Skip to main content

It Had To Happen

By
After last year, there was no other way to go with this: Cards cut Spiezio over DUI case

JUPITER, FLA. — The Cardinals abruptly released utility infielder Scott Spiezio on Wednesday afternoon, after learning that a California court had issued a warrant for his arrest on six misdemeanor counts ranging from aggravated assault to driving under the influence.

Orange County Superior Court issued a warrant on Tuesday charging Spiezio with driving under the influence; driving under the influence with a blood-alcohol level of 0.08 percent or more; hit and run; aggravated assault; assault; and battery.

Blindsided, the club acted swiftly after learning details that included Spiezio's alleged use of alcohol. Spiezio left the team last August to get outpatient treatment for drug and alcohol abuse. He returned to the club before season's end, and team officials had described Spiezio as doing well in the offseason. They apparently held to that belief until Wednesday's report.

The matter assumed added urgency for the organization, which dealt with several alcohol-related issues in 2007.

"When you look at the past year, it becomes the sum of the parts," general manager John Mozeliak said. "We were at a crossroads. We felt it was in the best interest of our organization and Scott to go our separate ways. I think it would be irresponsible of us to ignore what happened last year."

Cardinals Chairman Bill DeWitt Jr., President Mark Lamping, Mozeliak and assistant general manager John Abbamondi met for about two hours before notifying Spiezio. The club agreed to assume Spiezio's $2.3 million salary plus a $100,000 buyout of next season's option.

From a pure baseball standpoint, I think this solidifies Brendan Ryan's roster spot barring another move by the Cards. Is there a free agent still left out there to plug in? I can't think of one off the top of my head. Of the non-roster invitees Josh Phelps would seem to be in the best position to stick. He can't play third but he can provide a little pop off the bench.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Early Thoughts on City 2025

By
There are few things harder to keep track of than an MLS side in their off-season, at least for me. Despite the fact it takes place roughly during the time the MLB Hot Stove season is in full swing, it is nowhere near as easy to follow along with as baseball. Part of it is how disconnected MLS is with the international soccer calendar. St. Louis City SC is still digesting the moves it made last summer even though those players have already played important games for the club. It is all weird and disjointed, and I always feel like I am playing catch-up. Happily, the moves made in the off-season this year were not numerous.  German Timo Baumgartl comes over from Europe as an option at center back, which is good because that was a position that was a little rocky for City last season. Given his own troubles over the last few seasons (cancer and uneven play in the aftermath of that), a spell with City can give Baumgartl a chance to have a re-set. Given his pedigree and the fact City si...
Post a Comment
Read more

Blues Fall Off a Cliff

By
 Hockey seasons will have their ups and downs. For whatever reason, be it injuries, a challenging schedule, an inexplicable loss of form, it is difficult for teams to maintain a good level of compete for an entire season. The good teams just limit their funks. The St. Louis Blues, however, are not a good team. They are a poor team, and poor teams sink under the weight of "here we go again" night after night.  I will admit I only watched the first two periods of last night's 5-0 loss to a Colorado team that had been scuffling of late. Two periods were more than enough to get the gist of it. It was also enough to lead me to a diagnosis as to what ails the team. It isn't that they are young and are going through growing pains. No, the reason the Blues are so bad is that the veterans who are being paid to be the backbone of this team are not doing their jobs. I'm talking about Schenn, Buchnevich, Faulk, and even Binnington and Parayko. Over $30M of the salary cap is b...
Post a Comment
Read more

Blues Beat Bugbear

By
 The St. Louis Blues have not had many out-of-character results so far this season. For the most part they have been handling the teams they usually handle and doing nothing against the teams that seem to always have their number. There is some solace to be had just knowing that you are going to probably beat Calgary, and will probably lose to Columbus, just as the sun will most likely rise in the East tomorrow. Granted that isn't an ideal set of affairs for a sports team, but Blues fans have learned to take what they can get. Which is why it is fair to say last night's victory over Utah was unusual. The Blues do not play well against that collection of players. Ever. So, any victory would be noteworthy in this matchup, but the resilience they showed last night was an added bonus. The Blues still have crappy puck luck, but last night they didn't let it get them down and, miracle of miracles, the puck luck evened out for the game. For a change the PK wasn't always runnin...
Post a Comment
Read more