Steve Carlton wins 27th game for the Philadephia Phillies October 3, 1972

On this day in Baseball History October 3, 1972: Steve Carlton of the Philadelphia Phillies wins his 27th game of the season against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field by the score of 11-1 en route to a 27-10 record with a 1.97 ERA. What's astounding of Carlton's National League Cy Young Award performance of 1972 is that his 27 wins were almost half of the entire 59 wins that the Phillies put up in 1972. Here is the boxscore for the October 3, 1972 game between the Philadelphia Phillies vs. the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field from the October 4, 1972 edition of the New York Times:

Carlton would lead the league with 310 strikeouts with 87 walks, a league leading 257 hits allowed in 346.1 innings pitched for a WHIP of 0.993. Carlton made 41 starts with 30 complete games, both league bests. He would finish the season with eight straight complete games and 17 complete games in his last 19 starts.

Carlton would be the unanimous NL Cy Young Award winner, garnering every first place vote. This would be the first of four NL Cy Young Awards for Carlton.

He would be the last pitcher to win 27-games until Bob Welch would went 27-6 for the Oakland Athletics in 1990. Will we ever see a pitcher win 27-games? Its hard to tell with pitchers being on strict pitch counts and a five and sometimes six man rotation. Pitchers just don't make 40+ starts in a season anymore. I wouldn't bet on it happening anytime soon.

Until Then Keep Playing Ball,
Baseball Sisco
#baseballsisco
#baseballsiscokidstyle

For Further Reading:
- Click here to access Steve Carlton's career statistics from Baseball Reference.com
- Click here to access the article Carlton Captures No. 27 As Phils Rout Cubs, 11-1 from the New York Times dated October 4, 1972
- Click here to access the official Steve Carlton website

Last MLB Game Played at the Polo Grounds September 18, 1963

On this day in Baseball History September 18, 1963: The real last MLB game is played in front of 1,752 riveted fans showed up to watch the final home game of the New York Metropolitans of the 1963 season against the Philadelphia Phillies. Why do I say real?

The New York Giants played the first last MLB game at the Polo Grounds on September 29, 1957. They marked the occasion with a 9-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The arrival to the New York Metropolitans for the 1962 season meant that the Polo Grounds would be given a second lease on baseball life while the Mets waited for Flushing Meadows Park Municipal Stadium later rechristened Shea Stadium (in honor of William A. Shea) was finished being built in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in Queens.

The Mets were set to play at the shiny new ballpark to begin the 1962 but delays pushed that back. Then the Mets were supposed to begin playing at the new stadium for the 1963 season. The second final MLB game was played at the Polo Grounds during the record setting 40-120 season by the 1962 Mets. The Mets defeated the Chicago Cubs on September 23, 1962 by a score of 2-1 to bring the history of the old Ballpark in Harlem to an end on a winning note. But alas, it was not to be so.

Photo Courtesy of Peter Putnam/New York Times

The book Shea Stadium by Jason D. Antos describes what was happening at Shea Stadium in terms of construction delays:

On April 28, 1960, the green light was given to contractors P.J. Carlin and Thomas Crimmons to begin construction. On January 18, 1961, Wagner now announced that the new Flushing Meadows Municipal Stadium, now budgeted at $16 million, would be ready for the Mets' inaugural season of 1962. City Controller Lawrence E. Gerosa responded negatively, "Even if construction started last fall, they would still have to work overtime to finish it in time for the 1962 season." One week later construction was delayed.

Three months later on March 15, the assembly in Albany vetoed the measure that authorized the city to finance and build the new ballpark. Wagner pleaded in front of the assembly and won. The lease for the new ballpark was approved on October 6, 1961. Under the terms of the lease, the ballpark would pay $450,000 in rentals the first year with it decreasing to $300,000 in seven years. The Mets were able to lease the stadium for 30 years with an option for renewal of 10 additional years. Finally, on October 28, 1961, Wagner along with Robert Moses and the New York Parks Department president Newbold Morris attended the official groundbreaking ceremony.

Construction was further delayed because of loose girders and broken beams that needed to be repaired, and opening was moved to April 1964...As the construction progressed, the cost of stadium was rising faster than the ballpark itself. An extra $1.7 million was needed, causing the grand total to become $26 million. Finally, the official dedication ceremony took place on April 16, 1964.

Based on that and the bad weather in the winter of 1962-1963, the Metropolitans would play their 1963 home games at the Polo Grounds. Fast forward to the last home game of the season where the Mets fell in lackluster defeat to the Phillies 5-1. That must have been the fastest clean-up by the grounds crew at the Polo Grounds. How much of a mess could 1,752 fans really make.

Here is the boxscore from the last MLB game at the Polo Grounds from the September 19, 1963 edition of the New York Times:

The Polo Grounds would meet the same fate as Ebbets Field six days before Shea Stadium was dedicated. On April 10, 1964, the same wrecking ball that was used to demolish Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, was used to bring down the Polo Grounds. As with Ebbets Field, a housing development was built on the site of the old ballpark in Harlem.

Until Then Keep Playing Ball,
Baseball Sisco
#baseballsisco
#baseballsiscokidstyle

For Further Reading:

- Click here to access the article Polo Grounds, and Its Former Tenants, Emerge From the Shadows by Richard Sandomir from the New York Times dated January 19, 2011
- Click here to access the article Memories of Polo Grounds on Anniversary of Final Opener by Ken Belson from the New York Times dated April 8, 2013
- Click here to access the article Did They Ever Play Polo at the Polo Grounds? by Toby von Meistersinger from the Gothamist dated July 21, 2008 
- Click here to access the PDF of the report THE POLO GROUNDS CASE (part II) by John Hogrogian from THE COFFIN CORNER: Vol. 12, No. 1 (1990)  
- Click here to access the article The Last of the Polo Grounds: New York City Will Repair a Forgotten Staircase by Chris Epting from the National Trust of Historical Preservation website dated  March 6, 2009
- Click here to access the article Polo Grounds (New York) by Stew Thornley from the SABR Biography Research Project.

Papelbon to the Phillies

When Philadelphia Phillies GM Ruben Amaro said that the Phillies were going to be active this off-season, it didn't take him long to make a splash. It was announced today that the Phillies signed former Boston Red Sox closer Johnathan Papelbon to a 4-year $50-Million dollar contract with a vestibg option for a fifth year. In doing so, the Phillies shore up a big hole in their bullpen since former closer Brad Lidge and reliever Ryan Madson are both free agents. 

What do the Phillies get? They get a 30-year old closer who since coming up for the Red Sox in 2005 complied a 23-19 record with a 2.33 ERA in 429.1 innings pitched. Papelbon struck out 509, walked 115 and gave up 322 hits for a WHIP of 1.018. He recorded 219 saves in the ultra competitive American League East and under the scrutiny of some of the most demanding Baseball fans in the league.  Pitching under pressure is something that Papelbon was used to on a daily basis. A pressure that will not subside by playing in Philadelphia. The Phillies rotation has some strong bookends with their vaunted starting rotation and now Papelbon to shut games down.

Considering that Papelbon had expressed his desire to test the free-agent market numerous times, I believe that it's no surprise that he jumped at the offer made by the Phillies. So where does this leave Boston?   

I think (and personally believe) that the Red Sox can adequately replace Papelbon either from within or through free-agency. They have hard throwing Daniel Bard who would be the logical choice to close. They also have Bobby Jenks who can get some saves if he comes back from injury. On the free-agent front, there's a plethora of potential closets such as Francisco Rodriguez, Heath Bell. Joe Nathan, Jonathan Broxton the aforementioned Ryan Madson. 

So don't fret too much Red Sox nation, there's hope that the hole left by Papelbon's departure will be filled soon by new GM Ben Cherington.

FH

2011 ALDS NLDS Predictions

The first pitch of the 2011 MLB Playoff season will be thrown in roughly three hours when Texas Rangers left-hander takes the mound in Texas against the AL Wild Card winner Tampa Bay Rays. In anticipation of today's games, I've decided to make my predictions for the first round of the playoffs. Here goes.

#2 Texas Rangers vs. #4 Tampa Bay Rays
In a rematch from last year's first round match-up, the Rangers have home field advantage when the meet the Tampa Bay Rays. Holding a slight lead in the season series against the Rays (5-4) the Rangers just might be the most balanced team in the AL. But I have a problem going against the hot team. The Rays crawled back from a nine game deficit in the Wild Card race and did so by winning the playoff slot in dramatic fashion with a walk-off by franchise player Evan Longoria. I believe the Rays will ride the wave of euphoria to a first round defeat of the Rangers.

My Pick: Rays over Rangers in Five

#1 New York Yankees vs. #3 Detroit Tigers

In a season where the New York Yankees were picked to finish second and even third in the AL East, the Bombers continued to prove those naysayers wrong all season long rolling along to win the AL East and lead the AL with the best regular season record. They face a Detroit Tigers team who is led by Cy Young favorite Justin Verlander and MVP candidate Miguel Cabrera among others. The Tigers hold a slight lead in the season series (4-3) against the Yankees and the spotlight is shining specifically in the marque pitching duel of C.C. Sabathia and Justin Verlander. I think the Yankees have the offense that can make Verlander work. There really isn't an easy out in their lineup and I think that will be the deciding factor in who wins the series. I believe there is too much being made about the Yankees rotation issues. I mean, all the playoff teams have pitching issues with the exception of the Philadelphia Phillies.

My Pick: Yankees over Tigers in Four

#1 Philadephia Phillies vs. #4 St. Louis Cardinals

I'm going to go on a major ledge here but I think if anyone in the NL can beat the Phillies at this point in time it is the St. Louis Cardinals. Why? well, like the Rays they are super hot. Pujols, Carpenter and company should thank Mr. Tony Plush of the Milwaukee Brewers for lighting a fire under them. Since that series with the Brewers, the Cardinals are 16-6 and have been playing some of the best baseball in the league and the Phillies have the privilege of playing them in the first round. the season series is firmly in the favor of the Cardinals (6-3). And the Phillies? What can I say. They have an astounding offense, the best pitching in the league and a very capable manager. So I must be nuts with what I have to say next. Right? Even I have doubts in my prediction but what the heck. Never let it be said that I don't like climbing on the ledge for the fun of it.

My Pick: Cardinals over Phillies in Five

#2 Milwaukee Brewers vs. #4 Arizona Diamondbacks

The Brewers come into this series with high hopes after setting a franchise record in wins with 96 wins. This team is offensively stacked and is led by MVP candidates Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun. On the pitching side, their rotation in solid. On the other side Arizona is led by Cy Young candidate and 21-game winner Ian Kennedy. They have shown that they can compete with the Brewers having an edge in the season series (4-3). I have to be honest, aside from Juston Upton, I really don't know much about the Arizona Diamondbacks offense. Maybe that's what Arizona has counted on all season while they won game after game on their way to the NL West title. That said, I have a hard time seeing the Brewers losing in the first round.

My Pick: Brewers over Diamondbacks in Four

So there it goes. Lets see if next week I'll have egg on my face or a big smile.

FH

Cliff Lee signs with the Philadelphia Phillies

The Baseball side of the Twitter universe blew up with the news from MLB.com writer T.R. Sullivan and Joel Sherman of the New York Post that The Philadelphia Phillies have signed free agent pitcher Cliff Lee to a 5-year $100 Million-ish deal. Sherman on his twitter feed says that Lee was offered by the Yankees:

#Yankees offered Lee $23m for 6 yrs ($138M) plus a $16m option for a total of $154M over 7 yrs

So obviously his signing with the Phillies wasn't about the money. This makes the Phillies rotation look as such: Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels. Simply amazing.

UPDATED 12/14/2010 1:40am

T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com reports that:

The Rangers' last offer was for $138 million over six years with an option for a seventh season.

So both the Yankees and the Rangers offered the same base salaries through the actual amounts that Lee could have earned would have depended on the tax rates he would have had to pay. In the end Lee agreed to a five-year deal with a vesting option for a sixth season that could bring the total to $120 million. Lee apparently took less years and less money to re-sign with the Phillies.

As I said before, Simply amazing.

FH

- Click Here for the AP report of Cliff Lee's signing with the Phillies from the Philadelphia Daily News website
- Click Here for T.R. Sullivan's article Phillies swoop in and bring back Lee from MLB.com dated Deember 14, 2010
- Click Here for Alden Gonzalez's article Yanks miss out on Lee as lefty heads to Philly from MLB.com dated December 14, 2010

Jayson Werth Signs with The Washington Nationals

It was announced today that the Washington Nationals signed 32-year old OF Jayson Werth formerly of the Philadelphia Phillies to a 7-year $126 million dollar deal for an average of $18 million a year. Manny Ramirez (8-year $160 million in 2000) and Alfonso Soriano (8-year $136 million in 2006) are the only outfielders to sign larger contracts than Werth. So what does this do for the Nationals.

First it causes the Nationals to create a big splash on the eve of the MLB Winter meetings. To be perfectly honest, of the teams that I had read that were interested in Werth the Nationals did not even come up in the conversation. For the Nats to sign a top free-agent from a division rival is key. The signing also helps to ease the loss of slugger Adam Dunn who signed a 4-year $56 million deal with the Chicago White Sox last week. 

Second, it gives the National some stability in the outfield and a veteran presence that has played on winning teams in the young clubhouse. This can already be seen with the Nationals in the case of Ivan Rodriguez who has had a definite positive effect on the Nationals. Sometimes a team on the cusp of moving up to the next level needs some experience. I think Werth can fit that role. And that's it for the positives. 

I think that for the splash made by the Nationals, they gave Werth way too much in terms of years. At the end of the contract, Werth will be 39-years old. Can he be productive at that age? Absolutely. Look at his former teammate Raul Ibañez for an outfielder to be productive at an older age. My question is how will Werth be after possibly three, four or five years of not being competitive. He has been used to playing with the Phillies who for the last four seasons has been in the post-season with two back-to-back World Series appearances in 2008 and 2009. Will he play the same on a team that (let's say for argument sake) is out of contention by August each year? Only time can answer that question.

I can't positively answer this next point but I think that we can take the Nationals out of the Cliff Lee race. They were mentioned early on as one of the possible teams that Lee might play for this upcoming season. As the San Francisco Giants proved this past season, productive pitching can overcome deficits in offensive production behind them. A rotation anchored by Cliff Lee and Stephen Strausberg with Bryce Harper and Ryan Zimmerman providing some thunder from the offensive side makes the Nationals intriguing to say the least. Who knows, maybe the ownership behind the Nationals have a few more cards up their sleeves and pull out the trump card in the form of Cliff Lee. We'll know soon enough.

As for the NL East? Well the Werth signing is an example of the rest of the division gaining ground while the Phillies lose ground. The Braves are stronger with the pick up of Dan Uggla last month. The Marlins will remain pesky in the division. The Mets are something of an unknown as we won't know how Beltran, Bay and Santana come back from their injuries. What we do know is that the Phillies are a year older with a big hole to fill in the outfield. Are Domonic Brown and/or John Mayberry ready to play at the major league level? Thankfully Spring Training is only a few months away so we won't have to wait too long to see what happens. Plus, the winter meetings start tomorrow. There should be more fireworks in store.

FH

2010 National League Champion San Francisco Giants

The 2010 World Series is set and history will definitely be made. Congratulations to the 2010 National League Champion San Francisco Giants. The stage is set for a memorable matchup against the Texas Rangers starting Wednesday in San Francisco. This match up of “underdogs” will ensure that either the cities of San Francisco or Arlington will celebrate their first ever World Series championship. Unlike last year’s World Series between league powerhouses New York Yankees and Philadelphia Phillies, this year’s Fall Classic will match up two different kind of teams. I’ll go into the differences between the teams in a later post. For now I want to focus on the Giants.

Unlike the Rangers who clubbed their way to the World Series, the Giants clawed their way to the promised land with amazing pitching, timely hitting and good luck on some questionable calls. The main question of the Giants succeeding in the playoff was could they score enough runs to make it this far. The answer is Yes, especially since they were able to do so without a masher in the middle of the lineup that many people, including myself, felt that they needed (For the record, I still feel that way. Prince Fielder or Carlos Peña at first or Adrian Beltre at third and Pablo Sandoval at first would be a good fit. But we can talk about that more in November). In 10 games, the Giants batted .231 with 6 HRs and 27 RBI. That’s an average of 2.7 runs a game in beating the both the Atlanta Braves and the Philadelphia Phillies of the NL East. How can an improbable lineup that scored less than an average of three runs a game make it to the World Series? Jayson Stark of ESPN.com describes the Giants offense as so:

But how did they get here? How did they do this? How did they pull off this miraculous magic-carpet ride, anyhow?

Exactly one starting position player who took the field for the Giants on Saturday had ever made an All-Star team. (That was Edgar Renteria, a guy who hit eighth, naturally, and went 1-for-16 in the NLCS.)

Precisely two of these guys started this game playing in the same place you could have located them back on Opening Day. (That would be Renteria, the shortstop, and Aubrey Huff at first base.)

Their cleanup hitter (Buster Posey) was in the minor leagues when this season started. Their No. 5 hitter (Pat Burrell) got released by Tampa Bay. Their No. 6 hitter (Cody Ross) was a waiver-claim special -- and all he did was win the NLCS MVP award.

They're a team loaded with so many retreads and reclamation projects that even their manager, Bruce Bochy, refers to them as "a bunch of misfits." But all you need to know about the 2010 Giants is that these guys actually take that as a compliment.

The seemingly anemic offense of the Giants proved the old baseball adage the Good Pitching Beats Good Hitting in the postseason.

The strength of the Giants lay in their vaunted pitching staff. As a whole, the staff had a 2.47 ERA with 102 K’s and only 28 walks while holding opposing hitters to a .199 batting average in both the NLDS and NLCS. This is made even more impressive since the Phillies hit .178 (8-for-45) with runners in scoring position and .216 for the NLCS (The Phillies hit a measly .215 for the entire playoffs). Three of the six games were decided by one run, one by two runs, one by three and only one by five. The young studs of Lincecum, Cain and Sanchez with a good bullpen anchored by the hirsute closer Brian Wilson were impressive and dominant and will definitely pose a challenge for the potent bats of the Texas Rangers. In a seemingly mirror image to the ALCS, it just seemed that the Giants (like the Rangers) were hungrier and wanted the win more than the favored Phillies (like the favored Yankees)did.

How will this series turn out? Hope you don’t live in a Cablevision area since their tiff with Fox is still ongoing and tune in on Wednesday night.

FH

For Further Reading:
- Click Here for the pitching statistics page for the 2010 postseason from ESPN.com
- Click Here for the batting statistics page for the 2010 postseason from ESPN.com
- Click Here to access box scores and other stats of the 2010 NLCS from BaseballReference.com
- Click Here to access Jayson Stark's article Giant cast of 'misfits' marches on from ESPN.com

Various Baseball Tidbits

So in my travels in Cyberspace, I've come across a few interesting baseball news tidbits that I'd like to share. So here goes.

1. Austin Jackson will be starting for the Detroit Tigers
Jim Leyland announced that rookie Austin Jackson will be starting in CF for the Tigers in the season opener against AL Cy Young award winner Zack Grienke and the Kansas City Royals. Having gotten Jackson in the deal that sent former Tigers CF Curtis Granderson to the New York Yankees, Jackson gets the chance to show his 5-tools with the Tigers. Hope the young man does well in the Motor City.

- To see the article on Austin Jackson from the Detroit Free Press website, click here

2. The Giants sign Matt Cain, Brian Wilson and Jeremy Affeldt to extensions
In news that will make my friend Justin happy, the Giants opened the bank and signed Matt Cain to a three-year, $27.25 million contract, Brian Wilson to a two-year, $15 million extension and Brian Affeldt who was due to earn $4 million in 2010 in the final year of his contract, he will get $4.5 million this year and next with a $5 million club option for 2012 and a $500,000 buyout. This impressive to see from a franchise who has been criticized (especially by me) for not being very active in the big name free agent market. Though I still say they need a big bat in the lineup to protect Pablo Sandoval, locking up their young pitching (Lincecum signed a two-year $23-million dollar deal in the offseason) is a sound move. Maybe the Giants aren't really that trigger shy after the signing busts of Barry Zito and Aaron Rowand.

- To read the article from the San Francisco Chronicle, click here

3. Milton Bradley gone from Chicago but not forgotten
So as MLB's version of Kanye West (Milton Bradley) is announced to be the Seattle Mariners cleanup hitter this season, the Cubs (and their fans who yell Milton Bradley sucks in Spring Training games against the Mariners even when he's not playing) are still trying to shake the stigma of the brief Milton Bradley era along the Northside of the Windy City.

- To read the article on Bradley's becoming the cleanup hitter for Seattle from the Silicon Valley Mercury News webpage, click here
- To read the Chicago Sun-Times article on the continued effect Bradley has on the Cubbies, click here
- To read the USA Today article where Bradley refers to himself as MLB's Kanye West, click here

4. The All-Time Dodgers Pitching Rotation
Johnathan Stillwell describes in his Bleacher Report for the Los Angeles Times what his all time Dodgers pitching rotation would be. He separates the pitching by the Brooklyn era (Early), the Los Angeles era (Modern) and then both combined. The results are truly amazing. Especially since the Dodgers only won one title in their time in Brooklyn.

- To read the article and see the results of the All-Time Dodgers rotation, click here

5. The Phillies window for becoming a dynasty is closing
Dave Sheinin of the Washington Post writes that he believes that the Phillies chance to become a baseball dynasty is closing. As he states in his article:

The core is no longer so young, the future is no longer boundless and the window that keeps The End at bay is closing fast.

He makes an interesting point especially when stating that the contracts of star players are almost finished. Jayson Werth's contract ends after this season. Rollins, Howard, Lidge, Hamels and left fielder Raúl Ibáñez all come up after 2011. So do the Phils go the route of the Yankees and spend some cash, or do they trade those guys for draft picks before their deals end. Only time will tell.

- To read the Sheinin article from the Washington Post website, click here

FH

Pujols vs. Howard

The Baseball world was abuzz yesterday with the presumed leak of a possible trade between the National League Champion Philadelphia Phillies and the St. Louis Cardinals. Though rumors of trades between teams are a common practice, the players involved in the trade are the reason for the excitement. The proposed trade would sent St. Louis Cardinal first-baseman and current league MVP Albert Pujols to the Philadelphia Philles for his defensive counterpart, Ryan Howard. Whether or not this deal is real or not is irrelevant (well except to Pujols, Howard and their respective organizations), for arguments sake, let's look at both players and see which one would be the better deal.



1. Age
Both players are 30 years old, with Howard being a few months older than Pujols. Edge=Even

2. Offense
Both players are MVP caliber players, though Pujols has the edge on Howard with 3 MVP awards to 1. Both players are offensive dynamos who can change a game with a simple swing of the bat. But it is in the areas of batting average, walks and strikeouts that separate Pujols from Howard.

Pujols' and Howard's Career Statistics

Player	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	BB	K
Pujols	1717	387	14	366	1112	.334	.427	.628	1.055	811	570
Howard	750	136	11	222	640	.279	.376	.588	.961	406	878

Now the career numbers are tilted towards Pujols' favor since he has played for 9 seasons while Howard has played for 6. Here are the average numbers for both players.

Pujols' and Howard's Yearly Average Statistics

Player	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	BB	K
Pujols	199	45	2	42	129	.334	.427	.628	1.055	94	66
Howard	166	30	2	49	142	.279	.376	.588	.961	90	194

Comparing the yearly average statistics for both Pujols and Howard, you can see that Pujols is the more domninating and efficient player. Where Howard is the prototypical power hitter who hits massive amounts of homers (49) while striking out more than he walks (194/90). Pujols is quite the opposite. While he also hits many homers (42), he is much more efficient at the plate in terms of his strikeouts to walks (94/66). Pujols also has a better batting average and OPS compared to Howard (Pujols' .334 BA to Howard's .279 BA/Pujols' 1.055 OPS to Howard's .961 OPS). Edge=Pujols

3. Defense
Both play first-base and though not in the same league defensively as Mark Teixeira of the New York Yankees both are very good first-basemen. The edge would go to Pujols here since he has the same amount of errors at first as Howard but with 3 more years on the bag (64). Pujols also has a slight edge on fielding percentage over Howard (.994 to .990). Edge=Pujols.

4. Meaning to Their Team
Both Pujols and Howard are extremely important to their teams, though I think that Pujols plays a more pivotal role to the Cardinals than Howard does to the Phillies. If you took Howard out of the Phillies lineup, they still have a team that is capable to win many games. Their lineup has the 2007 NL MVP Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, Jason Werth and Shane Victorino. Plus the Phillies have the luxury of throwing Roy Halladay and Cole Hamels on the mound every 5th day. On the other hand, if you took Pujols out of the Cardinals' lineup, you 'd be left with Matt Holliday, Yadier Molina, Ryan Ludwick and Skip Schumaker with Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright on the mound. Not really the same effect. Edge=Pujols

5. Potential Free-agency
Both players are signed for a few more years with their respective teams. Pujols signed a 7-year $100 million dollar deal in 2004. Howard signed a 3-year $54 million dollar extension in 2009. Both players are currently making about $15 million per year but with free-agency looming large on the horizon for Pujols, it seems as if he will garner a contract similar (if not larger) than Alex Rodriguez's 10-year $275 million dollar deal. It remains to be seen if Pujols would take a hometown discount to stay with the Cardinals. Pujols had the following comments about his contract status with the Cardinals this past January:

“When that time comes, if it’s taking a discount to make this organization better, I want to have a great organization to be in the playoffs every year if we can,” he said.

“Right now I still have a couple of years,” he said. “That’s something that I don’t need to worry about right now. When my time comes, I’ll deal with that. Right now, my job is to let my agent do the talking and I’ll go and prepare for baseball. We’re open. We’re open to talk about it. I can tell you one thing, when the season starts we ain’t talking anything about it. Because my focus is to help this organization to win, and that’s it.

“If it comes to that [free agency], then that’s fine. That’s the decision that they decide to make, and that’s it. Do I want to become a free agent? No, but if it happens, then I have to deal with it. I want to play baseball, so I have to deal with my free agency and go play either here or somewhere else.”

After having signed Matt Holliday to a 7-year $120 million dollar contract this past offseason, will the Cardinals be willing to break the bank to sign Pujols? I think the thought of trading for Howard would mean a lesser contract to be given to Howard when he would be eligible for free-agency over the one that would be given to Pujols. On the flip side, would the Phillies be able to afford a contract of the size that Pujols would garner on the open market? Edge=Even.

As I told Pete yesterday after he notified me of the news of the trade rumor, both Pujols and Howard should be lifers with their teams as Tony Gwynn, Cal Ripken and (hopefully) Derek Jeter are. A player of Pujols' caliber comes along once a generation if a franchise is lucky and since he wants to play in St. Louis, the Cardinals should make every effort to sign their franchise player for the long term. The price they pay will me made back with ease as Pujols continues to climb and knockdown record after record on his way to Cooperstown. On the other hand, Howard is no slouch by any stretch and I believe when it is all said and done, he will be mentioned in the same breath as Pujols and Teixeira as the premier first-basemen of this generation. Both players are adored in their home markets and should be the subject of adoration of hometown fans for years to come.

But if I was Phillies GM, Ruben Amaro Jr., the lure of being able to acquire the game's best player may be too much to ignore. Sorry Pete, I make the deal with no hesitation. What do you guys and gals think. Let me know.

FH

For Further Reading
- An Article from StLouistoday.com on Pujols and LaRussa thoughts on the trade comments
- An Article from the Philadelphia Daily News about Buster Olney defending his comments on the trade rumors
- The article from ESPN.com by Buster Olney that announced the trade rumor and comments from Pujols and Howard
- A column from the Albert Pujols Fan Club page on his status with the Cardinals and looming free-agency

Big Baseball Day on 12-14-2009

So there was a tremendous amount of activity in the landscape of MLB. Here are my impressions of the important points:

The Philadelphia Phillies
It seems to me that the Phillies trade of Cliff Lee for Roy Halliday doesn't solve a thing for the Phillies. For arguments sake, why trade an ace who pitches superbly in Philadelphia. We see what he brings by how he shut down the Dodgers and the Yankees in the last postseason. Maybe by not including Cliff Lee in the deal it becomes an impossible transaction but if you're the Phillies GM, why not take the chance and spend the money to have 3 studs in your starting rotation. Not that the Phillies take a step back by trading Lee for Halliday. Realistically, it was believed that Lee wanted a contract similar to the amounts signed by C.C. Sabathia last season. The Phillies believe that starting pitching over 30 years of age should not be signed for more that 3 years. At 31 years of age, Lee wanting 5 to 6 years in a new contract would not be acceptable to the Phillies.

According to Jayson Stark on ESPN.com, The Phillies would receive Roy Halliday, who would agree to a 3-year extension through 2013, with a vesting option that could lengthen the deal by another year or two, one source said. The extension is expected to guarantee Halladay in the neighborhood of $60 million, plus the $15.75 million he would make in 2010, the final year of his current contract. In turn, the Phillies would send outfielder Michael Taylor, Phillies catching prospect Travis d'Arnaud and a Phils pitcher -- either Kyle Drabek or J.A. Happ -- to Toronto. To finalize the Lee deal with Seattle, the Phillies would receive they would receive Seattle's top pitching prospect, Phillippe Aumont and one other prospect -- believed to be 21-year-old outfielder Tyson Gillies.

The Seattle Mariners
The Mariners sure are making waves this offseason. By shedding 50 million in expiring contracts from the payroll and a determination to reinvest in the team, they show Felix Hernandez their commitment by trading for Cliff Lee and signing Chone Figgins. My prediction is that they will also sign Jason Bay, whose idol Edgar Martinez's name graces the street where Safeco Field is located. By making these moves, the Mariners with their perennial MVP, Ichiro Suzuki leapfrog the Angels as the favorites in the A.L. West. Maybe Ken Griffey Jr., changes his mind and comes back for one more year and a last chance at a ring.

The Boston Red Sox
Boston improves tremendously by signing John Lackey. By adding Lackey to their already formidable rotation of Josh Beckett, John Lester, Daisuke Matsusake, Clay Buchholz and Tim Wakefield the Red Sox remain in the top 3 of American League teams. The Red Sox also signed OF Mike Cameron to a 2-year deal. The big question for the Bosox is how do you replace Jason Bay. As I predicted, he'll be going to Seattle. By trading Mike Lowell to the Texas Rangers, 3B is opened for free agent Adrian Beltre. I think the best course of action for the Red Sox is to resign Bay, move Youkilis to 3B and sign Nick Johnson to platoon at 1B with Victor Martinez when he gets a breather from behind the plate. By Varitek taking his option, it muddled things up a bit since as Captain he'll get his fair share behind the plate. But Martinez is the catcher of the future for Boston. Depending on how Ortiz plays this year, maybe Varitek can DH more letting Martinez to get his playing time behind the plate.

The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
I have one thing to say to Arte Moreno, owner of the Angels. Que haces con su equipo hermano (What are you doing with your team brother). So you let Lackey, Figgins and Guerrero walk. You fail to trade for Halliday thereby falling to second best in the A.L. West. Where's the aggressiveness that allowed you to sign free agents in years past like Torii Hunter. I expected more from the Angels, but things are not all negative for the Angelinos. They resigned Bobby Abreu who was pivotal in their run into the ALCS. Also, rumor has it that the Angels will sign Hideki Matsui for 1 year 6.5 million dollars to replace Vlad at DH. At this stage of the game, I believe Matsui is a better hitter than Guerrero since he is a more disciplined batter. Vlad can still scare opposing pitchers but his skills are diminishing and so have the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim...