The ROO

Finally, we have clarity on the St. Louis Cardinals hacking scandal. Six months after Chris Correa (evidently, the lone bad wolf)  plead guilty in a federal court to hacking the Houston Astros database of prospect info, among other things, MLB has handed the Cardinals organization its punishment. The Cardinals have been fined $2 million (the max allowable under the new CBA) (a CBA that Cardinals owner Bill DeWitt was instrumental in negotiating). The club has also been stripped of their top two remaining MLB draft picks in 2017. Frankly, I think the Cardinals got off easy here. I could go in to a diatribe on why, but I’d prefer you simply read John Nagel’s thoughts over at  RedBirdDaily.com . He lays out a pretty simple argument of how the Cardinals, DeWitt and general manager John Mozeliak got off easy. He also explains, why, once again, Mozeliak is a bit of genius. Nagel also discussed the impact on bonus pool money this will have. It is worth the read. Where I...

This is always an interesting time of year for baseball fans. It is an interesting purgatory between the “hot stove” session and when pitchers and catchers report to spring training. Random events happen, such as the Cubs visiting the White House and the Cardinals hosting an event where fans get to pay hundreds of dollars to have their foot signed by Yadier Molina. But the one thing that is worthy of the discussion this time of year is the revealing of Hall of Fame ballots. Generally, the individual ballots of voters are made public and ridicule and scorn soon follow. Generally, I keep pretty to myself on these things. Each “writer” is entitled to their own opinion. But when I saw the ballot of ESPN’s Pedro Gomez, a fit of rage boiled inside me that made this post inevitable. View image on Twitter  Follow Ryan Thibodaux   @NotMrTibbs Ballot #208 is Pedro Gomez's. No adds or drops. No first-time candidates. In the Tracker:  http:// bit.ly/tracker1...

My favorite writer, Benjamin Hochman (laughter uncontrollably ensues) posted a predictable article  today on  STLToday.com , begging for support for public tax dollars at the state and local levels for a new MLS stadium in St. Louis. The funding of a new stadium, and the aid and profits it locks in for the potential owners of the new SC STL owners, are a hot topic debate currently as a deadline to get the possible funding on ballots in April looms closer. Of course this is a hot topic and very touchy right now in St. Louis. And it is of course for a simple reason. It is a classic chicken or the egg example of public dollars interfering with private business. Let me explain. A new stadium for a MLS team is the chicken . The idea, one that has been tried time and time again, is if St. Louis and the state of Missouri invest in this chicken, then the eggs (more businesses relocating to St. Louis, population growth) will come, resulting in a higher tax base to support scho...

St. Louis Cardinals fans rejoiced last week when it was finally announced that general manager John Mozeliak was able to land his big fish,  Dexter Fowler . Mozeliak certainly pushed some of his own boundaries with this deal, extending Fowler to five-years at a price tag of $82.5 million to bring him to St. Louis. The move has received loads of praise from the talking heads in the market.  Benjamin Hochman likes the signing , of course, for reasons that have nothing to do with actual sports.  Derrick Goold has pointed out  that Fowler’s personality and leadership will add a new dynamic to the clubhouse. Finally, Bernie Miklasz, who use to be much more pragmatic before getting in the business of generating ears in exchange for advertising dollars, seems to be  just thankful the Cardinals spent  some of their hard-earned money. Most of the logic I have gathered amongst bloggers and fans that results in this being viewed as a mostly positive move c...

As St. Louis Cardinals fans sit around, frustrated with the lack of action taken by general manger John Mozeliak, there is plenty that can be learned from this “Hot Stove” season. As rumors continue to swirl around the St. Louis Cardinals and what they might still do to fill a gap in the outfield, improve the defense overall and “become more athletic,” I believe it is important to start looking ahead to some possible future issues. Such as the fact that  Seung-hwan Oh ‘s price has likely sky rocketed greatly thanks to big deals signed by  Mark Melancon ,  Aroldis Chapman  and soon by  Kenley Jansen . First of all, take a minute to tap Mozeliak on the hiney for making a solid investment in Oh to begin with. Sure there were some questions on whether the  “Stone Buddha’s”  success in Korea would translate to Major League Baseball. Those questions were answered quickly. The deal was believed to be for two-years and $5 million when signed, with some in...

St. Louis Cardinals fans can rest assured. They can spend the next several days playing Cyber GM thanks to an agreement between the players and owners on a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA). Before you read further, I want you to understand that this article is about the impact some of the very few details the new CBA will have on not only MLB, but the St. Louis Cardinals baseball operation, based on past history of doing business.  It will not be about how much money the Cardinals should pay  Dexter Fowler . Nor will I break down the Top 5 deals general manager John Mozeliak should make now. You can read that crap anywhere. ~ The trade deadline will be interesting again .  No, that is not a play on Donald Trump’s campaign slogan, but it is true. Under the current collective bargaining agreement, the trade deadline became a yawner, thanks to the first round draft pick compensation attached to a pending free agent who declined a qualifying offer. Now that th...

I have seen so many post words of encouragement in regards to Mizzou’s triumphant comeback victory over Arkansas to end a miserable 4-8 season for first year coach Barry Odom. So many say, “Way to end the season on a high note,” or “This will build some great momentum in to recruiting season.” Most of the people saying these things were not at the game on Friday in what is suppose to be a budding rivalry. In fact, very few were there at all to witness this second half charge by this underwhelming Mizzou program. The turnout for this Thanksgiving weekend home matinee was more putrid than the Democrats turnout in Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin on election day (11 million less than 2008). It is not that fans do not want to get out to vote, I mean, attend Mizzou home games. I believe in my heart of hearts, they do. But much like the Dems were on November 8, Mizzou fans are faced with supporting an epic lack of leadership in Columbia at the present moment. For some, that is just too mu...