Dear Dave, It's Just Business

When Chris Duncan was traded on July 22^nd this year for Julio Lugo, I didn’t think much of it. It was definitely a “my trash for your garbage” type trade with the Boston Red Sox. Duncan was quickly becoming a problem amongst fans and was bringing down team morale with each start while the Red Sox were simply looking to dump Lugo after signing him to an outrageous contract for a player clearly on the down side of his career. It was a good move for each team. Boston could forget about Lugo and Duncan could get out of the scrutiny he received for being the pitching coach’s son.

I expected Dave Duncan to be a little angry after Chris was traded. How often do you get a chance to be on the same Major League team as your son? How often do you get to work with someone that close to you on a level like that? In 2006 and 2007 it was fun to see. But by the time 2009 arrived, the novelty of that act had worn off with fans.

I did not expect a “cleaning house” trade like this to create such a stir. Duncan is still angry, to the point that he no longer talks to the media and is still threatening to not return next year. While I applaud Duncan for being protective of his son, he comes off as ignorant and blind in this situation.

For those who did not see the story printed by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch by Joe Strauss, you can find a link to it here. After reading the article, I have found several problems with Dave Duncan’s thinking and would like to propose a few arguments in the hopes of getting him to stay.

NOTE: Anything written in italics is the property of the Post-Dispatch and is in no way the property of fromoutofrightfield.blogspot.com.

“He is angry—publicly so at a St. Louis media he believes stoked last month’s trade of his outfielder son Chris to the Boston Red Sox.”

The media’s job is to tell the general public what the situation is. In the case of the Chris Duncan trade, the media simply stated Duncan’s numbers for the year (which by this point don’t need to be repeated) and openly stated that this was probably best for both Chris and the Cardinals. Only a few media personalities were malicious, and those guys are usually the ones who don’t like anybody.

Quote Tony LaRussa: “I know when it comes down to making a decision, Dave has tremendous personal and professional interest invested in the guys here and the guys here next year. He values them deeply.”

If this is the case then Dave Duncan should have no problem signing a new contract. Both Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright are vying for the 2009 N.L. Cy Young Award and Joel Pineiro is the best groundball pitcher in the game (not to mention the most efficient). The closing situation is close to being filled for the next two years with Ryan Franklin close to signing a new two year contract extension. Kyle Lohse is locked up for three more years and there’s a chance that John Smoltz could be back next year. All of these guys have combined to create one of, if not the best pitching staffs in the Majors this year. This is Duncan’s baby, why would he want to walk away from something that he has taken so much time to build up?

“Chris was not shown respect,” Duncan said. “The stuff he dealt with, the stuff he heard and was subjected to…I don’t know of any player in this town who went through what he experienced in the time I’ve been here.”

In a way, I agree with Duncan on this. The treatment of his son was not fair; it very rarely is when you are the coach’s son. But Chris was definitely not the first person to deal with scrutiny from the fans and the media and was certainly not the first person to deal with it while Duncan has been here. It wasn’t that long ago that Jason Isringhausen dealt with this. Last year, Isringhausen had a strong April followed by a horrible May which saw him blow six save opportunities in a row until he was finally pulled from the closer’s role. Before that, fans would boo him constantly along with the media questioning his health. Sounds awfully familiar to what happened to Chris doesn’t it? Izzy was lucky as LaRussa pulled him out of the game before it was too late. Chris had been hurt for two years but was still playing every day, thus hurting his credentials as a Major Leaguer.

Quote LaRussa: “For two years he played hurt when he probably shouldn’t have played. To me, he’s a hero for how he hung in there; but he’s treated like he’s responsible for anything that went wrong.”

I seem to recall a third baseman that played here recently that was scrutinized by LaRussa for playing through pain and not telling anyone about it. Remember Scott Rolen? In 2005, Rolen was tackled by first baseman Hee-Seop Choi while trying to run out a groundball. Rolen hurt his shoulder and required surgery and he was never quite the same player. In the 2006 playoffs, Rolen’s shoulder began causing him great pain but he still continued to play through it. Instead of confronting Rolen about his pain, LaRussa simply took him out of the starting lineup and chastised Rolen for hurting the team by playing through pain. Rolen eventually asked for a trade at the end of the 2007 season. What’s different about Rolen’s situation and Duncan’s? Nothing. Both guys were clearly hurt and were struggling. While I admire any athlete that tries to play through pain and earn their large paycheck, if you are hurt to the point that you can’t perform you should say something. The team is better off and will most likely praise you for having the guts to admit that you’re not 100%. (NOTE: This is not the case for J.D. Drew. Just because you cut your fingernail too short doesn’t mean you can’t play.)

In response to Chris Duncan refusing to see a surgeon after a trip to Houston: “At some point the club should protect those who don’t protect themselves. Chris didn’t protect himself. And no one else protected him either.”

Chris is a grown man and should not have to be told what to do. If anything, this was the perfect time for Dave Duncan to be a dad and advise Chris to go see the surgeon. Instead of pointing fingers at the Cardinal organization, shouldn’t Duncan be looking at himself in this case too? If anything, his words of advice would mean more to Chris than any of his teammates or even LaRussa, especially when Chris was struggling the way he was.

“So somebody wanted to get him out of the organization, and they’ve accomplished what they wanted to accomplish.”

This could not be further from the truth. Reports were that Chris Duncan was one of the most liked guys in the clubhouse as well as in the front office. In my personal experiences at batting practice, whenever I called out his name, Chris would at the very least turn around quickly, smile and wave. He was cordial and never appeared to dog it out on the playing field. These are hardly credentials for someone to have a vendetta against him. The move was purely in the best interest of the team and of Chris. He needed a fresh start and the Cardinals needed some fresh air. Do you need more proof that this was the right move for the Cardinals? The team is 26-9 since the trade, as opposed to just five games over .500 with Chris in the lineup.

Dave Duncan is a great father and I find it honorable that he stands up for his son. Any man willing to do that is worthy of praise and I hope someday I am able to stand up for a son of my own. But in this case, Duncan needs to settle down, breathe and look at the facts. Chris was struggling and needed a change of scenery, so that is what he got. The Cardinals needed an extra bat to protect Pujols, so they made room in left field to acquire Matt Holliday.

In baseball, players are traded, demoted, promoted and moved every day. When it happens, it’s nothing personal. It’s just business.