So Long Tyler, and Good Riddance

My biggest fear last offseason was not the loss of Albert Pujols, although I will admit to more than a small amount of disappointment and sadness when Albert picked the LA Angels and the 11 year love affair I had with the man so suddenly ended.  My biggest fear was that the Cardinals and the front office who had the same kind of love affair with the far less accomplished Tyler Greene would decide that any of the free agent shortstops would be too expensive.  I remember conversations with friends about how the day that the Cardinals did not sign Albert Pujols, they should have had a press conference with two announcements to save face in front of Cardinals’ fans everywhere.  The two things that I wanted them to announce were that they were first going to sign Yadier Molina to a long term deal, making him a Cardinal for the foreseeable future, and the second announcement that I was hoping for was for someone to announce that they were just joking when anyone within the organization was talking about the possibility of Tyler Greene as a starting shortstop.

Now that we have for sure seen the final days of Tyler Greene in St. Louis, I must admit to having mixed feelings.  Maybe I should clarify here though; these mixed feelings have nothing to do with me not wanting Greene to be traded.  While I was somehow impervious to the toolsy charm of Tyler Greene, at least in comparison to whoever is in the Cardinals’ front office who had eyes only for the young shortstop who could run, hit for power, and seemingly anything else on a baseball field.  The only problem was that he does all of these things exactly once a week on average.  My only disappointment in this trade is that they gave away the former first round draft pick for almost nothing, and their stated reason for this trade was to “give Tyer Greene a chance to start over.”

Really?  That is the goal of a trade?  That is the best the Cardinals could get out of the guy who only months ago was being sold to a fan base which had legitimate hopes for a repeat World Series Victory as the starting shortstop?  How is it that the Cardinals scouts and front office were so high on a player that literally no one else in baseball was half as excited about?  Ok, ok.  Enough questions, but really, this seems ridiculous.  At least get a Maikel Cleto type prospect like they got out of Brendan Ryan when they decided to trade him.  At least that would give the team a chance to get lucky with someone who just needed a change of scenery. 

I have to admit, Tyler Greene is not the root of all evil as I at times wanted to make him out to be.  It is not his fault that he could not hit consistently, gets picked off when serving as a pinch runner, and have occasional brain farts in the field defensively.  He is basically just like every other minor leaguer who was not able to make it to his full potential.  The only difference with Tyler Greene is that we have been sold his top prospect worthy talent for years now, and he was given literally every chance and then some to prove that he was worth the investment that the team had made.  I just wish that we as fans could have seen what the front office seemed to, and find a way to avoid these mistakes in the future.  Good luck moving forward, Tyler.  I really mean it, just please do not find your way back into a Cardinal’s uniform.  I just cannot take any more comments about your amazing athleticism or talent.