5 things on my mind, Tuesday spin: Extending old players is hazardous for a team’s health
Just ask the Cardinals. Listen up, Blues.
Think of all the money a team will waste on watching their legends retire. For instance, the St. Louis Cardinals handed over $20 million to Adam Wainwright last year for his worst season as a big leaguer. The writing was on the wall and the check, but it was a foregone conclusion.
A year before, they paid Yadier Molina a full-time juicy salary to barely be a part-time player. Albert Pujols’s final renegade season came at a bargain. It’s always hard saying goodbye to franchise legends, both in the pocket book and heart, but it’s not uncommon for a player who’s been with the team for a good amount of time to become costly. The good to very good players who swoop in for a few seasons, but request a long-term contract to stick around. If so, the team is put in a bind when the stats aren’t there.
Take Pavel Buchnevich for example. In three seasons, he’s averaged 70 games played and 70 points. However, his production is on a steady downturn. He’s a talented hockey player who helps a team at each end, but also one who could soak the juice out of a weak free agent NHL market. He’s a special teams asset, someone who banks home eight power play goals per season.
Buchnevich will become very expensive in his next deal. The St. Louis Blues can’t afford to lose very good players like Buchnevich, but he’s not a qualifier for their retooling, “go young” plan of roster construction.
Buchnevich will soak up $5.8 million in cap space during this coming 2024-25 season, the last on his deal. He will turn 30 next spring, a warning sign for players who create plays yet do it at a slower rate after 30. It’s what kept them away from David Backes and Alex Pietrangelo long term, but didn’t work on Alexander Steen on his last deal. Cutting bait is the right idea.
If Doug Armstrong’s plan is to rebuild slowly but surely, staying close enough to the pin to chase it in March and April, then re-signing Buchnevich or turning down a lucrative trade would be futile. He knows this, because he’s pretty good at his job. Finding a match with that one year left still attached is crucial. How close does he get you next season? Not close enough. Unload him. Stick to your motto. Younger!
While Tuesday boils the water on top of our heads, here’s a few other things on my mind. But first, you’ll have to pay the piper (my pit bull).
~The Cardinals are 40-37, so it’s time for some perspective. A year ago, they were 32-45, good fifth place and 8.5 games back of first. After claiming the best NL record since Mother’s Day, they’re in second place all by themselves and just five games behind Milwaukee. It’s an improvement, even for a team carrying a payroll of $175 million plus. The fact that they’ve done this with their two biggest bats mostly ineffective is the most impressive thing.
How about Mr. Lance Lynn? 6.2 solid innings with fastball command against a big hitting team. Those one year deals were genius from John Mozeliak. He was just one starting pitcher short. Lynn, tonight’s starter Kyle Gibson, and Sonny Gray filled three big slots. The fifth is left open until Oli Marmol turns Andre Pallante loose, or another arm is acquired. All of this could have been avoided with another deal. Jordan Montgomery is struggling in Arizona, but I would have still voted yes on putting pen to paper.
For the record, “Monty” has looked solid in his last three starts and would be a nice trade piece for St. Louis. You did it once, and could easily do it again. The only thing stopping it is Montgomery’s hatred of the hot St. Louis weather. Poor guy sweats like I do. The levee breaks, and there’s no time to play.
Here’s the perspective. Take this team week to week, but they need one of the big guns to come alive or another arm to keep this whole thing headed upward. It’s not as simple as I make it out to be, but this team can win the division if the front office treats this trade deadline like 2014.
~Let’s talk about good pizza: Katie’s Pizza and Pasta. A lovely dining establishment that took roots in Rock Hill has spread its wings to downtown St. Louis right across from Busch Stadium, and Town and Country as well. When I found out this was going to be a company lunch meal, the truck route suddenly turned into a Jason Bourne adventure film, but only if Matt Damon was a little taller and bald.
I drive my box truck, “New Bessie,” like a slow-rising muffin train. Push it too hard and it fluffs into a useless puddle of crumbs. Treat it right, and the machine bends around the rough St. Louis County roads like a laser. When the route suddenly got extended and the pizza was left to be taken in the lunchroom, the mind had resolved to the reality of the two slices my wife rescued out and got to safety.
Low and behold, more pizza was left behind untouched. You can’t over-celebrate these small wins, ladies and gentlemen. Subtlety pays off. Too artsy or fancy for some became my gain, a hungry boy still growing in his 40s. The pancetta and fig pizza could have sat behind Jason Statham on a table, and I would have thrown him through a wall. If Jack Reacher stood next to it, I would simply request a slice and avoid taking a beating. I would also request (or hope) that he doesn’t replace me at the Buffa Estate. My wife would be absolutely grief-stricken if this happened.
The pizza is great. Neapolitan crust. The crust isn’t crunchy or flimsy, and the ingredients are top notch. I have enjoyed Katie’s Pizza and Pasta three times, and due to the sheer excitement and hunger built up, the warmth of the pizza was slipping away. Still, the flavor and desire to crush another pizza was there. The restraint shown doesn’t win Oscars, but it does save colons.
~My hot pocket take on the City SC is simple: will this team ever win again? I need hardcore soccer fans to explain to me the exact expectations for goals in a game. Is it a full moon comparison, or something else?
Also, is it possible to score once or TWICE, and also win the game? In their 19 games, the St. Louis MLS team has 10 draws, three wins, and six losses. There was a long stretch where they scored as often as the boys in American Pie (for most of the movie). I won’t claim to know enough about the sport’s rules and perimeters, and I can’t claim a spot on the bandwagon just yet.
You don’t ride a bandwagon unless you’re emotionally invested. Outside of my good friend, Paddy Houlihan, and a few other updates, I forget this team exists for days at a time. It’s not them; it’s me. But about the scoring… What gives? I ask that in my best Rodney Dangerfield voice.
One more thing, and then I’m putting bacon in the oven for some grilled cheese sandwich construction.
Please drive safer. My least favorite kind of driver is the angry person in a hurry. They’re everywhere on the morning route, flying up otherwise calm roads and causing accidents that delay everyone on highways. Every time I see an accident, I can bet money on it being high-speed related. Interstate 70 was delayed in four different locations on a 15 mile stretch this afternoon.
It begins and ends with taking care of your end out there. The movies don’t count. Stunt drivers are nowhere to be found. Drive that thing like your mom’s in the back seat.
Goodnight, and thanks for subscribing if you do.
