UCB Roundtable Discussion: "Radical Realignment"
The UCB doesn't actually meet in person at a roundtable, but if we did I imagine it would look something like this.
For my question on the United Cardinal Bloggers (UCB) roundtable discussion, I asked the panel:
“Bud Selig’s special 14 man MLB committee has discussed a variety of topics that could improve the game. The topic that grabbed the most attention the past couple of days, is the controversial “floating realignment plan.” In this realignment, teams would not be fixed to a division, but free to change divisions from year-to-year based on geography, payroll and their plans to contend or not. To read Tom Verducci’s article on the matter, click the link http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/tom_verducci/03/09/floating-realignment/index.html
Would you be in favor of such an alignment? Why or Why not? ”
The responses? Not one person in the ten responses I received was in favor of the realignment. That was what I expected when I sent out the question, though it should be noted that the results of this poll might have been different if this was the United Blue Jay or United Orioles Bloggers group. There were some really good responses to the question, with some of the more interesting ones listed below.
-Daniel Shoptaw of cardinal70.com-”Asking “Who’s going to win the NL Central?” and getting back “Well, who’s playing in it this year?” is not exactly the best way to bring in the casual fans.”
-Nick at Pitchers Hit Eighth-”I should make clear that I really appreciate the direction of the committee. They should be thinking out of the box, just like this suggestion. This is no doubt something on the minds of upper management around the league as the gap between haves and have-nots widens. The answer, however, does not lie in allowing those teams to continue to mismanage their assets. Hire smarter, draft better, spend more wisely. It’s been done, teams have won consistently with less.”
-Michael Riehn at whiteyball.com-”My solution is to change the revenue sharing system to where teams in the divisions with the higher payrolls get a bigger cut of the revenue pie. It makes sense even in a free market system when you consider that these teams play more games against the higher revenue teams (thus, it can be argued that they should get a bigger share of the revenue from these teams).”
Matthew Phillip at fungoes- ” The ridiculous idea of floating realignment is a reminder of the dangers of groupthink, and of relying on a cadre so-called experts to make decisions that are best handled by those who are more in touch with the ramifications of those decisions. Like many of Bug Selig’s changes to the game, floating realignment is a solution with unwelcome unintended consequences and that unnecessarily complicates where a simpler solution is available.”
-Justin Adams of intangibal.com- “The only thing about this that makes sense to me is the fact that teams need one another in order to compete, and therefore to entertain us. Baseball is beautiful and pulls at our heartstrings from a number of angles, but it’s also a lucrative business. I can understand a philanthropic desire save the Royals and Pirates from themselves, but then I look at the Marlins who have MLB’s lowest revenues…purchased in 2002 by Jeff Loria for $158 mil and now worth closer to $300 mil. Even as Mr. Loria pockets a $30 mil revenue-sharing check each year as opposed to reinvesting in his roster. His business model is his own, but the Marlins are just one example of why alignment is not necessary. Even more impressive when you consider their success within a division that the Braves had dominated as no other team in sports had ever before.”
Overall I thought the answers were very interesting and thorough. I am also against the idea of “radical realignment,” but I also appreciate that Major League Baseball is putting forth an effort to continually improve its product. As far as addressing competitive balance goes, if baseball really wants to make things fair to teams like the Blue Jays and Orioles, and I am not sure they should, but if they were to make some changes I think upping the luxury tax with some combination of forcing the teams to invest a higher percentage of their revenues into player payroll or the draft would be a better idea than something like a salary cap. There are countless solutions to put teams on a more equal playing field if MLB wanted to, such as taking away draft picks/position from a team that crosses a certain salary threshold. As a Cardinal fan, I hope things stay as they are in baseball, as the Cardinals have been quite successful with the current system in place.
December UCB Project: Top 5 Cards Stories of the Year
-With the Holliday situation still unresolved, I figured it would be a good time to present the December UCB project while the Cardinals and Scott Boras play a multi-million dollar game of chicken. This month’s project focuses on the top five stories of the year in Cardinal baseball, and there were plenty of great choices to choose from. In this list, I put down the five things that most define 2009, so without further adieu your top five stories of this year:
5. The Cardinals trade for Mark Derosa, Julio Lugo, Matt Holliday and also sign John Smoltz
-The Cardinals stayed in the race for the central division until John Mozeliak brought in an impressive group of reinforcements that helped the Cardinals steamroll to the central division crown. The Cardinals traded some of their top prospects in the Derosa and Holliday deals, but the front office saw an opportunity to add to a core of Carpenter, Wainwright, Pujols, and Molina and had their most active period of in-season acquisitions in years.
4. Co-Aces and another MVP
-Chris Carpenter returned as good as ever after missing most of the past two seasons with injuries and Adam Wainwright overcame an early season struggle with his command to post his best season. Together the Cardinals 1-2 punch combined to throw 425.2 innings and led the N.L. in many different categories. Wainwright led the senior circuit with 233 innings pitched and 19 wins, and Carpenter led the pack with a 2.24 ERA. Albert Pujols won his second straight and third MVP overall, after posting a .327/.443/.648 line to go along with 47 homers, 124 runs, and 135 RBI’s. Advanced statistics have the trio of Carpenter, Wainwright, and Pujols combining for 19.7 Wins Above Replacement, which is actually above what the Cardinals posted as a team (18.8)! *This is because of the large amount of negative value the Cardinals got from under performing players like Khalil Greene, Joe Thurston, etc.
3. Schumaker moves to second
-In what started out as a crazy idea in spring training, the Schumaker experiment was largely considered a success by the end of the season. Schumaker struggled defensively early on, but was actually a league average second basemen defensively in the 2nd half of the season per UZR. Going forward, if Schumaker continues to hit like he has, the Cardinals have their answer to their decade long second base carousel.
2. Division Champs
-Led by another MVP season from Albert Pujols, a stellar 1-2-3 rotation punch in Carpenter, Wainwright, and Pineiro, and through mid-season acquisitions like Matt Holliday, The Cardinals won 91 games and their first division crown since 2006. Although they were swept out of the first round by the Dodgers, it was still a good year for the Redbirds, who were the heavy underdog to the Cubs going into the season.
1. The Mid-Summer Classic
-When fans think back about the 2009 season, the biggest event of the year was undoubtedly the return of the All-Star Game to St. Louis. Events like the Home Run Derby, Celebrity Softball Game, and other various events provided memories for fans as the All-Star Game was back in St. Louis for the first time since 1966.
-I hope everyone enjoys this list, and I’m sure some stuff is being left out, like Whitey Herzog’s Hall of Fame induction and Albert’s act of kindness to the man that fell out of the stands in Pittsburgh. Overall it was one heck of a year in Cardinal baseball, and fans can only hope 2010 will be as special as 2009.
All Star Weekend is nearly here
It’s almost here Cardinal fans. The All Star game is coming to St. Louis and it’s coming this weekend. If you are not excited – get excited. If you are not attending – plan to attend. This is a once (or twice) in a lifetime thing. The All-Star festivities do not come to the STL very often and we should all enjoy the time. I personally will be there Sunday, Monday and Tuesday participating in just about everything I can think of.
I will be running in the first annual All Star game 5k!!! I’m not a huge runner but I enjoy being a part of “history”. You should join as well. Will find a local establishment, such as the Albert Pujols restaurant Pujols Grill, to enjoy the Redbirds dominating the Cubs in a double-header on Sunday. Then Monday I will be doing the Fan Fest thing all day. If any of you Cardinal fans are out there I’ll be Twittering all day as well. Would love to meet up with any of you. Monday night is HR Derby. Time for Pujols to hit some bombs out onto the road! Then Tuesday afternoon is the All-Star parade followed by the All-Star game at night. What a great weekend for St. Louis!
Email or Tweet me if you are going to be around.
Ryan
correspondent for CardinalsGM and MVPujols.com
Cardinals- blog writing
As you can see I have been negligent on writing anything for a bit. No, I haven’t lost my fire for what the Birds are going to do. It has been time.
So, my oldest son decided to move…. on NCAA weekend??? Now I raised him better than that!
For about 3 days time has been spent lifting and lifting and lifting….. muscles I have not used for a long time have reared their ugly whatevers. I hurt. I hurt alot.
I am ready for opening day and some routine in blogging and routine in watching the Cardinals.
One more thing, I am off to St Jude Research Hospital for some things my middle son and I need to do. It has been about 23 years since I last was there. We will take in a Grizzlies (i know they are bad) game on Monday.
See you back here on Wednesday! Thanks for being patient.
Baseball Card Shows in St. Louis
A lot of Cardinals fans collect old baseball cards. Whether you are looking for a Vince Coleman rookie card (1986 Donruss Leaf) or need only a Terry Pendleton card to finish your 1988 Cardinals team set, Baseball Card Shows can be a good place to look for great deals and hard-to-find cards. Upcoming sports card show calendars can be found online, and BigCardShows.com is one such calendar that is free to use and requires no registration.
Baseball card shows can also be a great place to wander around and check out cool sports memorabilia you hadn’t ever seen before. Many shows feature classic game programs, signed jerseys, and even offer top card grading services that allow you to properly estimate the value of your collection.
If you’ve got a few hours to waste on your off-season Saturday, see if there are any Upcoming Card Shows in your area.
