Lamping Resigns

The news just keeps coming in, so here’s a second post for today.  Cardinals’ team president Mark Lamping is resigning after 13 years with the club to become the CEO of the New Meadowlands Stadium Company, a company that will develop the stadium project that will house New York’s two NFL teams.

Lamping was hired in 1994, and hired former GM Walt Jocketty in ‘95.  He was a large part of the team’s turnaround as well as getting the new stadium built, where the Cards won the World Series in the stadium’s inaugural season.

Bill Dewitt III, the son of the current team chairman, will succeed Lamping as president.  The official announcement will be held at a Busch Stadium press conference tomorrow.  Bernie Miklasz has the full story.

Wait For It

Well, I’ve got an entire post, ready to publish, completely devoted to crunching the numbers of both Troy Glaus and Scott Rolen.  A little compare and contrast, if you will.  However, I’ve decided that it would be a bit premature to post it today, and now plan on waiting until the trade is finalized, after both players pass their physicals.

So instead, let’s bide our time with some minor, late news surrounding the ball club.  I’ll refer you to the St. Louis Post Dispatch, where you’ll find an interesting article discussing our old pal, Walt Jocketty, and his new position with the Cincinnati Reds.  Derrick Goold has the story.

A couple more former Redbirds have signed on elsewhere.  Kip Wells has signed a one year deal with the Colorado Rockies, while infielder Miguel Cairo has signed on with the Seattle Mariners.

For those interested in the annual Cardinals Caravan, the schedule and lineups are now available.  Matthew Leach has all the info.

Also, Rick Hummel has the news of another loss in the Cardinal family.  Long time VP of community relations, Marty Hendin, passed away last night at 59.  Another tip of the cap is due Cards fans.  Read the full article here.

Executive Hierarchy

There’s an excellent article in today’s Post Dispatch, written by Joe Strauss, covering some of the hardships that the new GM of the St. Louis Cardinals will face. It got me thinking whether or not the position really is “a premium job in baseball,” as Dewitt says it is. It raised a lot of questions.

First, what kind of control and authority will the new GM actually have, and for that matter, is it any different than what Walt Jocketty had this past season? It seems that the club’s scouting, drafting, and minor league farm system, will all be under the drection of Jeff Luhnow, the VP of player development, with little or no influence from the GM. Many general managers like to either oversee those departments themselves, or hire their own personnel to do so. Any candidate for the open position with the Cards, won’t be allowed to do that.

Secondly, we all know that Dewitt and company want Tony La Russa to return to manage the team. Tony will make a decision after a GM is in place. Assuming La Russa does return, with his preference for an experienced, veteran team, the new GM also won’t be able to hire his own manager, or control much of the roster.

Bernie Miklasz described it best:

“So: the new GM can’t be in charge of scouting and drafting and player development … and he can’t build the major-league team the way he’d like to. That doesn’t sound like a great situation to me.”

It sounds like a bad situation to me. Is it normal for clubs to have their general manager, or potential general manager, in this type of situation? From the quotes of some previous candidates in Strauss’ article, it doesn’t sound like it.

So, why are Dewitt and the Cardinals sticking with this model? Why the love affair with Luhnow? Although the resources for scouting and player development have increased, he has yet to put a player in the major leagues.

Strauss indicates that the new GM might never have run his own department before, and quite possibly could be younger than some of the veteran players on the roster. Hold on Cardinal fans. It could be a bumpy ride.

A Few Notes

First, the Cardinals’ search for a general manager continues as Chairman Bill Dewitt, and President Mark Lamping met with another candidate yesterday at Roger Dean Stadium, in Jupiter, Fla. The interview was with Rick Hahn, the Chicago White Sox assistant general manager. Dewitt has also spoken to Arizona Diamondbacks assistant GM Peter Woodfork, and Cleveland Indians assistant Chris Antonetti. Dewitt hopes to have a decision before the World Series begins on Oct. 24. Personally, I’d just assume they give the job to Mozeliak.

Also, former general manager, Walt Jocketty, has apparently been contacted by the Cincinnati Reds. They’d like Jocketty to assume either CEO or president.

Next, the return of Juan Encarnacion doesn’t appear to be anytime soon, if ever. Since the injury to his left eye, on August 31, he has regained only 20/400 vision. I feel bad for Juan. He hasn’t been one of the fans’ favorites these last two seasons. Maybe his style of play wasn’t what the Cardinal faithful were used to, but he consistently put up numbers very similar to his career averages, with no surprises, and did it for a reasonable price. I’ve always been a fan of Encarnacion’s, and felt comfortable when he was in the game. Now he may never play in a ballgame again.

Well, the mid-season trades by the Cardinals that involved “players to be named later”, have all been fulfilled. Right-handed pitcher, and former number one draft pick, Chris Lambert, was selected by Detroit as the PTBNL in the Mike Maroth deal. That one was a bust, although I was ecstatic after his first performance against the Mets. The Russel Branyan trade involved only cash considerations (thank goodness), and outfielder Sean Danielson was selected by Boston as the player in the Joel Pineiro deal.

Speaking of Pineiro, the club hopes to sign him to a multi-year deal before he files for free agency. Pineiro insists that he only wants to start, and won’t go to a team as a relief pitcher. I hope they’ll sign him for two years, but nothing more, and while I’m playing GM, let’s not extend it to more than $4 million a year.

The one year contract extension for pitcher Russ Springer is for $3.5 million.

And finally, Cardinals pitcher Braden Looper has undergone surgery on his non-throwing shoulder, and expects to be fully recovered by spring.

Read more about these stories, and more, from Joe Strauss, here.

Will La Russa Return for ‘08?

As it stands right now, the Cardinals are without a general manager and a field manager. Interim GM John Mozeliak would like to take over Walt Jocketty’s old job, and is definitely a candidate. Already he has picked up Jason Isringhausen’s club option for next season, and, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post Dispatch, is planning to talk to agents about the possible returns of David Eckstein, Russ Springer, and Joel Pineiro. Check out that full story here. Additionally, he has to make offers to arbitration-eligible players. Mozeliak also has had a phone conversation with Tony La Russa, however there were no discussions of Tony’s plans. He is supposed to make his decision early this week.

So, where do I stand on all of this? Well, it seems to me that Mozeliak would be a fine successor to Jocketty. He has worked under him for several years, is familiar with the system, Bil Dewitt, and the organization’s philosophy heading into the future. There are other candidates out there, but I’m not sure they would do any better. I also would like to see the returns of Pineiro and Springer, but I’m still undecided about Eckstein.

For manager, I’d like to see Tony come back, but not on a one-year deal. It seemed that his contract status was a distraction to the team late in the season, and I’d rather not put up with that again. Tony is a winner, and I think many of the fans that would love to see him go would later realize it once he’s gone. The success the Cardinals have had under La Russa’s watch will be hard to match for the next manager, regardless of who it might be.

Some have assumed that Tony will not return now that Walt Jocketty is gone. The speculation as to who the next manager might be has already begun. Bernie Miklasz, also of the Post Dispatch, listed possible suitors that included Jose Oquendo, Joe Girardi, and Jim Riggleman, amongst others. That article is here. Here’s my two cents: If not LaRussa, then Oquendo. I think he’s put in his time, and deserves a shot. He’s also a fan favorite around St. Louis. I like his attitude about strong defense, and his aggressiveness on the basepaths. He already has a good relationship with most of the players too, which may or may not be a good thing.

All we can do now is wait and see. I think a lot of the 2008 plan is dependent on who the manager is. Regardless, it’s still an exciting time for Cardinal fans.