The last thing that you’d think would rule a weekend between the St. Louis Cardinals and Colorado Rockies would be pitching. But not only was that the case, it was a historical level of pitching effectiveness. Between Shelby Miller, Adam Wainwright and Jorge De La Rosa, 21 complete hitless innings were tossed, and in the two of the starts, no-hitters were far from speculative; they were within grasp of being real.

The Cardinals took home the first two games of the series behind the masterful performances of their ace in the making and current rotation captain, before not being able to mount any offense until a very overdue Rockies lineup took control of game three. Yet, the Cardinals still won their third out of their last four series, and continue to keep a share of the best record in baseball at 23-13. Here’s three points to how they made that possible.

1.  Once in a Century Shelby: Shelby Miller, a veteran of a mere eight career starts, is beginning to make everyone take notice that the hype was well worth it. On Friday night he authored one of the greatest starts in not only Cardinal, but baseball history. After surrendering a base hit to lead the game off, he shut the door for the rest of the evening and retired the next 27 Rockies to hold down a 3-0 win. And while he didn’t join the ranks of the no-hit or Perfect Game club, but he did dominate in a way that no pitcher has since at least 1900. His nine-inning, one hit effort, with no walks and at least 13 strikeouts was a one of a kind feat that no other pitcher has done. His record improved to 5-2, and his ERA on the season now sits at 1.58, the third best mark in the Majors.

2. Weekend Warrior: Adam Wainwright is usually not one to be outdone, and he nearly wasn’t. A day after Miller’s masterpiece, Waino continued the Rockies woes by keeping them off-base until a fifth inning Todd Helton walk, a streak of 50 consecutive batters. Nolan Arenado broke up the no-hit bid in the eighth inning, which ended a remarkable shutdown streak by the two Cardinal hurlers. The 49 consecutive hitless at-bats was the longest streak in 29 years. For Wainwright, his impressive weekend work at home continued: he now has two complete game shutouts, surrendering only six hits and one walk against 19 strikeouts.

3. Against the odds: Jaime Garcia’s home dominance is well known; his 2.41 ERA entering Sunday was the best in the history at Busch Stadium III. Yet for his career against the Rockies, he has sported his worst performance against any team, with an 0-3 record and an ERA of 10.53 to drive it home. Sunday’s performance wasn’t his worst, but he caught a mixture of the law of averages coming back around (Colorado is the NL’s best hitting team on the season), as well as a couple of bad situations. Troy Tulowitzki is one of the worst batters possible catch in the middle of the perfect storm of both issues the team was facing before hitting his third inning, three run homer (0 for the series, five strikeouts). Add in the fact that Jorge De La Rosa turned in a matching performance to the two Cardinal starters the day before nearly, and it wasn’t in the cards for Garcia in finishing up the sweep.

Royals Draft The Youngest Player In Baseball History
Alfredo Escalera projected to stand out despite his young age

Press Release: FOR INMEDIATE RELEASE
Released on: June 06, 2012, 8:00 pm (ET)
Author: Globalize LLC

Bradenton, FL – The Kansas City Royal’s baseball organization announced yesterday the selection of Alfredo Escalera as KC’s number 8th pick in the 2012 First- Year Player Draft. With this selection, the Royals opted for the youngest player to ever be drafted since the insertion of the MLB Amateur Draft in 1965 based on the research of publicaly recorded date of birth of the players selected.

Originally from Puerto Rico, Escalera moved to Florida to join the IMG Academies Baseball program in 2008. At IMG, Escalera was able to excel in both the athletic and academic aspects. Escalera, a National Honor Society student got committed to attend (D1) Stetson University and was presented with several athletic awards throughout his high school years. “I am fortunate to be given every opportunity possible to show my abilities, not only at IMG where I joined the Varsity team when I was 16, but also in the Puerto Rico 18U Palomino Summer League in which I played at 15”.

Escalera’s young age seems more relevant after most MLB organizations became more aware about the benefits of drafting young talent. Last year, Dr. Rany Jazayerli presented a research study in which he concluded that the very young players return more value than expected by their draft slots. In Jazayerli’s study, he looked at the statistics and broke high school draftees up into 5 distinctive groups based on their age on draft day. Dr. Jazayerli’s define a “very young” players are those who are younger than 17 years and 296 days on draft day. Escalera was only 17 years and 114 days old on draft day. Despite the fact that the study was limited to the top 100 draft picks, its conclusion seems to apply across the board. “I truly believe that by drafting me, the Royals are mixing their highly regarded top-ranked minor league system, with my athletic ability and youth, expecting that this combination will produce an extraordinary positive results” affirmed Escalera.

The main concern when drafting a young talent is how these athletes will handle the physical and mental challenges typical of professional baseball. This does not seem to concern Escalera, a 6’2” and 175 pound who is seemingly a mentally mature individual. It is evident that when it comes to physical development, Escalera has a high ceiling to get stronger. He has a loose angular body built outstandingly fit but without a mature muscular depth. This has not affected Alfredo’s competitive abilities. At the age of 16, Alfredo achieved the highest score in the Combine 360 among all the high school Florida’s baseball players tested, and was able to be in the top 10% of all the athletes tested including those in basketball, football and tennis.

“I see some of my older peers and I get impressed because they really look big and muscular, but that has motivated me to work harder during the summer and the off season” affirmed the young player. It seems that his effort paid off, he has a low tension swing, backed by a high level bat speed which causes the ball to jump hard giving him power potential. His offensive power, speed and arm strength competes very well with other top players of the remarkable 2012 class.

On the field, his physical ability has consistently matched and commonly surpassed his older peers as evident by his accomplishment at the IMG Academy where the level of training and competition was extremely demanding.

Alfredo realized that in order to achieve his goal as a professional minor league player, it is required that the development of his already remarkable athletic skills as well as a strong mental conditioning. “Baseball is an unforgiving sport which challenges ones mental toughness in each at bat and with every play…I truly believe that I am ready to face any challenge,” stated a confident Escalera. In a letter dated last year, his Varsity Coach Jason Elias described Alfredo’s aptitude by stating that, “he understands the ups and downs of the game and handles adversity well. He understands what it takes to be successful and has the mental component of the game in his grasp”.

You can take a look at some videos of the young draft pick by clicking here.

The St. Louis Cardinals have fallen back into a bad habit they were plagued by early in 2011: giving away games.

Admittedly, it is hard to find much fault with a 16-10 start to the season. This is in no way meant to nit-pick or make up something to complain about. But when the Cardinals lose, it is often in sloppy fashion and lacking in fundamentals. That’s a big problem for a team stocked with so many veterans and in-house youngsters that cut their teeth in one of the greatest playoff runs in baseball history last year.

So let’s flash back to 2011—the bad parts, not the postseason parts we all relive over and over again on home video, DVR recordings, and YouTube. Remember the great Ryan Franklin meltdown? Yeah, that happened in 2011. Blown save after blown save led to a poor record early in the season and the eventual release of the veteran reliever and a revolving door at closer that did not stabilize until August. How about Starting Shortstop Ryan Theriot, or Colby Rasmus patrolling center field with all the enthusiasm of someone who just had a lobotomy? Sometimes watching Cardinal Baseball early in 2011 was like watching an old slapstick comedy featuring clowns instead of ballplayers.

Again, it’s far from that bad this season. But some of the same issues have cropped up again. A week and a half ago when the Cards lost their first series of the season by dropping two in a row to the Cubs, it was the bullpen coughing up the lead in the ninth inning both nights. In those two losses plus the loss to Pittsburgh the previous Saturday, the Cards were a combined 0 for 15 with runners in scoring position. They have been running into outs on the base paths. They have committed errors that led to runs, like in Friday’s game in Houston. And they have had trouble knocking guys in once they get on base. If you play your best game but lose to a team that plays just that much better, there is no shame in tipping your cap. Go get ‘em tomorrow. But these losses are borderline ugly, and definitely avoidable.

Fortunately it is still pretty early in the year and the fundamentals ship can be righted. The Cards hit better with RISP in their three losses this week, going 10-43. It isn’t a great number, but at least it isn’t an 0-fer. As regulars get healthy and back up to the speed of the game, defense will hopefully improve. And as we saw last season, any bullpen issue is fixable with the right moves.

It’s just tough to see some of these mental lapses and think, “Wow, this again?” The Cardinals are getting out of their softie, NL Central-dominated early schedule and will be playing some tougher teams real soon. They have the talent and drive to beat anybody in baseball. They just have to stay out of their own way and cut down on the dumb mistakes.

Chris Reed also writes for InsideSTL Mondays and Bird Brained whenever he feels like it. Follow him on Twitter @birdbrained.

#RIPMCA

This past week the Kansas City Royals ended a twelve game losing streak. A streak that was so bad it included a winless ten game home stand. Twelve games! That’s hard to do. The Royals have had more double digit losing streaks than any other team in Major League Baseball history! As Royals fans we’ve come to expect stuff like this, but for some reason this losing streak was especially hard to swallow.

Royals fans have been hearing for thirteen months about how their organization has the best farm system in baseball. If it wasn’t the best it was certainly near the top. This was not Kansas City media and Royals Public Relations saying this trying to make the Royals more relevant that they deserved. This was baseball experts from multiple organizations, whose job it was to opine on all things baseball, giving the Royals organization some genuine positive feedback. Since Kansas City has nowhere near the largest fan base in baseball, and thus these experts were not trying to boost advertising numbers, I have to assume that their assessment is genuine. Then you add the momentum of the first crop of prospects arriving at the big league level and playing well. I looked back to some of last season’s stories and you can see the momentum building. Royals fans, and even some non Royals fans began to buy in. I thought the days of 19 game losing streaks and other historical futility were behind us…at least for a few years. As it turned out, “a few years” was only three games on a west coast road swing.

That’s what made this losing streak so hard to take. After six years of the Dayton Moore Era this what Royals fans have? Players getting picked-off bases left and right, opponents scoring seven runs in the first half inning of the home schedule, bad starting pitching, bad bullpen, untimely hitting, and fielding lapses so preposterous little leaguers should know better? This is what the first harvest from the best farm in baseball looks like?

This losing streak certainly ran off any casual Royals fans for the entire summer. It made me and other die hard Royals fans that I know question why we are Royals fans in the first place, and whether we should remain a Royals fans going forward. The Royals have done a good job of dwindling it’s fan base over the years. It seems like in the last six months, starting with the Frank White firing, that the organization has tried to chip away at the bed rock of it’s fan base on purpose.

As soon as the Royals get back to .500 I'll turn this tag right side up. Until then it's a distress signal

I’m a firm believer that once you’re a fan of a team, you are a fan of that team for life barring contraction or moving to another city. So I shall remain a Royals fan, it’s part of my identity. However, sports franchises are businesses. The relationship between fan and organization is more complicated than just a strait business-customer relationship. There is some non-rational emotional attachment involved. You can get mad and write David or Dan Glass, call a sports radio station, complain on blogs and message boards, or tweet “You Suck” to the Royals organization. You can do all those things. In this case I’m going to treat the Royals like I treat any other business that makes me mad; complain with my wallet. If the Royals think I’m going to drive three hours to watch mistake filled deplorable baseball while paying outrageous prices for concessions they are sadly mistaken.

It’s not just the losing; it’s the losing in spectacular fashion. It’s the annoying and astonishingly misplaced “Our Time” slogan. It’s the rambunctious cheerleading in the broadcast booth and social media. Everything about this organization seems to miss the mark with me. I would be lying if I said I’m never going to go to another Royals game, or buy anymore Royals gear. But I am a scorned and bitter fan right now, and it might be a while before I do any of those things. Three wins isn’t going to solve this. An exceptional twelve games winning streak probably will. That’s the funny thing about winning baseball games, it solves a lot of problems for an organization and it’s fans. However, this organization does not have a track record of quick recoveries on the field or being progressive in reaching out to fans off the field. I don’t know why I would expect a new behavior to start now. To me, the Royals have a long way to go, but they won’t be using my time or money to get there.

HALL OF FAMER AND 13-TIME ALL-STAR GEORGE BRETT TO SERVE AS AMBASSADOR FOR 2012 MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL ALL-STAR SUMMER
Brett to Participate in All-Star FanFest, Taco Bell All-Star Sunday Events and
MLB All-Star Game Charity 5K & Fun Run Presented by Nike

Hall of Famer and 13-time All-Star George Brett will serve as the Ambassador for MLB All-Star Summer. Brett will participate in All-Star events leading up to and during All-Star Week in Kansas City, including MLB All-Star FanFest (July 6-10). Brett has been selected as the manager for the U.S. Team in the SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game (July 8), which features some of the game’s best young prospects from the U.S. and around the world. Brett previously served as the manager for the U.S. Team in 2005.  Also on Sunday, July 8, he will play in the Taco Bell All-Star Legends & Celebrity Softball Game and will be the Official Race Starter for the MLB All-Star Game Charity 5K & Fun Run presented by Nike.

“I’m excited to share the city and stadium I love with today’s All-Stars and baseball fans around the world,” said Brett. “It’s an honor to once again be a part of the Midsummer Classic and baseball’s special celebration.”

ALL-STAR CAREER WITH THE ROYALS

Brett spent his entire 21-year career with the Royals from 1973 to 1993, throughout which he accumulated 3,154 hits, 665 doubles, 317 home runs and 1,596 RBI. Brett stands alongside baseball legends Hank Aaron, Willie Mays and Stan Musial, as one of the four players in Major League Baseball history to collect at least 3,000 hits, 300 home runs and a .300 batting average over his career. He is the only player in MLB history to win the batting title in three different decades (1976, 1980 and 1990). Brett, who was voted the 1980 American League Most Valuable Player, represented Kansas City in the All-Star Game in consecutive years from 1976 through 1988. He was also awarded the American League Championship Series Most Valuable Player Award during the Royals World Championship season in 1985.

Even after retirement, Brett has continued his long-time association with the organization and is an active resident of Kansas City. The Royals retired Brett’s No. 5 in 1994 and inducted him into the club’s Hall of Fame. Five years later, he was inducted into Baseball’s Hall of Fame after receiving 98 percent of the votes, the fifth‑highest mark in history. Brett is currently in his 19^th year as the organization’s Vice President of Baseball Operations and serves as a special instructor during Spring Training. He is also an active Minor League instructor helping prospects develop.

MLB ALL-STAR FANFEST

MLB All-Star FanFest will transform the Kansas City Convention Center/Bartle Hall into the largest interactive baseball theme park in the world. MLB All-Star FanFest opens on Friday, July 6, runs through Tuesday, July 10, and provides an unrivaled experience for fans of all ages. Visitors will experience more than 400,000 square feet of baseball fun, with attractions including exhibits from the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, batting cages, clinics, free autograph sessions with former Royals, MLB legends and Hall of Famers, memorabilia and much more.

TACO BELL ALL-STAR SUNDAY

Taco Bell All-Star Sunday includes the SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game, 4 p.m. CT, and the Taco Bell All-Star Legends & Celebrity Softball Game, approximately 7:30 p.m. CT, followed by a spectacular fireworks show to cap off the evening. Now in its 14^th year, the SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game showcases many of the top Minor League prospects and has featured Kansas City’s Billy Butler (2006), Alex Gordon (2006), Eric Hosmer (2010) and Mike Moustakas (2010). Players who have competed in both the SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game and the MLB All-Star Game include Prince Fielder, Zack Greinke, Josh Hamilton, Felix Hernandez, Troy Tulowitzki and Justin Verlander.

The Taco Bell All-Star Legends & Celebrity Softball Game will feature stars from film, music, television and entertainment teaming up with Hall of Famers and former Kansas City stars immediately following the SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game. Past celebrity participants have included Jon Hamm, Jimmy Kimmel, George Lopez, Chris Rock, Jordin Sparks and Kate Upton. The game has also featured a collection of Hall of Famers including Ernie Banks, Rollie Fingers, Goose Gossage, Rickey Henderson, Paul Molitor, Ozzie Smith and Dave Winfield.

MLB ALL-STAR GAME CHARITY 5K & FUN RUN PRESENTED BY NIKE

Hall of Famer George Brett will serve as the Official Race Starter at the 2012 MLB All-Star Game Charity 5K & Fun Run presented by Nike. The charitable event, open to all ages, will take place on Sunday, July 8, on an All-Star-themed course in downtown Kansas City and will feature appearances by MLB Legends, mascots and celebrity guests. Major League Baseball will donate 100% of all net proceeds from the event to three charities supporting cancer research and awareness – Prostate Cancer Foundation, Stand Up To Cancer and the Greater Kansas City Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

The 5K, an officially timed event, will begin at 7:30 a.m. CT. Immediately following, at 8:00 a.m. CT, the family-friendly 1-mile Fun Run will begin; the wheel chair division will begin 5 minutes prior to each. All registered finishers will receive an official commemorative All-Star medal and t-shirt. All fans who sign up now via AllStarGame.com/5k can take advantage of the special early bird price of $25 (adult) and $20 (children 12 and under) for the 5K and $20 (adult) and $15 (children 12 and under) for the Fun Run. For more information, and to register as an individual or team, please visit AllStarGame.com/5k.

Tickets for MLB All-Star FanFest and to Taco Bell All-Star Sunday are currently on sale. To purchase, visit the official All-Star Game website of Major League Baseball (AllStarGame.com), the Royals official website (royals.com/2012), the Royals Box Office at Kauffman Stadium or call 1-888-FanFest (326-3378).

     For more MLB All-Star Week information, please visit AllStarGame.com and the All-Star Game Twitter account (@AllStarGame).

The winter chill has come and gone in much of the country, and it has given way to one of the greatest weeks on the sporting calendar. The teams of Major League Baseball will return to 30 palaces of green grass spread throughout the land to play a game, a game that makes the summer magical.

When we last saw this game, St. Louis Cardinals third baseman David Freese was holding one finger in the air as he rounded first base to end Game 6 of the World Series at Busch Stadium after hitting one of the greatest homeruns in baseball history.

Freese’s 11th-inning homer that October night tied the Cardinals at three games apiece before they finished off the Texas Rangers with a 6-2 win the following night.

Those heroics and magical moments have faded into memories during the winter, and the day-to-day news of Major League Baseball constantly reminds us that this is a business, and that such a huge operation is never as innocent as we all want to believe.

The National League’s Most Valuable Player, Ryan Braun, battled a steroid scandal. The greatest hitter in the game, Albert Pujols, left the Midwest to play in Los Angeles for more money than each of the three lottery winners won this week. Commissioner Bud Selig instituted another wild-card team into the playoffs and helped move the Houston Astros to the American League next year.

All of those issues take the game farther away from its traditional roots, but come the first week of April all of that fades to the background and fans will return to the ballpark for the pure joy of watching a classic American tradition play out before them.

The pageantry of baseball’s first week is fantastic. In many places, Opening Day is a day that feels unlike any other on the calendar. It’s not exactly a holiday, but there is an excitement throughout the city that life is good again. The weather will become increasingly warmer and fans can look forward to enjoying a game each day for the next six months. Some games will be frustrating, but that’s what makes the good games all the more special.

Other sports are great and each one has its special qualities. But, no sport plays every single day the way baseball does. Others have big beginning-of-the season parties, but then they play games once every couple of days or once a week. Their schedules are choppy; baseball is soothingly dependable.

A baseball season has almost the perfect balance. There is always another game following a disappointing loss, but at the same time that statement doesn’t carry enough wait to make the current game meaningless.

So, come Wednesday evening the six bad months of the year will be over and baseball fans everywhere will be able to tune in and watch the defending champion St. Louis Cardinals play the Miami Marlins in the opening of the Marlins’ brand new ballpark.

That night will likely be filled with plenty of joy and excitement because a real baseball game will be played after more than a month of exhibition games in Florida and Arizona, but the night will also be a chance for fans to take a deep breath and say, “Boy, life feels a little better now because the baseball season is back.”

There will be plenty of time to discuss all of the particulars of the game, the teams and the players. This week, however, please take a moment to step back and simply enjoy the fact that there is baseball being played.

There are a lot of issues in each of our lives, but a game of baseball is a chance to forget about everything else and enjoy life for nine innings. Don’t forget that.

Happy Opening Week, everybody.

Yadier Molina and the St. Louis Cardinals announced on Thursday that they’d reached an agreement to extend the two-time World Series Champion, three-time All Star, and winner of four consecutive (and counting) National League Gold Glove awards.  Oh, and it’s the second-richest contract for a catcher (Mauer, MIN) in baseball history.  Or any history for that matter, I suppose.  Molina will be the backstop for St. Louis from 2013-2017, and the deal includes a mutual option for 2018, when Molina will turn 36, which could make the deal worth $88MM in total guaranteed money over 6 years.

But, was it a good signing?

Like most signings, we may not know the answer to that until 2016 or 2017.  I can tell you this much, though: the list of people who like this deal include John Mozeliak & Bill DeWitt.  Obviously, Yadi Molina likes it, and I imagine Brian McCann and Buster Posey were wearing pretty big smiles when they heard the news too.  For what it’s worth, you can add me to the list–I like this deal, and I like it a lot.  (Side note: I’m betting the days of Lincecum, Cain & Posey playing together in San Fransisco are numbered.)

Photo Courtesy: Erika Lynn

$15MM is a lot of money for a catcher, there’s no denying it.  The difficult thing about quantifying that, as Mozeliak pointed out, is that this is not an offense-driven dollar figure.  For all the talk about intangibles, leadership, and clubhouse presence that a guy like Yadi brings to the team, there’s no column on his baseball-reference page for those type of things.  Sure, you can count his pickoffs, or compare his caught stealing rate to other catchers his age, but there are no metrics for the way catchers handle a pitching staff, or in Yadi’s case, handing down knowledge collected through Tony LaRussa, Dave Duncan, Chris Carpenter and others to young pitchers like Shelby Miller, and Carlos Martinez.

It’s difficult to compare apples like Johnny Bench to Oranges like Yadi Molina.  But know this: His compensation was not based on his offensive production.  Though it was a factor, his defense was the primary driving force behind the numbers in this contract, and anyone who ignores, overlooks, or tries to downplay that is making a mistake.

When you ask yourself what the Cardinals’ realisitic, legitimate alternative options were, had they not locked Yadi up long-term, you don’t find much to feel good about.  You can talk about Tony Cruz & Bryan Anderson all you want, but they’re both a far cry from bringing what Molina can to the table.  It was imperative that the Cardinals spend money for a catcher, and in my opinion, far better to spend what they did and get what they got, than the alternatives the organization faced.  To put so much on the shoulders of younger guys in the organization, or pay McCann or Ianetta free agency money primarily for offensive-production, when that’s clearly not a deficiency on this team, would’ve been mistakes in my mind.

Not to mention, whose shirsey are you going sell if you lose Pujols AND Molina to free agency within a year of each other?  There’s a lot of revenue generated there, folks, don’t kid yourselves.

The organization has not stashed the supposed “truckloads of money that they were going to pay Pujols”.  Berkman, Beltran and Molina will attest to that.  What’s more, I believe the Cardinals have been smart with these deals, and not gone long-term with guys that they shouldn’t have.  Remember, Beltran (and his new agent, Dan Lozano) originally sought a three-year deal.  Consider that now it’s only Holliday & Molina that are signed through 2017, and that Garcia just signed a deal last year.  Add to that the facts that Waino has two years to go, as does Carpenter, and that Lohse & Westbrook’s salary is coming off the books this year, and it puts the organization in pretty good shape, financially.  Also, they’re fresh off a World Series Championship, which is good for the bottom line to say the least, and that many of the other pieces to the puzzle are arbitration eligible, with a little ways to go before entering free agency, and the financial picture improves even further.

Jason Motte is scheduled to become a free agent in 2015, a year before Mitchell Boggs and David Freese, and those are the young guys who are closest to free agency.  Mo has said said, as recently as last season, that he’s not seen the farm system this healthy since he joined the organization…which was in 1995.  1995.  This Yadi deal is just one piece to a very good-looking puzzle for the long-term success of this Cardinals franchise, and I can’t wait to see where it goes from here!

The last few days have been game-changers for the St. Louis Cardinals and, really, all of baseball.

The Yadier Molina Effect
This week, the Cards signed their all-star catcher to a five year, $75 million extension. It is one of the biggest deals for a catcher in baseball history, and ranks among the top contracts ever given out by the Cardinals. The two sides completed the deal just days after Molina’s agent laid out a familiar refrain that the player would not negotiate once the regular season started. This would have all but guaranteed Molina would test the free agent market after the 2012 season.

The progression of events was becoming strikingly similar to what the Cards went through with Albert Pujols before the 2011 season, so they struck while they still could. Molina anchors the pitching staff and is the de facto on-field manager. He controls the running game like no other catcher in the league. He is a clutch hitter and a leader in the clubhouse. Losing him—especially while the departure of Pujols was still so recent—would have been devastating to the franchise.

But the deal also had a ripple effect across the league. Almost immediately, other pending free agent backstops like Russell Martin and Miguel Montero decided to stop talking with their respective teams about contract extensions. While Molina has virtually no peer defensively, a number of catchers put up better offensive numbers and will likely use the deal given by the Cards as a basis for their demands.

The Cardinals may have slightly overpaid on this deal, but that’s not uncommon when trying to keep a player in his prime off the free agent market. But it’s curious that Molina and his agent would employ the same tactic Pujols’ camp did by setting a deadline for the end of negotiations. Was Molina coached by more than his agent on this move? Was he just imitating his friend’s tactics from the year before? Or is this the new way to entice a club into pulling the trigger sooner on a deal they know they have to make anyway? Time will tell…

Another Wild Card
Also this week, Major League Baseball expanded the postseason by adding an additional Wild Card team to each league. Starting with the 2012 postseason, the two Wild Card teams in each league will play in a one-game elimination playoff with the winner moving on to play the team with the best record in the league. For this year only, the Division Series also has to be altered so the lower-ranked team plays the first two games at home and the higher-ranked team plays the next three at home because of scheduling and travel complications.

Obviously this gives all teams in the majors a better shot at postseason play. And MLB is most definitely also trying to capture more of the drama that is a one-game elimination playoff, which has at times proven to be some of the most exciting baseball of the year.

But is this a watering down of the MLB playoff system? In the last 20 years, the league has more than doubled the number of teams allowed into postseason play. Are they simply trying to manufacture drama at this point?
Once the details of the plans were released, the internet was buzzing with scenarios and “what-ifs” regarding both the past and present. For instance, the drama surrounding Game 162 in 2011 would not have existed if the new rules were in play. Both the Cardinals and Braves would have been in on the last day of the season and preparing for their one game playoff to determine who met the Phillies. The Red Sox and Rays would have been in a similar scenario over in the AL. And as we all know very well, anything can happen in one baseball game.

The flip side, of course, is that the expanded opportunity is a good thing for teams that always seem to be on the cusp but can’t quite break through. The Toronto Blue Jays come to mind. But imagine a playoff bracket with three teams from one division getting in. Seems strange, doesn’t it? Maybe it’s only strange for the teams that still can’t seem to find their way into October.

Because we all know if the Cardinals end up being the second Wild Card team in 2012, this will be the best thing MLB has ever done, right? I think I like their chances even more now…

The Kansas City Royals have been quiet this week, only announcing their slogan.  Our Time.  Well Royals fans had thought for a couple days this could be Our Time.  Until, the Detroit Tigers shocked a lot of people when they signed Prince Fielder to the 4^th largest contract in baseball history.  I thought Fielder would now be the everyday DH and Miguel Cabrera stays at first.  This week Cabrera has said he will play third.  That altered our look at third basemen quite a bit.  I doubt he plays too much third base because he defense could be atrocious.  In the American League Central and for the Detroit Tigers, all of baseball knows who is on third.  With that said we will now take a look at the American League Central third basemen.  The following statistics will give us a view of each player’s 2011 season.

The Chicago White Sox will start Brent Morel.  Who?  That was my thought too. 2011 was Morel’s first full season in the big leagues.  In both of Morel’s stints in the bigs he has shown nothing.  Morel was a solid hitter throughout the minor leagues with an average of over .300.  The White Sox have to hope Morel can regain the form he had in the minors, or he just may turn out to be another AAAA player.

The Cleveland Indians will be starting Jack Hannahan.  Hannahan has been a career back up.  He had not over 150 at bats for three until last season with the Indians.  Hannahan had 320 at bats and his highest average in 5 years hitting .250.  Obviously when you look at Hannahan stats he is nothing but a major league bench player.  Good luck Cleveland with Hannahan at third.

Miguel Cabrera is officially listed as Detroit’s starting third basement per the Tigers official website.  Cabrera is a perennial MVP candidate.  In 2011, Cabrera posted his highest batting average ever at .344.  Cabrera also posted his highest OBP ever at .448.  That is not too far from the ordinary, Cabrera is a career .317 hitter and has posted a .395 OBP.  Imagine the impact of having Prince Fielder now hitting behind Cabrera.  The Tigers offense is going to be scary.  Their infield defense may be the size of an offensive line and may post the worst defensive ratings in MLB history, but their offense will easily outweigh their defensive struggles.

The Kansas City Royals will have second year man Mike Moustakas at third.  In his second big league season, the Royals hope Moustakas can continue to grow as a hitter.  Moustakas struggled immensely in his first couple months in the big leagues.  Moustakas has struggled at every stop throughout the minors after his initial call up.  As Moustakas saw more major league pitching he began to show flashes of what scouts said could be expected of Moustakas.  Can Moustakas take another step forward this year?  For the Royals to compete in the central, he will have to take a huge step forward.

The Minnesota Twins will begin the season with Danny Valencia at third.  Valencia in his first full big league season hit .246.  A huge decrease from the average Valencia had carried throughout the minor leagues.  A career .290 hitter in the minors Valencia, take a huge step back in his first full big league season.  Valencia and the Twins hope he can become the hitter he was in the minors, but it looks like we may have another AAAA player.

Now that all third baseman have briefly been discussed, I will rank them from 1 to 5 in my point of view as to how their overall production for the 2012 season will stack up.   Well I don’t know if it is even necessary, as no one can compare to Miguel Cabrera.  Cabrera is by far and away the best player at third base.  As for my rankings, here they are.

1. Miguel Cabrera
2. Mike Moustakas
3. Danny Valencia
4. Jack Hannahan
5. Brent Morel

From my point of view, and anyone else who knows what baseball is, Miguel Cabrera will by far be the best and most impactful offensive player at third base.  Cabrera will continue to produce MVP caliber numbers and dominate all major league pitching.  It’s scary to think how much better Cabrera could be with Fielder hitting behind him.  The rest of the third basemen have a lot to prove.  Moustakas is a huge prospect for the Royals and if the scouts are right he should continue to improve.  Moustakas has a long way to go, but he should be better than the rest.