One year ago, Cardinal Nation tasted the very definition of bittersweet as the team reveled in its 11th—and inarguably most dramatic and improbable—World Series Championship while also saying goodbye to Tony La Russa and Dave Duncan, the outgoing brain trust of so much on-the-field success over a decade and a half in St. Louis. Their departure set in motion a transfer of eras to new manager Mike Matheny, and on Friday another big chunk of that transfer disappeared from the Busch Stadium landscape and headed west.

As reported in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Cardinals hitting coach Mark McGwire is expected to depart for the Los Angeles Dodgers, where he will assume the same role under manager Don Mattingly. McGwire cited a desire to be closer to his family as the reason for the move.

It’s hard to know just what a hitting coach contributes to a major league team. He does not teach players to hit—they have to know how to do that before they get past Double-A. He can’t provide a magic bullet to kill a slump, or a magic potion to prolong a streak (not in this era, anyway). Certainly some combination of encouraging words, a watchful eye for changes in approach, and a general bank of knowledge to pass on to the younger generation has a lot to do with it. In the World Series film from 2011, a scene from the batting cages before Game 6—yes, that Game 6—shows David Freese horsing around a bit with McGwire and talking about his stance. McGwire tells him, “Just keep doing what you’re doing, David.” Was it a profound, Nostradamus-like vision from Big Mac? Maybe, maybe not. But it was a neat moment that perfectly framed the notion that McGwire knew what he was talking about as a coach at least some of the time. He wasn’t just the recipient of a bone tossed by La Russa, as so many surmised after the announcement of his hiring before the 2010 season.

But there was Mark McGwire the player, too, and no matter how controversial his feats as an on-the-field Cardinal were, he left an indelible mark on this great franchise in 1998. And though injuries were making it the twilight of his career, he did contribute to the playoff teams in 2000-01 that started the remarkable run the Cards had under La Russa and continue to have under Matheny. It seems odd that McGwire was in the same lineup as Albert Pujols, doesn’t it? But he was…they were teammates for Pujols’ first year as a Cardinal, and he was Pujols’ hitting coach for his last year as a Cardinal. Now that’s bookending a relationship.

And, really, McGwire did the same with the Cardinals as a whole. No one felt any closure with Big Mac after the steroid scandal broke, and we all watched uncomfortably as he painfully stood before that congressional hearing in 2005. He finally took his medicine—albeit years too late—and redeemed himself by doing his job and doing it well. He proved he deserved to be a part of the game again, and he proved he was worthy of donning the Birds on the Bat again. Both were longshots at best for almost a decade.

Maybe it is a shame that McGwire is leaving the Cardinals but still coaching. In the storybook version of this tale, he retires a Cardinal and that’s the end of it. But this is real life, and moving on to another team not only validates his desire to remain in the game; it validates the game’s desire to keep him around.

So long, Big Mac. Thanks for the memories.

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

The St. Louis Cardinals entered the final two series of the 2012 regular season with something to play for: the Second Wild Card, which would assure them a one game playoff—the winner of which goes on to play in the NLDS against the playoff team with the best record. But what if the game was still being played under last year’s rules? What would the Cardinals be playing for in these final six games?

A whole lot of nothing, that’s what.

The Atlanta Braves clinched a playoff spot on September 25. The reason it’s only a playoff spot and not the Wild Card is because the Washington Nationals have not yet closed out the National League East Championship. Regardless, without the Second Wild Card, both teams would be in the postseason already no matter how they finish in the regular season standings. Aside from some seeding still to be determined, the playoff brackets would be full and the Cardinals would be on the outside looking in. Ironically, the one thing the Cardinals could do this weekend is help the Braves keep the door open to winning the NL East by beating the Nationals. That’s actually true with or without the Second Wild Card, but this season the Cardinals need the wins. Otherwise they would be relegated to the role of spoiler at best. And after what transpired at the end of the 2011 regular season, what an interesting discussion that would spark.

Imagine the questions that would surround the team without the opportunity in front of them: Was Mike Matheny the right guy for the job? How much can injuries be blamed for the Cards’ shortcomings? Did they need to spend the money on Carlos Beltran? Are they regretting letting Albert Pujols get away? Do you think Tony La Russa and/or Dave Duncan would come back? Should other coaches on the staff be let go? What does John Mozeliak need to do in the offseason to right the ship? When a champion comes back and falls woefully short the next year, these are the types of things people talk about. Some of those questions may get asked of the Cards in the offseason anyway. But the perspective and, consequently, the answers are so different between a playoff year and a non-playoff year.

Even the roster can be drastically affected. Perhaps the Cardinals would have shut down ailing players like Carlos Beltran or Matt Holliday for the season by now. Perhaps Chris Carpenter would not have come back at all, or the Cards would have taken a page from the Stephen Strasburg files and backed Adam Wainwright off in the interest of the long-term. After all, what would be the rationale for pushing these guys after elimination, knowing they are under contract for 2013? There would be none. And we’d probably be seeing even more players from the Cards’ system up with the big club.

Last year, one of the rallying cries was “11 in ‘11,” and the Cardinals did indeed win their 11th World Championship in 2011. It also took 11 wins to get there: three Division Series wins, four National League Championship Series wins, and four World Series wins. Naturally, the fan base turned their attention to longing for “12 in ‘12” before the confetti had even been swept up from the parade through downtown St. Louis last October. The funny thing is, without the need to win a 12th postseason game created by the Second Wild Card, the Cardinals would have no shot to fulfill that longing this season. And that would really trigger some what ifs.

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

Replacing a Cardinal legend…those words could mean a lot of different things coming into the 2012 season. It could mean Lance Berkman taking over first base for Albert Pujols. It could mean rookie manager Mike Matheny replacing Hall-of-Fame manager Tony LaRussa. This article will focus on Derek Lilliquist, Cardinals pitching coach, who has the task of replacing arguably the greatest pitching coach of all-time, Dave Duncan.

Lilliquist filled in admirably during the 2011 season when Duncan had to take an extended leave of absence to help his wife Jeanine after her surgery to remove a brain tumor. Duncan had a year remaining on his contract after 2011, but it began to seem more and more unlikely that he would come back after LaRussa retired and his wife’s medical issues. On January 6th, 2012, Duncan stepped down as Cardinals pitching coach.

Cardinals fans grew anxious over the off-season, realizing just how crucial the pitching staff would be to the team’s success following the loss of Pujols. Duncan had always been able to work his magic on struggling veteran pitchers, helping them return to form and the Cardinals stay within their budgetary constraints. Duncan also had compiled 30 years worth of notes in his famous notebooks that will no longer be sitting in the Cardinal dugout. It was one thing for Duncan to be on extended leave and available for a phone call from Lilliquist. This year, he is on his own.

Lilliquist pitched in the majors from 1989 to 1996. He was selected by the Braves with the sixth pick of the 1987 draft. Lilliquist had a very successful career at the University of Georgia, where he was named College Pitcher of the Year by Baseball America after leading the Bulldogs to their first ever College World Series appearance.

He pitched in 262 games in his major-league career for five different teams: Atlanta, San Diego, Cleveland, Boston, and Cincinnati. His career record was 25-34 with a 4.13 ERA. Like a lot of good coaches (aka LaRusssa and Duncan) his playing career was nothing exceptional. However, the Cardinals saw something in him to believe he would make a great pitching coach.

After his playing career was over in 1996, Lilliquist coached high school baseball in Florida from 98-01. Then he got his chance to coach for the Cardinals.This season will be his 11th in the Cardinals organization.

Lilliquist started in 2002 coaching for rookie level Johnson City. After one year there he moved up to Peoria in 2003. One year later, he started a four-year stint coaching for Class A Palm Beach. According to the Cardinal’s team website, during those four years, Palm Beach made the playoffs twice and won the 2005 league championship. The 2005 team had the second best ERA (3.94) in the league.

After the 2007 Palm Beach season, Lilliquist became the pitching coordinator in Jupiter (Cardinals spring training site), helping rehabilitating pitchers. Then in 2011, he got his chance with the big club, serving as bullpen coach, before taking over Duncan’s duties during his leave of absence. Although there is a lot of years experience, 2012 is only Lilliquist’s second at the major-league level.

One reason fans were initially more accepting of the club hiring a rookie manager was the year Matheny would get to spend with Dave Duncan at the helm of the pitching staff. That opportunity obviously went away less than two months into Matheny’s tenure. Now the defending World Champions have a rookie manager and a pitching coach with only one year experience. Is it time to press the panic button? Not so fast….

Matheny has shown an incredible work ethic and command of the team so far in spring training. He has done a good job of mixing in veterans with young players and prospects. The daily workouts are ran efficiently and the club seems to be getting very well prepared for the upcoming season.

Although Lilliquist is getting less press, he also seems to be doing a good job of handling his new pitching duties. A lot of different pitchers have gotten extended looks and impressed so far during camp, including Sam Freeman, Carlos Martinez, Trevor Rosenthal, John Gast, and Shelby Miller. Lilliquist and Matheny have made sure the young pitchers were able to spend a good amount of time with the veterans of the staff, to watch their daily routine and learn their method of success.

The back end of the rotation, Lohse and Westbrook, have looked strong so far in camp. Adam Wainwright is pitching like a man possessed, having not allowed an earned run so far in spring training. More importantly, his stuff looks really, really good. His curveball is as nasty as ever. All signs point to a successful start for Lilliquist first year at the helm.

The games will start to count in a couple of weeks. How will he handle his starting rotation with Carpenter on the mend? How will he handle a very talented, but still fairly young bullpen? A lot remains to be seen. One thing is certain, the Cardinals have very little chance for a repeat run at a title if the pitching staff falters. Lilliquist is certainly facing his greatest challenge yet. Is he up to the task? Stay tuned.

There is a famous line in the film A League of Their Own where Tom Hank’s character says, “Crying… Are you crying? There’s no crying in baseball.” I have always remembered that line. For some reason, a slight variation of that popped into my head when I read yesterday’s Post-Dispatch article about Mike Matheny. “Sleeping…Are you sleeping? There’s no sleeping in baseball”.

Matheny was too excited to sleep before his first Grapefruit League game as a manager. He decided to pop out of bed at 3 am and was at the park a little after 4 that morning. It reminded me the St. Louis Cardinals went from the game’s most experienced manager to its least within a few weeks of winning the 2011 World Series. While it is too early for any kind of “spring training report card”, I do want to make some early observations regarding the Matheny era, and pose some questions as to what Cardinal fans should keep on their radar early in the season. After all, a two-year contract does not leave a lot of time for learning on the job.

I have generally had good feelings about the Matheny hire. Mozeliak had been grooming him for the position, and Mozeliak certainly has earned the benefit of the doubt on big decisions like this. Matheny seems to be doing all the right things early on in the job; consulting the right people, reaching out to the players, reaching out to former (and estranged) Cardinal legends. He has provided a smiling face to the media, which is certainly a welcome change.

He faces a lot of challenges as well. As previously alluded to, he does not have a lot of time to earn his stripes – losing will not be tolerated with the Cardinals 2012 roster. If the team is hovering around .500 at the All-Star break, you can bet there will be some fans calling for his job. Despite losing Albert Pujols, Dave Duncan, and Tony LaRussa, the general consensus in Cardinal Nation is that the 2012 team is better on paper than the championship 2011 team due to the addition of Carlos Beltran and the return of Adam Wainwright. There is a lot of pressure on Matheny.

Something I have encouraged people to keep a close eye on is the Cardinals first twenty-seven games of the 2012 season. After Opening Day with the Marlins, the Cardinals play twenty-six consecutive games against the NL Central (ranked the worst division in baseball). The schedule is kind to Matheny this season, as interleague play pits the Cardinals against the second weakest division in baseball, the AL Central. While that seems to be an advantage, I put a lot of importance on the early games for so many reasons, not the least of which is Matheny setting the tone for his managerial reign.

Here are a few early observations.

1. Matheny runs a tight ship. The practice schedule runs on airport time. Matheny does not round to the nearest five minutes. If you are a pitcher you better be ready for you session to start at 9:38 am, because that is when the skip has it scheduled.

2. Matheny puts emphasis on player development in spring training. Look at the number of at-bats and innings pitched already for the younger prospects in the first two games of the spring. More than that, I was intrigued at how Matheny worked the prospects into the hitting and pitching groups during the first two weeks of spring training. LaRussa seemed to have a more “show me what you can do” approach in spring training, where he got his key guys a lot of reps and let everyone else try to earn a shot. Matheny is putting a bigger emphasis on the organization’s responsibility to develop the next wave of players that can contribute at the major-league level. Could you imagine LaRussa putting Tyrell Jenkins in Chris Carpenter‘s throwing group on the first day of camp?

3. Matheny is a “hands-on” manager. LaRussa would typically watch Grapefruit League games from just outside the dugout. Matheny is inside the dugout, working and instructing the team. Matheny is out on the field throwing batting practice.

Some intriguing questions to be answered.

1. Game management

How will he use his bullpen when the games really count? What kind of pitch count will the starters be on? Will he bunt and steal? I hear mixed reports. On the one hand, I see where he is working with the team on better base running and stealing, and that he wants to better utilize the bunt and hit-and-run. On the other hand, I hear how he is going to use advanced metrics much more than LaRussa did. In Sabermetricville, bunting is a crime unlike any other….never, never, never give up outs. How will Matheny manage moving runners over in traditional sacrifice situations.

2. Handling veteran players

This, in my opinion, is his greatest challenge as a manager. He is not only managing a lot of guys close to his own age, he is managing some former teammates as well. Will he command the respect of the clubhouse or be a “player’s manager”? Is it possible for him to be both in his first year? Will the veterans show him the same level of respect they showed LaRussa. It is hard to move from a friend and a peer to a boss.

Yadier Molina‘s quote yesterday about Matheny getting to the park so early, was very interesting to me. He said, “It’s OK if he gets a little nervous. I get nervous, too, every time”. I certainly could be reading too much into that, but that is not a comment I would make about or to my boss. Again, I know it is a stretch to read anything into that one comment, but it got me thinking about the relationship between Matheny and the veteran players. If they ever get the sense that Matheny is just Mozeliak’s puppet, he could have a very hard time keeping control of the clubhouse.

With all of that being said, I do expect Matheny to be successful. I want him to be successful. He is a great baseball mind, a hard worker, a man of great integrity, and someone that cares deeply about carrying on the Cardinal Way. He seems to have enough fortitude to handle criticism and the constant questions regarding his experience.

Watching the first two games of spring did cause me to think a lot about the new manager and his role. It really sunk in that someone new is calling the shots from the dugout, and we do not quite have a blueprint for their game management style. While there is uncertainty still in so many areas, one thing is for sure…Matheny is not sleeping on the job.

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!

Nearly complete with our look around the St. Louis Cardinals we land on catcher this week.  With the absence of both Tony LaRussa and Dave Duncan, Yadier Molina’s role might be more important than any other Cardinal heading into 2012.

New manager Mike Matheny originally joined the St. Louis Cardinals before the 2000 season and stuck around through 2004, bringing great stability and defensive prowess behind the plate for St. Louis. He handed the reins of the pitching staff over to his understudy, Yadier Molina, in 2005, and the rocket-armed, Molina has been there ever since.

The four-time Gold Glove catcher Yadier Molina enters spring training this year a lifetime Cardinal seeking a long-term extension, just like Pujols a year ago. Molina is heading into the final year of his contract and he would like to stay in St. Louis.

The 29-year-old Molina, the youngest and most talented of three brothers to catch on in the major leagues, is coming off perhaps his best season. In addition to a strong year behind the plate, he set career offensive highs with a .300 average, 14 homers and 65 RBIs, then added nine RBIs in the World Series. This in addition to his handling of the Cardinals pitching staff and assault on base runners

However this season presents another challenge for Molina. One he has been able to avoid so far in his Cardinal Career.  Whether or not his contract talks affect his play will take time to tell. One thing is for certain. Molina enters this spring as the best back-stop in the National League, let alone his own division.

Geovany Soto, Cubs.  Catcher Geovany Soto slumped in 2011, hitting .228 with 17 homers, 54 RBIs and 46 runs scored.  Soto struggled with injuries early in the season and never got on track, striking out 124 times in 421 at-bats. There is still plenty of power in his bat and Soto could collect more hits in 2012. 20 to 25 home run potential.  Just know he could hit anywhere from .215 to .290 any given season.

Ryan Hanigan, Reds. Hanigan appears to be a good bet to pair in a catching tandem next season, splitting time with Devin Mesoraco.  After hitting .354 in August, Hanigan came back to Earth with a .235 average in September. With a .267 average and minimal to no power Hanigan will be fighting for his job most of the spring and regular season.

*Devin Mesoraco, Reds.  Super prospect failed to impress in his September call-up.  Maybe this will keep him under the radar, because he has all the tools to be a top 5 catcher for years to come.  He hit .289 with 15 home runs in AAA last year.

Jason Castro, Astros. Missed all of last season after undergoing major knee surgery, will miss the first part of Spring Training after undergoing surgery in December.  He hit .205 with two homers and eight RBIs in 195 at-bats in his Major League debut in 2010. Still, the injury casts some uncertainty over Houston’s catching situation entering spring camp. Castro, the club’s first-round pick in 2008 out of Stanford, is slated to be the starter next year in what would be his first full season in the Major Leagues.

Jonathan Lucroy, Brewers. Lucroy put together a fine sophomore campaign with 12 homers, 59 RBIs and a .265 average.  Lucroy went deep five times in May but didn’t show a lot of power the rest of the way. His .247 average after the break will cast some doubt on his 2012 value but regular playing time should help him.

Rod Barajas, Pirates. Playing for the Dodgers, where he started 85 games behind the plate and batted .230 with 13 doubles, 16 homers, 47 RBIs and a .287 on-base percentage. He missed nearly a month during the summer while recovering from a right ankle sprain.  A short-term commitment for the Pirates, who are hopeful that top catching prospect Tony Sanchez will be ready to ascend to the Majors in the next year or two.

Yadier Molina, Cardinals. Molina’s ability to hit for average and supply respectable power makes mixed with his superior work behind the plate means that he will continue to get as much playing time as he can handle.  In 2011 the Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina slugged 14 homers, stole four bases, drove in 65 runs, scored 55 times and hit .305. Career highs across the board.

By the time 2012 is said and done here is how I see things shaking out amongst the NL Central backstops. Here more than any other position I factored non-batting statistics and play into the equation.

1. Yadier Molina
2. Geovany Soto
3. Jonathan Lucroy
4. RobBarajas
5. Ryan Hanigan
6. Jason Castro

I received several texts, emails and phone calls in the days following the Tigers’ signing of Prince Fielder. The messages varied, but the tone was always the same:

“Now we have to go sign Roy Oswalt, there’s no way we can compete without him.”

“Now we have no reason to sign Oswalt, we can’t compete this year, period.”

“Prince Fielder and Miguel Cabrera in the same lineup? In the AL Central? This sucks.”

Yeah, well imagine you are a Royals fan that wrote this last week. Then you read that all signs point to Oswalt signing with the Cardinals. The Cardinals? Did anyone tell him that Dave Duncan left? Anyway, there was only one person that could wake me from this nightmare of the week… you guessed it, the Kool Aid Drinker.

See, the Kool Aid Drinker thinks the Fielder signing was great for the Royals. $214 million for a 275 lb first baseman that had his career high in HRs 5 years ago and his career high in RBI 3 years ago? Awesome! Prince will have 1000 games on those knees after the third game of 2012. His dad hit 1000 games, also with the Tigers, in 1999. He was also 5 years removed from his career high in home runs. He hit exactly 100 home runs from that season forward, and more than 20 just once. Sure, his dad was 4 years older, so how about another heavy first baseman? Ryan Howard hit 1000 games last season, 5 years after his career high in home runs, I guess you saw how that season ended. How about Mo Vaughn? He hit 1000 games in 1998, just three years after his career high. Vaughn played 4 more years, 2 of them productive, and had nearly twice as many strikeouts as RBI in that time frame.

Listen, the Kool Aid Drinker is not all about boring people with statistics. But feel free to check out John Kruk or Steve Balboni if you want. In fact, I think we can make some fairly simple deductions:

1. Fat first basemen do not age well
2. Prince Fielder is fat
3. Prince Fielder plays first base
4. The Royals are going to dominate the AL Central

Seriously, over the next 4 years Prince is guaranteed just shy of $100 million dollars. Eric Hosmer, over that same time, will likely make less than $20 million. Who would you rather have? In 2014 the Tigers will have a 30 year old Fielder, a 31 year old Miguel Cabrera, a 30 year old Justin Verlander, and a 35 year old Victor Martinez on the books for $83 million dollars. If you are counting at home that is a pitcher with a whole lot of mileage on his arm and 3 DHs for what figures to be 70% of their total payroll. The best part is the Royals will have control over almost all of their best players through 2014 at a much more reasonable price.

We have not even talked about defense, or the irony of Prince’s last name. A fielder he is not. Rumor has it the Tigers are planning on putting the 4th worst defensive first baseman in baseball at first base and the sixth worst defensive first baseman at third base. The Tigers should be the worst defensive team in the division, if not all of baseball. Can you imagine the hilarity of a bunt situation with Cabrera and Fielder charging? We may get some Ken Harvey humor out of this contract. By the All Star game it will be clear to even the Tigers that one of the big boys has to play DH, and neither of them wants to. That’s a chemistry builder.

Essentially, the point the Kool Aid Drinker is this: Even if the Tigers do win the division in 2012 (and I don’t think they will), they have set themselves up for failure in the future. They have behaved like far too many of our countrymen, deciding to get what they want now regardless of what effect it may have on their future. I have heard a lot about how the contract will never go 9 years because Fielder will opt out long before that, I assume the people saying that have not seen the Kool Aid Drinker’s very scientific study above. It would be pretty odd for a 295 pound DH hitting .250ish to opt out of $24 million a year, and that is exactly what Fielder will be in 3-4 years.

Somewhere in the whirlwind that is known as the 2011 St. Louis Cardinals off-season, a very key piece of the organization left the club without much fanfare. Events quickly moved from World Series parade, to Tony LaRussa’s retirement, to the Albert Pujols negotiations, to Dave Duncan’s leave of absence, to the Winter Warm Up. I can not think of another team that had so much turnover  immediately following a World Championship as the Cardinals experienced. In the midst of the flurry of off-season activity it is certainly understandable how a key move made but a small splash.

Lunhow,

Cardinal Nation barely had a chance to catch its breath from World Series Game 7 before Tony LaRussa announced his retirement. In the following weeks Albert Pujols, Joe Pettini, and Dave McKay all moved on to other clubs. Cardinal pitching coach Dave Duncan announced that he would take a leave of absence to be with his wife as she continues her battle with cancer.  When the Cardinals take the field against the Miami Marlins on April 4, 2012, Jose Oquendo will be the only uniformed coach that has been with the team since 2009.

Despite all of the turnover within the club, there is great optimism within the Cardinals front office, the team, the coaches, and a majority of the fan base at the prospects for the 2012 season. Before completely shifting focus to 2012, I want to reflect on a 2011 departure that gets less attention, but has tremendous organizational impact. On the very same night the Los Angeles Angels were finalizing a deal to sign Albert Pujols, the Houston Astros named Jeff Luhnow their new general manager.

Jeff Luhnow was the head of the Cardinals scouting and drafting department. He established a strong presence in Latin America for the team, and brought the Cardinals into a new era of player development that used both scouting and analytics.  He worked for the team from 2003 until this past December. Since 2005, Luhnow turned the Cardinals farm system from one of the worst in baseball to arguably one of the top five in the league. This was done in spite of the fact the Cardinals never had a top ten pick during any of the drafts he oversaw.

Luhnow is not a “baseball insider” that worked his way up through the ranks. He was more comfortable with spreadsheets than with scouting reports when he was hired by the Cardinals. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with degrees in economics and engineering, and earned his MBA at Northwestern University. Prior to joining the Cardinals in 2003, he worked in mechanical and chemical engineering, spent five years in management consulting, did entrepreneurial work, and served as a vice president of marketing for Petstore.com.

In the early part of the last decade, teams had to quickly adapt to the new emphasis on analytics brought about from the release of the book “Moneyball”. The book highlighted the Oakland Athletics success, despite an incredibly small payroll, using advanced statistics to find market inefficiencies in player evaluation. Luhnow was one of the early baseball analytics experts given a front office job. He was hired to make sense of the new analytics and improve the Cardinal’s international scouting. He quickly integrated database analysis into personnel decisions.

Said more simply, Luhnow drafted and developed enough talent to allow the Cardinals to win two World Series titles in six years. He leaves the club well positioned to compete in 2012 and beyond. The Cardinals can not pay top dollar for more than four or five players every year, due to being a bottom-third market city. To have Matt Holliday, Lance Berkman, Chris Carpenter, and Carlos Beltran, they must find production from young, cost-controlled players to have a competitive team year in and year out.

Beyond just analyzing numbers on a page, Luhnow implemented “bio-mechanics” within the Cardinals player development process. Pitchers were taught the mechanics, rhythm, and tempo that aid them in remaining injury free. Former big-league pitchers worked with young Cardinal pitchers on the mental aspects of the game needed to be able to compete at the highest level. Hitters worked with video not only as a means to scout opponents, but to improve their swing and approach at the plate. This does not seem to be such a big deal in 2012, but not many other teams were using video to this level in 2004.

Luhnow was hired by Bill Dewitt against the wishes of then GM Walt Jocketty. It was a front-office riff that would eventually lead to Jocketty’s departure following the 2007 season. Little did Jocketty know at the time just what Luhnow was building between 2005 and 2007. The 2005-2007 drafts produced Allen Craig, Daniel Descalso, Jaime Garcia, and Jon Jay. Also in those drafts were players used in the trades for Matt Holliday, Rafael Furcal, Octavio Dotel, Edwin Jackson, Marc Rzepcynski, as well as Luke Gregerson and Chris Perez.

There are an abundance of prospects in the system that project to be impact players: Shelby Miller, Oscar Taveras, Tyrell Jenkins, Carlos Martinez, Matt Adams, Ryan Jackson, Kolten Wong, Zach Cox, Trevor Rosenthal, John Gast, Jordan Swagerty, and Joe Kelly, among others.

As the 2012 season fast approaches, there will be a lot of new faces for Cardinals fans to get used to. One of those faces is the man hired to replace Jeff Luhnow, Dan Kantrovitz . If he performs his jobs well, Cardinals fans won’t feel the loss of Luhnow. He has big shoes to fill. Matheny has already made clear that he will place a large emphasis on advanced scouting and metrics.

Any success Kantrovitz has will be built upon the foundation of integrating scouting and analytics that Luhnow brought to the organization. Luhnow should be remembered as a key piece to a great era of Cardinal baseball. I am glad the Cardinals will not have the Astros as division foes but for another year. Although they are a very bad baseball team at the moment, I fully expect them to be a force to contend with under Luhnow’s leadership.

Being in the media room for the St. Louis Cardinals Winter Warm Up certainly presents unique opportunities for interaction with players, coaches, and front office personnel that wouldn’t otherwise be available. As a reporter/blogger/whatever you want to call it, I’ve certainly done my best to play the part as I believe it should be played: voice recorder…check; notepad and pen…check; attempt to ask pertinent questions…check. But taking pictures and videos and sharing them with the those that may not otherwise get that glimpse into the team is a thrill, too. So welcome to my Video Blog from the 2012 Winter Warm Up.

Before this gets underway, please forgive my videography skills. They are lacking, if not non-existent. Sometimes I’m too far away and the sound is faint. Sometimes I’m too close to an incessantly clicking camera. Sometimes I have my phone turned the wrong way thinking the video would rotate along with it (it doesn’t). But aside from that, I hope you enjoy.

This first video is of Chris Carpenter from Day 1. Unfortunately I was boxed out a little far from the soft-spoken (who knew?) pitcher and some nearby camera noise really infiltrates the first couple minutes of the video. But he has some great insight about the pitching staff, life after Dave Duncan, and fishing trips that include anacondas. So crank the volume momentarily for the ace of the Cards’ rotation and his media session on Saturday.

OK, turn the volume back down. Next up is Matt Holliday, and I had a much better position for his session.

On to Lance Berkman. Of course my lame shooting skills got in the way again, as my attempt to get a wide-angle video yielded a sideways video. I am an idiot. Fortunately, that only lasts about 35 seconds.

Lance Berkman is a superb interview. The guy has personality and a sense of humor that captivates the room. Enjoy.

And finally, 2011 NLCS and World Series MVP David Freese joined us in the interview room. Again I had a few logistical issues (read: I’m a horrible photographer) but overall it was a great session.

Chris Reed is covering the 2012 Winter Warm Up for I-70 Baseball all weekend. Follow him on Twitter @birdbrained.