Results tagged ‘ base ’

Corner Infielders

The two most certain positions, other than catcher, going into this offseason were first and third base. Barring a blind siding trade or injury, Albert Pujols and Troy Glaus were locks to be at each respectively. No trade was made, but injuries did happen. No, they weren’t new injuries, but rather nagging ones that finally needed repairing. Pujols’ elbow was finally deemed worrisome enough by him and doctors that instead of blowing out his arm, they got ahead of the game. No one expects anything less than full recovery, especially Albert himself. Glaus on the other hand is a different story all together. I was shocked when i read that he had undergone right shoulder surgery. The first thing that entered my head was, why did they wait so long into the offseason to have it done. But the second thing was even more daunting. Is this going to be a rerun of Scott Rolen’s shoulder woes? Lets hope not.

So who are the principles in the mix for first and third? Albert Pujols, Troy Glaus, Chris Duncan, Joe Mather, Brian Barden, Brendan Ryan, David Freese, Brett Wallace, Tyler Greene, Joe Thurston and Allen Craig. That’s a lot of names with very few of them really having a shot.

First Base is as locked up for the forseeable future as any position on any team in the majors. Albert Pujols will be patrolling his accustomed turf as always. What is in some doubt is who will give him his five games off this year. I think the likeliest competition comes from Chris Duncan and Joe Mather. Duncan has played first more than Mather and it seems to be his more natural position. Once again though, Duncan’s playing there is all predicated on his health and possible trade. Mather on the other hand is very intruiging. His versatility is extremely coveted by a manager such as Tony LaRussa. Able to play all three outfield positions, third and first makes Mather a very attractive roster guy. I’m looking for Joe to be that guy with Duncan to be sent down to Memphis to get at bats until needed or eventually traded. I could be wrong though and Chris has a great Spring raking with the bat and either making the club or traded before the season starts.

Third base is much more of an open battle. With Troy Glaus being sidelined with shoulder surgery, there are many candidates for playing time. David Freese, Brett Wallace, Joe Mather, Allen Craig, Tyler Greene, Brendan Ryan and Joe Thurston are all eager for a chance to hold down third until Glaus returns. Freese seems to be the odds on favorite to get most of the time, but Wallace and Craig are both on his heels. Freese and Craig are both natural third basemen with Wallace still improving his skills there. Mather once again shows his value by being able to play third as well. The others are more of the utility ilk. Ryan didn’t look comfortable there last ear, but then again didn’t really look comfortable any where. Thurston has played some, but once again, i know little of his skills. If Tyler Greene can show that he’s comfortable there it will go a long ways to his making the club. My pick is Freese. He’s the most polished and accomplished of the candidates and we’ll need stability and consistency at the hot corner.

Now you are probably saying to yourself, what about Brian Barden? Well in my mind, while he is an excellent third baseman, there are just too many options there to include him seeing as how i’ve annointed him the front runner for the every day second base job.

Third should be fun to watch this Spring.

Middle Infielders

Todays edition that no one will read is concerning middle infielders. Through the decades the Cardinals middle infielders have been positions of strength and stability. Then the middle 90′s came along and the one thing that has been the norm is that they have become positions of flux and rapid turnover. Gone are the days of players like Ozzie Smith and Tommy Herr, replaced with names like Caesar Izturis and Adam Kennedy. I know, both of those are gone as well, but my point is that there has been so little stability up the middle that our defense has become sporadic in these places.

Who are the candidates for this years tandems? Khalil Greene, Brian Barden, Joe Thurston, Brendan Ryan, Tyler Greene, Jarrett Hoffpauir and even Skip Schumaker.

Khalil Greene seems to be the most sure thing at shortstop. Traded for during the offseason he’s coming off a less than stellar season full of swings and misses as well as injuries. I like KG a lot. He is a very exciting shortstop that makes both the routine and acrobatic plays. If he can get back to what he did at the plate a few years ago, i think we are in store for something we aren’t used to seeing out of our shortstops. Power.

My pick for second base is Brian Barden. With the release of Kennedy a few days ago i think this has opened the door for Barden to lay claim to the position. A third baseman by trade he has really become more of a second baseman over the last year or so. The cardinals have a logjam at third in the minors and with Barden proving he can not just play second, but play it exceptionally well, he has done no less than give himself a golden opportunity. He is also a very good hitter with a little pop. Imagine getting 30 or more home runs from our middle tandem.

Brendan Ryan is most likely coming into this Spring with the knowledge of it being his last best chance to impress the Cards staff. Eratic as well as energetic sometimes can be infuriating to the powers that be. We as Cards fans love that energy and hustle. Nothing more exciting than seeing a player enjoying himself on the field with the energy of a kid, but sometimes that same energy will get you in the doghouse. Brendanb needs to learn how to harness that energy and become a more disciplined hitter as well as not over play the field. He has shown in the past that he has all the tools, now he needs to show that he can be consistent.

Tyler Greene is interesting. Seemingly stagnate in his progression for a few years in AA ball it looks as though he may have finally started putting it together last year. He’ll likeley have to show that he can play second and third with little drop off this Spring to make the club, but i am not going to put it past his ability. An excellent athlete if not the best hitter as far as average. It may well be that this is his one shot to wear the birds on the bat for the big club.

The one true second baseman that we have is Jarrett Hoffpauir. I wish i knew more about him to make a more informed assessment of his skills. I’m putting Joe Thurston in this same category. Maybe i’ll come back sometime in Spring training and be able to give more on both.

And then there is Skip Schumaker. While it has been said that he’ll get several looks at second this Spring, i think the likelihood of him playing there during the regular season is highly doubtful. I think this is a project perhaps spurred by Albert Pujols having to be shifted there for one game in late innings last year. The absolute most worst thing that could happen to the Cards is for Pujols to go down with an injury turning a double play at second. Look for Skip to only ever see, at least for this season, time at the keystone in an emergency. Time will tell if he’ll be viable there in the future.

One last note. I’m not completely writing off the chances of a second baseman being brought in as a free agent or via trade this Spring.

Not Another A-Rod Blog

With the sports world consumed by A-Rod’s admitting to the use of steroids today, i’d like to veer far from that subject. There is after all, more in the sports world and baseball specifically.

For instance, the Cardinal’s unconditional release of Adam Kennedy. In my opinion, this action is about three months too late. I understand that the game has become more of a business through the last three plus decades, but by waiting this late to release him, they missed out on a possible resigning of Felipe Lopez.

I know that they at least had a few discussions with Lopez about coming back and that he originally was looking for a multi year contract. But in the end, he signed a one year contract with the Diamondbacks. I wonder how much more likely it would have been that he would have settled for a one year contract with the Cards had Kennedy not been still with them. I guess we may never know.

Now, with this release of Kennedy, we are even more uncertain about who our every day second baseman will be. This will be basically a completely new middle infield for the Cards. Even if say Ryan wins the second base job, he’ll be working with the newly added Khalil Green. Personally, i think if we are going all out, then Brian Barden deserves as strong, if not stronger, of a look as any of the others there.

I like Barden and his defense is excellent. He also adds a little pop to the position. I think Ryan is more of a utility infielder and it may be the only way he can stick with the big club.

We also have our problem at third base as well. Until Glaus gets healthy we will need someone who can fill that position not just adequetly, but someone who may just be the future. In my opinion that future is David Freese. I know Craig and Wallace are right there too, but to me Freese has the more all around game

So many questions to be asked and answered this Spring…and it seems too little time.

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