I'm pretty sure I know who just farted.
The Cardinals won the Matt Holliday sweepstakes, much to the chagrin of every other team in the tight NL Central. They traded a good 3B prospect, an outfielder, and a pitcher for the former MVP candidate. So what are the implications of this trade? Find out after the jump.
First, my Cubbies are done for 2009. Not only did we out-think ourselves in the off-season, but we got outmaneuvered during the season. Now Mark DeRosa is a Cardinal (AAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!), along with the best hitter on the trade market. And we’re stuck with Milton Bradley as our albatross. Way to go, Hendry. The Cards can hoist their pennant right now if they want. They already had the two best pitchers in the division in Carpenter and Wainwright, and now they have the two best hitters as well. Their outfield looked ok before, and now it looks loaded with four genuine starters that will have to split time. And now that DeRosa is healthy, their lineup as a whole looks great. It will probably look like this:
1. Schumaker 2. Rasmus 3. Pujols 4. Holliday 5. Ludwick 6. DeRosa 7. Molina 8. Ryan/Lugo 9. pitcher; with Ankiel mixed in.
Secondly, the Cardinals just proved to Albert Pujols that they are committed to winning and that he should stay put when his contract is up. I’m not sure this is the best move for that, or is even necessary though. The Cards can, and have, won during his tenure (see 2006 World Series). And the 3B prospect that they traded is pretty sick supposedly. I’m not sure why he would want to force their hand to make a deal that only gives them a half season of Matt Holiday. But that’s mitigated by two things: One, they genuinely have a shot at the World Series this season now, running away with the division and just topping the Phils in pitching while barely trailing them in hitting. And two, if they somehow retain Holliday after this year, though there’s little chance of the Cardinals being able to pay him what he can get on the open market, they will contend for the next several years.
Thanks for making this trade happen, God. What? GM John Mozeliak made the trade? Oh. Well thanks anyway.
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Comments
How did you decide that Wainright and Carpenter are the two best pitchers in the NLC? There’s really know way to prove who is better than who, but I think that you should mention Wandy Rodriguez. He has a 1.54 ERA in his last 5 starts, and he’s been solid all season long.
Also, how do you know that the Cardinals will win the pennant because of one trade? Holliday could take a line drive to the face tomorrow and be out for the season. Also, he’s only batting .286 and DeRosa is batting .261 on the season and .172 since becoming a Cardinal. Those aren’t “pennant winning” numbers. The Cardinals have a good chance to win the NL Central (I agree), but they aren’t the only team who has a chance to win it, especially in such a close division.
Twan, Carpenter has been possibly the best starter in baseball when he’s been healthy, and we wasn’t injured for long. Wainwright routinely goes into the 8th inning. I like Wandy, but he has to prove it fo a season before I believe it (plus, he’s your number 2 starter). As for your stats, it’s long been proven that batting average is overrated. Both of those guys produce runs. Just look at their season statistics last year, that’s all you need to know about both guys. As for the Cards chances, they’re already in the lead for the pennant and just got WAY better. End of story.