Game 6 of the 2011 World Series, David Freese triples in two runs tying the game in the top of the ninth. 2 innings later he homers to win game for his hometown team. The Cardinals go on to win the World Series and Freese adds the 2011 World Series MVP to his 2011 National League Championship Series MVP. Fast forward to the end of two seasons later and David Freese gets traded to the Angels. Baseball trades happen all the time. Its just part of the game. But trading a hometown hero is seldom heard of. Yes, he had a down year but most of that was due to injuries. In 2013, Freese batted .269 with 9 homers and 60 RBI. The Cardinals feel Freese became expendable with the emergence of Matt Carpenter and Kolten Wong and didn't want to pay him the $7 million he most likely would have received in 2014. In the trade, St. Louis received Peter Bourjos,(.274, 3, 12). I don't agree with the trade but I can accept it. But then the Cardinals made a huge mistake.
The Cardinals signed former Tiger, Jhonny Peralta (.303, 11, 55) for 4 years and $53 million. On paper Peralta's last year's number look better than Freese's do. However, Peralta , also, served a 50 game suspension for PEDs that he didn't fight.
So, to summarize: hometown hero hustled out to Halo-town, proscribed PED performer picked up and paid.
For shame for shame.
So, IF David Freese decided to take the short cut that Peralta did and had a better batting year, I can only assume that David Freese would still be playing for his hometown Cardinals.
GREAT MESSAGE, SAINT LOUIS CARDINALS.
PS. The Baseball Hall of Fame has kept admitted and alleged PED users from entering the Shrine. But it recently allowed Tony LaRussa as a manger into its Hall. LaRussa had a winning percentage of .536. However, his world series teams with the A's and Cardinals were led by admitted PED users Mark McGwire, Jose Canseco, and Rick Ankiel just to name a few. What would LaRussa winning percentage be without the cheating? So, they will keep out the cheaters but the enablers, who gained the most from the cheating, can get in.
For shame. For shame.
PSS. The Cardinals were tied for the best record in baseball and came within 2 games of winning the World Series in 2013. Had they remembered how to hit with runners in scoring position they probably would have won the championship. They did this with Freese at third and Kozma at short. And the Cardinals felt they needed and upgrade at both positions? They have made 2 huge mistakes and I think 2014 will be a step backward for them. This gaffe almost tops LaRussa's benching of Ozzie Smith for Royce Clayton.
***Stats and info from ESPN.com and Wikipedia.com
No comments:
Post a Comment