December 16, 2005
The Short(stop) Solution
By Brandon Morgan
There were reports circulating blogs and websites yesterday that the St. Louis Cardinals had signed SS Pokey Reese, those reports proved to be unfounded, but even so I would hardly consider Pokey Reese a replacement to Edgar Renteria. Reese works great as a defensive replacement in the late innings, and he has played 2nd, 3rd, and short in his career.
We all know how La Russa loves versatility. But if anyone thinks that
Walt Jocketty and the rest of the Cards management plan on entering the
2005 season after their first World Series berth in 17 years with a
career .248 hitter starting at shortstop, then they are crazier than Ron
Artest.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch offered a list of available shortstops in
today's edition that the Cardinals could replace Edgar Renteria with.
They name Orlando Cabrera, Barry Larkin, Jose Valentin, Alex Gonzalez
(not the Marlin), our own Hector Luna, and even Placido Polanco. A
couple others are named, but they do not warrant mentioning here.
There are definite problems with most of these guys, and there is no
way St. Louis will be able to completely replace Renteria. He was a
fantastic shortstop and a great guy, albeit not worth $10 million a year.
All of these guys will come at prices considerably less than that, and
deservingly so. Gonzalez is a .242 career hitter and strikes out more
than Jim Edmonds. Luna has shown no reason why he should be our
starting shortstop, and he is currently batting .233 with four walks and 14
strikeouts in 60 at bats in the Dominican Winter League.
Jose Valentin would probably not be much of an addition, either, even
though he hit 30 home runs last year. Those came along with a .216
average and almost 140 strikeouts. Valentin is also a lesser defensive
talent, and there is no reason we should pursue him. I don't consider
Polanco an option at shortstop, although he has proved he can play the
position with a career .982 fielding percentage there. I wouldn't mind
seeing Polanco as the starting Cardinal second baseman next year, though.
Barry Larkin would be great if it was 1996. Larkin was an amazing
player in his prime, but his skills are not what they used to be and
neither is his health. He has cracked 400 at bats only once over the past 5
seasons and hit over .300 only once in that period as well. Larkin is
still very good in the field and would be a welcome veteran presence in
the locker room, but he simply cannot be counted on to play a full
season.
Barring a trade, the guy Walt has to get now is Orlando Cabrera. He is
the most credible shortstop on the market, and his numbers compare well
with Renteria's. Their 2004 stats read like this: Cabrera -- .264
average, 10 home runs, 62 runs batted in. Renteria -- .287 average, 10
home runs, 72 runs batted in. Those numbers are a little misleading,
though, as once Cabrera got out of Montreal and into the Red Sox lineup,
he hit .294 and 6 of those home runs in 58 games.
Cabrera played much better on a contending team, and that will be
exactly what he'll have in St. Louis. He has a higher career fielding
percentage than Renteria (.977 to .969) and for as much is said about
Renteria's "clutch" hitting, Cabrera had a little better postseason, hitting
8 points higher and driving in 3 more runs in one less game. Cabrera
has a little more power than Renteria, hitting a career-high 17 home
runs in 2003, but does not make as much contact, as evidenced by
Renteria's career .289 average compared to Cabrera's .268.
Edgar Renteria was a great shortstop to have in St. Louis for the past
six seasons, but he has chosen greener pastures, and by green I mean
the color of money. So Walt Jocketty has to find someone new, and the
best player available is Orlando Cabrera. He is only one year older than
Renteria and could be just as good for less money. Go get him Walt!
