A pair of legendary former Cubs and Cardinals third basemen (Ron Santo and Ken Boyer) are among the 10 "Golden Era" figures to be considered for induction into the Hall Of Fame by the Veterans' Committee. Some other news from the NL Central…
- Rafael Furcal has told the Cardinals that he will wait for the team to hire a new manager before deciding where to play in 2012, reports Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Paul Kinser, Furcal's agent, says six teams have already contacted him about Furcal's services but "we're not in a hurry."
- A number of Cardinals writers note in a Post-Dispatch roundtable that the club apparently has no problem in hiring a manager with no Major League experience.
- Jim Crane's purchase of the Astros will likely be approved at the owners' meetings in two weeks, reports Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle. Issues such as Crane's compensation for moving the team to the American League are still being negotiated but "for the first time since Crane and Drayton McLane shook hands on a deal almost six months ago, there’s a feeling within MLB that the deal will get done," Justice writes.
- The Pirates are trying to re-sign Derrek Lee, reports MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch.
- John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer thinks the Reds are looking for an extension for Brandon Phillips in the neighborhood of four years and $48MM. Fay also discusses several other Reds-related topics with fans as part of the online chat.
- There are no hard feelings between Theo Epstein and Ryne Sandberg, Epstein tells Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune. The two exchanged complimentary phone calls in the wake of the Cubs' statement that their new manager "must have managerial or coaching experience at the Major League level," which Sandberg doesn't possess.
I say Oquendo for manager, moved McKay to third base coach, and Sandberg for first base coach. Its an upgrade from AAA manager, plus then Cubs fans can see him in a winning uniform every day
He won’t accept a bench coaching job, why would he be a 1st base coach?
No.
At this point I’d be pretty surprised if they don’t resign Furcal.
Im sure they are waiting to see what Albert does first. They already said if Albert walks they will look for a major upgrade at short (Reyes) or possible make a trade for a CF (Matt Kemp type). I used Kemps name because he was mentioned in the SI article I read.
I would be surprised because I think he stays if Albert stays. And it would kind of surprise me if Pujols does leave. We are set up if he does leave because we can fill other holes. Put Berkman at first and Craig in right. Then upgrade SS or CF. But I feel he and Furcal will be back.
Kemp isn’t going anywhere especially to the cards and Reyes will never wear the birds on the bat
Bet on both of them
Just like the Cardinals couldnt win the 2011 World Series… right?
If there is anything everyone should have learned this last month, it’s that baseball is hard to bet on. You never know what is going to happen, or who is going where.
I hope neither happens because it means the cards signed pujols. But I can definitely see a scenario where the cardinals are better without pujols than with him.
There is no other Albert Pujols, but with craig in the lineup the drop won’t be that steep, but Reyes’s offense is a drastic improvement over Furcal’s as is Kemp over Jay.
If the Cards offer him the most $$$ and the most years, he’ll be wearing red with a big smile on his face.
Come on you guys, take it easy on Sean. Not only did he predict the Cardinals winning the World Series on September 1st, I heard he predicted Jayson Werth going to the Nationals last year and predicted the Red Sox collapse.
OK, hire Oquendo already so we can get this off season going!
I wonder why didn’t Theo offer an interview with Sandberg. Is there something about him Theo does not like?
I’m hoping it’s because Theo wants to move forward and break ties with the old Cubby tradition B.S. He is looking for a fresh, clean start with new blood.
For the last and final time. HE WANTS A MANAGER WITH BIG LEAGUE EXPERIENCE!
The managers position is really between Francona and Oquendo as I see it. If they want someone with big league experience that has had success managing then Francona is the clear choice.
If they decide they are comfortable with someone that has never managed before, Oquendo is the clear choice. That way you keep the same culture you have had and the entire coaching staff would return. It would be a pretty big snub if they hired a manager with no experience over Oquendo.
Nevermind.
Why has the Astro’s ownership taken so long to transfer? If the Dodgers transfer in ownership is anything like this… I will be a very sad man….
It’s because MLB wants more guaranteed money and less bought on credit
It’s because Selig has held it hostage in order to get an agreement to move the Astros to the AL. The rest is all smokescreen for the real reason. Crane doesn’t want to do it because he knows his fan base (what’s left of it) opposes it so he is demanding compensation from MLB which seems to be saying “Get it from McLane, not us” while McLane has said “We signed a deal. I’m not giving anything back.”
Justice, FWIW, is the leading cheerleader for the AL switch because he’s not a Texan and doesn’t give a crap about the Astros or their fans as long as he can get more face time on ESPN and MLB Network.
It may come down to how badly does Drayton McLane want out.
I will seriously consider stop rooting for the Astros if they switch leagues. Such bullshit to be bullied around by Selig like that and let 50 years of history fly out the window just because people wanna experiment with adding 2 more playoff teams.
If i were you, I’d stop rooting for them either way.
It’s not because they want 2 more playoff teams. It’s because “they” want to make the 2 leagues have the same number of teams, which I personally think is a seriously overblown idea anyways. For the most part, I like the way the leagues are right now.
11in11
Venegoni?
kemp is going to get overpaid, jay can handle cf for 416,000 $ and reyes will also be overpaid, he showed alot of classes by taking himself outta the last game of the season to secure the batting title stay in ny you ninja #cardinalnation #happyflight #freese
I’m really hoping the Cards get Furcal back. It was really, really nice to see proper defense at short again.
Furcal has a cannon. I would love to see him return to StL.
I want to see him in Cincy!!!! But I’ll be happy with a healthy Cozart.
Please Furcal come back.
Selig can you please make the ownership go through already? I hate the AL and can’t stand the idea of it right now. But in all honesty I’m completely fed up with Ed Wade and the Staff in general. Ed wade has done nothing but claim players off wavers, we now have around 3 catchers all claimed off waivers who are a bunch of nobodys.
Heck, I’d put up with Wade for another year if it meant staying in the NL.
Well it doesn’t look like that’s happening. We have to put up with wade for another year and in return only stay in the NL for a year. Great stuff Selig.