In this the annual season of our discontent within and
among the denizens of Cardinal Nation, it becomes readily apparent that those
who forget history are indeed doomed to repeat it. With the cries of agony and
organizational bedlam imbedded in their woeful plaints against Cardinal
ownership and GM Walt Jocketty, the critics continue to foretell disaster in
2006 given that the Cardinals have made few free agent signings or trades.
I prefer the wisdom of 17th century poet
George Herbert in considering the Cardinals’ participation (or lack thereof) in
the 2005-2006 Hot Stove League. “Be
Patient, my soul: Thou has suffered worse than this.” I’ve not been able to
uncover evidence yet that Herbert was a Cardinal fan, even though his life
predates the franchise by about 200 years he would have been a good one.
His perspective on the merit of patience should cause Cardinal fans to
reflect on the early to mid-1990’s, when wins were relatively scarce and playoff
appearances non-existent. When one
laments the position of the current ownership on personnel matters, one should
also reflect on all that has come our way as a result of the new ownership and
what a difference ten years can make in the competitive level of a
franchise.
Are you one of those who believes that the Cardinals were
foolish not to have been more aggressive in the pursuit of Brian Giles and A. J.
Burnett? Let Plato’s Phaedrus salve
your frustrated psyche. “Patience
is bitter, but its fruit is sweet.”
Phaedrus clearly learned after last year’s HSL that good things indeed
come to those who wait.
As Brian Walton has observed, the Cardinals as of this time last year had
not signed a single player. In the
run-up to spring training, Jocketty’s patience brought us people like David Eckstein, Mark Mulder, Mark Grudzielanek, and Abraham Nunez. These late signees were instrumental in
the push to another 100-win season and the post-season. Walt’s. In this
“what-have-you-done-for-me-lately” world, Jocketty’s philosophy of patience and
reason remains sound and crucial to the successful operation of a mid-market
franchise.
The Cardinals frequently find themselves in a Catch-22
situation in regard to their annual hunt for high-value, low-cost free
agents. The value of free agents
like Burnett, he of a sub-.500 career performance, are dictated annually by the
sum of the entrants to the market, in other word that Burnett was arguably the
best pitcher in this year’s market.
Does that make him another Roger Clemens, for example? No, and in the entirety of baseball, few
would argue that Burnett, the putative savior of the Blue Jays, is now one of
the most overpaid players in the game based both on salary and longevity of the
five-year contract.
If the Cardinals were to engage as well in these fiscal shenanigans, they
are far more likely to find themselves stuck with long-term disappointment,
i.e., Edgar Renteria. If the
cacophony of angst from those who regret that players like Giles and Burnett
weren’t signed is heeded, the outcry would be greater in about three years when,
like Toronto will be, the Cardinal would be
feverishly looking for ways to unload Burnett.
Let the venerable Benjamin Franklin have the last say on the virtue of
Patience. “He that can have
patience can have what he will.”
And so the Cardinals, and we of Cardinal Nation, have had. With Jocketty’s patience and restraint
in these matters, the St. Louis Cardinals have been and remain one of the most
competitive teams in baseball. For
as difficult as it is to watch others spend freely and with little regard to
their futures, the Cardinals are playing the game right, and just as Tony La
Russa’s motto of “Play nine” encourages his players to compete until the end,
Walt Jocketty’s best and proven practice will still be to work his magic after
other teams have overpaid and then, “have what he will.”
Rex Duncan
rdunc221@yahoo.com