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Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post Dispatch has reported that the Cardinals are supposedly interested in the idea of adding Houston Astro's shortstop Miguel Tejada to bolster the lineup. There are opinions on whether he would play shortstop or third (he has never played a single inning at any position other than SS in his career), or if he is willing to play a different position at all.
There are some concerns as to whether this deal would ever actually go through, as the Astros have a history of unwillingness to give up on a season and unload. It seems to me that they believe they can contend and do not want to concede the season, especially considering their strong finish last year. The other is Tejada's willingness to play third base, as he has a history of not wanting to switch positions (during his tenure in Baltimore). This is in spite of the fact that defensively, he is likely one of the worst regulars at shortstop in baseball.
I personally would not be excited about adding Tejada. Houston will likely command more for him than what he is worth and adding him will make us worse defensively, and he really doesn't put much fear in opposing pitchers. Yeah, he is leading the NL in batting average, but he has drawn a total of 6 walks all season and his power is a far cry from what it once was (granted he is a doubles machine with an NL-leading 21).
Going after Mark DeRosa or even the struggling Garret Atkins makes more sense to me, especially if Atkins can be had at a bargain. I would imagine that Tejada and DeRosa would require a similar package to acquire, while DeRosa adds much more to the team with his ability to play multiple positions effectively and his homerun power. As for Atkins, his numbers have been uncharacteristically bad this year, but if he can be had for cheap, he might be worth the risk in my opinion.
I have faith that the Cardinals will make a move for a bat in due time, I just hope it isn't for Tejada. I would much rather see us pick up somebody to play third base, rather than shortstop or outfield ( such as Matt Holiday). I expect nothing out of Khalil Greene for the remainder of the season, but I think Brendan Ryan can be serviceable there. Instead, I would rather find a replacement for the underwhelming Thurston/Barden/T.Greene platoon at third.
Source:
Cardinals interested in Miguel Tejada?
Tejada at 3B for Cards?
After a great inaugural professional season in Class A last year, Brett Wallace hasn't seen quite as much success thus far in 2009. Wallace started the season with Double-A Springfield and had reasonable success there, batting .281 five homeruns and 16 RBI's in 32 games. However, since is promotion to Triple-A, Wallace has experienced his first struggles in the professional ranks.
In his first 26 Triple A games, Wallace is batting a paltry .234 with two homeruns and only 8 RBI's. Additionally, the great patience at the plate down in Double-A (18 walks with a .403 OBP) has disappeared, having drawn only 6 walks which gives him a .282 OBP.
None of this should cause much alarm, as it isn't unusual for somebody his age and experience level to struggle at the Triple-A level as opposed to lesser levels. However, it would be promising if he started to show some signs of life soon, as he is one of our best hitting prospects.
Cardinals/Marlins- Series Review
June 9th: Florida Win, 4-3
June 10th: Cardinals Win, 13-4
June 11th: Cardinals Win, 6-5
Whoa, two straight wins and two straight solid offensive performances? Am I reading the right box scores? We win the series 2 games to 1, while hitting a collective .328 with a team era of 4.33
In game one, we managed to squander a solid start by Carpenter (3 earned in 6 innings), as Motte continued his struggles that haunted us in the Colorado series by giving up a walk-off homer to Jeremy Hermida. At this point, things are looking more gloomy than ever before, as I can only expect the offensive woes to continue.
Game two, however, was a much needed surprise and pick-me-up for Cardinals fans. We saw a reasonable start from Wainwright, who continues to not be quite "right." Nonetheless, he scattered 11 hits over 7 innings while giving up 4 earned runs. However, this is not the real news from this game, as the bats come alive during this game, as all 8 position starters record a hit.
Several very strong performances in this game, as Ryan and Rasmus continue to swing hot bats. The most promising line of this box score is, without a doubt, Rick Ankiel's performance. He turns in his second solid offensive performance in as many games, giving hope that his bat has decided to wake up from it's coma.
Side Note: Pujols steals his team leading 8th base of the season in this game.
Game three features another poor start by Wellemeyer (no way!?), but our bats come through enough to earn us another win. Cody Ross, centerfielder, made a costly error in the 8th that eventually allowed for Rasmus to hit a pinch hit, go ahead RBI single.
Pitching was reasonably good all series, minus a poor start by Wellemeyer and Motte's mishap in game one. The pitching gave us a chance to win in each game, at least. Defensively we were solid, committing no errors in the series.
A very promising performance in the series by Ankiel:
.615, 6 runs, 1 HR, 4 RBI's
Hopefully this is something he can build on, because we really need his bat at this point. If he and Rasmus can remain consistent at the plate, as Ludwick and Duncan struggle, it would be a huge asset to the lineup. But in reality, its a little unrealistic for a free swinger like Ankiel and a rookie like Rasmus to be consistent. We can hope...
The series win puts the Cardinals at 33-28 overall, only .5 games back from Milwaukee, and 1 game up on Cincinnati. Tomorrow, June 12th, begins a three game series at Cleveland.
While many are excited about the drafting of such a high potential prospect as Shelby Miller, it poses an unfamiliar problem for the Cardinals: signing him. Miller is the type of draftee that will likely command more money than most other players would at the 19th pick. This is the first top pick under Luhnow's tenure that doesn't have a deal already in place or is highly motivated to sign quickly.
Colby Rasmus and Tyler Greene already had deals setup before they were officially drafted, and Brett Wallace said publicly that he wanted to sign quickly so he can start playing immediately
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Kyle Lohse is expected to miss a minimum of 4 weeks with a strained muscle in the right forearm. In the meantime, Brad Thompson will remain the #5 starter in his place
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The devil himself, Scott Boras, is at it again, making sure he does his part in ruining baseball. He is seeking a ridiculous deal for the number 1 overall pick, Steven Strasburg. Granted he is statistically the best college pitcher ever, but so was Mark Prior and we all know how that turned out (poor Cubbies... HA
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Chairman Bill DeWitt was seen after a closed door meeting with La Russa yesterday, and had this to say in regards to trades:
"We're always open," DeWitt said. "We're always looking. But I'm not certain a market's developed for any of the players who would help us. We'd be reluctant to do something on a marginal basis, just to make a change."
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In his second rehab start with the Memphis Redbirds, Khalil Greene turns in a not so promising performance. At first glance, it looks solid as Greene went 3-4 with 2 runs scored at the plate. However, he committed not one, but two errors in the field. One of which was immediately followed by a two run homer by the next batter.
I have recently dubbed him as the "Kip Wells" of position players, but I can only hope the end result of his stint here in St. Louis is much more successful than that of the terrorist known as Kip
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With the number 19 pick in the first round of the 2009 MLB draft, the Cardinals selected Shelby Miller, a right handed pitcher out of Brownwood High School in Texas. As I'm sure you remember, it was reported that we were looking to add some lefties in the draft, but Miller was too good to pass up at the 19th pick.
Keith Law: Cardinals fans can put the torches down -- they took a high-upside player with a big price tag on him. I've been a Miller fan since last summer and he's a clear top-10 talent to me, so great pick at 19.
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The MLB first year player draft starts today, and the word from Matthew Leach of MLB.com, is that the Cardinals are looking to bolster their left-hand pitching prospects.
The Cardinals intend to draft for quality, rather than need, at No. 19. With that said, a left-hander such as Mike Minor or Rex Brothers would likely be hard to pass up. St. Louis is more open to drafting younger players this year thanks to an increase in the talent level in the high Minors.
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Comment by Tyler Roberts
on Two Cents Humor---June 11,2009
St. Louis Cardinals