The intentional pass
The Brewers just added CC Sabathia. The Cubs just added Rich Harden. The Cardinals added...uh, Mark Mulder?Mulder's long-awaited return to the Cardinals' pitching rotation on Wednesday, where the lefthander hadn't won in nearly 25 months, resulted in just a 16-pitch performance before a trip back to the disabled list. The St. Louis ballplayers competing valiantly above their heads in the National League Central Division need reinforcements badly and intra-organizational Band-Aids won't stop the bleeding. The pitching staff is plenty banged-up and fragile, but the offense may be sputtering worse, tallying only five runs during the three-game series just concluded this afternoon in Philadelphia, at the circuit's best ballpark for slugging.
The solution is Barry Bonds.
His agent says the unsigned outfielder could be ready for action in ten days, and he's yet to receive a single contract offer. There is no way-- repeat-- NO WAY this does can't make sense. A year ago at this time, Bonds was preparing for a start in left field at the All-Star Game, and for the entire season, he reached base in 48 percent of his plate appearances. Since May 1st of this year, the Cardinals have managed to provide 134 at-bats to Chris Duncan, who is, like Bonds, a left-handed hitting outfielder doubling as a defensive liability. Duncan has responded by posting a .218 batting average, four home runs, 18 RBIs, and 16 walks to 32 strikeouts. Duncan may have the benefit of a father as team pitching coach, but Barry's pop, Bobby, played 84 games with the Cards in 1980. That's gotta be worth something.
The signing of Bonds would erase one of the team's largest and longest-standing deficiencies by providing left-handed batting order protection for Albert Pujols. The Cards wouldn't be forced to dip into the minor league reservoir (via a trade) to bolster the offense. Bonds, even at 44 years old, would likely sign for half as much money as a slugger that could post only half the production, and he wouldn't be looking for a contract beyond this year, keeping a pathway clear for a potential future outfield of Rick Ankiel, Ryan Ludwick, and prospect Colby Rasmus. The 27-year-old Duncan could subsequently be dealt for pitching help before the rest of the league realizes he's Ben Grieve.
Spare me the moral judgments and the hypocrisy. Bonds is no saint. His only confirmed miracle is having once convinced a woman to sign a prenuptial agreement waiving her right to all of his present and future earnings. But Cardinals fans, as a whole, are not a reactionary lot, and the team's clubhouse this year has already hosted five other players-- Ankiel, Troy Glaus, Ron Villone, Ryan Franklin, and Juan Gonzalez-- named in the Mitchell Report.
The Cardinals' front office has a responsibility to keep the team up to par with the Joneses. When an indisputedly-worthy would-be contributor is kept out of action, especially under such phony pretenses, it's a breach of the faith with the fans. When the Cardinals or any other team blackball or conspire against a player or group of players in such a deceptive and misleading fashion, there's a legal name for it and that's "collusion." (Google the word, and its Wikipedia entry pops up first, followed by the Wikipedia entry for "baseball collusion.") It was practiced against African-American ballplayers for more than half a century, it's been practiced against free agents on and off again since the dawn of Marvin Miller and collective bargaining, and it's been a greater detriment to the competitive integrity of the game than steroids, gambling, or anything else the history books have recorded.
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Madonna's gotta be thrilled about this publicity. Jose Canseco's a stain on the entire genus.
posted by CM @ 8:28 PM
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