The St. Louis Cardinals acquired left-hander Anthony Misiewicz from their cross-state rival Kansas City Royals for cash considerations on Wednesday.
To make room on the 40-man roster, St. Louis designated right-hander James Naile for assignment on the Missouri native's 30th birthday.
The 28-year-old Misiewicz, who was expected to compete for a spot in the Royals bullpen, split last season between the Mariners and Kansas City. He went 1-2 with a 4.34 ERA with 27 strikeouts in 29 innings.
What a dumb idea...which is exactly why MLB will do itThis idea sounds horrible!
MLB expansion proposal calls to split Cardinals from division with Cubs
One new proposal, brought forth Tuesday by The Athletic, calls to split the St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs into different divisions if Major League Baseball expands to 32 teams.fox2now.com
They will also never get rid of NL/AL. I could see a change in number of divisions from 6 to 8, and some movement to accommodate that, but with expanded wildcard already, why not just have uneven divisions again (some with 5 teams, some with 6)?Bluster for the sake of clicks. MLB will not scrap NL and AL. They will not have NY, LA or Chicago teams in the same division. I am 100% sure of that. I am 85% sure that the traditional rivals like Cards/Cubs Dodgers/Giants Yanks/BoSox will remain.
They will also never get rid of NL/AL. I could see a change in number of divisions from 6 to 8, and some movement to accommodate that, but with expanded wildcard already, why not just have uneven divisions again (some with 5 teams, some with 6)?
Agree, and the only problem previously with it in MLB was the 6 team divisions were at a disadvantage for making playoffs when there was only one wildcard team. Now that there are 3 wildcard spots, it really doesn't matter.fewer divisions with more teams makes sense. The NFL with 4 team divisions is dumb.
It still matters. Wild card games are not the same as a 5 or 7 game series. Winning a weak division and then hosting a wild card game has an advantage over the team with a better record that finished 2nd in its division.Agree, and the only problem previously with it in MLB was the 6 team divisions were at a disadvantage for making playoffs when there was only one wildcard team. Now that there are 3 wildcard spots, it really doesn't matter.
Not so sure. For one, wild card is now a 3 game series and one of the division winners has to play in it anyway. Second, these days the team with more weapons is more likely to win regardless of divisional standing or regular season record. I think that's the lesson of the playoffs the last few seasons.It still matters. Wild card games are not the same as a 5 or 7 game series. Winning a weak division and then hosting a wild card game has an advantage over the team with a better record that finished 2nd in its division.
I think baseball will expand shortly after the stadium issues in Oakland and Tampa are resolved. Splitting the Cubs and Cardinals or Giants and Dodgers is dumb. Going to four-team divisions that would necessitate splitting up those rivalries is dumb.What a dumb idea...which is exactly why MLB will do it
Florida already has 2 dead/dying clubs. I can't fathom adding another. Even if Tampa flees the state they won't dump another one in just yet.I think baseball will expand shortly after the stadium issues in Oakland and Tampa are resolved. Splitting the Cubs and Cardinals or Giants and Dodgers is dumb. Going to four-team divisions that would necessitate splitting up those rivalries is dumb.
But, with the odd number of teams in each league making it so that you have to do some awkward scheduling, always having at least one inter-league series going, MLB is practically begging for expansion.
When they do expand, Montreal is pretty much a stone cold lock to be one of the teams assuming the Rays don’t move there first. Montreal is the largest U.S./Canadian market without a team, 4 or 5 times larger than the closest market behind them.
After Montreal, there are several markets that are all basically the same size - Vancouver, Portland, Sacramento, Las Vegas, San Antonio, Nashville, Charlotte and Orlando - without too much differentiating one from the other.
Orlando and Sacramento are both probably too close to existing franchises, but any of the rest could end up with teams.
Eventually, MLB will expand to Mexico. I don’t think this is the round of expansion for that, but whether it’s in 5 years or 25 years, it will happen. Mexico City is just too gigantic a market for it not to happen.
I think the Caribbean is less likely. The biggest cities there - San Juan, Santo Domingo, and, if the politics ever normalize, Havana are all similar in size to the U.S./Canadian cities that don’t have teams yet, and for the foreseeable future, there’s just going to be more money on the mainland.
The last time I went to a Cardinals spring training was in 1983 in St Pete. That won't help you at all.Has anyone every been to spring training? I'll be in the Jupiter area for work in a couple weeks, and I've always wanted to go.
I read on the mlb website that watching workouts is free. But I can't find a schedule of when they are practicing, only game schedules. And tickets to the games start at $23, which is a little silly when I can watch an actual game at Busch for less than that.
You may be right. But expansion will only result in more bad teams. Baseball needs less rather than more.I think baseball will expand shortly after the stadium issues in Oakland and Tampa are resolved. Splitting the Cubs and Cardinals or Giants and Dodgers is dumb. Going to four-team divisions that would necessitate splitting up those rivalries is dumb.
But, with the odd number of teams in each league making it so that you have to do some awkward scheduling, always having at least one inter-league series going, MLB is practically begging for expansion.
When they do expand, Montreal is pretty much a stone cold lock to be one of the teams assuming the Rays don’t move there first. Montreal is the largest U.S./Canadian market without a team, 4 or 5 times larger than the closest market behind them.
After Montreal, there are several markets that are all basically the same size - Vancouver, Portland, Sacramento, Las Vegas, San Antonio, Nashville, Charlotte and Orlando - without too much differentiating one from the other.
Orlando and Sacramento are both probably too close to existing franchises, but any of the rest could end up with teams.
Eventually, MLB will expand to Mexico. I don’t think this is the round of expansion for that, but whether it’s in 5 years or 25 years, it will happen. Mexico City is just too gigantic a market for it not to happen.
I think the Caribbean is less likely. The biggest cities there - San Juan, Santo Domingo, and, if the politics ever normalize, Havana are all similar in size to the U.S./Canadian cities that don’t have teams yet, and for the foreseeable future, there’s just going to be more money on the mainland.