Luvofthegame
09-02-2006, 09:40 PM
By Bernie Miklasz
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
09/02/2006
When Roy Oswalt signed a five-year, $73 million contract extension to remain with the Houston Astros, the shock waves could be felt in St. Louis.
The deal with Oswalt averages $14.6 million a season.
Compare that to what the Cardinals are paying their ace, Chris Carpenter.
Carpenter has a preposterously good 49-16 record as a Cardinal, and this season he's making a bid for his second consecutive National League Cy Young Award. Advertisement
Carpenter is being paid $5 million this year and will receive $7 million next season. The Cardinals hold an $8 million option on Carpenter for 2008.
If the Cardinals decide at some point to open negotiations with Carpenter on a contract extension, Oswalt's numbers will hang over the discussions.
Moreover, the Oswalt deal undoubtedly has inflated the salary rate for free-agent starting pitchers. So if the Cardinals had any desire to pursue, say, Jason Schmidt, the price just skyrocketed.
The Oswalt contract may even help Cardinals starter Jeff Suppan, who can become a free agent after the season. With a 2.54 ERA since the All-Star break, Suppan is pitching well enough to warrant an extension. Suppan makes $4 million this season, but his price probably will go up now that Oswalt got everything but an oil well from the Astros.
If he wants to buy starting pitching, Cardinals chairman Bill DeWitt will have to sell many more urinals from old Busch Stadium to make it happen.
Keith Law, ESPN.com: "The Cardinals' main problem is their awful starting rotation, which includes one pitcher with an ERA below the NL average mark of 4.50. ... What I can't fathom is why the Cardinals chose to drop Anthony Reyes from the rotation instead of, say, Jason Marquis or Jeff Weaver. ... There's no realistic scenario in which the Cardinals lose the division at this point ... but it's hard to get out of the first round of the playoffs with just one capable starter, even with a good offense. And between the injuries and the bad signings, the Cardinals may not even have that."
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
09/02/2006
When Roy Oswalt signed a five-year, $73 million contract extension to remain with the Houston Astros, the shock waves could be felt in St. Louis.
The deal with Oswalt averages $14.6 million a season.
Compare that to what the Cardinals are paying their ace, Chris Carpenter.
Carpenter has a preposterously good 49-16 record as a Cardinal, and this season he's making a bid for his second consecutive National League Cy Young Award. Advertisement
Carpenter is being paid $5 million this year and will receive $7 million next season. The Cardinals hold an $8 million option on Carpenter for 2008.
If the Cardinals decide at some point to open negotiations with Carpenter on a contract extension, Oswalt's numbers will hang over the discussions.
Moreover, the Oswalt deal undoubtedly has inflated the salary rate for free-agent starting pitchers. So if the Cardinals had any desire to pursue, say, Jason Schmidt, the price just skyrocketed.
The Oswalt contract may even help Cardinals starter Jeff Suppan, who can become a free agent after the season. With a 2.54 ERA since the All-Star break, Suppan is pitching well enough to warrant an extension. Suppan makes $4 million this season, but his price probably will go up now that Oswalt got everything but an oil well from the Astros.
If he wants to buy starting pitching, Cardinals chairman Bill DeWitt will have to sell many more urinals from old Busch Stadium to make it happen.
Keith Law, ESPN.com: "The Cardinals' main problem is their awful starting rotation, which includes one pitcher with an ERA below the NL average mark of 4.50. ... What I can't fathom is why the Cardinals chose to drop Anthony Reyes from the rotation instead of, say, Jason Marquis or Jeff Weaver. ... There's no realistic scenario in which the Cardinals lose the division at this point ... but it's hard to get out of the first round of the playoffs with just one capable starter, even with a good offense. And between the injuries and the bad signings, the Cardinals may not even have that."