December 01, 2007
Izzy Replacing Eckstein
The St. Louis Cardinals picked up another cheap shortstop yesterday, signing Cesar Izturis to a one-year contract for less than $3 million dollars. Say what you will about David, but he posted at least a .350 OBA each season he played with the Cardinals. Cesar is at .295 for his career. Izturis rated higher in range than Eckstein, but he's not great. It's an offensive hit at the position without that much of a defensive boost. It was probably the right move to let Eckstein go, but the Cardinals didn't find a very good replacement.
What is Izzy's grit rating?
The real index is 4.6 vs. less than 3. That's millions in salary, 2007 Eckstein vs. 2008 Izturis.
Okay, the Cardinals save some money. They also get a godawful hitter (.629 career OPS) and a not-so-hot glove. A new ballpark, sell-outs galore, tons of money...and penny-pinching. Nice combination.
Do the Cardinals even want to win any more? Maybe they figure they can sell plenty of tickets almost regardless of on-field performance, and they may be right.
They might also figure the division is weak - they're definitely right about that - and they could luck into contention, as they did last year for a while.
