December 1, 2004
Walton’s Wanderings
By Brian Walton
Unit Owns the Central
Unit Trade for Three Pitchers Won’t Go Away
The same old discredited rumor rehashed one more time, this time by MLB.com.
RJ Not to NYY
Another ESPN insider with a name, Jayson Stark, reports the Yankees have told the Diamondbacks that they are out of the Johnson sweepstakes. Go figure.
Morris’ Surgery
Matt Morris’ decision to undergo surgery on his shoulder opens up his possible return to St. Louis for a small base salary with incentives, not unlike Chris Carpenter’s original deal. Morris seems to really prefer staying, so it remains a possibility. But, why didn’t he have the surgery right after the playoffs? Maybe because he knew any team would expect a medical exam? If the exam was ok, they would not pay Morris much or if he failed the exam, word would get out and destroy his value, anyway. As it is, best case stated is that he will start to throw in February and work up to a reduced pitch count by the start of the season. Sound like Woody Williams 12 months ago?
Cards Series Shares
Says the Boston Globe: “The Cardinals, who lost the World Series to the Sox, received more than $10.1 million in playoff winnings and voted 51 full shares of $163,379, also the smallest amount since 1997.” No word on number of partial shares.
51 on HOF Ballot
Willie McGee is among those appearing for the first time on Baseball’s Hall of Fame ballot in 2005. Bruce Sutter is the repeat former Cardinal with the most previous votes. Lee Smith is the other ex-Redbird eligible. Voting ends December 31, with winners announced January 4.
Price of Pitching Nuts
The Cincinnati Reds (over)paid $8.2 million for two more years of starting pitcher Paul Wilson’s services. Wilson has a career record of 39-53 with an ERA of 4.71. Ugh!
Closed out of Closer
With Armando Benitez signing with the Giants, the Cubs were closed out of the free-agent closer market. A trade or a conversion of Ryan Demspter are the only options that seemingly remain.
Home Sweet Clubhouse
Kurt Schlogl, formerly with the Cardinals, has been hired as the visiting clubhouse manager by the Colorado Rockies.
Sweet Swinging Sighting
Former Cardinal outfielder Mark Whiten (1993-94) was named a coach for Spokane in the Texas Rangers system.
