Cardinals Pull off Three Way Deal

The St. Louis Cardinals have acquired pitcher Jake Westbrook from Cleveland and also sent outfielder Ryan Ludwick to the San Diego Padres.The three-team trade involving a pair of division leaders was announced Saturday.
The NL Central-leading Cardinals got Westbrook and cash. They also got minor league pitcher Nick Greenwood from San Diego.
The NL West-leading Padres acquired Ludwick. The Indians got Double-A right-hander Corey Kluber from San Diego.

Cards pick up Mike MacDougal

. Cardinals purchased the contract of RHP Mike MacDougal from Triple-A Memphis.

MacDougal was signed to a minor league contract by the Cards earlier this month after opting out of his deal with the Nationals. The 33-year-old right-hander compiled a 3.86 ERA over eight relief appearances with the Redbirds. He had a 3.60 ERA, 20 saves and a 31/31 K/BB ratio over 50 innings as the primary closer for the Nats last season. Don’t look for him to steal Ryan Franklin’s job.

Source: Rotoworld

Trade Winds Blowing through St.Louis

This morning Ken Rosenthal reported that the Cardinals are no longer intrested in trading for Oswalt. With this in mind other names have been mentioned in recent days that are on the Cardinals radar. Among the names are Jake Westbrook, Dave Bush and Livan Hernandez.

It is just now reported in Rosenthals tweets this afternoon that the Cardinals do have intrest in Miguel Tejada.

Last winter the Cards did show intrest in him. I wouldn’t mind if the Cards pick up Tejada for the right price.

Miguel Tejada

Stan Musial Appears on Sports Illustrated Cover

St. Louis’ own Stan Musial appears on the cover of this week’s Sports Illustrated. The theme of the issue is “Where Are They Now?” Interestingly, though this will be the seventh time Musial has appeared on an SI cover, it is the first time he has not shared it with another player.

The Musial profile is written by Joe Posnanski, and according to a release by Sports Illustrated, “praises Musial for his quiet brilliance and boundless good will—a model of grace for the game that is seen and appreciated less and less often.”

Posnanski writes in the article, “A few years back, when Major League Baseball held a fan vote to name its All-Century Team, a special committee had to add Musial because the fans did not vote him as one of the 10 best outfielders ever. Ten! Only (Hank) Aaron had more total bases. Only Tris Speaker and Pete Rose hit more doubles. Using Bill James’s famous formula, only Babe Ruth and Barry Bonds created more runs. Still, Musial did not get America’s vote. He is not forgotten, not exactly. It is more this: For most of the nation, Stan the Man is a name that has faded into the great American past like singers wearing Tuxedos, John Wayne movies and kids shooting marbles.”

Musial will turn 90 in November.

The Musial issue of Sports Illustrated hits the newstands tomorrow.

by Roger Hensley

Who is John Jay?

A natural outfielder from Miami, Florida John Jay played football and baseball for Columbus High School in Miami, Florida.

He was a three-time All-American and a First Team-All Atlantic Coast Conference selection…was on the 2005 National USA baseball team…resides in Miami where he enjoys fishing and boating.

Jon Jay was the Cardinals second round pick (74th overall) of the June 2006 First-Year Player Draft out of the University of Miami.

Jay was rated as the fifth best prospect by Baseball America who had this to say, “Jay has an unorthodox approach but consistently shows the ability to hit pitches in all parts of the zone. His game is built around hitting line drives and making the most of his solid-average speed. While he doesn’t have a standout tool, he is pretty solid across the board.

The only thing that stands in John Jays way is Colby Rasmus. Colby has better tools and is now a starting ourfielder for the Cards. I give John Jay some time before he is at his top peak as an starting outfielder. If the Cards do trade Ludwick during the 2010 offseason I wouldn’t be surprise if they give Jay the starting job at rightfield.

With Oswalt no longer a possibility due to the Astos reluctance on trading him to the Cardinals. The Cards GM John Mozeliak is now turning his attetnion to Kelly Johnson according to Rick Hummel this morning on KFNS. The Oswalt deal is so out of reach due to the Astros asking so much in return. Johnson would be a better fit for the Cardinals since we need another bat in the line up. With the poor fielding with Schumacher and Ryan, Johnson will be a great consistent second basemen. Arizona is looking to unload Johnson by the end of this week. Kelly carries a left handed bat and also plays left field. He currently has only six errors as a second baseman. Schumacher has 13 errors at 2B, if we can trade for him this would be a great upside.