Last week was an exciting time to be a Cardinals fan. You were on the verge of bagging one of the biggest bats in the National League, a guy who is desperate to play for a winner - Matt Holliday. Apparently everything was all set, and a multi-player trade involving Holliday for Ryan Ludwick had more or less been agreed upon according to baseball insiders.But then the damn press got involved. And apparently that pissed off Cardinals GM John Mozeliak enough to nix the whole deal.
Mozeliak insisted Sunday that discussions involving Colorado Rockies left fielder Matt Holliday have ceased and that "nothing is imminent. That one's not happening — at all."
Irritated that details of his discussions with Rockies general manager Dan O'Dowd had leaked, Mozeliak did not deny the seriousness of the talks but took exception to momentum assigned them.
"For me to say there were not serious discussions would be inaccurate," Mozeliak said. "But some of the details reported about it were misleading, at the very least. It was never my intention for it to become front-page news."
Irritated that details of his discussions with Rockies general manager Dan O'Dowd had leaked, Mozeliak did not deny the seriousness of the talks but took exception to momentum assigned them.
"For me to say there were not serious discussions would be inaccurate," Mozeliak said. "But some of the details reported about it were misleading, at the very least. It was never my intention for it to become front-page news."
This has to be about the stupidest thing I've ever heard of. Sure it'd be nice to be able to trade players without anyone ever knowing anything, but it's ridiculous to think that'll ever happen. Sports reporters get paid for a reason, and it's to write about stuff like this, not to just sit back and twiddle their thumbs.
The one thing Mozeliak can use as an argument in his defense is that perhaps the Rockies could have squeezed the Cardinals a bit more because fans wanted to see Holliday in a Cardinals uniform. But then again, just because it was being reported that Holliday was likely going to become a Cardinal didn't mean the fans were going to be all for it. There's also no reason to suggest that the Rockies ever pressed the Cardinals for more in the trade anyway.
Amazingly, it appears this blockbuster deal has apparently been nixed because Mozeliak is mad that his authority was trumped by newspapers. And for that lone reason, he was arrogant enough (or more likely stupid enough) to call it off. Talk about arrogance of the highest order.
All I know is this, if I'm a Cardinals fan, or the owner of the team, and I know my GM is more concerned about his stature than how the team is doing, I'd be pretty damn concerned. I'd also fire him at the first opportunity too.
Matt Holliday will not be a Cardinal [Fanhouse]
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