, I beg you to try and remember the past eight seasons and come back to me then. For those of you that say no, I thank you for shedding the New York sports fan mentality and getting on board with the road to recovery. It may be a long road, but as Mets fans; do we know any other one?   

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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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