Skip Schumaker

[ljshorty89]

Hudson doesn't want to play in St. Louis? Since when???? You bunk buddies with him no?? You think he wants to go to the Nationals over St. Louis?? Hudson is 31 and a much better option than anyone the Cards have right now. I'm set on signing him because it is the best option for them to get better at the position in question!!

He doesn't want to go to Washington either. He's made it clear he wants to go to NY. He has been talking to Washington and the Dodgers for at least 2 weeks now, but said on a recent hot stove show that he was "hoping one of the NY teams gets creative". He wants to go to NY, he doesn't want to go to Saint Louis, move to plan B.

[love_that_reefer]

UGH, this again? Hudson has a better chance of going to the Cards than he does the Mets. Nationals are most likely to get him, Dodgers are showing renewed interest and Hudson really isn't in a position to pick and choose at this point. His price tag is coming down and the Cards COULD afford him. I am most positive Hudson would have no problem playing in front of the best baseball fans in all of baseball, St. Louis Cardinals fans. Hudson has never said he didn't want to play in St.Louis. Quit making shit up, its not doing any good. Plan B is still not moving your 4th possibly regular OFer to second base.

[love_that_reefer]

This is unreal ljshorty. I don;t think I have disagreed with you more in one week than this one. First it was Andruw Jones and now Schumaker going to 2nd. Is everyone taking crazy pills??

Best options for the Cards.
Schumaker and Rasmus platoon and Schumaker fill in for Ludwick and Ankiel when needed (most likely 3-4 games a week), trade Schumaker for a pitcher, sign a real second baseman.

All better options than the latter.

[ljshorty89]

UGH, this again? Hudson has a better chance of going to the Cards than he does the Mets. Nationals are most likely to get him, Dodgers are showing renewed interest and Hudson really isn't in a position to pick and choose at this point. His price tag is coming down and the Cards COULD afford him. I am most positive Hudson would have no problem playing in front of the best baseball fans in all of baseball, St. Louis Cardinals fans. Hudson has never said he didn't want to play in St.Louis. Quit making shit up, its not doing any good. Plan B is still not moving your 4th possibly regular OFer to second base.

I don't know what it is this week, but you and I are on opposite ends of the spectrum on everything. Hudson will never be a Cardinal. They have no interest, they have not spoken to him, and he prefers NY. I don't think he'll end up in NY, but I believe he'll hang on to that hope too long for any team to give him a good enough offer, with him ending up in Washington unfortunately.

[CrazyEights]

Hudson will never be a Cardinal. They have no interest, they have not spoken to him

I agree LJ. The Cardinals will probably never spend that kind of money at second base. they have said many times throughout the years that they won't spend a lot of money at that position.

Also... the Cards claim they are out of money now. So they wouldn't be in the hunt for Hudson even if they did want him.

[love_that_reefer]

I love how the Cards are out of money after not spending ANY this offseason. Its a real mystery! Kennedy is making $4 million this year so its not like they penny pinch at the position. Cards could double that and get Hudson if they wanted a REAL second baseman.

[CrazyEights]

Kennedy is making $4 million this year so its not like they penny pinch at the position. Cards could double that and get Hudson if they wanted a REAL second baseman.

That's the point though, they do pinch pennies at second. Whether Kennedy is worth $4Mil is besides the point. I don't think they have ever spent more than $4 or $5Mil per year on a second baseman.

[love_that_reefer]

Hudson signed a one year deal for $3.38 million. The Cards could have easily signed Hudson. What an awful, ****ed up offseason!

[CrazyEights]

How do you know the Cardinals could have signed him? I'm not saying that they couldn't, but I don't know for sure. Maybe Hudson thinks it's fun to play in LA too. Sure, it would be nice to have Hudson. I don't know if he is worth giving up our first round draft pick for him though. Especially if the Skip Schumaker project works out.

[love_that_reefer]

What makes you think the Cards couldn't have forked over $4 million for Orlando Hudson?? I mean honestly, what makes you think the Cards could not have signed this guy?? I don't think you grasp how big of a risk it is to pin your hopes on an OFer trying to play second base, a position he has never played before. Yes Hudson was worth giving up a draft pick for because he was the best option available at the Cards biggest weakness. FOXsports.com has the Cards ranked #4 on the worst offseason list but I have them right at number one. It has been embarrassingly bad and Pujols has already said that the Cards better start focusing on winning or he is gone after 2011. If it is more of this shit, I can't blame him.

[CrazyEights]

What makes you think the Cards couldn't have forked over $4 million for Orlando Hudson?? I mean honestly, what makes you think the Cards could not have signed this guy??

I didn't say they couldn't have signed him. I said I really didn't know, and neither do you. Of course the Cards could have forked over $4Mil for him. Would he have taken it? I really have no idea. If he wants to play in LA, then he plays in LA. Players don't always take the most money. some players do, but not all players are like that. Some players like Fuentes play in LA, because they think it will be more fun than playing in St. Louis. Maybe Hudson feels the same way, I really don't know.

[love_that_reefer]

Why wouldn't Hudson have taken it?? The Cards first have to ask to be rejected and they failed to do so. The Cards have failed this entire offseason. I am really struggling to find any reason why Hudson would not have taken a $4 million offer from the St. Louis Cardinals who have the best fans in baseball and would be playing right next to the best baseball player in the game. Hudson went to LA because they were the only team to offer anything and Spring Training had already started. Cards would be wise to either sign Grudz or Durham now.

[CrazyEights]

Pujols has already said that the Cards better start focusing on winning or he is gone after 2011. If it is more of this shit, I can't blame him.

The Cards are focused on winning, but they are trying not to make anymore bad signings also. Signing Fuentes for $33Mil for 3 years and giving up a draft pick would have been a huge mistake. Signing Hudson and giving up a draft pick may have also been a mistake. You may not agree with the way the Cards are trying to win, but they are trying to win. The Cards have been more focused than ever on building a young team that will win in the future. This is why Jocketty is no longer in the Card organization. Jocketty focused on winning now, and that was it. The current Cards management wants to put a winner on the field, but they are also looking to the future. If you give up your first round picks, then that is not a commitment to winning..... IMO. The Cardinals will have a good team this year. I was hoping for more to be done with the rotation, but hopefully Carpenter will finally return. Especially since we lost Boggs for awhile.

[love_that_reefer]

The Cards are focused on winning, but they are trying not to make anymore bad signings also. Signing Fuentes for $33Mil for 3 years and giving up a draft pick would have been a huge mistake. Signing Hudson and giving up a draft pick may have also been a mistake. You may not agree with the way the Cards are trying to win, but they are trying to win. The Cards have been more focused than ever on building a young team that will win in the future. This is why Jocketty is no longer in the Card organization. Jocketty focused on winning now, and that was it. The current Cards management wants to put a winner on the field, but they are also looking to the future. If you give up your first round picks, then that is not a commitment to winning..... IMO. The Cardinals will have a good team this year. I was hoping for more to be done with the rotation, but hopefully Carpenter will finally return. Especially since we lost Boggs for awhile.

I don't see how moving Skip Schumaker to second base is focusing on putting a winning product on the field. I don't see how not landing a closer when the free agent market was stocked with closers as putting a winning product on the field. I do not see how missing out on a GG second baseman at a discount price as focusing on winning. Walt Jocketty built that farm system you are talking about and Jocketty was a winner. It seemed like everything he touched was gold. He even got them a World Series title. To say he was only focused on winning now is completely false. Giving up a draft pick to fill a huge void on your team is definitely a commitment to winning. Its the definition of commitment to winning. Its what players want, signs from management. Why do you think Pujols wanted the Cards to go after Manny?? The Cards will not win 86 games like they did last year with their current lineup but could finish 4th like they did last year. I will be rooting for the Cards as always but they have had the worst offseason of any MLB team. The Cubs got weaker and how do the Cards respond? By doing nothing. Sorry if the Greene trade doesn;t move me. The Cards are pinning their hopes on Carpenter being healthy, a rookie closer and Schumaker performing a miracle. Not exactly smart. You think the Cards are trying to make any more bad signings, I don;t see them trying to make any good ones either. Playing it safe is not a commitment to winning.

[CrazyEights]

Walt Jocketty built that farm system you are talking about and Jocketty was a winner. It seemed like everything he touched was gold. He even got them a World Series title. To say he was only focused on winning now is completely false.

Yeah, trading Dan Haren and Daric Barton for Mark Mulder sure was gold. I won't deny that Jocketty did a lot of great things in St. Louis, I really liked him as a GM. He did not focus a lot on the farm system though. While Jocketty was GM, the Cardinals had one of the worst farm systems in the Majors. Nothing ever happened with most of his number 1 picks. It never seemed like a big deal to lose a #1 pick when you knew it would be a bust anyways. The team we have in charge has focused more on building the farm system and keeping any decent spects that Jocketty left us. Jocketty did not build this farm system. We don't have a third basemen, because Glaus is injured. Two of the top guys that are being looked at as possibilities to play 3rd are Freese and Wallace. Both of them are products of J-Mo, and not Jocketty. Wallace was our #1 pick from last year, and looks to be a keeper. If the new Cards team at the top is all they have been made out ot be, then I don't want to give up any #1 picks, because they might be the face of our team in the next coupld of years. I know the draft can be a crap shoot at times, and most times it is, but their recent record looks good. In just a few years, they took the worst farm system in the Majors, and have improved it to become one of the better ones in the Majors. That isn't easy to do in such a short period of time. You can't do that by giving up your picks when you have solutions in house that can be used instead.