CardsFanVegas

I think if the Angels can retain Vargas and trade for or sign another quality starter, they have a good shot in 2014.   
 
On paper, the offense looks like one of the best in baseball.    4 guys with 30HR/100RBI potential.    Just need all 4 of those guys to perform.

I think if the Angels can retain Vargas and trade for or sign another quality starter, they have a good shot in 2014.   
 
On paper, the offense looks like one of the best in baseball.    4 guys with 30HR/100RBI potential.    Just need all 4 of those guys to perform.

Albert doesn't like him.    So probably won't happen!

This is a good move for both teams.
 
For the Braves, they have one of the best if not the best pitching staff in baseball.    This makes them even better.
 
For the Angels, they moved someone who was gone after the season anyway for a potential quality reliever with many years of control.  
 
Watch out for Rasmus's Dad..  He's a former high school coach and thinks he knows better than MLB coaches and managers and with his brother Colby, had way too much influence on his son.  And a very big mouth.

Oh jeez, I forgot about their dad. He seemed like quite the...uhh, "character"?

I can't speak for all of them, obviously.  But here is a thread on the STL board on the same topic:
http://interact.stltoday.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=966320&sid=3ba435df83c1fd927a4ba515e7cc5462
 
I think there was also a 10 year deal after the 5 year deal was rejected..  I think 210 million was the number.
 
There's a lot who are still bitter over the whole thing, but its died down a lot.    In the long run, he will always beloved in St. Louis, by most of us.  And he still does so much good and positive things for the community. 
 
I come around and follow the Angels so I can keep up with him, and wish him the best.    When he was a Cardinal, he was the best player of our generation.    I hope you guys get to see some of that too.  
 
He had a spectacular 11 years in STL, no denying it.   The Cards did dodge a bullet by not overpaying for his later years.   I think most Cards fans see that now.    
 
The Cards build their organization in the farm system, first and foremost.    They get a piece here and there from outside when there is a need (Matt Holliday, Carlos Beltran).    They keep core players who came up when its reasonable and benefical (Molina, Wainwright).      They are a mid-market team, so keeping Albert for 10 years at his price would not have worked to our advantage.    The FO gets a lot of respect from the fans, because they (usually) make good moves.     They look like geniuses to the fanbase right now by letting Albert walk, but how would they have looked if he accepted it?   Who knows.

He is a fascinating player, no doubt.   Very high ceiling.
 
People may see him as trade bait because he is a guy who(when healthy) could net a solid #2 or #3 starting pitcher, which the Angels badly need.  

Trade market isn't great this year for 2 reasons in my opinion.
 
1. Addition of 2nd WC makes more teams believe they are contenders.
 
2. The growing trend of teams locking down their young talent early on.
 
Plus, look at what the price teams want for rental players.

I can understand why, for probably the same reasons I would like to see him kept: Speed, youth, already a Gold Glove level defender, will probably turn into a very good hitter if he can stay away from injuries. If I were St. Louis, he is the one guy on the Angels' roster who I would target. Strangely, there seem to be a number of people on here who see him as nothing more than trade bait.

Pitching is hurting this team, not the hitting.

As the resident stat-looker-upper, I thought it would be interesting to see how many teams actually do have "premier" catchers. Of course it depends upon what one means by "premier." Let's start by looking at two criteria:
 
3+ fWAR Catchers in 2013
4.3 Yadier Molina
4.3 Joe Mauer
4.0 Buster Posey
3.6 Russell Martin
 
5+ fWAR Catchers in 2012-13
11.8 Buster Posey
10.5 Yadier Molina
9.0 Joe Mauer
6.5 Jonathan Lucroy
6.0 Matt Wieters
5.8 AJ Ellis
5.6 Russell Martin
5.6 Miguel Montero
5.4 Carlos Ruiz
5.2 Carlos Santana
 
I think its safe to say that Molina, Posey and Mauer are premier catchers and heads-and-shoulders above everyone else. Then you have a bunch of guys - including those listed above, but also Brian McCann, AJ Pierzynski, and Salvador Perez - that have some good years but aren't quite elite. The only one I'd say s good enough at both hitting and catching to be considered premier is Lucroy.
 
So there you have it: four true premier catchers in all of MLB. That's why the Angels don't have one.
 
As for the next group? Well, how many are in the second tier? Maybe 6-10? That still gives us between one-third and half of all major league teams who have an above average starting catcher. The rest - basically most teams - have an average or worse, or platoon situation like the Angels.
 
As for Bengie Molina, I wouldn't call him ever being a "premier" catcher. He was a solid player, but really pretty average. His career line of .274/.307/.411 looks pretty good now, but remember that he played from 1998-2010, a much  higher offensive context. Bengie only ever had a 2+ fWAR season three times.

Bengie was definitely premier.  270+ BA clutch hitting and excellent behind the plate.
 
Letting Bengie sign with the Blue Jays for 2 years 3 million was a huge mistake.  It lead to Mathis and Jose Molina.  Aside from part time Napoli we haven't had a catcher that could hit since.

I will say that Pujols on one foot >>>> Hackilton.

He very rarely goes on the DL.  
 
But in this case, looks like it was unavoidable.    Hope he comes back 100%.

This says alot about Pujols and how much of a competitor he is. Even with all the numbers he put up, MVP's & Championships, he still wants to play everyday and compete even if he's playing on one foot. I have a ton of respect for him

Or maybe, just maybe, Pujols is a quality teammate who obviously has been truly injured all season and has been doing his best to live up to the contract he signed.  He tried to do what he was paid and he did it until his body wouldn't let him anymore which is more then can be said for so-called stars on other teams.  My only complaint with Pujols is he should sought rest/help sooner when it was obvious he couldn't play on it anymore.

I can't speak for all of them, obviously.  But here is a thread on the STL board on the same topic:
http://interact.stltoday.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=966320&sid=3ba435df83c1fd927a4ba515e7cc5462
 
I think there was also a 10 year deal after the 5 year deal was rejected..  I think 210 million was the number.
 
There's a lot who are still bitter over the whole thing, but its died down a lot.    In the long run, he will always beloved in St. Louis, by most of us.  And he still does so much good and positive things for the community. 
 
I come around and follow the Angels so I can keep up with him, and wish him the best.    When he was a Cardinal, he was the best player of our generation.    I hope you guys get to see some of that too.  
 
He had a spectacular 11 years in STL, no denying it.   The Cards did dodge a bullet by not overpaying for his later years.   I think most Cards fans see that now.    
 
The Cards build their organization in the farm system, first and foremost.    They get a piece here and there from outside when there is a need (Matt Holliday, Carlos Beltran).    They keep core players who came up when its reasonable and benefical (Molina, Wainwright).      They are a mid-market team, so keeping Albert for 10 years at his price would not have worked to our advantage.    The FO gets a lot of respect from the fans, because they (usually) make good moves.     They look like geniuses to the fanbase right now by letting Albert walk, but how would they have looked if he accepted it?   Who knows.

I can't speak for all of them, obviously.  But here is a thread on the STL board on the same topic:
http://interact.stltoday.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=966320&sid=3ba435df83c1fd927a4ba515e7cc5462
 
I think there was also a 10 year deal after the 5 year deal was rejected..  I think 210 million was the number.
 
There's a lot who are still bitter over the whole thing, but its died down a lot.    In the long run, he will always beloved in St. Louis, by most of us.  And he still does so much good and positive things for the community. 
 
I come around and follow the Angels so I can keep up with him, and wish him the best.    When he was a Cardinal, he was the best player of our generation.    I hope you guys get to see some of that too.  
 
He had a spectacular 11 years in STL, no denying it.   The Cards did dodge a bullet by not overpaying for his later years.   I think most Cards fans see that now.    
 
The Cards build their organization in the farm system, first and foremost.    They get a piece here and there from outside when there is a need (Matt Holliday, Carlos Beltran).    They keep core players who came up when its reasonable and benefical (Molina, Wainwright).      They are a mid-market team, so keeping Albert for 10 years at his price would not have worked to our advantage.    The FO gets a lot of respect from the fans, because they (usually) make good moves.     They look like geniuses to the fanbase right now by letting Albert walk, but how would they have looked if he accepted it?   Who knows.

I liked them since they had guys like Eckstein, Edmonds, Kennedy, Speez after their tenure's with the Halos. They were a bit like the NL version of the Halos during that time with those guys
 
Still don't have a problem with that franchise. Wish the Halos were ran as well as they are. Great major league ballclub with one of the top 3 farm systems in MLB. They develop great talent and lock up that great talent to some really good contracts. The Yady and Craig extensions were excellent

Yep, I truly envy that franchise. I think they're the best run organization. I've always been somewhat of a closet fan since I was kid playing for my Little League Cardinals team.

St. Louis is probably the best franchise in baseball at the moment, I'm jealous. 

I can't speak for all of them, obviously.  But here is a thread on the STL board on the same topic:
http://interact.stltoday.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=966320&sid=3ba435df83c1fd927a4ba515e7cc5462
 
I think there was also a 10 year deal after the 5 year deal was rejected..  I think 210 million was the number.
 
There's a lot who are still bitter over the whole thing, but its died down a lot.    In the long run, he will always beloved in St. Louis, by most of us.  And he still does so much good and positive things for the community. 
 
I come around and follow the Angels so I can keep up with him, and wish him the best.    When he was a Cardinal, he was the best player of our generation.    I hope you guys get to see some of that too.  
 
He had a spectacular 11 years in STL, no denying it.   The Cards did dodge a bullet by not overpaying for his later years.   I think most Cards fans see that now.    
 
The Cards build their organization in the farm system, first and foremost.    They get a piece here and there from outside when there is a need (Matt Holliday, Carlos Beltran).    They keep core players who came up when its reasonable and benefical (Molina, Wainwright).      They are a mid-market team, so keeping Albert for 10 years at his price would not have worked to our advantage.    The FO gets a lot of respect from the fans, because they (usually) make good moves.     They look like geniuses to the fanbase right now by letting Albert walk, but how would they have looked if he accepted it?   Who knows.

Jon Heyman â€@JonHeymanCBS3h
while it wouldn't surprise if #STLCards liked alexei r, #chisox did not turn down top rhp prospect Carlos Martinez for him

They gotta lock him up this offseason.

If its the 4th straight year with no playoffs, it would be best to go another direction.