Bye Bye Brandon

With the start of the baseball offseason yesterday, there has been a flurry of moves by teams.  The Cardinals made some news by extending manger Mike Matheny's contract for 3 more years.  Although Mike has trouble managing a bullpen, I am ok with this move as he seems to be respected by the players.  The Cardinals also picked up Jaime Garcia's option for 2017 for $12 million.  I am guessing he will be traded sometime over the winter, but would not be shocked to see him still with the team in spring training.

Though it was not formally announced, an ESPN report mentioned the Cardinals will not give Brandon Moss a qualifying offer.  I admit I was never a fan of Moss.  I did not like the 2015 deadline trade that sent Rob Kaminsky to Cleveland in exchange for Moss.  Kaminsky should be a very serviceable lefty in a year or two.  I also did not like resigning Moss over the winter.  Yes he hit a ton of home runs, but he hit below .250 while striking out a ton and taking away playing time from Matt Adams.  On the positive side, he managed to stay healthy and was a positive influence in the clubhouse.

I bought this 2016 Topps Tier One on EBAY for $5.99.  I think the $4 shipping scared a few people away, but I always factor that into my bid price.  It arrived earlier this week in a plain white envelope.  I messaged the seller about the high cost.  He replied back that $3 of that was a handling fee.  I hope he enjoyed the negative feedback I left.