View from the cheap seats

Juan Gone

The Mets' glittering off-season prize toed the rubber this afternoon against the guy who, when the Cardinals signed him nearly three years after his last major league at bat, became the laughing stock of fans in Cleveland, Texas, Detroit and Kansas City.

Johann Santana wound up and hurled the ball plateward. And Juan Gonzales tattooed it for a three-run homer to lead the Cardinals over New York for the second day in a row.

That's great to see. Gonzo apparently still has some pop in his bat, although we'll have to see if he can still catch up to major league heaters once pitchers are up to full stream. But I was even more encouraged by Albert Pujols' 2-for-3 performance that included a double, a homer, two runs scored as an RBI.

Last season at this point, Albert was showing absolutely no power and he went on to start the season on a flat note. But he seems to be seeing the ball well early in the spring and to not be suffering from any hitting problems related to his troublesome right elbow. Pheeew.

Lowballing Lohse

The totally unsubstantiated rumor of the day comes via ESPN: Supposedly the Cardinals are interested in signing former Reds pitcher Kyle Lohse.

Lohse entered the offseason annoited one of the top two pitchers in an incredibly weak pitching market. But his demands for a multi-year, high-dollar contract fell on deaf ears and now he sits with no deal as spring training enters its third week.

Lohse was 9-12 last season with a 4.62 ERA for the Reds and Phillies. He's 63-74 lifetime with a 4.82 ERA. I'd say that's a pretty weak pitching market alright.

The first step

The Cardinals relied on the old new guy and the new old guy Thursday to beat the Mets 7-0 in their first game of the Grapefruit League pre-season.

Young hurler Anthony Reyes, who is actually something of an old hand as he is trying to make the Cardinals rotation for the fourth season in a row, pitched three shutout innings against several of the Mets regulars. Meanwhile, 38-year-old former American League MVP Juan Gonzales, who is new to the Cardinals and seems new to baseball after retiring nearly three season ago, paced the offense with two hits in three at bats, a run and an RBI.

Other highlights included a diving catch -- ala Jim Edmonds -- by Rick Ankiel in centerfield and a three four four showing by Skip Schumaker as he tries to stick with the major league club.

Cardinals arrestee of the day

With the shock of Scott Spiezio's Cardinals demise still fresh on our minds, another member of the organization is in trouble with the law.

Minor leaguer Donnie Ray Smith, 25, was picked up by cops on a charge of aggravated battery because police say he popped a guy in the nose Sept. 20 at an Albacoa, Florida eatery.

As of Thursday afternoon, he was being held on $3,000 bond.

No play, no pay

It's utterly ridiculous that the Cardinals have to pay Scott Spiezio $2.3 million he was scheduled to make in 2008 and a $100,000 buyout for 2009.

The team went farther than it had to last season when it paid Spiezio for 33 days he missed while being treated for drug use. But now Spiezio is going to get a free payday -- a lifetime of free paydays for most Cardinals fans -- for breaking the law and endangering the public with his December drunken outburst.

Shouldn't players have some responsibility not only to follow the law but to take care of their bodies so their teams get the most possible value out of their multi-million-dollar investments? There are no guarantees in life. And major league players shouldn't have contracts that guarantee they'll get paid even if the embarass their team mates or break the law. Why are the Cardinals going to honor Spezio's contract? Apparently they don't think they have much of a chance to get out of it. Why else would they pay him if they didn't think they would ultimately have to? The NFL doesn't have guaranteed contracts. Just ask Michael Vick. He screwed up and paid dearly for it. Spiezio screwed up and, worst case scenario, he gets paid to stay home and work on his garage band's latest album.

At the very least, players should have to live up to the same standards as the fans who buy the tickets and watch the games on TV to help pay their guaranteed contracts. I don't know anybody that didn't have to take a drug test when they were hired. And I don't know very many people who have a working arrangement where if they miss a month of work because they have a drug or alcohol problem that would have still have their job when it was time to turn the page on the calendar.

Less characters, more character

Not only have the Cardinals fallen in the standings since their 2006 World Series victory, but the team has taken a disturbing turn for the worse in the character department.

- First there was the Ronnie Belliard extortion case where, before the champagne-soaked clubhouse carpet even had a chance to dry, the former Cardinals second baseman was the target of a $150,000 blackmail scheme. Belliard, married with two kids, was over a barrel because a woman he purportedly had an affair with claimed -- through her father -- that she was pregnant and wanted cash to keep quiet.

- Then there was the infamous Tony La Russa DUI incident during spring training of 2007 that happened when the skipper was found to be unconsious at the wheel after a postgame dinner.

- After that, Josh Hancock was killed mid-season when the SUV he was driving smashed into the back of a tow truck. It later was revealed that Hancock was legally drunk and that he maintained a habit of staying out late after games and boozing it up even after being pulled aside by team veterans and told to clean up his act.

- Then Spiezio missed more than a month of the 2007 season with unspecified substance abuse trouble. He claimed in January that he successfully rehabbed and turned over a new leaf. But police say he had an alcohol-related accident in late December that resulted in him fleeing the scene of an accident and getting into a punch up with a friend in his condo complex after yakking on the guy's floor.

Cards release Spiezio

The Cardinals reacted swiftly Wednesday to the news that Scott Spiezio is wanted on six misdemeanor charges out of Orange County, California, releasing the popular veteran utility man.

The team seemed to be taken by surprised to find out about the incident that led to a warrant for Spiezio's arrest being issued. When approached with the news, club officials said they had no idea about the Dec. 20th incident in which police said Spiezio was driving recklessly after drinking in a bar near his Irvine, California off-season home. According to police reports, he ran off the road through oncoming traffic and hit a fence, then ran from the scene. After that, he barfed in the home of a neighbor who was trying to assist him then physically assaulted said Samaritan, according to the report.

If he is convicted of all six misdemeanor charges, which include DUI, aggravated battery and hit and run, Spiezio could face up two two years in jail.

Spiezio wanted by the 5-0

Cardinals utility man Scott Spiezio is apparently in trouble with the law.

A six-count warrant for Spiezio's arrest has been issued out of California. The charges include Driving Under the influence of alcohol, hit and run, aggravated assault and assault and battery.

According to the Associated Press:

Irvine police responded to a report of a single-car crash at 12:20 a.m. on Dec. 30 in Orange County.
Officers found a 2004 BMW registered to Spiezio had crashed into a curb and fence. The driver was seen running from the crash site, according to Lt. Rick Handfield.
Police located a neighbor of Spiezio who told officers that he was assaulted by Spiezio at their condo complex a short distance from the crash site, Handfield said.
The neighbor said Spiezio had arrived home appearing disheveled and apparently injured. Spiezio vomited in his condo and then allegedly assaulted the neighbor, causing significant injuries, Handfield said.
Police believe Spiezio was driving under the influence at the time of the crash, Handfield said.

Rasmus and Barton start off strong

The two minor leaguers with the best chance to earn a roster spot have been the hitting stars early in the Cardinals first spring training game against St. Louis University.

Colby Rasmus had two hits in his first two at bats and scored a pair of runs. Meanwhile, rule 5 draftee Brian Barton cranked the Cardinals first homer of the year in the first inning and added a hit in his second at bat. He had scored a pair and driven in a pair or runs as of the fourth inning.

Sure it's only college pitching. But it's always good to get off on the right foot.

Desert-ed

The Grapefruit League, as we know it, is in extreme peril.

Not only will the Dodgers abandon their longtime home in Vero Beach after the season, but the Indians plan to head to Arizona, too. And now the Reds are at an impasse with the city of Sarasota and are threatening to follow suit.

I can't understand the fascination of Arizona spring training. And, Second, this migration trend has got to stop or there are going to be big problems in Florida.

I have nothing against Arizona. It's a fine state, if you like your summers at 127 degrees. Of course, it's not that hot in the spring, and if Arizona has one advantage over Florida it's that it rains less. But I go to spring training half for baseball and half for the ocean. And, last time I was there, Arizona was all beach and no ocean.