Post by Matt on Jan 5, 2018 10:40:16 GMT -5
The Cardinals organization has been in the middle of a funk lately. Since the retirement of Stan, Gibby and Red there hasn't been much winning. GM Matt Carpenter realized that "We've struggled greatly recently. We put so many resources into keeping the team competitive towards the end of our last sustained run we didn't have much left as far as finances or a farm system.
Right around the end of the '74 season heading into 1975, the Cardinals started selling off the stars, most of which ended up at a division rival in the Pirates. Cardinal fans were fuming. How could they ship out guys like Tenace, Crawford and Corkins, who were the heart of the team?
By now it should be obvious what the front office was trying to do. They turned those 3 pieces into the future.
The Cardinals currently have the top minor league system and a majority of the guys that make that part of the organization up are ready for the big leagues. Jack Clark
won Rookie of the year last year and Joaquin Andujar
made his debut and won 12 games (about 30 % of the team total). Already this year the front office has called up young stars Bob Horner, Tim Raines, John Tudor and Bryn Smith. They also signed former Redbird slugger Lee May. "During the beginning of FA, Mr May wanted nothing to do with St Louis, he was still bitter about how things went down when he left," Carpenter said. "But as the days passed and he had no other offers, he gave us a call and we struck an agreement that benefits both Lee and the organization.
The shocker of the off season was yet to come. With rumors of a front office shift in Houston, the Cardinals struck quickly. "We knew there were a few guys they were trying to move, so we picked up the phone. After a few days of negotiations, we found a middle ground." Now in the Cards for the manager to shuffle into the lineup is slugger Reggie Jackson
. "We had a shot to get a bat like that to go along with the rookies, so we jumped." Also coming with Mr October are RH pitchers Jerry Koosman and Barry Lersch. "Hopefully we can help Reggie live up to his nickname sometime in the next 2 seasons, and adding the two strong arms we got to help out the staff will go a long way." Carpenter was a bit disappointed with the deal "We did have to give up some young guys with great potential. Losing guys like McCatty, McGaffigan, Power and Valentine might hurt in the long run, but we saw a chance to improve and bridge the gap to a few other guys we're counting on, so we took it."
Will the moves pay off or did the front office jump a season or two too soon? Only time will tell how the rookies will perform and the veterans can hang!
Right around the end of the '74 season heading into 1975, the Cardinals started selling off the stars, most of which ended up at a division rival in the Pirates. Cardinal fans were fuming. How could they ship out guys like Tenace, Crawford and Corkins, who were the heart of the team?
By now it should be obvious what the front office was trying to do. They turned those 3 pieces into the future.
The Cardinals currently have the top minor league system and a majority of the guys that make that part of the organization up are ready for the big leagues. Jack Clark
won Rookie of the year last year and Joaquin Andujar made his debut and won 12 games (about 30 % of the team total). Already this year the front office has called up young stars Bob Horner, Tim Raines, John Tudor and Bryn Smith. They also signed former Redbird slugger Lee May. "During the beginning of FA, Mr May wanted nothing to do with St Louis, he was still bitter about how things went down when he left," Carpenter said. "But as the days passed and he had no other offers, he gave us a call and we struck an agreement that benefits both Lee and the organization.The shocker of the off season was yet to come. With rumors of a front office shift in Houston, the Cardinals struck quickly. "We knew there were a few guys they were trying to move, so we picked up the phone. After a few days of negotiations, we found a middle ground." Now in the Cards for the manager to shuffle into the lineup is slugger Reggie Jackson
. "We had a shot to get a bat like that to go along with the rookies, so we jumped." Also coming with Mr October are RH pitchers Jerry Koosman and Barry Lersch. "Hopefully we can help Reggie live up to his nickname sometime in the next 2 seasons, and adding the two strong arms we got to help out the staff will go a long way." Carpenter was a bit disappointed with the deal "We did have to give up some young guys with great potential. Losing guys like McCatty, McGaffigan, Power and Valentine might hurt in the long run, but we saw a chance to improve and bridge the gap to a few other guys we're counting on, so we took it."Will the moves pay off or did the front office jump a season or two too soon? Only time will tell how the rookies will perform and the veterans can hang!
