Burleson is a star

[AnExParrot]

A star draws fans. You probably see people wearing his jersey. He is among the league leaders in something. A star is under consideration for the various awards given. A star receives All-Star consideration. Star=WAR. On a team lacking stars, Burleson isn't even the best player on his team.

Pffft. He’s the best hitter on the team.

Ha. That’s like being a cyclops in the land of the blind.
Context please.
And he’s the 5th best player because he can’t defend or run.
Contreras, Herrera, Wynn and Donny are better all-around players.
The post is that he is a “star.” He’s not. And the others aren’t either

Contreras and Herrera are anything but better all around players. Herrera is a DH who has yet to find a position he can actually play. Contreras failed at catching as well. Of course Donny is a better player and Winn is a GG caliber defender who may eventually hit well.

I don't care about the AS thread. That was a bit of spoof after he virtually single handedly won a game. He is the best hitter until a few real potential AS's arrive like JJ and maybe Bernal and J Baez. We've got no one who can hit consistently this year with the exception of Burley. I don't care if the whole forum is oblivious.

We disagree. I notice you avoided the defense and running component of Burly's game. And you avoided the statistics on any of the three elements of a player's value:

Defense
Burly is bad defensively, with a career -3 OAA at 1B and an embarrassing -19 in the OF. Burly is a statue on the dirt and the grass. He has a -3 range at 1b.
Contreras is a +5 OAA at 1B with a +5 range, and regardless of stats, anyone who's not blind can see that he's superior to Burly at 1b

Baserunning
Both Herrera and Contreras run well; Burly cannot run -- he is tied with Pages (!) for the 2nd slowest player on the team (behind Pozo).

Hitting
Oh, and the best stat as a gauge for hitting is wRC+ - and Herrera (124 wRC+) and Contreras (123 wRC+) are both slightly better than Burly (121 wRC+).

I agree to disagree with the best of posters. There are a lot of caveats when comparing players, but when I defined it strictly as offensive, didn't see a point in discussing defensive stats. There are plenty of points to compare; how about the one that Contreras costs about 18 times what Burley does.

Now you're reaching just as weakly as Shady. At least you weren't doing it when he hit and did everything else like [shirt].

[ClassicO]

A star draws fans. You probably see people wearing his jersey. He is among the league leaders in something. A star is under consideration for the various awards given. A star receives All-Star consideration. Star=WAR. On a team lacking stars, Burleson isn't even the best player on his team.

Pffft. He’s the best hitter on the team.

Ha. That’s like being a cyclops in the land of the blind.
Context please.
And he’s the 5th best player because he can’t defend or run.
Contreras, Herrera, Wynn and Donny are better all-around players.
The post is that he is a “star.” He’s not. And the others aren’t either

Contreras and Herrera are anything but better all around players. Herrera is a DH who has yet to find a position he can actually play. Contreras failed at catching as well. Of course Donny is a better player and Winn is a GG caliber defender who may eventually hit well.

I don't care about the AS thread. That was a bit of spoof after he virtually single handedly won a game. He is the best hitter until a few real potential AS's arrive like JJ and maybe Bernal and J Baez. We've got no one who can hit consistently this year with the exception of Burley. I don't care if the whole forum is oblivious.

We disagree. I notice you avoided the defense and running component of Burly's game. And you avoided the statistics on any of the three elements of a player's value:

Defense
Burly is bad defensively, with a career -3 OAA at 1B and an embarrassing -19 in the OF. Burly is a statue on the dirt and the grass. He has a -3 range at 1b.
Contreras is a +5 OAA at 1B with a +5 range, and regardless of stats, anyone who's not blind can see that he's superior to Burly at 1b

Baserunning
Both Herrera and Contreras run well; Burly cannot run -- he is tied with Pages (!) for the 2nd slowest player on the team (behind Pozo).

Hitting
Oh, and the best stat as a gauge for hitting is wRC+ - and Herrera (124 wRC+) and Contreras (123 wRC+) are both slightly better than Burly (121 wRC+).

I agree to disagree with the best of posters. There are a lot of caveats when comparing players, but when I defined it strictly as offensive, didn't see a point in discussing defensive stats. There are plenty of points to compare; how about the one that Contreras costs about 18 times what Burley does.

I'm confused (as I am often). I responded to your post that "Contreras and Herrera are anything but better all-around players."
And does cost govern ability? No. The Cards should spend more on quality players.
All good tho; it's ok to disagree.

[Shady]

A star draws fans. You probably see people wearing his jersey. He is among the league leaders in something. A star is under consideration for the various awards given. A star receives All-Star consideration. Star=WAR. On a team lacking stars, Burleson isn't even the best player on his team.

Pffft. He’s the best hitter on the team.

Ha. That’s like being a cyclops in the land of the blind.
Context please.
And he’s the 5th best player because he can’t defend or run.
Contreras, Herrera, Wynn and Donny are better all-around players.
The post is that he is a “star.” He’s not. And the others aren’t either

Contreras and Herrera are anything but better all around players. Herrera is a DH who has yet to find a position he can actually play. Contreras failed at catching as well. Of course Donny is a better player and Winn is a GG caliber defender who may eventually hit well.

I don't care about the AS thread. That was a bit of spoof after he virtually single handedly won a game. He is the best hitter until a few real potential AS's arrive like JJ and maybe Bernal and J Baez. We've got no one who can hit consistently this year with the exception of Burley. I don't care if the whole forum is oblivious.

We disagree. I notice you avoided the defense and running component of Burly's game. And you avoided the statistics on any of the three elements of a player's value:

Defense
Burly is bad defensively, with a career -3 OAA at 1B and an embarrassing -19 in the OF. Burly is a statue on the dirt and the grass. He has a -3 range at 1b.
Contreras is a +5 OAA at 1B with a +5 range, and regardless of stats, anyone who's not blind can see that he's superior to Burly at 1b

Baserunning
Both Herrera and Contreras run well; Burly cannot run -- he is tied with Pages (!) for the 2nd slowest player on the team (behind Pozo).

Hitting
Oh, and the best stat as a gauge for hitting is wRC+ - and Herrera (124 wRC+) and Contreras (123 wRC+) are both slightly better than Burly (121 wRC+).

I agree to disagree with the best of posters. There are a lot of caveats when comparing players, but when I defined it strictly as offensive, didn't see a point in discussing defensive stats. There are plenty of points to compare; how about the one that Contreras costs about 18 times what Burley does.

"There are plenty of points to compare; how about the one that Contreras costs about 18 times what Burley does". Many CT posters just consider players as players, regardless of their salaries, as far as their expectations. They don't take into consideration the salary/production factor.

[ClassicO]

MattMitch has a great formula for a great team, with something like percentages of highly paid vets, low-paid youngsters, and the affordable but not too expensive good middle players. WC is in the highly paid vets category.

The only players on the Cards not worth their weight are Arenado and Mikolas. Gray is overpaid, but that's what happens when you sign most free agents. https://www.fangraphs.com/roster-resour ... /cardinals

Willson is not even in the top 66 players in AAV per this website: https://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/ ... 030848007/

[MIDMOBIRDTWO]

Bumbles is a poor man's John Kruk.

[hugeCardfan]

A star draws fans. You probably see people wearing his jersey. He is among the league leaders in something. A star is under consideration for the various awards given. A star receives All-Star consideration. Star=WAR. On a team lacking stars, Burleson isn't even the best player on his team.

Pffft. He’s the best hitter on the team.

Ha. That’s like being a cyclops in the land of the blind.
Context please.
And he’s the 5th best player because he can’t defend or run.
Contreras, Herrera, Wynn and Donny are better all-around players.
The post is that he is a “star.” He’s not. And the others aren’t either

Contreras and Herrera are anything but better all around players. Herrera is a DH who has yet to find a position he can actually play. Contreras failed at catching as well. Of course Donny is a better player and Winn is a GG caliber defender who may eventually hit well.

I don't care about the AS thread. That was a bit of spoof after he virtually single handedly won a game. He is the best hitter until a few real potential AS's arrive like JJ and maybe Bernal and J Baez. We've got no one who can hit consistently this year with the exception of Burley. I don't care if the whole forum is oblivious.

We disagree. I notice you avoided the defense and running component of Burly's game. And you avoided the statistics on any of the three elements of a player's value:

Defense
Burly is bad defensively, with a career -3 OAA at 1B and an embarrassing -19 in the OF. Burly is a statue on the dirt and the grass. He has a -3 range at 1b.
Contreras is a +5 OAA at 1B with a +5 range, and regardless of stats, anyone who's not blind can see that he's superior to Burly at 1b

Baserunning
Both Herrera and Contreras run well; Burly cannot run -- he is tied with Pages (!) for the 2nd slowest player on the team (behind Pozo).

Hitting
Oh, and the best stat as a gauge for hitting is wRC+ - and Herrera (124 wRC+) and Contreras (123 wRC+) are both slightly better than Burly (121 wRC+).

I agree to disagree with the best of posters. There are a lot of caveats when comparing players, but when I defined it strictly as offensive, didn't see a point in discussing defensive stats. There are plenty of points to compare; how about the one that Contreras costs about 18 times what Burley does.

I'm confused (as I am often). I responded to your post that "Contreras and Herrera are anything but better all-around players."
And does cost govern ability? No. The Cards should spend more on quality players.
All good tho; it's ok to disagree.

That's the funny part tho, I keep saying the guy us the best hitter and everybody wants to say yebbut somebody else fields better. I mean if we can't focus on the discussion of who hits better, I can think of other chit.

[ecleme22]

A star draws fans. You probably see people wearing his jersey. He is among the league leaders in something. A star is under consideration for the various awards given. A star receives All-Star consideration. Star=WAR. On a team lacking stars, Burleson isn't even the best player on his team.

Pffft. He’s the best hitter on the team.

Ha. That’s like being a cyclops in the land of the blind.
Context please.
And he’s the 5th best player because he can’t defend or run.
Contreras, Herrera, Wynn and Donny are better all-around players.
The post is that he is a “star.” He’s not. And the others aren’t either

Contreras and Herrera are anything but better all around players. Herrera is a DH who has yet to find a position he can actually play. Contreras failed at catching as well. Of course Donny is a better player and Winn is a GG caliber defender who may eventually hit well.

I don't care about the AS thread. That was a bit of spoof after he virtually single handedly won a game. He is the best hitter until a few real potential AS's arrive like JJ and maybe Bernal and J Baez. We've got no one who can hit consistently this year with the exception of Burley. I don't care if the whole forum is oblivious.

We disagree. I notice you avoided the defense and running component of Burly's game. And you avoided the statistics on any of the three elements of a player's value:

Defense
Burly is bad defensively, with a career -3 OAA at 1B and an embarrassing -19 in the OF. Burly is a statue on the dirt and the grass. He has a -3 range at 1b.
Contreras is a +5 OAA at 1B with a +5 range, and regardless of stats, anyone who's not blind can see that he's superior to Burly at 1b

Baserunning
Both Herrera and Contreras run well; Burly cannot run -- he is tied with Pages (!) for the 2nd slowest player on the team (behind Pozo).

Hitting
Oh, and the best stat as a gauge for hitting is wRC+ - and Herrera (124 wRC+) and Contreras (123 wRC+) are both slightly better than Burly (121 wRC+).

I agree to disagree with the best of posters. There are a lot of caveats when comparing players, but when I defined it strictly as offensive, didn't see a point in discussing defensive stats. There are plenty of points to compare; how about the one that Contreras costs about 18 times what Burley does.

I'm confused (as I am often). I responded to your post that "Contreras and Herrera are anything but better all-around players."
And does cost govern ability? No. The Cards should spend more on quality players.
All good tho; it's ok to disagree.

That's the funny part tho, I keep saying the guy us the best hitter and everybody wants to say yebbut somebody else fields better. I mean if we can't focus on the discussion of who hits better, I can think of other chit.

Seeing that WC is neck and neck w him, I don’t know how you can definitively say that.

Now if Burleson’s ops were like .870, you would have a point.

[AnExParrot]

A star draws fans. You probably see people wearing his jersey. He is among the league leaders in something. A star is under consideration for the various awards given. A star receives All-Star consideration. Star=WAR. On a team lacking stars, Burleson isn't even the best player on his team.

Pffft. He’s the best hitter on the team.

Ha. That’s like being a cyclops in the land of the blind.
Context please.
And he’s the 5th best player because he can’t defend or run.
Contreras, Herrera, Wynn and Donny are better all-around players.
The post is that he is a “star.” He’s not. And the others aren’t either

Contreras and Herrera are anything but better all around players. Herrera is a DH who has yet to find a position he can actually play. Contreras failed at catching as well. Of course Donny is a better player and Winn is a GG caliber defender who may eventually hit well.

I don't care about the AS thread. That was a bit of spoof after he virtually single handedly won a game. He is the best hitter until a few real potential AS's arrive like JJ and maybe Bernal and J Baez. We've got no one who can hit consistently this year with the exception of Burley. I don't care if the whole forum is oblivious.

We disagree. I notice you avoided the defense and running component of Burly's game. And you avoided the statistics on any of the three elements of a player's value:

Defense
Burly is bad defensively, with a career -3 OAA at 1B and an embarrassing -19 in the OF. Burly is a statue on the dirt and the grass. He has a -3 range at 1b.
Contreras is a +5 OAA at 1B with a +5 range, and regardless of stats, anyone who's not blind can see that he's superior to Burly at 1b

Baserunning
Both Herrera and Contreras run well; Burly cannot run -- he is tied with Pages (!) for the 2nd slowest player on the team (behind Pozo).

Hitting
Oh, and the best stat as a gauge for hitting is wRC+ - and Herrera (124 wRC+) and Contreras (123 wRC+) are both slightly better than Burly (121 wRC+).

I agree to disagree with the best of posters. There are a lot of caveats when comparing players, but when I defined it strictly as offensive, didn't see a point in discussing defensive stats. There are plenty of points to compare; how about the one that Contreras costs about 18 times what Burley does.

I'm confused (as I am often). I responded to your post that "Contreras and Herrera are anything but better all-around players."
And does cost govern ability? No. The Cards should spend more on quality players.
All good tho; it's ok to disagree.

That's the funny part tho, I keep saying the guy us the best hitter and everybody wants to say yebbut somebody else fields better. I mean if we can't focus on the discussion of who hits better, I can think of other chit.

Then maybe don't act like a 1-tool player is a star.

[hugeCardfan]

MattMitch has a great formula for a great team, with something like percentages of highly paid vets, low-paid youngsters, and the affordable but not too expensive good middle players. WC is in the highly paid vets category.

The only players on the Cards not worth their weight are Arenado and Mikolas. Gray is overpaid, but that's what happens when you sign most free agents. https://www.fangraphs.com/roster-resour ... /cardinals

Willson is not even in the top 66 players in AAV per this website: https://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/ ... 030848007/

So, .257 HR 19 RBI 73 R 64, is that a star...an $18M star? Weren't we looking for a catcher to replace Yadi?

[AnExParrot]

MattMitch has a great formula for a great team, with something like percentages of highly paid vets, low-paid youngsters, and the affordable but not too expensive good middle players. WC is in the highly paid vets category.

The only players on the Cards not worth their weight are Arenado and Mikolas. Gray is overpaid, but that's what happens when you sign most free agents. https://www.fangraphs.com/roster-resour ... /cardinals

Willson is not even in the top 66 players in AAV per this website: https://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/ ... 030848007/

So, .257 HR 19 RBI 73 R 64, is that a star...an $18M star? Weren't we looking for a catcher to replace Yadi?

Star's make in excess of 30 mil in free agency. If you expected star production for 18 mil you're living in a dream world.

[hugeCardfan]

MattMitch has a great formula for a great team, with something like percentages of highly paid vets, low-paid youngsters, and the affordable but not too expensive good middle players. WC is in the highly paid vets category.

The only players on the Cards not worth their weight are Arenado and Mikolas. Gray is overpaid, but that's what happens when you sign most free agents. https://www.fangraphs.com/roster-resour ... /cardinals

Willson is not even in the top 66 players in AAV per this website: https://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/ ... 030848007/

So, .257 HR 19 RBI 73 R 64, is that a star...an $18M star? Weren't we looking for a catcher to replace Yadi?

Star's make in excess of 30 mil in free agency. If you expected star production for 18 mil you're living in a dream world.

Sure. Albert was a star for 11 years in St Louis. I don't think his salary exceeded 16M as a Cardinal. On the other hand, I'm holding out for heaven as my dream world.

[AnExParrot]

MattMitch has a great formula for a great team, with something like percentages of highly paid vets, low-paid youngsters, and the affordable but not too expensive good middle players. WC is in the highly paid vets category.

The only players on the Cards not worth their weight are Arenado and Mikolas. Gray is overpaid, but that's what happens when you sign most free agents. https://www.fangraphs.com/roster-resour ... /cardinals

Willson is not even in the top 66 players in AAV per this website: https://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/ ... 030848007/

So, .257 HR 19 RBI 73 R 64, is that a star...an $18M star? Weren't we looking for a catcher to replace Yadi?

Star's make in excess of 30 mil in free agency. If you expected star production for 18 mil you're living in a dream world.

Sure. Albert was a star for 11 years in St Louis. I don't think his salary exceeded 16M as a Cardinal. On the other hand, I'm holding out for heaven as my dream world.

I highlighted in red the part you seem to have missed. And Albert was signed to that contract almost 20 years ago. When Albert signed the FA contract it was 26 mil, if he was same age as he was in 2011, with the same history he had he'd been fielding 40+ mil offers today, and you know it or should.

Edit: the extension Albert signed was Feb. 19 2004 - over 21 years ago.

[hugeCardfan]

MattMitch has a great formula for a great team, with something like percentages of highly paid vets, low-paid youngsters, and the affordable but not too expensive good middle players. WC is in the highly paid vets category.

The only players on the Cards not worth their weight are Arenado and Mikolas. Gray is overpaid, but that's what happens when you sign most free agents. https://www.fangraphs.com/roster-resour ... /cardinals

Willson is not even in the top 66 players in AAV per this website: https://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/ ... 030848007/

So, .257 HR 19 RBI 73 R 64, is that a star...an $18M star? Weren't we looking for a catcher to replace Yadi?

Star's make in excess of 30 mil in free agency. If you expected star production for 18 mil you're living in a dream world.

Sure. Albert was a star for 11 years in St Louis. I don't think his salary exceeded 16M as a Cardinal. On the other hand, I'm holding out for heaven as my dream world.

I highlighted in red the part you seem to have missed. And Albert was signed to that contract almost 20 years ago. When Albert signed the FA contract it was 26 mil, if he was same age as he was in 2011, with the same history he had he'd been fielding 40+ mil offers today, and you know it or should.

Edit: the extension Albert signed was Feb. 19 2004 - over 21 years ago.

Yeah, I know when it was and how CT squawked because he only had 3 years under his belt and they were paying him "star" money. Best 21st century contract extension ever.

Albert's FA contract was an overpay despite his credentials. He was cresting and BDW and Mo knew it. Artie Moreno saved their butts. History is replete with bad "star" contracts. Some take longer than others to play out. In case you misunderstood, I never thought Contreras was a necessary sign. 18M for a catcher who wasn't very good defensively and couldn't stay healthy behind the plate...might just be overkill. That's the Cardinal dilemma. This team fits like a 1913 pitcher's glove. We waste entirely too much time excessing over Burleson's shortfalls.

All the bit.ching about Burleson, from he can't hit to he can't field... ignores the fact that he is growing up in the majors with us at virtually minimum wage. If you haven't figured out that I don't really consider Burleson a star, let me clarify. It was a fun post after he had an awesome night. Doesn't change the fact that he is one of our best, if not the best hitter on our roster. Folks can biatch about him until the cows come home but, on this roster, he's a bargain. So is Ivan Herrera who also doesn't have a position. What futures they have is more problematic.

[JDW]

Well, maybe it took 11 pages and a mini slump by Burly, but now we get the OP to admit that Burly is "NOT" a star.
You know, for all the abuse it takes by some on here, WAR simply tells us that in a snapshot if you have trouble digesting and then consolidating all the variables that effect a players value to a team. Currently AB has a +1.6 bWAR, which is 6th among position players on this sub .500 team. Well, that's ok.
It's not AB's fault Shady's obsession has helped turn AB into an emotional weather vane on here, and AB is a good player to have while cost controlled like many other Card players have been, past and present. Now whether AB can continue to get better or if this is his plateau will help determine his future value. Currently he's a fine player to have on the 26.

[AnExParrot]

MattMitch has a great formula for a great team, with something like percentages of highly paid vets, low-paid youngsters, and the affordable but not too expensive good middle players. WC is in the highly paid vets category.

The only players on the Cards not worth their weight are Arenado and Mikolas. Gray is overpaid, but that's what happens when you sign most free agents. https://www.fangraphs.com/roster-resour ... /cardinals

Willson is not even in the top 66 players in AAV per this website: https://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/ ... 030848007/

So, .257 HR 19 RBI 73 R 64, is that a star...an $18M star? Weren't we looking for a catcher to replace Yadi?

Star's make in excess of 30 mil in free agency. If you expected star production for 18 mil you're living in a dream world.

Sure. Albert was a star for 11 years in St Louis. I don't think his salary exceeded 16M as a Cardinal. On the other hand, I'm holding out for heaven as my dream world.

I highlighted in red the part you seem to have missed. And Albert was signed to that contract almost 20 years ago. When Albert signed the FA contract it was 26 mil, if he was same age as he was in 2011, with the same history he had he'd been fielding 40+ mil offers today, and you know it or should.

Edit: the extension Albert signed was Feb. 19 2004 - over 21 years ago.

Yeah, I know when it was and how CT squawked because he only had 3 years under his belt and they were paying him "star" money. Best 21st century contract extension ever.

Albert's FA contract was an overpay despite his credentials. He was cresting and BDW and Mo knew it. Artie Moreno saved their butts. History is replete with bad "star" contracts. Some take longer than others to play out. In case you misunderstood, I never thought Contreras was a necessary sign. 18M for a catcher who wasn't very good defensively and couldn't stay healthy behind the plate...might just be overkill. That's the Cardinal dilemma. This team fits like a 1913 pitcher's glove. We waste entirely too much time excessing over Burleson's shortfalls.

All the bit.ching about Burleson, from he can't hit to he can't field... ignores the fact that he is growing up in the majors with us at virtually minimum wage. If you haven't figured out that I don't really consider Burleson a star, let me clarify. It was a fun post after he had an awesome night. Doesn't change the fact that he is one of our best, if not the best hitter on our roster. Folks can biatch about him until the cows come home but, on this roster, he's a bargain. So is Ivan Herrera who also doesn't have a position. What futures they have is more problematic.

Someone already has Burleson's "good" attributes well covered and had them covered even when he was hitting, fielding, and running the bases like [shirt].

That aside most of the obsessing over his shortfalls are valid, he is corner OF/1B with, at best, average defense and a bat that still doesn't make up for his glove at the positions he's capable of playing.

He had a .599 OPS back on April 22nd, and has had 394 PAs since. He's been a good hitter for 99 games, that's been done a thousand times by guys who were out of the league in another couple years, so pardon those of us who don't share your glee.

[ecleme22]

MattMitch has a great formula for a great team, with something like percentages of highly paid vets, low-paid youngsters, and the affordable but not too expensive good middle players. WC is in the highly paid vets category.

The only players on the Cards not worth their weight are Arenado and Mikolas. Gray is overpaid, but that's what happens when you sign most free agents. https://www.fangraphs.com/roster-resour ... /cardinals

Willson is not even in the top 66 players in AAV per this website: https://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/ ... 030848007/

So, .257 HR 19 RBI 73 R 64, is that a star...an $18M star? Weren't we looking for a catcher to replace Yadi?

Star's make in excess of 30 mil in free agency. If you expected star production for 18 mil you're living in a dream world.

Sure. Albert was a star for 11 years in St Louis. I don't think his salary exceeded 16M as a Cardinal. On the other hand, I'm holding out for heaven as my dream world.

I highlighted in red the part you seem to have missed. And Albert was signed to that contract almost 20 years ago. When Albert signed the FA contract it was 26 mil, if he was same age as he was in 2011, with the same history he had he'd been fielding 40+ mil offers today, and you know it or should.

Edit: the extension Albert signed was Feb. 19 2004 - over 21 years ago.

Yeah, I know when it was and how CT squawked because he only had 3 years under his belt and they were paying him "star" money. Best 21st century contract extension ever.

Albert's FA contract was an overpay despite his credentials. He was cresting and BDW and Mo knew it. Artie Moreno saved their butts. History is replete with bad "star" contracts. Some take longer than others to play out. In case you misunderstood, I never thought Contreras was a necessary sign. 18M for a catcher who wasn't very good defensively and couldn't stay healthy behind the plate...might just be overkill. That's the Cardinal dilemma. This team fits like a 1913 pitcher's glove. We waste entirely too much time excessing over Burleson's shortfalls.

All the bit.ching about Burleson, from he can't hit to he can't field... ignores the fact that he is growing up in the majors with us at virtually minimum wage. If you haven't figured out that I don't really consider Burleson a star, let me clarify. It was a fun post after he had an awesome night. Doesn't change the fact that he is one of our best, if not the best hitter on our roster. Folks can biatch about him until the cows come home but, on this roster, he's a bargain. So is Ivan Herrera who also doesn't have a position. What futures they have is more problematic.

That’s all you have? He’s cheap ?