Cardinals Suck at Commemorative Cups

See for yourself. 

You guys might want to talk about how the Royals have won 7 of their last 8 games, or how we took 2 of 3 from the Tigers, or how Jose Valverde’s goatee is uglier than the streets of Detroit after midnight, but I have more pressing matters to write about: the HUGE gap between the Royals and Cardinals commemorative cups.

I made a recent trek up to St. Louis to visit my future graduate school, and scheduled the trip around the Royals and Cardinals series. I had never been to Busch Stadium, and as much as I want to lie about it being a piece of junk, was actually a really nice stadium. Although I was heckled by fans before, during, and after the game – I attended the game in which Aaron Crow blew a two run lead in the bottom of the 8^th inning – the stadium itself was quite impressive. Maybe not “baseball heaven” as they call it, but a nice stadium nonetheless.

But everything soon changed after I made my habitual journey to a concession stand. You see, I like to purchase commemorative cups from every stadium at which I attend a game. I have NFL cups, MLB cups, MLS cups, college, and minor league baseball cups. They are my version of shot glasses, pennants, posters, etc. that people collect when they visit many different stadiums. The cups can get pricey, but when people come over and ask if they can have a drink, they are always impressed by my collection.

So when I purchased a burger basket meal at Busch Stadium and ordered the commemorative cup, I knew that this was a good time of year for cups. After all, it should be the first cup of the year for the team, assuming they have multiple versions, and should also feature the schedule. Having gotten one from Kauffman Stadium on Opening Day, I had a certain expectation for the cup. I was sadly disappointed.

As you can see above, the Cardinals cup lacks any sort of originality, flair, or pizzazz that the Royals cup does. While the Royals cup features three players, the team’s slogan – Come to Play – and the team schedule, the Cardinals just simply has the logo and the schedule. In fact, I’m not even sure if what the Cardinals sold me should even be labeled as a commemorative cup. It’s closer to just being a cup. What is it commemorating?! Nothing.

As a commemorative cup connoisseur, this is exactly the sort of arrogance I should have expected from the Cardinals organization. It’s as if they think winning 11 World Series and being a perennial contender somehow excuses them from offering an aesthetically pleasing commemorative cup to their clientele.

No St. Louis, it does not. 

Self Appointed Best Fans in Baseball

Two weeks ago, Miguel Cabrera stood in front of the Kansas City faithful as they gave him a standing ovation. As we are all aware, Cabrera had just accomplished the incredible feat of baseball’s Triple Crown. Despite doing so in front of an opposing crowd, it was awesome to see the fans at Kauffman Stadium give him his due.

Unfortunately, the national media, instead of patting Kansas City’s fan base on the back, will choose to continue to perpetuate the idea that Royals fans unfairly booed Robinson Cano for not selecting a Royal to take part in the home run derby. The same national media members won’t take the time to understand that Royals fans weren’t booing that evening because Billy Butler had been left out by Cano; Royals fans were booing because Cano outright lied about including Billy Butler in the Derby.  If you believe that isn’t a booable offense that is fine, but at least provide the rest of the country with an accurate depiction. I don’t think that is too much to ask, after all it is your job.

Fast forward to Thursday night in Oakland, when another awesome gesture was put forth by the home crowd.  If you were watching the game, you’ll know what I am talking about. Following the final out of a 6-0 game 5 loss to Detroit, what appeared to be virtually every A’s fan in attendance began chanting ‘Let’s Go A’s!’.  I may be wrong, but while the camera panned across the stadium, there were only a handful of people making their way toward the exits.

It isn’t that uncommon for a team to play its final game of the season and the home crowd to give a courtesy clap as they walk on the field, but what happened on Thursday in Oakland was special. The Oakland crowd clearly knew that they were playing with house money. Did they want to win the World Series? No doubt. But were they able to stand back and truly appreciate what they had just witnessed? Yes, probably better than any fan base I’ve ever seen.  It was an incredibly classy gesture put forth by a fan base that is often spit on by those around baseball including people within the A’s own front office.

Of course, what made the A’s fans’ class even more noticeable was the timing. Just a few hours prior to the A’s defeat, the Cardinals had fallen on a walk off home run by Jayson Werth. Now I may have a poor sample of the Cardinal Nation, but it was amazing how harsh Cardinals’ fans were on Lance Lynn. Let’s just be blunt, without Lance Lynn’s spectacular first half there is the possibility that the Cardinals wouldn’t have reached the postseason, but apparently the self-appointed best fans in baseball have short term memories.

We also shouldn’t forget about the ridiculous manner in which the Cardinals’ fan base attempted to vilify Albert Pujols last offseason. Instead of wishing him well as he took what was clearly a better offer in Los Angeles, they acted as if their wife had just cheated on them. I understand the frustration, but do not act like he was obligated to stay in St. Louis. Baseball was a business, is a business, and will always be a business. Oh, and if you are going to root for him to fail, keep it to yourself. The antagonistic, self-interested vendetta isn’t a good look on anyone, let alone an organization that low balled the best player in baseball and then acted as if he was the party at fault.

There may have been a time when St. Louis Cardinals fans attended games and supported, not just their team, but the game of baseball with the utmost class. There may have been time when their fan base didn’t rub their success in the faces of the rest of the baseball world. There may have even been a time when Cardinals fans were humble and proud of their success but also aware that it wasn’t a given. If these days did exist they have long since passed.

Instead, an entire generation of Cardinals fans have been socialized in a different way than their predecessor. I don’t blame their arrogance on the fans themselves. Baseball has socialized the Cardinals fan base to be who they are. We may have to accept it, but let’s not continue passing along the notion that Cardinals fans are better. We can at least do this for their own good.

Imagine trying to raise a child while the entire world told them that they were not only the best, but that they were more intelligent than anyone else and that they could never be outclassed as well. Of course that child is going to grow up to pretty much be the opposite of all those things. This is the exact socialization process that Cardinals fans have undergone. It should be no shock to anyone that the youngest part of the fan base is arrogant, entitled and looks down on every other fan base in baseball, preaching about the game to others.

Even on top of the socialization aspect, it hasn’t helped that over the last two decades, the Cardinals have lived an incredibly charmed life. It is as if the Baseball Gods determined that after enduring Don Deckinger’s call in 1985, every pivotal moment forward would go the Cardinals way. I think that the last twelve months have been evidence enough, and I can’t help but wonder how long before the pendulum swings the other way.

Don’t get me wrong, I am absolutely jealous of the Cardinals success. Every time they reach the postseason, I can’t help but envy the feeling of getting to root for my team in October. Do I root against the Cardinals in most situations? I will admit that I do, but I will also applaud them when Jon Jay makes a spectacular catch or David Freese does his thing in crucial situations. But let me be perfectly clear, I love Kansas City, I love the Royals, and I love our fan base. We don’t need a self appointed title to love our team and to love the game of baseball with class.  

Winter Meetings Day 4 Round Up

Well, not exactly a ton of movement this year for the winter meetings. But I think it is apparent now that at some point the Royals will sign a veteran back up infielder. Personally, I still believe the Royals will add one more starter before pitchers and catchers report.

1. Royals draft Cesar Cabral in Rule 5 draft. I guess we were all right the Royals had a lefty they wanted to add to the mix and they got him.

2. Royals trade Cabral to the New York Yankees for $100K cash money. Well that was weird. Given the Royals trade to open up a spot at basically the 11th hour, it really seemed like they wanted that spot for someone in particular. So my guess is this thing played out one of two ways.

Possibility 1: The player the Royals wanted was drafted prior to their selection. This would mean that the guy KC really wanted was either: Rhiner Cruz, Terry Doyle, Lucas Luetge, or Ryan Flaherty. The Royals had also talked with the Yankees about their desire for Cabral and agreed if the Royals' man wasn't there they would select Cabral for New York.

Possibility 2: The Yankees approached the Royals about helping them get Cabral. The Royals knowing that they would need an open 40-man spot soon to announce a signing decided, why not execute the Navarro trade now and get some extra cash. The winter meetings aren't cheap.

3. Royals select Thomas Melgarejo in minor league phase of the Rule 5 draft. This guy pitched in the Mexican League so I hope no one is shy about their Joakim Soria comparisons. If you want to see Melgarjo's stats click here.

4. If Cardinals are non tender Ryan Theriot, the Royals will be interested. Like I said there were some pretty thrilling Royals rumors this week in Dallas. I'm not sure that Theriot would be willing to accept a bench role, but I could see him fitting the Royals' needs.

5. Yu Darvish has been posted. I would be flabbergasted if news surfaced that the Royals even place a bid in the process. But I haven't been shy in my sentiment that Darvish could be a great fit for the Royals from a financial perspective. It is rare to have the opportunity to sign a 1/2 starter and only have to pay him 7 figures (maybe low 8 figures) at the end of his deal. If you want a better explanation for why I believe Darvish makes sense click here. Teams have until 4:00 CT on December 14 to place their blind auction bids on Yu's services.

The Closing of a Window

The Cardinals are now three wins away from achieving the ultimate goal of professional sports. Just 27 innings, 81 outs, 243 strikes. Just a month and a half ago this would have been considered almost impossible. (At least Nyger Morgan thought so.) But here we are.

If the Cardinals win the World Series they will hang a flag that will fly forever. They will have capitalized on their window of opportunity, and despite losing arguably their top starter before he could throw an inning in 2011, they will have won a World Series title.

But could this be that last beam of warm light pouring through that window of opportunity? Will the window be closed when 2012 rolls around? Obviously this is a critical question for Albert Pujols will ask himself when contract negotiations pick back up in a couple of weeks.

But the Cardinals are one of the premier organizations in all of baseball! There is no way the window of opportunity can close! It will always be open, because our fanbase not only demands it, but is also by divine right entitled to it.

We shouldn't forget that St. Louis isn't a top market. In fact it ranks 24th in all of baseball. Despite that the Cardinals ranked 11th in payroll for 2011. Perhaps the Cardinals have a large enough fan base to sustain these figures. Personally, I think that they can, as long as they win.

Wins directly influence attendance, in fact there isn't a variable outside of market size more critical than wins. You can have all of the bobblehead give aways, t-shirt tuesdays, and Hispanic heritage nights that you want but in the end fan bases need a winner to fully embrace a team.

I can't blame them. Who would want to buy season tickets, so that 45 times a year you can drive home frustrated? The Cardinals have won this year, reaching the World Series is proven to boost attendance and should the Cardinals win it all, attendance will be bumped up even more.

But there is without a doubt a white elephant in the room. Albert Pujols currently isn't a Cardinal in 2012, and to be quite honest I am not sure if there is a clear winning path for the Cardinals to take.

Post steroid era, players regress once they reach their 30s. However, indications are clear that Pujols is as of now one of if not the best player in professional baseball. If the Cardinals sign him to a massive contract they can keep open the window for their aging roster to win again in 2012. But if they don't keep him, there is a possibility the window will be closed.

Of course if the Cardinals do sign him, how long before he begins to regress? How long before that hometown discount starts to look more like a home town albatross? (Well played Mauer.) (Those weren't tic-tacs Alex.) By keeping the window open for 2012, do they shut the window several years down the line?

Over the past few seasons, the Cardinals have shown no fear in mortgaging the future in order to win in the present. Repeatedly they have sold off their top pieces on the farm or high potential players for sure things that can help them win in the short run. I don't fault them, top prospects live forever in the pages of Baseball America, but Championship flags live forever in the faces of fans on poles in centerfield.

For the Royals and their fans this could be an opportunity for a reversal of roles. The Royals for several seasons have sacrificed the present to buy stock in the future. The Cardinals have done the opposite. Will the Royals "Process" create success? Will Pujols defy the odds and prove worthy of every dollar for the duartion? Will the Cardinals creatively find a way to be competitive if he doesn't?

I don't have the answers, I am simply providing a little bit of food for thought.

What to do with Joakim; Part 2

In my last post I talked about Joakim Soria and I exclusively talked about the Yankees as a potential trade destination. However, should the Royals field offers they are probably just one of several teams that would be interested.610 Sports host Bob Fescoe speculated that one of these teams that would also have interest would be the St. Louis Cardinals.

There are a couple of reasons why I believe the Cardinals should be examined is because they have only converted in 22 of 37 save opportunities. The Cardinals released former closer Ryan Franklin today. They do have Fernando Salas and he has pitched well since being given the job converting in 12 of 14 save chances. So it is extremely possible that the Cardinals could be totally comfortable with what they have which would make this entire article a waste of time. But the Cardinals also tend to have no problem trading their top prospects for immediate help.

The problem with this deal is that I can't imagine the Cardinals having enough to get the Royals to deal unless either Colby Rasmus, or Shelby Miller were included. Colby Rasmus has of course had some issues with Manager Tony La Russa last season and at one point many expected him to be dealt in the offseason.

It appears that Rasmus and the Cardinals have put the past behind them and I think it would be pretty surprising if the Cardinals dealt their young up and comer. But it is always possible that skeletons are in the closet or that the Cardinals are a bit frustrated with his .779 ops and premadonna attitude.

Shelby Miller on the other hand is often discussed as one of the top pitching prospects in all of baseball. I think it would come as a real shock to the baseball world if he was moved. But if Miller was on the table, I'd really want the Royals to listen and it would make any deal involving him extremely difficult to turn down.

If either of these two blue chippers were included in the deal, it wouldn't take much for the rest of the deal to fall into place. Guys like Jordan Swaggerty, Seth Blair, Carlos Martinez could be discussed. What I am seeing though is that in order for the deal to be appealing on the Royals end it would require the Cardinals to give up too much of their young talent for it to make sense for themselves.

In addition the deal doesn't fit the Royals needs nearly as well as a potential Yankees deal would. If the Cardinals decided they were willing to move Rasmus the Royals could include Melky Cabrerra in the deal to fill the hole it would open up for the Cardinals. But unless the Cardinals were willing to deal either Rasmus or Miller, which I don't think they would be then I can't imagine a deal falling into place.

It is time for the Cardinals to hold on to their own young talent and I think they may finally be realizing this with Pujols's free agency looming.