Phun with trade rumors

**UPDATE 3:55 pm: Never mind. The Cardinals cut Rincon on Friday. Two years, $2.9 million, 3.1 innings, 10.80 ERA. That was money well spent.**

The last few days of spring training often move the slowest, as Opening Day is so tantalizingly close yet so agonizingly far away.

So the obsessive Internet nerds while away their anxieties by inventing trade scenarios. I ran across an interesting one at The Phanatic Magazine:

A source told The Phanatic Magazine Thursday that talk around the league has the Phillies entered into discussions with the St. Louis Cardinals about the possibility of a Chris Coste-Ricardo Rincon swap.

Sure, Ricardo Rincon is a likely trade candidate, but for Chris Coste? You might remember him as a feel-good story from last year: After 11 seasons in the Northern League and various affiliated minor-league locales, Coste finally made the majors is 2006, hitting .328/.376/.505 in 98 games.

Great. But he’s a catcher. The Cardinals are set at the major-league level and have options in Eli Marrero and Michel Hernandez should anything happen to Yadier Molina and Gary Bennett.

Coste just doesn’t make sense for the Cardinals as a trade target. But one of his Phillies teammates might.

The Cardinals, as you’ve read, are thin in the outfield ranks, especially after having banished John Rodriguez to the Memphis bench. And the Phillies are thin in the bullpen, as The Phanatic mentioned.

So it makes better sense to me to send Rincon, Rodriguez and cash to the Phillies for Jayson Werth and and a low-level relief prospect. Here’s why:

• Rincon would slide into the Phillies bullpen at least as their top lefty, and possibly into setup role.
• Rodriguez could replace Werth as the Phillies’ fourth outfielder.
• With Juan Encarnacion out and Jim Edmonds recuperating, Werth can fill in anywhere in the outfield and also knows how to use his glove.
• Best of all, acquiring Werth would obviate the need for Preston Wilson and/or So Taguchi.

I’ve been on the Werth bandwagon for some time now. He does have some injury concerns, but he’s finally healthy after two troubling seasons and is swinging the bat fairly well this spring.

Cardinals rumored to be going after Alyssa Milano’s former boyfriend

No, not that former boyfriend of Alyssa Milano.

It’s this former boyfriend of Alyssa Milano.

Yup, according to a Bernie Miklasz post in his STLToday forum, the Cardinals are said to be reviewing Carl Pavano’s medical records, perhaps in prelude to a trade. You might remember Pavano from such home runs as Mark McGwire’s 70th in 1998.

Any deal would come down to which team would eat the most of Pavano’s remaining $22.95 million over the next two years, which is quite a sum of money for a guy who hasn’t pitched in 18 months.

When he has been on the mound, he’s been extremely decent, owning a career ERA+ of 100 and a K/BB rate of 2.33. His lifetime 1.42 G/F ratio would certainly pique Dave Duncan’s interest. Keeping him on the mound, though, has proved a challenge for any team but the Marlins, who have benefited from Pavano’s only 200+-inning seasons.

Having not pitched since June 2005, it would seem that Pavano’s value is about as low as the president’s approval rating. It wouldn’t make any sense for the Yankees to trade him now. To do so would mean they would have to pay most of what’s left on his deal and accept little more than a large order of toasted ravioli in return.

But that doesn’t stop Fat Strat at Gateway Redbirds, who went buckwild with the Fangraphs in trying to find a parallel between Pavano and our man Chris Carpenter.

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You may have noticed that posting here at The 26th Man has been sporadic as of late. That likely will continue until the warm light of Spring Training melts away the cold, dark, terrible winter.

In the meantime, I invite you to check out my other blog, which is in the same vein as this one except not about baseball.

Memo to Walt Jocketty

Re: The rumored interest in David Wells

Remember the last fat guy with alcohol problems and anger issues you signed? That didn’t work out too well.

Heilman maneuver?

The latest and most intriguing trade rumor involving the Cardinals also involves the Mets, who are allegedly discussing sending Aaron Heilman for … wait for it …

Jason Marquis.

My first reaction was that it doesn’t seem like it would be a very good deal for the Mets, for reasons obvious to Cardinals fans. But author Will Carroll describes Heilman thusly:

Once expected to be a rotation fixture, the pitcher has instead found a home in the bullpen.

Kinda sounds like our boy Adam Wainwright. If this deal possibly could happen, we can finally move the Wainwright boy into the rotation. Time to see what he can do for six innings.

(Hat tip: Toddius396 via Viva El Birdos)

Luna out, Belliard in

Per the excellent and indefatigable Matthew Leach, the Cardinals are trading Hector Luna to the Indians for Ronnie Belliard.

Makes little sense to me; they basically are the same player, except I believe that Luna is younger. Whatever.

I feel an irrational rant coming on…

Blind squirrels

(Nam Y. Huh/AP)

How is it that the Cubs play such atrocious baseball all the time, except when they play the Cardinals?

Seriously, the Cubs defense is a joke, but when the Cardinals come to town Aramis Ramirez, Todd Walker and Jacque Jones suddenly channel Brooks Robinson, Bill Mazeroski and Roberto Clemente.

Meanwhile, our own Brooks Robinson gets eaten up, again, by a playable grounder while on the Weeghman Park infield. At least Matt Murton played left field like he should have.

Something stinks in Wrigleyville, and it ain’t just the Cubs. Whatever. We’ve still got the weekend to exact our revenge on these jerks.

A few thoughts on:

Albert Pujols: Dude, Al. Come on, man. A couple more at-bats like yours in the fourth inning and people will start to think you’re actually human. That was probably one of the not-goodest at-bats I’ve seen from him all season. With the bases loaded and one out, he looks at a pitch right in his gonko for strike one. Then he swings and misses at a pitch a foot off the plate before tapping what would have been ball two to short for the double play. It was a pitch that, if the bases weren’t loaded, could have been a pitchout. Chalk that up to him being antsy to make something happen, I guess.

Chris Duncan: Kid had two hits (against a lefty, no less!), but his white-elephant defense may have cost us a run or two. In the sixth inning, the Cubs had already pushed a run across, making the score 4-3. Juan Pierre dumps one into left, and Daddy’s Boy comes in hard to try to make the play. He makes a valiant but awkward and ultimately futile dive to try to make the catch, allowing Neifi Perez to tie the game. I think that had he played it as a single, he might have had a chance to get Perez at the plate.

Tyler Johnson: Being ignorant and not already knowing that Angel Pagan (a wonderfully contradictory name) was a switch-hitter, I at first cursed Tony La Russa bringing in T.J., given his dramatic righty split. But while Pagan hits lefties better than he does righties, he has a lower slugging percentage against southpaws. And lefties Pierre and Walker were due up next in case Pagan got on. So I guess T.J. was the right call. He just didn’t get the outs, a situation that happens more than it should. A commenter on Viva El Birdos’ Game 101 thread mentioned making overtures for Pirates’ lefty Mike Gonzalez. I can’t imagine him being available; there is some chatter about Rheal Cormier. He’s 39 years old and lights out this season. A trade here might neatly complete his career arc.

Now playing on Insight Cable Channel 901, Old School Rap: “I’ll Take You There,” Big Daddy Kane; “How Ya Like Me Now,” Kool Moe Dee; “Gangster of Hip-Hop,” Just-Ice; “Big Ol’ Butt,” LL Cool J; “Brass Monkey,” the Beastie Boys; etc.

What he really means is, “I’ve said too much.”

On Viva El Birdos’ Game 99 thread, LBoros writes about the conversation he had with Paul Cohen, the agent for Cardinals farmhand Colby Rasmus, whose name has been brought up in recent trade rumors.

After identifying himself and his blog, LB asked Cohen his thoughts on Rasmus’ name popping up in speculation about Dontrelle Willis. Cohen’s reply:

“They tell us not to comment about trades.”

Oh, really? “They” wouldn’t be a particular major-league team, would it? Seems to me that given that reply, then Rasmus’ name certainly has been brought up in whatever negotiations may or “may not” be going on.

LB goes on to say that Cohen then cut him off, put him on hold, then quickly hung up after he suddenly “remembered” his kid had a ballgame. Oh, OK then, Paul. Be sure to try the purple Sno-Cones while you’re there. They are delicious this time of year.

Anyway, this could be more circumstantial evidence that something could be happening in the next few days.

My name too?

The Cardinals blogosphere was abuzz Friday with all the rumormongering about Dontrelle Willis possibly coming to St. Louis.

You all know how I feel about it. But TexasCard, a commenter on Viva El Birdos’ above-referenced Dontrelle discussion thread, made an intruiging observation:

Seems to me (recent draftee Jon Jay) is on the fast track to the show. Could he be the replacement for Rasmus? He has been putting up fairly good numbers so far, so maybe his presence makes Rasmus expendable.

Good question, Tex. Perhaps the muckety-mucks think they have something in Jay, which is why Colby Rasmus is potentially being dangled. Actually, they must be thinking that, given that Rasmus, for better or for worse, is the lone daffodil on an otherwise blighted offensive farmscape.

So is Jay putting up fairly good numbers? Well, since making his debut June 30 with the Class A Swing of Quad Cities, J-Jay has gone .329/.409/.487 with 17 RBI and 10 runs scored in 19 games and a 10/10 K/BB ratio. Small sample size for sure, but that’s not too shabby a transition from the ping.

While I still would prefer to keep Anthony Reyes and Rasmus, having Jay, a fine American statesman, around would appear to help soften the blow should the formers be sent away for Willis.

D-Train, yes. At that price, no.

MLB Trade Rumors is at it again, this time quoting a “respected Cards source” who posted the following on the STLToday Cardinals forum:

Colby Rasmus, Reyes, and two others for Willis? According to Colby Rasmus’ dad, its being discussed.

According to “Hawg Wild,” Rasmus’ dad phoned him with this nugget. Bernie Miklasz is said to have confirmed the rumor by saying “FLA wants Reyes, Rasmus and Duncan — and that’s not all. Probably one more… possibly their pick of the Cardinals’ system.”

First, I have an inherent bias toward message boards. I’ve spent enough time at the forums at STLToday and the official site to know that much of what’s posted there is garbage.

Second, why give away the farm for an intruiging yet struggling pitcher such as Willis? Sure, he’d be exciting to see in a Cardinals uniform, but his K/9 and K/BB rates are at career lows, and his averages against and pitch count are at career highs.

I agree that we do need a 1a type, and Willis could be that guy. But to send our top young pitcher, our top (only) hitting prospect, a serviceable corner bat and another minor leaguer is way too much for the way Willis has pitched this season. 

Abre-who?

MLB beat writers continue to sow seeds of false hope by writing articles such as this one:

He’s (Abreu) the best bat on the market, and the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox and Detroit Tigers are expected to do some of the most aggressive bidding. But don’t be surprised if the St. Louis Cardinals — desperate for some pop in their outfield — emerge as the winner in the Abreu derby.

Bobby Abreu certainly would look swell in the No. 2 hole for the Cardinals, but at what cost? Any deal would have to start with Anthony Reyes or Adam Wainwright, if not both and more.

And there’s the matter with his contract. You’re already on the hook for $15 million for 2007, and you’d probably have to pick up his $16M option for ‘08 to get him to waive his no-trade clause. That’s a lot to pay a guy for two-and-change seasons by an ownership previously reluctant to pony up the cash.

(Hat tip: Erik)