INSIDE PITCH
Manager Tony La Russa said he was
willing to put his reputation on the line for former A's and Cardinals first
baseman Mark McGwire.
Insisting he had no knowledge of
McGwire's steroid use in Oakland and St. Louis before receiving a telephone call from McGwire on
the morning of Jan. 11, La Russa said he didn't have second thoughts about
hiring McGwire as Cardinals hitting coach.
"As a product of what's been
happening, I'm sure I'm going to take some shots," La Russa told the St. Louis
Post-Dispatch. "It's part of the job. In this case, I've heard people don't
believe I didn't know. You either believe me or you don't. If you don't, I can't
do anything other than tell you what I'm saying."
La Russa said he believed
McGwire's claim that he used steroids and human growth hormone to recover from
injury more than to enhance his power.
"Certainly I wish we had testing
then," La Russa said. "But it wasn't a case where he was using to improve his
talent. It doesn't make it right, but it does make it easier for me to
swallow.
"I'm mostly encouraged that he was
forthcoming. He's done it better than the other guys by saying, 'I did this. I
did that. It was a big mistake.' Am I disappointed? Sure."
La Russa said he had made it clear
to McGwire in October he would have to address media curiosity about his past in
order to reduce distractions that were likely to arise in spring
training.
"When you ask him to be a hitting
coach, it's not a week, 10-day or two-week thing," La Russa said. "My No. 1
motivation was I felt he has something special to translate to our hitters. If
the guy was a derelict, I wouldn't do it. He has to want to do it. I put my
credibility on the line with him because I thought it would work and that he
would pass the test of public scrutiny. You can't do (a media tour) in spring
training. It's too distracting."
NOTES,
QUOTES
--RF Ryan Ludwick has agreed to a
one-year, $5.45 million contract with the Cardinals, avoiding arbitration.
Ludwick hit .265 with 22 home runs and 97 RBIs last
season.
--OF Jim Edmonds, who was out of
baseball last year, has asked Cardinals manager Tony La Russa for a tryout.
Edmonds, 39,
played seven seasons with the Angels and eight with the Cardinals before
splitting 2008 between the Padres and the Cubs. He hit .235 with 20 homers and
55 RBIs that year.
--Mark McGwire dismissed manager
Cardinals manager Tony La Russa's recent offhand suggestion that the club might
activate the new hitting coach as a pinch hitter for the August and September
stretch drive. McGwire, hitting often in the offseason, said, "It's like being
on a bike again. I feel really good. It feels like I haven't lost a step after
nine years (out of the game). I'm 46, and I feel like 25. But it's not about me.
I'm the hitting coach. I don't see where I'm going to have the time to get ready
like that."
--2B Skip Schumaker, one of Mark
McGwire's students for several years in an offseason hitting program in
California,
said, "He's so passionate about it. Until you come here and watch, nobody really
knows how passionate. That's what everyone is about to
understand."
--The Cardinals, with not much
money available, still are in the hunt for a veteran outfielder, a veteran
reliever and some possible infield help at third base. They had RHP Jose Valverde on their radar for a spell, but Valverde signed a two-year deal with
Detroit at $14
million, well out of the Cardinals' price range.
--1B Albert Pujols either won or
shared the St. Louis Baseball Man of the Year for the ninth straight time as
chosen by the St. Louis Baseball Writers' Association. This year, Pujols shared
the honor with former Cardinals manager Whitey Herzog, a new Hall of Famer, at
the local Baseball Writers' Association of America chapter's 52nd
dinner.
--OF Jon Jay, a candidate for an
extra man's job this year, was hitting .323 with a .418 on-base percentage in
the Venezuelan winter league. Jay hit .281 with 10 homers for Pacific Coast
League champion Memphis last season.
BY THE NUMBERS: 220 -- Homers hit
by Mark McGwire in 4 1/2 seasons with the Cardinals.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "A lot of them
should be banned from baseball, including Mark McGwire." -- Former Cardinals 1B
Jack Clark, on steroids users in baseball.
ROSTER
REPORT
The Cardinals didn't have many
needs as the season ended although they probably could use one more veteran
starting pitcher to go with RHPs Chris Carpenter, Adam Wainwright and Kyle Lohse. RHPs Joel Pineiro and Todd Wellemeyer, who filled out the rotation, both
likely will be gone as free agents.
BIGGEST NEEDS: Third base becomes
a question mark with Mark DeRosa having left as a free
agent.
ARRIVAL: RHP Brad Penny (free
agent from Giants).
DEPARTURES: RHP Brad Thompson
(released, signed minor league deal with Royals), INF Joe Thurston (free agent,
signed minor league deal with Braves), 3B Troy Glaus (free agent, signed with
Braves), INF Mark DeRosa (free agent, signed with Giants), INF Khalil Greene
(free agent, signed with Rangers, pending physical).
FREE AGENTS: RHP Joel Pineiro, RHP
Todd Wellemeyer, RHP John Smoltz, OF Rick Ankiel.
The Cardinals have some interest
in Smoltz. The others probably are gone.
ARBITRATION-ELIGIBLE: 2B Skip
Schumaker.
Schumaker will make more as a
second baseman than an outfielder.
MEDICAL
WATCH:
--1B Albert Pujols (arthroscopic
right elbow surgery in October 2009) should be back at full strength for spring
training.