Closing Time

The jinx is not dead apparently. No sooner do I post something talking about the Cards' improved performance in the last week and that they are in line to sweep the 4 game set with the Dodgers - winning their 5th game in the process, when Ryan Franklin comes in and fails to convert yet another save chance.

After an epic battle between starters Chris Carpenter and the Dodgers Chad Billingsley, Terver Miller took to the mound to start the 9th inning. His job was to retire lefty hitter Andre Ethier, and would then give way to closer Franklin to finish off the sweep. Miller did not get the job done, and Franklin servered up the walk off to the red hot Matt Kemp.

And with that, the closer carousel will very likely spin. The odds-on favorite seems to be Mitchell Boggs, who has been off to a great start this season. Jason Motte is another popular choice, although he has had his own issues early in 2011.

Personally, I feel for Franklin. I want him replaced, but you have recognize the contributions he's made to the Cardinals for the last few years. He stepped up early on in 2009 when Jason Motte tried and failed to take on the role of closer. It is not an easy job. Franklin -- a less-than-successful starter in his career -- seemed an odd choice, and while he doesn't have classic closer stuff, you have to recognize that he's been effective in the role...even appearing as an All Star. He's kept the seat warm while the "young 'uns" developed, but the writing's on the wall now. If TLR opts for loyalty over the stark reality that Franklin might need to return to a setup role, then the crowds at Busch Stadium during the upcoming homestand may hunt him down in a scene that could be eerily reminiscent of the original Frankenstein movie.

Things are looking up.

Just a week ago, even the most optimistic Cardinals fan would have had trouble finding the silver lining to the Redbirds sluggish start to the season. The Cardinals were seemingly finding ways to lose games, and we had just witnessed perhaps the most heartbreaking instance yet -- Ryan Franklin blowing another save and Colby Rasmus turning the final out of the game into a game winning double for Miguel Tejada. Personally, I hang that one on Franklin...Rasmus has no excuse for not making that catch, but Franklin allowed two ducks with two outs. I don't completely disagree with Tony LaRussa's assertion that while Motte and Boggs are viable candidates to close in the future that they may not be any more ready for the task than Franklin is right now. But, I think I'd be a little more inclined to gamble on handing the job to Boggs to see what he can do.

After that loss, the Cardinals picked things up. They pounded the Giants in the series finale and then took 2 of 3 from the D'backs and are on the verge of sweeping the 4 game series with the Dodgers. We've also seen the bats wake up in a big way, which is very likely due to the return of Matt Holliday to the lineup. His recovery from adbominal surgery has been rather amazing, and with him back in the cleanup spot, the offense looks more like what we expected. Lance Berkman's bat has also woken up and he's hit 6 round trippers and driven in 12 runs over the last 7 days -- and is hitting .476 over that same stretch. Rasmus' bat has also continued to be hot as his average sits just below .400.

Of course, a week ago, I was saying it was far too early to hit the panic button, so the same caution has to be applied after a very good week. Both the Dodgers and the Diamondbacks are in the bottom 3 in ERA in the NL and are the two worst in homers allowed per 9 innings (although you could also point to the fact that Cardinal hitters do have something to do with those stats). The more encouraging stat is the fact that Cards have scored at least 6 runs in every game over the last 7 days, which includes a 13-8 loss to the D'backs -- the only loss in that span.

The upcoming week is a big one for the Redbirds...they return home to face the Nationals Tuesday through Thursday and then welcome the rival Reds to town for the first meeting of the year. There's no love lost between these teams, and I have a feeling that Johnny Gomes is going to find himself with a target on his back after the comments he made in response to Wainwright's injury. The Reds are currently 1.5 games ahead of the Cards and leading the NL Central. They figure to be the team to beat in the division, and this is just the first round of what promises to be a great season-long battle.

(Picture courtesy of stltoday.com, stats courtesy of fangraphs.com)

Uh Oh

If the first week is any indication, we're in for a long season. So far the Cardinals have been a mess....Starting pitching is just poor enough to lose, the closer has blown 2 out of 3 save chances, the mega star has hit into more double plays than he has driven in runs and the other super star missed the week due to an appendectomy. Not a good way to start a season in which you're already missing your co-ace due to Tommy John surgery. Indeed, it could be an agonizingly long season for the Redbirds.

Hitting the panic button on April 9 is foolish. It goes without saying that there is much baseball left to play, and there is reason to believe that this is just a team finding its legs a bit in the early going. But the Adrian Gonzalez-less Padres proved to be just as tough a match-up as they were last year, and while the Pirates aren't headed for October baseball, they are not the doormat that they have been in year's past. Still, posting a 2-4 record against these teams wasn't what even the most pessimistic fans expected.

The West Coast swing will be critical. Losing to the defending champs in extra innings isn't so much of a worry, but the way that the Cardinals lost is. First there was another blown save by Franklin, and that was followed up by some shoddy defensive play. They committed 3 errors, but none more costly than Albert's drop of Brian Tallet's throw that would have completed an inning-ending double play. It isn't a good idea to give a team more than 3 outs in an inning, and the Giants took advantage when Aaron Rowand's two out single drove in the winning run. This could have been a game that signaled the start of a turnaround for the Cards -- they had battled to stay in a game and scored more than 3 runs for the first time this season. This was a win that had the potential to carry over to the next couple of games and help the Cardinals right the ship, but instead it was another frustrating loss by a team that really should be better than this. Matt Holliday is supposed to return this weekend, so hopefully he can shake the effects of abdominal surgery quickly and help put a little punch back in the lineup. It's early, folks....not time to hit the panic button just yet, but the fact that we're mentioning the panic button this early into the season isn't a good sign.

There have been some bright spots early on.....

1. Cobly Rasmus - He's hitting .348 out of the two hole (and has an weighted average of .423). The walk rate is up and the strikeout rate is down. An even better sign? He's started every game this season and hit in the same spot in the lineup every game.
2. Allen Craig - Called on to help fill in for Holliday, Craig may have earned himself more playing time. He can fill in for Berkman in right and spell either corner infield spot if needed. He's driven in as many as Albert (4) in 8 fewer plate appearances, and has stolen 2 bases on top of that. His only hitting .238 (weighted average is .275), and aside from a propensity to strike out, he's been a plus for the birds.
3. Jaime Garcia - It's only one start, but striking out 9 while only walking 2 in a complete game shutout was a nice boost after the Cards had dropped their first two games of the season to the Padres. With his second start coming in spacious AT&T Park against a light hitting Giants offense, he might be able to post a second quality start. With Matt Cain starting for the Giants, getting a win will be difficult given the Cardinals' struggles on offense.

And some not-so-bright spots.....

1. Pujols - Hitting into double plays, committing errors, leaving runners on base. These aren't things you think of when you mention Albert's name, but that's what we've seen so far. Pujols is truly one of the all time greats, so as with the whole team, it is far too early to worry. Not even the best player in the game is immune to a cold streak, so the turnaround is coming. But right now -- tough to watch.
2. Ryan Franklin - Hardly a dominant closer on his best days, but two blown saves and an ERA of 6.00....not what you want from your closer. He's averaging 3 HR per 9 IP -- also a concern. It is very likely that LaRussa and Duncan are going to have to turn to another option if/when Franklin hits his annual late season slide -- if not long before.
3. The Offense - 3rd lowest number of runs scored in the majors (behind the 1-6 Rays and the 3-3 Dodgers -- although the Dodgers were postponed on Friday and have played one game less). They've produced 4 runs exactly once in 7 games, and that was last night's loss to the Giants. They are striking out more than they are walking and have the 3rd worst batting average in the NL. Switch to weighted batting average and this is the worst hitting team in the NL. Losing Holliday certainly hasn't helped, because no one's pitching to Albert. But then again, he hasn't done much with the pitches he's been able to hit.

Today is a new day, and the Cardinals can turn things around by beating Cain and the Giants. After they leave the Bay area, the Cardinals face the D'backs, who split two games with the Rockies and dropped a series to the Cubs before handing the Reds their first loss of the year last night. Arizona has the type of pitching that can make mediocre hitters look good, so if the Cards can take the next two from the Giants and head to the desert with a little confidence, things might look a bit better in a week's time.

(Stats courtesy of Fangraphs.com. Photo courtesy of stltoday.com.)

A New Season

Baseball is back...and as always it feels good. The opening week of a new season is always one of my favorite times of the year. This year opens with a somewhat bittersweet feeling for me. This past January, we said goodbye to my grandfather, and I can't help but think of him as a new season gets underway. I can still remember going to the old Busch Stadium in St. Louis to root on the Cardinals. They were a good team when I was a kid and my grandfather was always as big of a Cardinals fan as there was. He and my uncle were in attendance when the '82 Cardinals took game 7 of the World Series, and for years, my sister and I would sneak into his bedroom to look at the ticket stubs from that game that he had taped to the mirror. I still have an old Coke that he bought for me after that game. No idea if it is worth any real money or not (I'm guessing yes, since it has never been opened), but it would take a pretty lofty sum of money to get me to even think of parting with it.

But of all the great memories I have of the time I was fortunate enough to have with my grandfather, perhaps my favorite memory comes from the 2006 World Series. My passion for the Cardinals had faded a bit over the years, until I made a trip back to Busch Stadium for the first time in many years. This was 2005, and it was the final season for the old stadium. For a long time, this was the only stadium I had known, and was the benchmark for all other parks. I had never been to another major league park until I was in college when we road tripped to see the White Sox and Yankees play at the new Comiskey Park in 1994. Later that same year, I made my first trip to Wrigley. I've since been to Yankee Stadium, Fenway Park, Coors Field, Great American Ballpark, Miller Park and the Metrodome (and, of course, the new Busch Stadium), but I've never been to a place that brings back that magical feeling the way old Busch did. That trip in 2005 rekindled the fire, so to speak, and the Cardinals were all of a sudden a team I followed again. Good timing, I guess, because it was the next year that they shocked the baseball world by winning the '06 Series.

As much as I enjoyed watching that playoff run, what made it truly special were the emails that I traded with my grandfather as the Cardinals won each game. I'm 38, so while I'm far from "old" I do remember a world without the internet and a personal computer or 3 in every house. My grandfather grew up during the Great Depression and was a WWII vet.....reading emails was not something he picked up from his peers. But he learned how to use it because it gave him an easy way to keep up with his grandkids. His emails were priceless. Names were not his strong suit -- and even though I know he played it up to get a laugh out of me, he probably had no idea that it took me a solid 30 minutes to figure out who "Escusian" was (that'd be Juan Encarnacion) and I had to text my uncle to find out that "Chug Chug" was Yadier Molina. While I had a few good laughs reading the notes he'd send, I knew at the time that this was going to be one of those things that I'd remember fondly for the rest of my life. He was so excited after the Cardinals won it all that he went out and bought a Cadillac after they won. For Christmas that year, I got him a customized name and number t-shirt with #2 and "Papa" on the back (that was our nickname for him). I only got to see him wear it once or twice, but my uncle told me that he wore it quite a bit when the Cardinals were on TV.

I could go on, but I think you get the point. I've decided that as a small token of respect for him that I'm mostly a Cardinals fan for 2011. The Cardinals are trying hard to make that seem like a really bad decision at the moment. 4 games in, and they haven't scored more than 3 runs in any game. Pujols might be playing his last year wearing the birds on the bat, Ryan Theriot is being sold as a defensive upgrade over the departed Brendan Ryan, Wainwright is out for the year with Tommy John surgery and Matt Holliday is out with appendicitis. You wonder what's next, but then again, it might be better to not have to find out. It might be a long season. But, even if this turns out to be a terrible team, I won't watch a game all season where I don't pause for a moment and thank my grandfather for helping to teach me to root for this great franchise and love this great game. And wherever he is, I'm sure knowing that will bring a smile to his face.

Hail to the Cheaters!

Something really bugging me on the eve of College Basketball's big dance. Every year, seems like at least one big name baseball player is caught using performance enhancing drugs, and it is almost like the nation spins into crisis. The game is tainted, we can't trust the record books, civilization as we know it may cease to exist. But year after year, big name college programs get caught breaking the rules and at least half the people out there spend their time making excuses for the players, coaches and programs. I don't get it.

It is such a maddening double standard. Cam Newton spent most of last season under a cloud of suspicion, but yet somehow the officials determined that it was his Dad that was at fault and Cam could continue leading the Auburn Tigers towards a National Title. And just before playing in their BCS bowl, several Ohio State players were found guilty of violations -- but instead of handing out proper and fitting punishment and keeping these kids out of the bowl game, they're suspended for the first 5 games of the 2011 season. A few weeks ago, we learned that Jim Calhoun will be suspended for a few games next year for recruiting violations, yet there he was last night celebrating a victory in the Big East Championship game and talking about the "other stuff" as if it were a legitimate hardship. And then there's Jim Tressell, who will sit out two games next year for violations.

It is a separate conversation to discuss whether or not you agree with all of the rules and regulations that the NCAA places on sports programs. Certainly, and in spite of what most programs and the NCAA would like you to believe, universities wouldn't place the importance that they do on football and basketball if there wasn't money to be made. And you could argue that the free education that many players don't really value (or take advantage of) is nowhere near enough compensation for what the schools get in return for exploiting these kids. It's not a black and white issue to be sure.

But what is black and white is that time and again, coaches and players break rules that are documented and for the most part, we turn a blind eye to the issue. Worse yet, when it is a "big school" that is likely to bring lots of fans to a bowl game or a tournament, the punishment is hardly swift. If Ohio State were playing in a the Motor City Bowl instead of a BCS bowl, don't you wonder what would have happened to those players? And if UCONN weren't a big cog in the best basketball conference in the country -- on the verge of a possible tournament run -- do you think Calhoun would have been let off so easy? And Newton -- what a mess. I think one thing that bugs me more than any other is the way these kids are taught that as long as you're good at a sport, you can escape consequences. Do you really believe that many of these athletes that take money or cars or clothes are so naive that they don't understand that they are breaking the rules?

The classic excuse -- Oh, every program is a little bit dirty -- just smacks of B.S. You know, if I'm driving on the interstate and start driving 85 because I'm passed by 3 cars doing at least that -- I don't think the state trooper that stops me for speeding is going to accept that defense. And it may well be that the 65 mph speed limit we have in Illinois is too low and it should be 75, or 80 or whatever. That doesn't excuse the fact that I know it is 65 mph and if I decide to drive even 66, then I'll have to live with the ticket that I might get.

We've set such a dangerous precedent in our sports minded culture that if you can do amazing things in a sport that you're above the law. We have more examples than we can count of players that want you to believe they are honorable citizens, but prove the exact opposite with their actions. But make it to a Super Bowl and it's "He's put his life in order and learned from his mistakes." Unless, of course, you're a baseball player that has used steroids or HGH....then I'm not sure the chair is punishment enough.

I'm as sports obsessed as anyone and the NCAA tournament -- the first two rounds especially -- are perhaps my favorite sporting event of the year. I'll still be filling out a bracket and entering a pool and I'll still be parked on my couch Thursday through Sunday watching basketball like my life depended on it. And, I'll still be excited next September when the weather starts to get a bit cooler and college football is in full swing. And I'm already eagerly anticipating opening day on March 31, even though it's likely to feel more like football season here in Chicago. But each year, it gets just a little bit harder to live with all of the behind-the-scenes stuff that we know is there but try to ignore. We did that in baseball, and look at how that has turned out.

Like It's 1991....

If there is one thing in life that can dominate my brain to the same extent that the approaching baseball season currently is, it is a new album from R.E.M. I'll spare you the recap of their career that feels obligatory when you're about to talk about a new album from the 2000's era of the band's career -- and I'll also dispense with my attempt to prove my chops as a true R.E.M. fan. Let's just say that I've been captivated to one degree or another by almost everything the band has done since the lightbulb when off for me during that family vacation in 1988 where a cassette copy of "Life's Rich Pageant" and "Document" played endlessly in my walkman and I finally understood what several of my friends had already figured out. That to my 15 year old sensibilities, this was a band that would change and ultimately shape my view on the world. Truth be told, it was actually a Warren Zevon album, "Sentimental Hygiene" that had me going back to re-listen to the cassette that a friend had made for me.

But never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that the band that held my attention like no other...that had me saving every dollar I could muster to head up to the mall and buy all of their albums...that had me trying to learn to play guitar just like Peter Buck...that had me trying to decipher the meaning of lyrics like "man ray kind of sky" and "shoulder's high in the room"...would still be making music that I'd want to listen to when the calendar turned to 2011. And that I'd feel like that 18 year old freshman at Eastern Illinois University that begged a friend from the dorm to drive him the 16 miles over to Mattoon, Illinois to the closest record store to buy "Out of Time."

But here I am, 38 year old, a dad and supposedly responsible adult who is looking for any excuse to grab the ipod to listen to the new R.E.M. record on. I haven't truly hated any record they've ever made -- even "Around the Sun" has its moments -- but it has also been a long time since their music has stirred my emotions the way I think "Collapse Into Now" is at the moment. I say *think* because I do recall that my initial reaction to "Reveal" wasn't completely dissimilar, and over time, that one has faded for me. "Accelerate" was a breath of fresh air for all of us longtime fans, but -- though I love that record -- there are a few songs that are pretty thin and don't hold up a few years on. "Collapse", though, feels like one that will stick.

"Discoverer" is a perfect track to kick things off -- it has the same aggressiveness as "Living Well Is the Best Revenge", and the minute you hear Stipe chime in with "Hey Baby / This is not a challenge / It just means that I love you as much as I always said I did", you can't help but smile. It's one thing to make a comeback album like "Accelerate", but it's quite another to keep the momentum going. Things get even better with "Uberlin" and "Oh My Heart", which instantly sound like the R.E.M. of the 90's without feeling like cheap rip offs. "It Happened Today" follows and might be my favorite song on the set. Of course, if this truly is the best album that R.E.M. has made since the late 90's, my favorite song on the album will be subject to change on a daily basis for the next few weeks. Unlike any of the post-Berry albums, there isn't a bad song on the album, though "Me, Marlon Brando, Marlon Brando and I" does come a little closer than any of the other songs.

As with "Accelerate", the band has the good sense to fight the urge to make this an overly long album. I really hate the trend that started with the CD and has grown worse in the digital age -- that bands feel the need to give you quantity over quality. The result is that there are very few albums that come out that capture my attention the way some of R.E.M.'s classic albums did. "Collapse" is a tad longer than the previous album, but at just over 40 minutes seems fairly brief by today's standards.

I used to worry that R.E.M. was no longer making the kind of albums that everyone seemed to want to talk about. It bugged me that they had gone from that band that you liked to be cool to that band that it was cool to hate. I felt like you always had to talk in caveats when discussing their recent output -- "Yeah, it's no (fill in your favorite album here) but it is still not bad." As I listen to "Collapse", it strikes me that I'm not thinking about the fact that this is their best post-Berry album or their best in probably 15 or 16 years for that matter. I'm not thinking about the fact that both Stipe and Buck are over 50. I'm not thinking about the fact that this may or may not be as good as whichever album is your favorite. I'm simply thinking about the fact that even if they aren't quite what they were in 1991, they are still a pretty great band and this is a very good album.

Thanks for reading....

(There are so many reviews that are more worthy of space than mine.....a nice way to sample what real critics are saying is to check out Metacritic here).

Personnel Matters

Something that seems to impact the fan much more than anyone else involved with a sports franchise is the subject of player movement. Every fan has her or his favorite player(s) and when that guy leaves your team, it can be almost like losing a family member. Sometimes it is a case where a player no longer fits with a teams plans. Other times, it is the team that doesn't fit the players plans. Or it might be that he is too old to keep playing at a level where it is worth putting in the work. Or maybe it is the club telling him he is too old. Regardless of the situation, it is a topic that is hitting close to home for two of my favorite teams at the moment.

I chose "A Spot of Red in Cubland" as the title for my blog because I'm a Cardinals fan that lives in the Chicago suburbs. But I also liked it because it made a subtle reference to my favorite team in the English Premier League, Liverpool FC (sometimes referred to as "the Reds" because of their red uniforms)...a team and sport that has come to dominate my sports interests during the offseason in baseball.

It is Liverpool where I take us for the first "crisis" involving a player. A quick primer on how player movement works for those of you that don't follow the EPL. For the most part, player movement is restricted to the transfer windows. The window starts at the end of one season (usually mid-May) and runs through August 31st. A mid-season window also opens for the month of January. During the window, teams are able to bid on players whether they are under contract or not. If the player is currently out of contract, then the club only needs to agree to terms of a contract with the player. More often, the player will still have a valid contract, so first the front offices of two clubs need to agree on a transfer fee, and then the club buying the player needs to agree to terms on a new contract for the player. There are variations on this, of course, and would take much more space than I want to use to cover, so for now I'll just refer you here for a more detailed breakdown.

Liverpool is a storied club in English Football, but things have not gone well after the club finished 2nd to Manchester United in the 2008-09 season. Instead of building on the promise of that campaign the club saw its two American owners (Tom Hicks - the guy who also tried to bury the Texas Rangers - and George Gillette) saddle the club with a huge amount of debt. Instead of using the proceeds from the sale of some top players to fund the signings of suitable replacements, the cash went to pay down the debt. Again, the topic would take a lot more space than I intend to spend to do it justice, so you can read about Liverpool FC's history here. A season and a half of sub-par football followed, a popular but somewhat poloarizing manager was "sacked" and eventually the club was sold to New England Sports Ventures, the owner of the Boston Red Sox. Early season struggles left the new owners with no choice but to replace new manager, Roy Hodgson, with LFC legend Kenny Dalglish. After a few rough matches, Dalglish got the team rolling, and the team's best striker, Fernando Torres, seemed to be regaining the form that had been largely missing for over a year as the player battled injury and was forced to play in a style that clearly didn't suit his strengths. Three straight wins, and fans were seeing the club climb the table (standings). The club also looked to be bolstering their attack by adding striker Luis Suarez from Dutch club Ajax. But news of Suarez' signing was followed by rumors that EPL rivals Chelsea had placed a bid on Torres that had been turned down. This was met with plea from Torres for LFC to at least negotiate with Chelsea.

Liverpool fans were outraged. How could "El Nino" want to leave just as things were turning around? He had professed his love for the team, for the fans and even said that he was proud that his kids would be raised as "Scousers" - a term used to describe someone from Liverpool. Now, he was looking every bit the mercenary as he not only wanted to leave, but wanted to join a West London club that has seen much success in recent years, but was short on the type of true history that is the source of pride for many Liverpool fans. Again, for those of you that don't follow the EPL, Chelsea would be like the late 90's Orioles or the '97 Marlins. An owner (Russian billionaire Roman Abromowich) that will spare no expense to build a winner, and splashes out huge sums of cash in the process. Notice I didn't compare this to the Yankees -- the reason being that the Yankees, for all their financial muscle, have been the "Damn Yankees" for much of the last 100 years.

So off Torres went, but the new owners proved they aren't like the old owners. In addition to Suarez, LFC also brought in Newcastle United phenom Andy Carroll. All of a sudden, the Reds were looking like not only a team that had averted disaster, but had also gotten a bit younger in the process. Torres is nearing 27, and the clock is ticking on his days of being a top striker. Both Suarez and Carroll are in their early 20's. Ironically, Torres' first match for Chelsea was against his old team, but the storybook quality of the tale ends there -- for Torres. Liverpool turned in one of their most resilient performances of the season, and scored the game's only goal just after Torres was taken off in the second half. That Torres has yet to play an "El Nino" type game wearing Chelsea blue is a comfort to LFC fans, but the pain still remains that a beloved player didn't want to stay our club. In the weeks since his departure, Torres has explained his reasoning, and shown some respect for Liverpool -- both the club and the fans. But his words and respect will never change the fact that he is now the villain.

Turning to the world of baseball, spring training is officially underway. While this is typically the time of year where I start dreaming of sunshine, warm weather and Opening Day, there is also a sense of dread surrounding the Cardinals. After a disappointing 2010 campaign, the team is looking to rebound. The rotation looks to be as good, if not better -- Wainwright and Carpenter are still there as co-aces, 2010's surprising rookie Jamie Garcia looks to build on a great season and Jake Westbrook was resigned to be that solid #3 or #4 starter. If Kyle Lohse can be simply serviceable, this rotation might be as good as any rotation outside of Philadelphia, where they can boast 3 1/2 aces (Halladay, Lee, Oswalt, Hammels), or San Francisco, where the strength of the rotation carried the Giants to a title. The lineup looks to be improved as well....Lance Berkman comes in to add some firepower to the 1-2 punch of Pujols and Holliday. Ryan Theriot may not be the most exciting player in baseball, but he's the perfect type of player for a Tony LaRussa team. Colby Rasmus is another year older, and hopefully will continue to improve (and be allowed to improve by TLR).

But that cloud hanging over the Cardinals as Spring Training opens is Albert Pujols' next contract. He won't be a free agent until after the 2011 season, but there's little doubt that many of the club's moves over the last few years have been to convince Albert that the Cardinals are committed to building a good team around him. The problem with taking that tact, however, is now apparent...the club has big money invested in Holliday and Carpenter. Wainwright is nearing a time when he'll need to be resigned, and the farm system, while improving, has yet to become the NL version of the Minnesota Twins, where you simply plug in a guy from AAA and never see the difference.

Pujols is the best player in the game, and the Cardinals have used that image to sell a lot of tickets over the last 10 years. More than any other player in baseball he IS the face of his franchise, and now that we're past his self-imposed deadline, he claims there will be no negotiations regarding an extension until after this season is in the books. He wants to be paid like the best player in the game, and is using the A-Rod deal as his model.....$300 mil over 10 years is what it will take. The Cardinals have made offers and if reports are to be believed, they are giving Albert a choice between the average annual value of the contract and the length of the contract.

Intellectually, I understand the Cardinals' position....Pujols is 31, and in the post-steroid era it is rare to see a player get better as time passes. Pujols' is a "leave it all on the field" type of player, and I can't help but think of Larry Bird during the last few years of his career when I imagine what Pujols will be when he's my age (38 as I'm writing this). In truth, while he's still putting up numbers that seem to cement his spot among the game's legends, I think most Cardinals fans recognize that he has slipped slightly as he's moved into his 30's. So you can understand why the Cards' brass wouldn't want to tie up that kind of money over that long of a period.

I can also understand why Pujols is holding firm to his desire to be paid like the best in the game. How many dollars has Bill DeWitt, Jr. made on Pujols' back? When Pujols comes to bat, the stadium stops. Everyone watches. Pujols tshirts and jerseys outnumber those of other players at least 2-1. Most don't expect him to really sign somewhere else, but the fact that we've passed the deadline and didn't even see signs of progress has me preparing for the day when Albert is playing somewhere else. In my heart, I don't believe it will happen, but you just never know how these things will turn out. I never thought Fernando Torres would leave Liverpool for Chelsea, but look how that turned out. I still think something gets done during the season. As the calendar turns to May, I think Mozelik calls Pujols' agent, floats a few numbers, finds the common ground, and the deal gets done. Ok, maybe "hope" belongs in there more than "think".

Finally, we also saw the retirement of Jim Edmonds last week. He's been gone from the Cardinals for a few years now, but had signed a minor league deal before spring training in hopes of earning a bench spot. As things got underway, he found that he simply could not be the player he wanted to be, and decided that it was time. I'm glad that he is able to retire as a Cardinal. To be honest, during most of his tenure in red, I was more focused on my other favorite team (the Yankees), but I've always marveled at Edmonds' knack for stepping up when the stakes were at their highest.

So for now, I'm simply looking forward to the season. I'll worry about Pujols when it's time. I'll count the days until that first spring training game is shown on MLB.tv, prepare for my annual fantasy baseball draft and look forward to the start of another season. I'll also spend my weekend mornings keeping up with my soccer addiction and hope that Liverpool can continue their recent form and possibly rise as high as 4th (which would qualify them for the Champions League), and pettily hope that it comes at the expense of Chelsea and their new #9. I'm tired of worrying about this player or that player and where he'll be next season, so I'll just do the one thing that always gets you through the heartbreak....I'll enjoy the games.