It seems a foregone conclusion that Scott Rolen will be traded by the Phillies before the fast-approaching trade deadline. The Cardinals seem to be the main contender. My question is why? Rolen is a third baseman. The Cards already have Albert Pujols, one of the most productive third basemen in baseball. SO if the Cards do get Rolen, who plays where? Can Rolen play the OF as well? Or does Pujols move?

Why would the Cardinals want Scott Rolen as their third baseman? Because Scottie is among the best defensive third baseman in the game, in addition to being one of the top hitters at that position. Albert Pujols is merely adequate defensively and has played left field. He would be shifted there if the trade is consummated. (I, personally, would like to see Pujols shifted to first and see Tino Martinez be a bat off the bench.)

BOTTOM LINE: if you get a chance to acquire a player the cailber of Scott Rolen, you do what is necessary to accommodate him, even if it means shifting your recent Rookie of the Year.

The Cards' ability to sign Rolen to a long term deal will be an interesting test. If Rolen signs a long term deal with the Cardinals, it'll be clear he's not doing it just for the money. The Cardinals could never outbid the other teams that might be in the market for a third baseman (the Braves? the Yankees?) -- so if he signs with them, then it'll be clear that -- contrary to the consensus opinion of just about every baseball fan in Philadelphia -- Scottie was being completely honest when he turned down the Phillies mega-offer, saying that it just wasn't about the money.

I didn't realize the vast defensive differences between the two. If Pujols can play the OF, then its obviously a no-brainer. Rolen would thrive playing for one of the best organizations in sports in front of some of the best fans.

Isn't Polanco their regular third baseman, rather than Pujols?

"Regular" is such a hard-to-define word for the 2002 Cardinals. La Russa's been juggling the line-up, largely for the purpose of trying to find the best position for his young star Pujols.



For Albert Pujols 2002:
Outfield (exclusively left, I believe): 74 games played, 58 started
Third base: 35 games played, 32 started
First base: 11 games played, 8 started



For Placido Polanco 2002 (and above is the single worst picture I've seen of this stud):
Third base: 77 games played. 62 started
Shortstop: 13 games played, 9 started
Second base: 6 games played, 5 started

[Stats and pics taken from the Official Website of Major League Baseball - mlb.com and the St. Louis Cardinals webpages within that site.]

[ July 28, 2002: Message edited by: Charlie in the Trees ]

Scott Rolen already admitted that the "request" that the Phillies commit to a higher payroll was a ploy and that what he actually wanted was more guaranteed years on his contract.

Now he says he'd consider signing a contract with the Cards after insisting all along that he wanted to exercise his right to become a free agent.

I wouldn't trust Scott Rolen any further than I could throw him.

I won't be too unhappy if no trade occurs. Let him suffer through the rest of this dismal season along with everyone else--a season he helped make dismal with his poor hitting.

ESPN is reporting that Rolen has been traded to the Cardinals for Placido Polanco and Bud Smith.

from Philly.com:
[quote]
Third baseman dealt to Cardinals
By Rob Maaddi
Associated Press

Slugging third baseman Scott Rolen was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals today, ending his unhappy tenure with the Phillies.
The trade was confirmed by a Phillies source and a source close to Rolen who spoke on the condition they not be identified.

The Phillies source said the team would get third baseman Placido Polanco, pitcher Bud Smith and another player in exchange for Rolen, a three-time Gold Glove winner. ESPN reported that the third player was veteran relief pitcher Mike Timlin. The Phillies will hold a press conference at 6:30

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The Cards threw in relief pitcher Mike Timlin in addition to Polanco and Smith. Timlin was a bit of surprise in that he was having one of the more productive seasons on the relief staff. However, we are blessed with lots of quality relievers. I liked Mike a lot, so was sad to see him traded.

I hope that Rolen proves an asset for the Cards. Polanco was a capable third baseman, and was a good team member. Everyone seemed to get along well with Placido. However, he will probably never be an all-star calibre infielder.

Bud Smith was having a very difficult sophomore season, but has the potential to come up with a solid career. He is also quite cute and young, so he has several years to prove himself.

It looks like Rolen will be joining us for the series starting tomorrow in Miami. He will hopefully add some strength to the team overall.

Rolen is a great addition to this Cardinals team, which was lacking McGwire's numbers from 2 years ago and a "regular" third baseman.

Polanco will be missed because he always seemed to have a great attitude and give it 110% every game. Timlin will be missed because the bullpen is starting to struggle (what a way to turn around that 10-9 game last night)!

However, if the Cardinals are going to play 10-9 games with the Diamondbacks in the postseason, they had to have Rolen's bat. Here's to hoping they can keep him for the long term deal that he wants (or at least, that he'll settle for outside of Philly).

Interesting trade ...

The Cardinals rent Scottie Rolen for two months (hopefully three). While Rolen's indicated that the Cardinals are one of the teams with which he'd consider signing a long term deal, there's no guarantee. He may have grown up in Cardinal country, and he talks about family being important, but he could still end up somewhere else as big money is also important to some families.

In exchange for Rolen walking two months early, the Phillies get to take a chance that Bud Smith's freshman year was the true measure of his talent, and that his sophomore season is the (bad) fluke. I think that's essentially the deal: a two-month Scott Rolen rental for Bud Smith, in the expectation that Smith bounces back.

The other players in the deal are irrelevant to the ultimate success or failure of this trade. Placido Polanco is a utility player miscast as a starting third baseman. He's adequate, but the league is full of Placido Polancos. He won't be a key player in a Phillie pennant winner. Mike Timlin is a middle reliever. Would've been nice for the Cards to have his experience in a postseason bullpen. Phillies don't need a veteran middle reliever. I assume Timlin (at $5.25 million for the season) was a throw-in to make salary roughly balance.

Anybody know anything about Doug Nickle, the AAA closer who was the 4th player heading for Philly? If he's a stud, then the first sentence in the above paragraph will be wrong.

By the way, I saw this interesting stat at espn.com: Albert Pujols is hitting .239 as a third baseman this season, .308 as a leftfielder. Anything that gets Pooh-holes to hit like it's 2001 is a good thing for the House of Cards.

Doug Nickle might develop into a decent pitcher, but I wouldn't call him a stud by any means. Bud Smith seems to have a great deal of potential so it surprises me a bit that the Cards would give him up so easily.

I think I'd have rather had another young pitcher than Mike Timlin, who I think is also is a free agent after this season, but who cares? The soap opera is over and Sad Boy is gone.

A line from an article in today's Philadelphia Daily News:
[quote] As for Rolen's ultimate happiness, his predecessor and confidant, Mike Schmidt, once said that Rolen's analytical personality would preclude any possibility for happiness while he played the game.

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Interesting postscript from the Phila. Daily News:

[quote] Despite reports that the Phillies took the Cardinals package for Scott Rolen over a Reds offer of Brandon Larson, Scott Williamson and another top Reds prospect, indications are that they actually were on the verge of making the trade with Cincinnati on Monday afternoon. Then Reds owner Carl Lindner got nervous about the setting of an Aug. 16 strike date, lost confidence the Reds could re-sign Rolen and killed the deal.

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