Why in the hell did the St. Louis Cardinals get rid of Ryan Ludwick? That was stupid?

Question

That was retarded.Jake Westbrook is garbage. Ryan Ludwick is hell of a ball player. It's not like they can't find a decent pitcher in their farm system.

Answer 1

I will agree that he was the wrong one to let go. He's been an important part of the lineup that kept them in competition with the Reds. The Reds lineup now may be the difference. Advantage: Reds

Answer 2

There are a lot of reasons why the Cardinals got rid of Ryan Ludwick. Although under team control for next year, he was due arbitration this upcoming offseason and the front office was not going to pay him the $9-$10 million dollars for next season. I still think they should have kept him for the next two months and traded him in the off season but obviously it's not my call. The Cardinals freed up some money so they can try to resign Albert Pujols (who will be demanding a long-term $25-$30 million dollar contract) in the offseason. Along with Holliday's big contract, something had to give.



Anyways, next the Cardinals have had their eye on Westbrook for awhile now and were looking to sign him back in 2007 before he signed his 3 year extension with the Indians. He's a sinker ball pitcher which fits pitching coach Dave Duncan's style perfectly. The Cardinals had to go every 4th and 5th game with Suppan and Hawksworth starting both of which are not MLB caliber starting pitchers. Suppan's best days are behind him and Hawksworth is more comfortable as a bullpen guy. The Cardinals could not count on either to go past 5 innings which was going to wear down our bullpen by October.



Finally, although Carpenter, Wainwright, and Garcia are all pitching well, Carpenter has been injury prone and has been on the disabled list almost 2 complete seasons while on the team. Wainwright has been lights out and is no concern but Garcia is one season removed from Tommy John surgery, a rookie, and has never pitched 200+ innings in a season so the team is being careful with him. With Brad Penny on the DL and Kyle Lohse still rehabbing and with no indication what kind of pitcher he'll be when he gets back, there was a need for pitching and Westbrook should be adequate. The Cardinals and banking that a platoon of Jon Jay/Allen Craig (when he gets off the DL) will be enough to replace Ludwick in the future. Once again, I don't endorse the trade but this is the basic mentality of it. One of my biggest concerns is that Westbrook also underwent Tommy John Surgery two years ago so it's questionable how many innings he'll really be able to save the bullpen in the next two months

Answer 3

There's an old saying that the trading deadline exposes the prejudices of veteran managers....in this case, Tony Larussa LOVES veteran pitching that can carry him through the "dog days." Think Jeff Weaver, who was basically a minor leaguer when he was "rescued" by Larussa and Duncan. He ate up some key innings down the stretch and would have been content to ride out the playoffs on the bench. When they needed a Game 7 starter, however, they had the luxury of going to playoff-veteran Weaver instead of a young guy or veteran swingman.



That said, I think Larussa has over-estimated his offense. Holliday has shown he's much better with line-up protection. You put him in front of Albert and who's protecting Albert? Ludwick was a "surprise" guy...Pitcher's would get past Albert and Matt and, if they let down just a bit mentally, Ryan would jump on a mistake pitch and drive it out.



In the end, I think there is a prejudice against "late bloomers" like Ludwick....guys who hit their peak after toiling years in the minors. I think the team basically though Ryan's "carreer year" was last year and that he is in for a few years of steady decline.

Answer 4

I have to admit i was alittle upset after i heard the news but then it pasted. Westbrook has good stuff and paired with dave duncan has the possibility of becoming even better. Ludwick is one of my favorite players, but after this year Ludwick would've wanted to get paid for next season and he would want a lot of $$. By trading Ludwick now we got a major pitcher ANNNNDDDD we have the possibility of saving some money for Albert Pujols.

Answer 5

I agree it was a stupid trade. I mean like the cardinals already have 3 good pitchers. Adam Wainwright, Chris Carpenter, and Jamie Garcia. It was completely unesessary to do the trade and plus Ryan Ludwick was a key part of their lineup.

Answer 6

because they could use another pitcher to help possibly limit garcia's innings and also ludwick became dispensable once jon jay began tearing the cover off the baseball and plus ludwick was going to be a free agent following this year and he would have wanted a much larger contract and the cards can't simply take that salary while also having to resign albert in 2 years or so.

Answer 7

They got rid of him because for some reason they thought they needed more pitching more than they needed hitting. I agree with you, though, that it was a stupid move.



Westbrook isn't exactly garbage, but he's not a difference-maker either. He is an over-the-hill, back of the rotation type starter. Since the rest of the Cards rotation is pretty strong (Wainwright, Carpenter, Garcia), I think they should have just tried to shore up their lineup rather than acquire another starter.



This move might cost the Cards a playoff shot.

Answer 8

Jake Westbrook is not garbage. If you would actually watch him pitch sometime instead of just looking at his stats, you would know that. He has some of the best tools of any starting pitcher, and with some adjustments, he could be yet another ace in the Cardinals' rotation.



That said, they didn't really need him with that rotation. They probably need more offense at this point.

Answer 9

I think it's because of the emergence of OF Jon Jay. My favorite team is the Padres, and I'm excited to watch him play. I heard all good things about him from St.Louis fans.

Answer 10

LaRussa probably wanted him out of there. He appears to be an SOB to play for.