GOODBYE AND GOOD RIDDANCE

Wow. Derrek Lee to the Orioles.

Can't say I'll miss him.  .318 against the Cards, including .417 off Jeff Suppan, .391 off Kyle Lohse, .333 off Dennys Reyes and .310 off Chris Carpenter.  Then there are the 12 homers, half of which were hit off Supp; including .306 in St. Louis.

Back in 2003, Lee won the World Series with the wildcard Marlins, knocking out the Cubs in the Bartman Game.  Two years later, he was traded to those same Cubs with the idea that he could make up at least a little of what Sammy Sosa had done.  Against the Cardinals, he did.  He added to the Cards-Cubs rivalry by stacking up the stats above and providing a mini-rivalry with Albert Pujols in 2005.

In 2005, Derrek Lee was the only player that stood between Albert and his first batting title.  Lee finished at .335, while Pujols had .330.  Lee also robbed Pujols of a closely-contested Gold Glove and the Silver Slugger awards in 2005.  Of course, no one can keep pace with Pujols, and the rivalry only lasted a season.  But the fact that the Cubs had a good first baseman naturally pitted the two against eachother.  But now, he's gone.

In Lee's first two seasons with Florida, the Marlins lost 100 or near 100 games.  In 2003, they won it all.  The Orioles lost near 100 games last year.  We'll see what he's done with the place in late June.

EM'S FOUR 2011 HALL-OF-FAMERS

Well, the Hall ballots are due today, so...

Normally, you wouldn't even get this far in a fan site Hall of Fame post.  Everyone does one.  But I think the difference here is that 1) I am a new-ish baseball fan and have never seen any of these guys play.  I can go off of reputation and statistics and be objectionable since I don't think any Cardinals should go in this year.  2) I think that if you took PEDs, you're done.  Sorry if you wanted to see votes for McGwire, but neither I nor the writers will pick him.  3) I personally believe that you need to have been to the Hall at least once to appreciate how exclusive it really is.

Anyhow, these are my guys:

Roberto Alomar
One of the greatest-fielding second baseman ever.  He is in the top 40 in stolen bases all-time, being successful 81% of the time.  His career average is .300 on the nose and he scored 1500+ runs.

Tim Raines
Fifth all-time in steals, and was successful 85% of the time and scored 1500+ runs.

Fred McGriff
493 homeruns, plus 10 in the playoffs and 1500+ rbi.  Plus he really sounds like he did it all clean.

Jeff Bagwell
Said the other day he was clean.  I believe him.  And with numbers like a .297 career average, 449 homers and 1500+ batted in, you have to let him in.

There they are.  I was on the fence about Edgar Martinez.  I guess his numbers just didn't quite push him over the edge.  But if ever a DH belonged in Cooperstown, it's him.

Mark McGwire, Rafael Palmeiro and Juan Gonzalez don't get in because they're cheaters.  They have the numbers, but they are fake anyway.

I guess you could sort of make a case for Bert Blyleven with 287 wins and 3701 strikeouts.  As weird as it sounds, I wouldn't put a borderline guy like him in.  Maybe I'm wrong, but the guy has been on the ballot for years.  Same with Jack Morris.  Good pitcher, but Hall of Fame?

I like the kind of player Don Mattingley was, but he just doesn't belong with Baseball's Greatest.  I like Alan Trammell too, but he shouldn't be in either. Lee Smith is third in all-time saves, but he will drop out of the top 10 now that closers are used even more.

John Olerud and Barry Larkin where good but not great, and everyone else just filled out the ballot.

Happy New Year!

THE STEROID ERA'S SHADOW LOOMS OVER THE INNOCENT

If you go around the internet today, you will see all the writers making their picks for the 2011 Hall of Fame ballot, which will be announced on January 5.  One of this year's first-timers, Jeff Bagwell, recently was interviewed by ESPN's Jerry Crasnick. Bagwell stated his case:

"I never used [steroids], and I'll tell you exactly why: If I could hit between 30 and 40 home runs every year and drive in 120 runs, why did I need to do anything else? I was pretty happy with what I was doing, and that's the God's honest truth. . . .

"I wasn't trying to do anything crazy. I hit six homers in the minor leagues. Six home runs. I hit 15, 18 and 21 in Houston, and then I hit 39 in 1994 when I started working with Rudy Jaramillo and he helped me to understand my swing and I actually learned how to hit. And I was like, 'I don't need anything more. I'm good. . . .'

"I know a lot of people are saying, 'His body got bigger.' Well, if you're eating 30 pounds of meat every single day and you're working out and bench pressing, you're going to get bigger. You can go to every single trainer and they'll say, 'He was the first here and last to leave, and that dude worked his ass off. . . .'

"So much has gone on in the last eight or nine years, it's kind of taken some of the valor off it for me. If I ever do get to the Hall of Fame and there are 40 guys sitting behind me thinking, 'He took steroids,' then it's not even worth it to me. I don't know if that sounds stupid. But it's how I feel in a nutshell.''

If he's telling the truth‒which I believe he is‒you have to put him in.  449 homers, 1500+ rbi and a career .297, all for the same team.  That's amazing.  Kinda looks like Chipper Jones (.306 / 436 / 1491).

Okay, so if Bagwell is telling the truth, he's in.  But if he isn't, he doesn't belong in the Hall.  I guess the best lie detector at a fan's disposal is looking at claims from other players.  For example: I can only be certain that Albert Pujols is and has always been clean because of how defends himself, even if nobody asks, like the Sports Illustraded story of March 2009 or how he reacted when his name was inaccurately reported to be in the Mitchell Report.  But the flip side is that there are players who lied about it after they where accused.

About three hours before Bagwell's statement of innocence came out on ESPN.com, Rafael Palmeiro's came out on SI.com.

"I was telling the truth then, and I am telling the truth now,'' Palmeiro, 46, said in a phone interview with SI.com. "I don't know what else I can say. I have never taken steroids. For people who think I took steroids intentionally, I'm never going to convince them. But I hope the voters judge my career fairly and don't look at one mistake.''

Um, what was that "one mistake?"  Palmeiro told Congress "I did not take steroids.  Ever."  Well that isn't true.  Palmeiro tested positive for the anabolic steroid stanazolo in 2005.  He got a 10-game suspension, so who is he trying to fool?  Why where you crying alone in the dugout after your 3,000th hit if it was fair game?

The fact is that‒based on the timing of others' confessions‒we can piece together an assumption of Bagwell's innocence.  Of course the trouble is that that's all it can be: an assumption.  Because of dishonest players, justified or not, the writers have to become the moral police and decide who was clean and who wasn't.  The problem with being the moral police is, well, Ty Cobb...?

"THE DEFENSE QUESTION IS BEING OVERSTATED"

In an interview with Derrick Goold of the Post-Dispatch, Cards GM John Mozeliak said that the 2011 Cardinals' defense would actually be better:

"I'm of the belief that the defense question is being overstated," Mozeliak said. "Overall, the idea that we've lessened our club that much defensively I guess I understand from the comment that we traded Brendan. But I don't see the big change. I think this is going to be a good defensive club, if not better."

Okay... Let's compare the Cards' defense from 2010 to 2011.

The 2010 Cards on Opening Day:
C Yadier Molina
1B Albert Pujols
2B Skip Schumaker
SS Brendan Ryan
3B David Freese
LF Matt Holliday
CF Colby Rasmus
RF Ryan Ludwick

With the exception of Skip getting his feet wet at second and Iceman's conflicting D, this is a really good defensive team.  Now look ath the changes that have been made.

Presumed 2011 Cards on Opening Day
C Yadier Molina
1B Albert Pujols
2B Skip Schumaker
SS Ryan Theriot
3B David Freese
LF Matt Holliday
CF Colby Rasmus
RF Lance Berkman

Theriot over Brendan?  Berkman over Ludwick?  Those are defensive upgrades?  Hmm...

THE STATE OF THE [BASEBALL] UNION

On December 18, Commissioner Bud Selig gave his 'state of the union address' to baseball's owners and GMs.  On Monday, MLB.com's Mike Bauman wrote about it. Let's cut through the b.s. and see what Selig thinks of his game.

Economists can argue about whether a recession still officially exists in America. Wall Street has bounced back; Main Street, not so much. But here's one place where there was no recession: Major League Baseball.

In the midst of truly difficult economic times, since mid-2008, baseball has seen only fractional attendance decreases from the record levels of 2007, and still averages more than 30,000 fans per game. Revenues have continued to grow to an estimated $7 billion for '10.

Um, no; economists cannot debate if there is a recession.  There's a 10% unemployment rate.  The dollar is being massively inflated every day (that might explain the revenue rise).  Even so, the numbers above are still pretty good.

Selig then goes on and on about how relieved he is, which turned into him patting himself on the back.  Then he loses it:

"It shows you how entrenched baseball is in society. And so when I keep saying, 'This is baseball's golden era,' nobody could have forecast this. And certainly when you went into the greatest economic downturn since the Great Depression, to have the kind of numbers we've had the last two years is unbelievable. It only goes to prove that the sport has never been more popular."

Yes, baseball has been more popular before!  Remember when it was bigger than football?  That was baseball's 'Golden Era.'

"There are so many myths going around about how baseball doesn't have parity," Selig said. "We have more parity than any other sport, by far. And the fact that we wound up with San Francisco and Texas in the World Series is classic proof of that."

That I will agree with.  Maybe not everyone has a shot, but that's the reality of having 30 teams.  Any team with ownership that cares can win.  Of course, Selig will use the cliche of parity to expand the playoffs, which will probably be his worst move in a series of bad moves.

Major increases in revenue sharing and a game that is more prosperous in general have allowed more franchises to be truly competitive.

That's bull.  Obviously, MLB might accidently leave out the Deadspin reports that blew the lid off the lie that revenue sharing money was being used for baseball (the reports where mentioned one time on MLB.com).  But wait, it gets better...

Many fans can recall the firestorm that occurred when Selig first proposed the Wild Card concept. Now, there is an apparently growing school of thought that this thing has worked so well that two more Wild Card teams would be just swell. This is one topic currently before the Commissioner's Special Committee for On-Field Matters.

"Back in 1993 and '94, the criticism I took was almost abusive in some ways," Selig said, adding with a chuckle, "and it's worked so well now they want two more [Wild Card teams].

"People resist change. Baseball is a social institution. By its indigenous nature, a social institution is reluctant to change. I found that out, over and over. But these changes worked; the Wild Card, Interleague Play, revenue sharing, changing the whole economic model, new stadiums."

. . . .

Baseball is a great game with its great traditions and its history, and you've got to be sensitive about that. But there does come a time when you've got to change it a little bit."

Why do you have to change it? If you think baseball is as popular as it is, stop making it football.  Cut the crap, Bud.  When you make the reference to a "social institution resistant to change," you play into the hands of the NFL and NBA by calling your fans and their game old and out-of-date.  That's counterproductive, so stop.

"I meant what I said about retiring," Selig said. "I know nobody believes that, including my wife, the members of my family. But I have a book that I want to write, I want to teach. At that point, I will have done this 20 years and that's a long time. If there were something going on, and people said, 'In the best interests of the game, would you stay?' Certainly, I would think about it. But hopefully, we will get everything done, and I'll be done by Dec. 31, two years from now. Most of the owners don't believe that, either, but I do."

The Commissioner is not being asked to stay because baseball is struggling. The game's inherent worth has now stood not only the test of time, but the test of hard times.

"Getting everything done" means expanding the playoffs.  To 10 teams; a third of the Majors.  Parity.  But beyond that, Selig is saying that he is the supercommisioner, capable of saving the game.  When he says things like how good his numbers in a recession are, how fair his game is and then makes changes fans don't want; he's saying he knows what's best for the game, not the people who show up.  He thinks the majors need him.  No one is saying "In the best interest of the game, would you stay?"  He is.

THIS NON-DEAL COULD HURT NEW YORK

Yesterday, the Rangers got 2006 Cy Young winner Brandon Webb.  This is their presumed rotation pending he stays healthy:

Brandon Webb
Tommy Hunter
C.J. Wilson
Colby Lewis
Derek Holland

That's really tough.  It's also certainly better than the A's, meaning that Texas will probably get its next playoff appearance in 2011 unless either Oakland or Los Angeles makes a big move.  And if they get to the playoffs, and face the Yankees again, you would think that healthy Webb could have the same impact on a series.  Keep in mind that the Yanks had interest in Webb; but yesterday, he became the newest item on a growing list: Guys the Yankees Couldn't Buy.  Now what would happen if the two teams met up in a playoff series?  Let's take an imperfect look at the 2010 ALCS, replacing Cliff with 2006-08 Webb:

Game 1: Yankees 6, Rangers 5 (CC Sabathia vs. C.J. Wilson)
Cliff pitched Game 5 of the DS, leaving C.J. to pitch Game 1; with the Yanks only winning because of a hideous bullpen meltdown.  One would assume a five-run 8th would not happen twice.

Game 2: Rangers 7, Yankees 2 (Colby Lewis v. Phil Hughes)
Even a not-so-healthy Webb could hold up seven runs.

Game 3: Rangers 8, Yankees 0 (Cliff Lee vs. Andy Pettitte)
Webb could back this offense up in his sleep.  Plus, the Rangers would be facing someone worse than Pettitte since it looks like he's not coming back.

Game 4: Rangers 10,Yankees 3(Tommy Hunter vs. A.J. Burnett)
Again, no problem for Webb if he where to pitch.

Game 5: Yankees 7, Rangers 2 (CC Sabathia vs. C.J. Wilson)
Wilson 'beating' the New York ace in Game 1 is probably not a repeatable offense.  Unless the Rangers could pit Webb against that monster, CC would probably roll over the Texas lineup.

Game 6: Rangers 6, Yankees 1 (Colby Lewis vs. Phil Hughes)
Maybe it was a fluke, but Hughes was awful in the CS (11 er in 8.1 innings).  Even so, I'd say he and Lewis are about even.

Sure the offenses have changed, but not a whole lot (Vladimir Guerrero only had 3 bi in the ALCS).  And I get that this is an inaccurate way of looking at it; but if these teams met again, I think Webb could push the Rangers over New York in another seven-gamer.

Sorry, I really don't care that much about the Yankees or anyone in the AL.  I just think this missed opportunity will hurt them badly later.

FREESE, HOLLIDAY AVOID BLOODY HOCKEY ACCIDENT

Just found out, but on Friday, David Freese and Matt Holliday had a really close call.

They were both at a Blues hockey game when a puck was hit towards Freese, but hit another fan sitting next to him.  The guy started bleeding.  David texted someone at FSN Midwest:

“His blood got on my shirt. That’s how bad it was. He got popped pretty good. They were good dudes. We were talking to them before it happened. The weirdest thing is that he was yelling ‘Give me a towel, give me a towel!’ and somebody actually had one. It was amazing.”

The fan, Matt Wobbe, was attended to and immediately taken to Missouri Babtist Hospital.  His friend Matt Bright said about the incident "On his way up the stairs my buddy  was yelling ‘Let’s go Blues!’ He is not right in the head to begin with.”

Good to know everyone ended up okay and we still have a third baseman.

ST. LOUIS WRITERS CHOOSE AWARDS

On January 16, the St. Louis chapter of the BBWAA will have its 53rd annual meeting, in which Albert Pujols, Adam Wainwright, Jaime Garcia and Matt Holliday will receive awards.  Two such awards will be given to Wainwright and Pujols (for St. Louis Baseball Man of the Year).

Matt Holliday will receive the Darryl Kile Award, which has been distributed ever since the death of pitcher Kile, the Astros and Cardinals have give away the Darryl Kile Award to "a good teammate, a great friend, a fine father and a humble man."  This year, both the team's co-ace and star hitter will receive the honor. Jaime Garcia will presumably win the team's Rookie of the Year.

The writers will also have a roast of manager Tony LaRussa, featuring Jim Leyland, Steve Kline, Dave Stewart, Billy Bob Thornton and Bobby Knight.

Merry Christmas!

GALARRAGA'S IS SPORTS MOMENT OF 2010

In their series of The Top 10 Everything of 2010, TIME magazine selected Armando Galarraga's ruined perfect game as the #1 sports moment of the whole year. On very few things do I agree with TIME, but I think they made the right decision here.  Armando's game was the best moment of 2010 in the Majors, and I remember it pretty well.

While I was watching Cards-Reds on ESPN in my hotel room on the evening of June 2nd, the coverage switched to Detroit, where back-end starter Armando Galarraga had retired 21-straight Indians.  My brother and I continued to watch the last two innings, until Armando came within one pitch away from history: a perfect game.  Tragically, it never came.

Cleveland backup Jason Donald cemented his place in history when he beat out a 4-3 grounder.  Well, he didn't actually make it.  Umpire Jim Joyce called him safe though even watching live on TV, everyone knew.

Galarraga then gave up a single, ending the debate as to if an overturned call from the commissioner could have preserved history.  Tigers first baseman Miguel Cabrera shouted at Joyce the rest of the game as he remained silent until calling Trevor Crowe out to end the game.

“I’m not sure what to say right now other than that probably was the most important call of my career, and I missed it. . . . This isn’t (just) a call -- this is a history call, and I kicked the (crap) out of it, and there’s nobody that feels worse than I do. I take pride in this job and I kicked the (crap) out of that (call), and I took a perfect game away from that kid over there who worked his (butt) off all night,” a tearful Joyce told the press.  But the next day, he and Armando shared a big hug.  In the end, not getting the perfect game--and the way he handled not getting it--is what made Galarraga more of a guy with a footnote in Who's Who in Baseball.

WOW, THE YANKS CAN'T PITCH

Bryan Hoch put  up his interview with CC Sabathia (YNKS) on Yankees.com today.  Check out what he said about New York's 2011 rotation:

"Me and A.J. are at the top, and Phil definitely proved himself to me last year, and to everybody else. We'd have Nova and we're really searching after that, I'd think.

"We'll just have to wait and see. The Yankees are a team that always makes moves, so we'll have to wait and see what happens."

Him, A.J. Burnett, Phil Hughes, Ivan Nova and somebody else.  Guess who's missing?  There have been reports that 13-year Yankee Andy Pettitte (FREE) will retire soon.  Good luck taking out Adrian Gonzalez's Red Sox with that:

2011 Yankee Rotation (2010 ERA)
CC Sabathia (3.41)
A.J. Burnett (5.26)
Phil Hughes (4.19)
Ivan Nova (4.50)
?

GREINKE'S BREWERS

Now that Zack Greinke (BRWS) is in the Cards' back yard, take a look at he and his new team:

Rotation (2010 k):

Zack Greinke (181)
Yovani Gallardo (200)
Shaun Marcum (165)
Randy Wolf (142)

Power Bats (2010 hr):

Prince Fielder (32)
Corey Hart (31)
Rickie Weeks (29)
Ryan Braun (25)
Casey McGehee (23)

That's tough.  Their 'pen will lose a lot of games, just like last year; but no one can deny that the 2011 Brewers will be studs.