Originally posted 12/23 @ St. Louis Sports 360…
So far, it’s been a rather uneasy offseason for the St. Louis Cardinals’ faithful. After losing a Hall of Fame manager (Tony LaRussa), the game’s best player (Albert Pujols), its head of minor league development to a division rival (Jeff Luhnow) & already being faced with a big injury two months before Spring Training (Allen Craig), the tides have not been too promising heading into the season.
However, in-between the big issues, there have been some important moves made to shore up the team. Resigning Rafael Furcal was a start, but the hunger for more was still there; the hunger for a major move that is answer back to all that has been taken away. On Friday, afternoon the team struck that deal, and signed All-Star outfielder Carlos Beltran to 2 year, $26 million deal. This deal is victory for the team on every level, and not only takes it back to the level it was at already, it could potential take it to a higher one.
It was a deal the team had to make. With Pujols departure, there was a major hole in the potential of the lineup, from both a power and average perspective. Craig was penciled into the right field job after his breakout postseason run, but after a badly timed knee injury, an already existing need in the lineup became a critical one. The other options weren’t amazing at all…
Beltran adds several new dimensions to a Cardinal team that is becoming full of them.
For the rest of exactly where Beltran fits into the Cardinals immediate plan, as well as why it’s the most logical deal of the year, head over to St. Louis Sports 360: http://stlouissports360.com/beltran-signing-deepens-the-whole-bird-bath/
And for this and all of the rest of my word today, on this wonderful Festivus for 2011, follow me on Twitter at @CheapSeatFan.
Cheap.Seats.Please. 