[BleacherBum593]

Part 2

BleacherBum593 With the signing of pitcher Ryan Franklin it really puts the squeeze on Chris Narveson, especially because of the Winter Warm-up comments that Franklin should be a starter. How do we keep Narvy since he is out of options, if he does not win a spot as a starter or as a reliever?

JV29 It's going to be tough - as you point out, Narvy is out of options, so I think it's tough for us to count on him making it through to Memphis if he doesn't make the major league club. For that reason, I think he'll get a long look in big league camp, and even though it's getting crowded, I think Narvy's got a good chance to open some eyes...

JV29 Since he's out of options, the only way he could get to us at Memphis is if the other 29 clubs let him get through irrevocable waivers

BleacherBum593 The following question seemed to be on the mind of a lot of our posters – the Memphis pitching staff in 2007. I’ve tried to condense all their Q’s into 1. Last couple of seasons the Cardinals have gone out and signed minor league free agents John Webb, Dennis Tankersley, Chris Gissell and Kevin Jarvis, all whom have experience at the AAA level to fill out the Memphis rotation. This season the only AAA starter with any experience they have signed that I have heard of up to this point is Mike Smith and Randy Keisler. Does this mean that besides Mike Smith, Keisler, the Cardinals are going to be looking at Hawksworth, Lambert, Pomeranz, Pals, Parisi and Haberer as starters at Memphis and could any of these players end up in the bullpen? Is there the possibility of a few more free agent pitchers, with MLB experience, being signed before spring training?

JV29 Good question - the Memphis rotation will be one of our toughest decisions, and will also likely be one of the last decisions we make this spring. The main thing that makes it so complicated is that we often don’t find out who is being sent down from the big league club until a day or two before the Major League opener. Sometimes we wind up having someone make the Major League club that we were expecting to be in Memphis - other times we end up getting somebody sent down to Memphis that we weren’t expecting to have. Typically a pitcher like that is the 12th or 13th guy for the big league club, so he’d be a top priority for us to get innings, so we end up having to shuffle guys around to make room for that kind of pitcher.

JV29 As we stand right now, the two main guys who have prior AAA starting experience would be Mike Smith and Randy Keisler. That leaves a host of guys who were at AA to compete for the remaining slots, so spring training will be vital in determining who makes the jump at the start of the year. Blake Hawksworth, Chris Lambert and Mike Parisi probably have the inside track, but Jordan Pals really looked like he turned things around late in the year, and finished up on a high note with 7 straight quality starts, so he’ll get a serious look as well. Stu Pomeranz could be in the mix if he has a strong spring, and Troy Cate showed the ability to work as a starter while pitching in the Mexican Winter League, so I think we should be able to fill at least two of the spots with our most qualified pitchers from the ’06 Springfield staff. To that end, we’ve also decided to invite Lambert and Parisi to big league camp (along with Sillman and Worrell) even though they’re not on the 40-man roster.

JV29 We’re definitely still keeping our eyes (and ears) open for a possible AAA innings-eater type pitcher, because we’re not going to rush a prospect before they’re ready to move up.

JV29 Haberer could fit in as well, although with the other candidates for the rotation, for him to make AAA, it would likely be in the bullpen. Falkenborg is in the same spot as Narvy - out of options, so he'd have to clear waivers to get to Memphis

tulcard Couldn't the AAA innings eater type pitcher be sent down after ST....such as Hancock?

JV29 That's always a possibility, although Hancock is another who doesn't have options, and has been out-righted once before, so he'd have to clear waivers and also could elect free agency rather than accept the assignment. But that's the kind of pitcher that I alluded to earlier when discussing getting somebody back form the big league club that we weren't expecting. If somebody like that got sent down, they'd certainly move to the top of the Memphis rotation

tulcard Does Thompson still have options?....Thanks.

JV29 Brad still has at least one option left

BleacherBum593 Moving onto Springfield - who is penciled in to start there or who'll be in the fight for spots on the staff?

JV29 Probably at least 2 or 3 of those slots will be the "losers" of the AAA rotation battle (ie some holdover from the 2006 Springfield rotation). But Mitchell Boggs and possible Jaime Garcia could wind up pitching there as well. Ideally, Garcia would start the year at Palm Beach, but if he is "lights out" during the spring, he'd have a shot at making the AA club.

BleacherBum593 I'd love to see that. Both have impressed me. Any chance that Boggs could make it to Memphis by the end of the year? Or do you want to see a full year out of him at AA

JV29 With Boggs I think it's a "first things first" type situation. He needs to make the Springfield club first, and then we'd see how successful he is there. The jump from A to AA is usually one of the toughest, so I don't think we'd want to get ahead of ourselves by putting a timetable for him to get to AAA, but as a general rule, if we've got a pitcher who has mastered one level, I think we'll be fairly aggressive in moving him along to the next challenge.

tulcard I know you aren't able to get into specifics JV29, but we are going to try and re-sign Eckstein are we not?

JV29 We've still got this year with David under contract - I think a lot will depend on what type of deal he'd be looking for. Obviously we're in no hurry to get rid of the World Series MVP. ;-)

bedir than average Earlier you mentioned you work for the team on arbitration, but you also know many of the "kids", how hard is it to sit on the opposite side of the table during arbitration?

JV29 That's probably the toughest part of it - With Todd Zeile, I think he took a lot of the things we said about his defense personally. It's difficult, since your obligation is to put on a vigorous defense of the club's position, but you also have to be mindful of the fact that you need to maintain the relationship with the player. The last time we've had a case actually go to a hearing was Darren Oliver (1999 I believe), so the vast majority settle prior to going to a hearing (but we usually have about a month's worth of work done in preparation for the case prior to them settling)

Goose Ok I got one. With the talk that this years draft is supposed to be one of the deeper ones we've had in a while, what direction do you see the Cards going in the draft? Do you see them drafting for need in the earlier rounds, or just taking the best overall player?

JV29 The draft question is probably best suited for the scouting guys, but while it sounds like a cliche typically it's the "best player available", since it's difficult to project what the team's needs will be 3-4 years down the line when that player would be projected to reach the majors.

End of Part 2