Comments on: The Matt Holliday Trade More Soberly Analyzed

By: Cardinals trade for Matt Holliday | Pitchers Hit Eighth :: A St. Louis Cardinals blog

Wed, 20 Jan 2010 21:12:57 +0000

[...] can’t add much outside of the opinions already voiced at Future Redbirds, or C70 at the Bat, or Viva El [...]

By: southeast redbird

southeast redbird — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 17:10:46 +0000

Can’t see why Luhnow would be upset, I am sure he had plenty of input in who goes and who stays in trades. His job is to look for the best possibilities at the cheapest price, whether they are long term franchise prospects or trade bait. I agree with RedC the nature of the business is to hatch em, grow em and then let most of them fly away. If it wasn’t so, you wouldn’t see 29 other teams at games scouting your prospects. This what you want to do, have them come look at yours, not you go look at theirs.

I don’t think for one moment that Wallace was ever drafted to play in STL, I think he (Wallace) knew that too.

By: Alex

Alex — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 17:05:58 +0000

I hate these prospects-for-rental trades, but if there is *any* time it’s a good idea it’s when a team has close to a 50% chance of reaching the playoffs. That’s exactly where the Cardinals at the all-star break. So I think it’s unfair to call Mo a “trade em” type of GM, particularly when he has pushed Rasmus, Motte, etc. on LaRussa.

Clearly Wallace was going to be at the center of this trade. I can deal with that given that he’s more of an AL player anyway, but the secondary prospects seem like a steep price to pay.
Mortensen isn’t going to be a star, but I think he’s a safe bet to be a major league starter. There is value there. And I’ve stated in the past that I think we’ve all been underrating Peterson for a while now. We love DJ Tools, but Peterson is allegedly a pretty good runner/fielder, has hit better than Jones this year, and is younger than Jones. We should have loved him just as much as Jones in my opinion.

Oh well. It certainly will be fun to watch this pennant run over the next two months.

By: RunSup

RunSup — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 16:32:17 +0000

You have Albert Pujols in his prime right now! Would you waste the 2+ years it will take for Wallace to find his feet?

World Series victories are rare and magical. As is a player like Pujols. You have a chance to win now. You go for it and not fritter away the prime years of the best player in Cardinal history.

I say empty the rest of the farm system for Roy Halladay. Go All-In. Let Lunhow build it back up over the next 3 years. The time is now. Seize the Day!

By: azruavatar

azruavatar — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 16:01:35 +0000

“Mo on the other hand seems to be more trade ‘em than jocketty so far.”

C’mon — that’s not accurate. Rasmus, Ryan, Motte, etc. He didn’t acquire a veteran closer this offseason did he? They stuck with the kids there. They’ve used Brendan Ryan rather than immediately going after someone like Lugo once Greene was hurt. They planned on using Freese on 3rd after Glaus was hurt.

Mozeliak isn’t completely selling the system and the system is being restocked in a way it never was under Jocketty.

By: azruavatar

azruavatar — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 15:58:12 +0000

That is a good reference actually. And Monty Python =/= dork. That movie is hilarious.

By: erik

erik — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 14:49:30 +0000

it’s both hatch ‘em play ‘em and hatch ‘em trade ‘em. good teams usually do a bit of both. Mo on the other hand seems to be more trade ‘em than jocketty so far.

By: Paper Lions

Paper Lions — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 14:21:18 +0000

Actually, I think the “nature of this business” is hatch ‘em, grow ‘em, promote ‘em, win with ‘em for years.

Thank goodness Pujols came out of nowhere and made the Cardinals out of spring training with Bonilla being hurt….it would be painful to watch him all these years after Jocketty traded him for a 2 month rental of a mediocre starter.

By: RedC

RedC — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 06:53:50 +0000

Neither one of these guys is sui generis. There will be other “best pure hitters” in the draft. There will be many, many more stories of kids who are just now entering their sophomore year in high school and who no one has ever heard of. They will come and replenish what has been lost. That’s the whole nature of this business, right? Hatch ‘em, grow ‘em, kick ‘em out of the nest. Some fly far from home, others stay nearby.

By: erik

erik — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 04:33:52 +0000

Sorry, but I thought of the wizard on The Search for the Holy Grail when you let the cat out of the bag there. “My name is…Tim”

Oh, I am a dork. Ni!