Cards sign Sydney Ponson

[Solomon]

He has alot of talent, but remember, winter league is alot diferent than the Major Leagues!!!

 

I am well aware of that, but he's down there to improve his fielding skills, and thusfar it is being deemed a success. He doesn't have to be a gold glover, but I would at least like for him to get to a point where I don't stop breathing when a routene fly ball is hit to him.

[gotmilk?]

I am well aware of that, but he's down there to improve his fielding skills, and thusfar it is being deemed a success. He doesn't have to be a gold glover, but I would at least like for him to get to a point where I don't stop breathing when a routene fly ball is hit to him.

 

True!!!

[Solomon]

Good grief.

[gotmilk?]

Good grief.

Cards paying the Braves castoffs!!!!

[Fuggly63]

Talk about stupid. We won't pay money to keep Morris or Mark Gri.....whatever....but we give a mediocre pitcher a raise?!?! The cards have some serious ownership problems.

[gotmilk?]

Talk about stupid. We won't pay money to keep Morris or Mark Gri.....whatever....but we give a mediocre pitcher a raise?!?! The cards have some serious ownership problems.

Sounds like the front office has some serious issues!!!

[Bledsoebtheboys]

Sounds like the front office has some serious issues!!!

Doesn't the GM make the decisions on who he signs and doesn't sign?

[gotmilk?]

Doesn't the GM make the decisions on who he signs and doesn't sign?

Yes sir!!!

 

Of course he can be overruled by the man upstairs and most owners like there GM's to discuss moves with the coachs also!!!

[Bledsoebtheboys]

Yes sir!!!

 

Of course he can be overruled by the man upstairs and most owners like there GM's to discuss moves with the coachs also!!!

Might want to put some of the blame on LaRussa

[Fuggly63]

Might want to put some of the blame on LaRussa

LaRussa has nothing to do with it. Its DeWitt construction. They are the ones not wanting to put up the money.

[Fuggly63]

 

Cards owners use new park as an excuse to scrimp

By Bernie Miklasz

ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH

12/10/2005

 

 

The old Busch Stadium is down. All that remains are scattered debris and a circular outline of where a ballpark used to stand. And that's unfortunate. We should have stopped the wrecking ball, if for no other reason than to help the team's owners.

 

I say this because I had no idea the new Busch stadium would create such financial hardship for team chairman Bill DeWitt and his partners. Actually, for years the media and fans were told the opposite: that the owners needed a new ballpark to increase revenue and payroll. And the new ballpark will open in 2006, so this should be a happy time, yes?

 

Well, one of DeWitt's associates called me last week to talk on background and he politely made the point that the team can't increase payroll for 2006 for a simple reason: The owners have reached into their own pockets to pick up much of the cost for building the new ballpark, and resources are limited.

 

Thursday I wrote a column criticizing the owners for holding the line on payroll, a position that may force general manager Walt Jocketty to search under sofa cushions and car seats for loose change if he wants to hire some new relief pitchers.

 

And just to make one point perfectly clear, I'm not asking the owners to go berserk and spend irresponsibly. I just would like to see Jocketty have some reasonable payroll flexibility to find what he needs to keep the 2006 roster up to standard, because the goal is to win the World Series.

 

Imagine what Jocketty could do with an extra $10 million in payroll. I'm not asking DeWitt to be George Steinbrenner, OK? But with the cost of baseball salaries on the rise this off-season, Jocketty could use some wiggle room on the payroll. It's a reasonable request.

 

Anyway, back to the owners' plight. DeWitt and associates are responsible for funding about 77 percent of the cost on the $388 million project, and they'll be paying about $15 million annually for the next 22 years to retire the stadium bonds. But public money, including a $30 million tax break, is part of the deal. And fans contributed $40 million in the owners' seat-license program.

 

To frame this in the proper context we have to go back to the beginning, to the sweet deal that Anheuser-Busch gave DeWitt and partners in selling the team in 1995.

 

For a sale price of $150 million, the new owners got one of baseball's most storied franchises, Busch Stadium, four parking garages and land beneath two nearby hotels. In less than a year, the new owners sold the garages for $91 million and received an additional $9 million for the land. After this benevolence from the brewery, the new owners entered the baseball business with a terrific head start.

 

DeWitt and the partners have been good for baseball in St. Louis, and baseball in St. Louis has been good for them. The value of the franchise has increased every year, and the Cardinals were valued at $370 million by Forbes magazine before the 2005 season. With a new ballpark in play, the franchise value will undoubtedly jump again in 2006.

 

The owners are paying for a substantial part of the new Busch for a reason: They believed it was a positive and necessary investment that would pay off handsomely for them.

 

As team president Mark Lamping said of the new stadium two years ago, "We're going to have premium seats and luxury boxes generating significantly more money."

 

Right. And the owners and management said repeatedly that they needed the revenue boost from the stadium, and the new radio deal, in order to field the kind of team the fans have come to expect.

 

"We'd have a lot more money to put into the payroll," DeWitt said of a new stadium back in 2002. "We've made some projections on payroll in a new ballpark and payroll here (at the old Busch), and it's significantly different. It means a lot."

 

These words pleased Jocketty, who at the time said: "The biggest challenge I have this off-season is trying to rebuild a pitching staff with very limited resources. And if we were in the new stadium right now, I guarantee you we'd be in a position to raise our payroll significantly to the point where we probably could re-sign all the guys we have as free agents."

 

Uh, not so fast there, Walt ...

 

Jocketty might be confused these days. Because in 2004 DeWitt said: "The new stadium will provide us with increased revenues and the ability to have a higher payroll. We should be in a more competitive position."

 

Wasn't the OLD Busch Stadium a money pit, and a drain on the owners' finances? Oddly enough, while competing at the old Busch from 1996-2005, these owners consistently raised payroll.

 

But now that the new Busch is just about here - complete with higher ticket prices, more premium seats, and all the revenue-enhancing amenities - the payroll is staying the same.

 

I'm sorry to ask, but is it too late to put the old Busch back together again?

 

I don't want to see DeWitt and his partners suffer through the incredible hardship of having to compete in a new ballpark.

[gotmilk?]

Ouch, sounds like the Cards ownership has put the team in a sticky situation!

 

I am sure if the Cards need the money several teams would be willing to take the Pujols contract off there hands!!!