It’s truly happy “Holliday” in St. Louis, though us Cubs fans may not enjoy our New Year's quite as much now.
For the Cubs division challenger and long-time bitter rival St. Louis Cardinals put a dagger into the rest of the division by announcing the team has re-signed free agent outfielder Matt Holliday to a seven-year, $120 million contract.
It's a lot to pay for a player who seemingly had no other suitors, and the Cardinals may regret this deal in the long run. But for the next few seasons, it will really help St. Louis.
Holliday had experienced a slow start in Oakland last season, leading many baseball experts to believe that he was simply a product of the thin Colorado air.
But after being traded to the Cardinals, Holliday was sensational. In 63 games, he hit .353/.419/.604/1.023. For the season, Holliday had an OBP of .394, with 24 homers. He even threw in 14 stolen bases for good measure.
Advanced defensive metrics suggest Holliday is above average with the glove as well, with a UZR of 5.7.
Even with the loss of Holliday, St. Louis would have still been the favorites in the NL Central. With him, they are that much stronger.
With the Cubs doing little to help their team thus far this offseason, and with expensive, long-term contracts holding them back from spending money, it appears the Cards may have this division all to themselves in 2010.
While a one-two punch of Albert Pujols and Matt Holliday is mighty impressive, it is the pitching that has a few question marks.
Can Chris Carpenter stay healthy and will Adam Wainwright repeat his outstanding 2009 performance?
Meanwhile, Brad Penny is a clear downgrade from Joel Pineiro.
Laugh all you want, but Pineiro was effective least season for the Cards. He had a FIP of 3.27, which was eighth best among NL starters in 2009. For those of you who prefer WHIP, he ranked seventh, ahead of Wainwright.
But overall, the main questions facing a Cardinals team that won 91 games following a late slump, are relatively few, at least compared with the rest of the division.
Come to think of it, while the Phillies are enjoying a Halladay, and the Cards have a nice Holliday, the Cubs are saying "bah humbug."
Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com
- Login to post comments