With Furcal Out, It’s Time To Reflect on the Past and Think

It was the last thing Cardinal Nation wanted to hear in a year of disappointments – first, we have our ace, Chris Carpenter, likely done with his entire career.  Now, we have lost Rafael Furcal to injury for 2013, and it is likely that we will not be seeing him in a Cardinal uniform again.  He had some issues in the past with his elbow, so it was no surprise last year when the elbow gave out on him.  Let’s take the time to think back on Furcal’s injury and career, where we are now as a team, and what we need to see from the front office in the immediate future.

First, the injury fiasco.  If you are familiar with Furcal’s career, you’ll know that he was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in 1996, so much of Furcal’s career was spent in the same clubhouse as the likely first ballot Hall of Famer and Pitcher John Smoltz.  Growing up in Birmingham, Alabama, I remember when Smoltz started having injury issues, and he frequently headed straight to Dr. James Andrews – the same doctor who evaluated Furcal yesterday and recommended Tommy John surgery.   Dr. Andrews is a sort of relic here in Birmingham – his practice is respected throughout the sports community, and when there are problems, most teams fly their players to see him.  Looking back at Furcal’s injury, it is easy for those of us in Cardinal Nation to argue he should have been in surgery last November.  However, Dr. Andrews and many other experts believed surgery was not necessary at the time.  In this case, let’s give General Manager John Mozeliak a break.  They consulted the best last year, and they consulted the best this week.

Second, some Cardinal fans (particularly those who did not follow him throughout his career) have been rough on Furcal – let’s be a little easier on the guy.  While Furcal did not have good statistics from any perspective last year, his career up till recently has been stellar, and Cardinal Nation got the best that he could give in 2011 when it mattered and he got his first World Series ring with a team that would not give up.  His slugging percentage in 2011 was .418 according to baseballreference.com, and this was above his career average of .403.  He’s had 585 RBIs over his career, and his on base+slugging percentage over his career has been .749.  This is hardly a record to sneeze at or consider somehow unimpressive, especially for a guy who has been known more for his beautiful throw and defense as a shortstop.  When I think of Furcal, I think of an amazing defensive player, but has he been without good offense?  Hardly.  When Furcal was traded to the Cardinals, I was excited, while even some fans, like my father, were more skeptical.  Maybe I’m a little too sentimental, but being able to see Furcal bring that beautiful throw to Busch Stadium and wear a Cardinal uniform was a happy moment for me.  I watched him play for the Atlanta Braves, and I thought he was incredible then…And, in my mind, he was incredible until he just couldn’t do it anymore.  Not to mention, the immediate fit in the clubhouse culture in 2011 and 2012 was great.  Even when he couldn’t play during the playoffs, I’ll never forget Furcal and Adam Wainwright joking and going back and forth with each other during an interview in the NLCS.  Furcal was having fun, and the only World Series ring he’ll ever have most likely will be with the Cardinals.  Maybe his contract was too much money, but it was worth the chance, because when Furcal is healthy, he is remarkable…no doubt in my mind.  On a side note, I was at a local Publix grocery store in Birmingham last year, and a lady stopped me to tell me about her memories of Furcal when she saw my Cardinals jersey with his name and number.  She was an unapologetic Braves fan, and she said, “Those throws to first base were incredible.”  My thoughts exactly.

Third, let’s look at where the team is right now.  The obvious choice for shortstop at this point is Pete Kozma.  His horrible errors during Game 7 of the NLCS will haunt me forever, but some of that could be because I had tickets to Game 2 of the World Series.  I was desperate to go and with every drop of the ball, I felt like my guts were being ripped apart.  That being said, Kozma was under a lot of pressure for the first time in his short major league career, and our team failed to bring out any offense.  Any doubt I have about Kozma goes back to that game.  It was so painful to watch, but the team as a whole failed us that night, and I believe some in Cardinal Nation, like myself, are probably skeptical at this time.  However, we have no choice at this point, and I think that with more playing time and maturity, Kozma can be the shortstop we need.  My main question, though, is why the Front Office did not pursue a quality shortstop during the off season more aggressively.  Marco Scutaro of the Giants was approached by the Cardinals, and, admittedly, there were not many shortstops on the free agent market worth having.  Scutaro chose to stay with the Giants, even though St. Louis offered him bigger money.  After that attempt, however, there was no more talk of even a trade for a shortstop who actively played well in 2012.  Surely we can do better than that with the resources and money we currently have since we did not have to pay Albert Pujols.  Under Tony LaRussa, the Front Office was not afraid to follow his lead and pursue veteran players to fill a temporary void.  Yes, we did get Ronny Cedeno, but Mozeliak told Bernie Miklasz recently that it was not looking good at all for Cedeno (see: http://www.stltoday.com/sports/columns/bernie-miklasz/bernie-more-from-mo-on-furcal-issues/article_0c10799f-220f-5e30-a3ea-087f7db1183a.html)

So, what do I want to see this year?  I want to see the Front Office think about obtaining a shortstop through a trade if they have any doubt, and I mean even the tiniest, about Furcal – they knew Furcal was shaky, and except for Scutaro, they failed to search for a more veteran, well-performing shortstop to fill the void while Kozma developed.  I tend to agree with Bernie in the St. Louis Post Dispatch that the offense should be fine as long as Beltran, Freese, Holliday, etc… perform well this season.  What we need from Kozma is his best at defense, and I really hope that he proves my doubts to be unjustified.