The St. Louis Cardinals went out and signed Matt Holliday to a seven-year, $120-million contract on Tuesday in a move that makes the team the clear preseason favorite to win the National League Central.
This signing should make Brewers fans nervous for a variety of reasons. Although the most iconic image of Holliday's mercenary stay in St. Louis from last season was the boner (pun?) drop which allowed the Dodgers to barge back, and into the National League Championship Series. But the lasting impression was what Holliday and Albert Pujols were able to do when offering each other mutual “protection” in the line-up.
At the beginning of the 2009 season, the Milwaukee paper ran a full-page cover of its Brewers preview section with Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun, with some quote from Ken Macha or Ned Yost along the lines of “don't want to pitch to Braun? Look who we've got behind him.” It's hard to imagine Fielder and Braun repeating as the top run-producing duo going up against Pujols and Holliday.
It's even harder to imagine the Brewers making a run on the division with that match-up in the batting order. Just judging the offense of Milwaukee vs. St. Louis could be even money, but the Cardinals pitching staff should help them run away with the title. The Crew could very well be left hoping that their best effort will be matched by an equal collapse by the likes of the Cubs or the Mets (which could very well happen).
Aside from the impact Holliday will likely have on the Cardinals in the win-loss column, the signing could meddle with the future of both Fielder and Pujols. The Brewers want to sign Fielder to a long-term deal this offseason, but that will be made more difficult by the Holliday signing. Fielder could hold out for at least as much, especially with Scott Boras as an agent, which the Brewers simply cannot afford. For a marketable star, the reigning Home Run Derby champ, I don't see Prince settling for something like 6 years for $100 million.
The prospect of a Pujols-less St. Louis squad, while terrifying for Cardinals fans, becomes simultaneously more and less epic. Without a Pujols re-signing, well they still have a bona fide slugger for the long run. With Pujols, they become a preseason favorite to get to the World Series every year they have passable pitching.
The Brewers can match up against the Cardinals, even with Holliday, in the playoffs (remember, they were one game better than .500 against the Dodgers, Cards and Phillies last season). However, the Holliday signing has definitely knocked out a few LED's on the Crew's Christmas tree light string of postseason prospects.
Comments