Oswalt could find himself without a home

There are teams in need of a proven veteran pitcher to round out their rotations. Some are contenders and there are some trying to climb the ladder in the standings. The Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Cardinals, Texas Rangers, Detroit Tigers, Boston Red Sox or Cincinnati Reds would be a good fit for the veteran hurler. Problem is Oswalt is being awfully picky to whom he plays for.

I know a player who has earned their right to be a free agent can take their time and assess which situation they want to go play in. That’s a major part of being a free agent. But if you’re a veteran trying for one last good contract and a shot at a championship then I figure you sign with who gives you the best chance at a title. Oswalt had a chance to win in Philadelphia, but the Phillies blew it as a collective. Now Oswalt is looking to move on to presumably stay close to his father in Mississippi or his Missouri farm. So it would seem the Cardinals would be a good fit for him. A report two weeks ago said the Cardinals locked up Oswalt but it obviously didn’t happen.

The one time Houston Astro would also be a good fit for the Rangers who just lost their number one starter C.J. Wilson to the Los Angeles Angels. But he won’t sign there either. He already said he won’t go to Detroit and hasn’t turned down the Red Sox but doesn’t exactly want to play there either.

“He wanted to go to Texas. That’s not gonna happen. He wanted to go back to Philadelphia. That’s not gonna happen. He had some interest in the Reds. That doesn’t seem like it’s going to happen. So his choices still come down to, I think, going to Boston, where they have a clear need but he doesn’t seem to want to play, and going to St. Louis, where all his friends say he would love to be. But to do that, he has to do it on their terms.”     


  Jayson Stark, ESPN

With pitchers and catchers due to report in another week, Oswalt could be left without a home or scuffling to take whatever a team offers him. Time is running out and Oswalt is taking his sweet time trying to find a team. I think it comes down to the Cardinals or Rangers and he won’t exactly like the terms of the deal.

Andy Van Slyke Rips Colby Rasmus

 In an interview with Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, former St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Andy Van Slyke. Even though the trade happened Wednesday, Van Slyke had some choice words for the young Colby Rasmus and his lack of accountability.

“According to what I read, he’s never been happier (being traded) since he’s been a Cardinal,” Van Slyke said. “How can you be happy being traded from the St Louis Cardinals? It’s the most nonsensical thing I could ever imagine.


“I couldn’t have been more upset than when I got traded (to Pittsburgh). It took me a month to get over it.”

He said Rasmus’ apparent happiness at being traded “shows you how totally emotionally different a player he is than I was. He’s going from a potential playoff team to a team that hasn’t won anything in 20 years.

“If he stays where he is emotionally, he’s going to be the same player he is right how. His whole game is derived from emotion. He doesn’t use his intellectual mind; he uses his emotional mind.


“No wonder he’s never performed the way he should have.


“Then his father says the Cardinals have changed his game. Well, I would hope so,” Van Slyke said.


“He and his father think he’s still playing in high school. He continues to throw the ball to the wrong base and not break up double plays. You can’t do those things at the big-league level.


“It’s up to the Toronto organization to keep him accountable, like Tony (La Russa) and his coaches tried to do.”

Sounds like Rasmus’ father is a welfare version of Marv Marinovich. It’s hard for a coach or manager to get through to a player when his father is in his ear all the time. Even though I think this trade will come back to haunt the Cards in the future, Rasmus still has some growing up to do. St. Louis is a great baseball city and would’ve supproted him even though he had issues with Tony LaRussa.  

One Fan’s Take On The Colby Rasmus Trade

It’s no secret that that the clash with manager Tony LaRussa is the chief reason that Colby Rasmus was shipped to the Toronto Blue Jays. 

What’s funny is how a St. Louis Cardinals fan modified his Colby Rasmus shirsey (jersey shirt).

As Cardinals fan I think this deal might come back to haunt them.