The wonder (and blunder) of the Cardinals at 2nd base

Ever since the offseason began, St. Louis began telling the faithful that Adam Kennedy would be the starting second baseman. No Orlando Hudson, no re-uniting with Mark Grudzielanek, nothing. Then, a couple weeks ago, Kennedy was released. Now the spot remains unfilled, and the Cards are looking at outfielders Skip Schumaker and Joe Mather as the starting 2B. That’s right, I said outfielders. Oh, the tragedy.

Who everyone thought would be the starting 2nd baseman for the Cardinals is now with Tampa Bay on a minor league deal.

Up until this point, I had been rather patient with GM John Mozeliak. The ever-strange 2nd base situation, however, got me pretty ticked off. What befuddles me is why St. Louis repeatedly said Kennedy was the man, and a short while later, release him while going after no replacement. What makes this even stranger is the fact that the Cards are looking toward a guy who hasn’t played the infield since college (Skip Schumaker, who didn’t even play 2nd in college) and another outfielder. Now Adam’s gone, and there’s no 2nd baseman that you can go after? Not Mark Grudzielanek, who did a great job with the Cardinals in 2005? Not Orlando Hudson, who’s the best that free agency has to offer? C’mon, Mo! Spend some money!

What I’ve seen out of the Cardinals’ front office this offseason is the fact that they don’t want to spend money, despite having a good payroll and addressing team needs earlier in the offseason. Had Walt Jocketty still been around, he would’ve taken care of 2nd base already. These are the kinds of days when I miss Walt. It seems he actually cared about winning, while Mo and Co. care about nothing more than making money. I was actually quite surprised to see this story from ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick on how Cardinals fans are angry at what’s transpired this offseason. I’m glad that Jerry wrote that, and I hope Mo is reading it.

St. Louis has signed some players as contenders for the starting 2B job, but there’s no big name in contention. According to ESPN.com’s depth chart, Joe Thurston (a former minor league star) is the Cards’ starter at 2nd. After that… Brendan Ryan, Schumaker, and Brian Barden. Only one of those players (Ryan) has had any 2B experience in the majors. He played well last year (at least, in the first half) and I’m very disappointed that St. Louis has not given him a chance.

Sorry if this is more of a rant, but I’m not happy. The Cards’ 2006 World Series title feels like so long ago.

It's only been 3 years? Feels like an eternity.

They’ve let many of their best players leave – Jeff Suppan, David Eckstein, Russ Springer, and many more – to rebuild the minors. Don’t get me wrong, that’s a good thing. But when your team’s fans expect to win, and win a lot, doing what the Cardinals have this offseason is not acceptable. It better turn out as the front office is hoping it to be, because otherwise things may not be pretty in STL next season.

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