Cards, Glaus Pleased With New Relationship
ST. LOUIS -- While singing the praises of new acquisition Troy Glaus, Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak made it clear on Wednesday that his team felt it had little choice but to part with franchise cornerstone Scott Rolen.
In their first public comments since Monday's Cardinals-Blue Jays trade, Mozeliak and Glaus expressed optimism about the new marriage of team and player. But Mozeliak also acknowledged that if he'd held onto Rolen, it could have quickly become a problem that affected more than just Rolen and manager Tony La Russa. The five-time All-Star and the accomplished manager had been at loggerheads for quite some time.
Though the deal was completed on Monday, the Cardinals waited until Wednesday to hold media availability. That was out of respect to team vice president Marty Hendin, who passed away over the weekend. Services for Hendin were held on Tuesday.
"I felt like if we had gone into Spring Training without making this move, I definitely felt like it could have been a distraction," Mozeliak said at a news conference at Busch Stadium. "I have no way of quantifying that other than that I did think it was potentially going to happen. So I do think where we stand today, we're in a better position knowing that Scott's in a place he wants to be. And I know Troy's thrilled to be a Cardinal."
Mozeliak didn't minimize the personality conflict between player and manager, but he emphasized that he was pleased with the baseball component of the trade -- not just the clubhouse aspect. The Cardinals added a big-time power source, a man who has hit more than 35 home runs four times.
"I really tried to just separate those issues," Mozeliak said. "We really felt at the end of the day that we could put ourselves in a better position. This was something that became a baseball decision, which is, I think, really in the best interest of the Cardinals."
Glaus, meanwhile, surely felt the deal was in his best interest. He leapt at the chance to play for St. Louis.
"I have had some friends who have come through there," said Glaus, who participated in a conference call with reporters after Mozeliak's news conference. "I know that the team is steeped in a tremendous history. Guys have been playing baseball there for a long, long time and very, very successfully. It's an opportunity to be a part of an organization like that that I really wanted to take advantage of."
Glaus was even willing to limit his financial options a bit in order to make the deal happen. One aspect of a complicated deal was that the Cardinals requested that Glaus exercise his 2009 player option. He gladly did so, despite the fact that if he has a big year in 2008, he might be better off hitting free agency next winter.
"When given that opportunity, I felt it was something that I couldn't pass up," he said. "It was an opportunity to play in a wonderful city, a great sports town, a town that loves their Cardinals and loves their baseball and a team that can be successful. I felt it was a decision that I couldn't not make."
Both Glaus and Mozeliak expressed confidence in Glaus' health, which has been in question. Glaus underwent September surgery to treat plantar fasciitis, a condition which plagued him for much of the 2007 season.
"Everything so far has been going as planned, and actually a little bit ahead of schedule," he said. "The last couple weeks I've gotten going running. I've been running on a treadmill for a month or so, but getting out on some flat ground and some grass and running sprints and doing things like that. ... You take it day by day and try to make sure nothing gets worse on an everyday basis, but everything has been fantastic."
Said Mozeliak: "Our expectations are that when he gets to Spring Training, he'll be 100 percent. I really think if we started tomorrow, he'd be 100 percent. Health-wise I think he's a very low risk."
As for the other major question regarding Glaus, Mozeliak said the Cardinals had done their research regarding the player's association with illegal performance-enhancing drugs, and that the club was satisfied with what it had learned. Glaus was accused in an SI.com report of receiving shipments of steroids from Signature Pharmacy in Florida.
"We spoke with Major League Baseball," Mozeliak said. "Obviously it was a concern to us moving forward. Our understanding, how it was explained to us, was that they did a full investigation, he cooperated fully, and at the end of the day he felt like there was not enough to warrant any disciplinary action. So with that said, it made us feel very comfortable with the direction we were going."
Glaus was in no mood to discuss the allegations.
"This is all I can say about that: I cooperated fully with MLB in their investigation, and they came to the conclusion that there was no discipline necessary," he said. "Really, that's all I'm going to say about that. We'll go from there, and I'll try to help this team win as many games as possible and get back in the playoffs where it deserves."
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