The most stacked lineup of the last twenty years belongs to an 85-win, 3rd place St. Louis Cardinals team from 2003. “Most-stacked,” of course, isn’t exactly an official metric, so let me define it. Fangraphs explains fWAR in their glossary by classifying a “good player” as worth 3-4 fWAR, an “All-Star” to be worth 4-5 fWAR, and a “superstar” as worth 5-6 fWAR. But for the “most-stacked” lineup, we want the cream of the crop. Fangraphs classifies MVPs as those worth 6+ fWAR in a given season, so I went looking for the lineup with the most “MVPs”, and I found the unequivocal champ with the 2003 St. Louis Cardinals.

Not only did the Cardinals carry four MVP-caliber bats that season, but they’re the only team since 2000 to accomplish that feat. There have been four other teams since 2000 with three bats in the lineup worth 6+ fWAR (2004 Orioles, 2003 Braves, 2004 Cardinals, 2011 Red Sox) – but only Tony La Russa’s Cardinals fielded a quartet of such players.

Albert Pujols (9.5 fWAR), Jim Edmonds (6.3 fWAR), Edgar Renteria (6.3 fWAR), and Scott Rolen (6.2 fWAR) each put up an “MVP-like” seasons in 2003. The 23-year-old Pujols would have been a shoo-in to snag the actual NL MVP, but that was the era of supernova Barry Bonds, who won his third of four consecutive MVPs (10.2 fWAR) that season. 

The Cardinals finished 5th in the majors in runs scored with 876, second in total fWAR on offense, fourth in wRC+. J.D. Drew, Tino Martinez, and Bo Hart were productive members of the lineup, So Taguchi gave them 59 plate appearances with a 109 wRC+, and Eduardo Perez (122 wRC+) was a successful power bat off the bench. Only at catcher did they really struggle offensively, where Mike Matheny hit .252/.320/.356 to total 0.4 fWAR while starting 121 games behind the dish. In short, the offense did its part. 

Unfortunately, the entirety of the Cardinals pitching staff mustered just 7.3 fWAR. They finished 19th in ERA, 22nd in FIP, and 26th in home runs per nine innings. The bullpen was a particular disaster, finishing the season dead last in the majors with -1.8 fWAR. The rotation boasted legitimate arms in Woody Williams, Matt Morris, and less so, Brett Tomko. Dan Haren made an okay major league debut with 14 starts and a 5.08 ERA/4.57 FIP. 

That said, they could have done without the 55 starts from Garrett Stephenson, in what would be his last dash as an MLB hurler, Sterling Hitchcock in his second-to-last season, 40-year-old Jeff Fassero, and Jason Simontacchi, who was coming off a surprisingly decent rookie season at age-28. 

Giving 34 percent of their starts to suboptimal contributors didn’t pave the runway for the bullpen to take flight, but the relief crew struggled all their own. In particular, the main culprits were (again) Fassero (56 games, 6.52 ERA/6.13 FIP), Dustin Hermanson (23 games, 5.46 ERA/5.49 FIP), Russ Springer (17 games, 8.31 ERA/8.97 FIP), and Esteban Yan (39 games, 6.02 ERA/5.59 FIP). It didn’t help that injuries limited closer Jason Isringhausen to 40 games and 22 saves. He would otherwise anchor the Cardinals’ bullpens of that era. 

The 2003 Cardinals paint a picture of the difficulties in team-building. Four monster seasons making up half their everyday lineup, and still the Cardinals only managed to eke out a third-place finish. They underperformed their Pythagorean record, but only by three wins. The Cubs won the division with exactly 88 wins, overperforming their Pythagorean record by – you guessed it – three wins.

Things can go right – so right – in any given season, and it still might not be enough to counterbalance what goes wrong. That’s not to say that the 2020 Dodgers are in trouble – but their spot in the postseason is hardly assured. The ’03 Cardinals had the most MVP-level bats of any team in the past 20 years, and yet it was only enough for 85 wins. The margin for error will only be smaller in a short season.

Of course, here’s the other funny little part of baseball. Pujols/Rolen/Edmonds/Renteria couldn’t power their way to the postseason in 2003, but the foundation in St. Louis was solid. They did reach the postseason in 2002, 2004, 2005, and 2006. La Russa’s Cardinals capped off the run with a World Series title. That season, they finished with 83 wins, one less than the “disappointment” their stacked lineup produced in 2003.

So the most-stacked lineup of the millennium missed the playoffs, and the “worst” division winner of the millennium won the World Series. If that’s not a good primer for the chaos to come in a short season, I don’t know what is. 

• Dejan Kovacevic notes that even if Matt Morris considered retiring and abandoning his ’08 salary, the Players Association would’ve strongly objected.
• Rays Senior VP of Baseball Ops Gerry Hunsicker indicates that the team will spend money to improve the team if they’re still contending a few months from now.
• According to Jon Heyman, catcher Chad Moeller will remain with the Yankees.
• Another fine piece from Bob Nightengale of USA Today (hat tip to ShysterBall).  The article discusses the pros and cons of young players leaving money on the table in exchange for security.
• The Rockies may complete their long-rumored Jorge de la Rosa acquisition.  The Rox have question marks in the rotation after Aaron Cook and Jeff Francis.
• Good point from Ken Davidoff – the Phil Hughes/Johan Santana question can’t be answered yet.

Morris finishes with a 3.98 career ERA in 1806 innings, including a respectable 121 wins.  Kind of nice that the career ERA didn’t get pushed over 4.00.  Retired at 33 with $60MM earned…can’t say I don’t envy him!

"The decision to cut Morris will cost the Pirates more than $10 million, in addition to what they already have paid him this season. Morris is making $10,037,283 this season, or about one-fifth of their payroll, and has a $1 million buyout for 2009."

There shouldn’t be much interest for Morris.  A minor league contract somewhere could be a possibility.  But retirement seems inevitable, and Morris may be resigned to the fact: 

"I’ve always said the other team will let you know when you’re done."

Phil Dumatrait will replace him in the rotation, and John Van Benschoten will be called up to fill the roster spot.

By Nat Boyle

• Morris goes to the bullpen.
• The Pirates release Morris, eating more than $10MM.
• Morris retires, saving the Pirates millions.  But as classy as Morris may be, no one should expect him to leave that kind of money on the table.  It’s not his fault Brian Sabean signed him in 2005.

Pirates fans are growing increasingly frustrated with Morris, but the team continues to wait it out.  Given the upside of a 5.00 ERA, what’s the point?  He wasn’t Neal Huntington’s acquisition; he should be able to deal with it rationally.  I would be surprised if Morris is still with the Pirates on June 1st.

• It looks like Joe Crede is sticking by Scott Boras’s side as he enters free agency after this season. I can’t blame him. It’s one thing for a superstar like A-Rod or an established veteran like Kenny Rogers to do what they want. But Crede certainly benefits from being repped by Boras.
• If Pirates GM Neal Huntington has plans to ditch Matt Morris, he’s not tipping his hand. The 33-year-old righty has been downright horrible since coming over to Pittsburgh, a gaffe made by who else by Dave Littlefield.
• While Tim mentioned yesterday that Jon Daniels is leaning away from Frank Thomas, Manager Ron Washington is enticed. "I’ll take him in a heartbeat. Once he reaches 100 at-bats, he really does start hacking."

Posted by Joe Pawlikowski.

Neal Huntington would love to see Morris show a hint of value, so that he can trade the 34 year-old and somehow avoid paying all of the $10.5MM still owed to him.  How long until Huntington gives up on that idea and cuts Morris?  Bryan Bullington and John Van Benschoten seem more deserving of starts.

• We suggested on Wednesday that Jon Rauch makes sense for Detroit.  That same day, the Washington Post’s Barry Svrluga wrote that the Tigers "will watch Rauch very closely."
• You have to appreciate Matt Morris’ candor regarding his salary.
• We learned on Saturday that the Brewers made offers to sluggers Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun.  Today the team’s owner said talks with both are ongoing.  Other multiyear offers have been made, though the players are not known.  Tom Haudricourt speculates on Corey Hart, Yovani Gallardo, J.J. Hardy, and Rickie Weeks.
• Ken Rosenthal sees Freddy Garcia landing with the Mets later this summer.  I’ll stick with the opinion that he’s a nonfactor this year.

Jason Bay – $5.75MM in ’08, $7.5MM in ’09 – I was surprised they didn’t deal him in the offseason, but the Pirates are wisely taking a wait and see approach with Bay.  Surely he can’t be as bad as he was last season.  Like the Pirates, PECOTA is predicting a moderate bounce back season, but not quite the elite 30 HR seasons of ’05-’06.

Xavier Nady – $3.35MM in ’08, arbitration eligible in ’09 – To make room for blocked prospect Steve Pearce, Nady needs to go; however, there’s enough doubt around the league that he can hit righties well enough to justify an everyday position.  The Mets are the only listed suitor as they could use a corner OF/1B.

Damaso Marte – $2MM in ’08 with club option for ’09 – The article’s rhetoric seems to imply Marte is the most likely to be dealt with Yankees and Braves as suitors.  When it comes to crafty, lefty relievers, expect a number of teams to come calling.

Matt Morris – $9.5MM in ’08, $9MM club option in ’09 ($1MM buyout) –  Morris had a nice first half for the Giants last year(3.55 ERA) before regressing to his struggling ways.  His talent should make it hard to trade him out of the NL, and his contract and could make it difficult to deal him to any team not desperate for someone to pickup innings.  The Pirates should be crossing their fingers for another strong first half.

Jack Wilson – $6.5MM in ’08, $7.25MM in ’09, $8.4 club option for ’10 – The article notes that the Pirates will need a SS in return for someone on this list before they can comfortably deal Wilson as he’s the only everyday SS in their system.  As Tim noted back in August, Wilson just wants out of Pittsburgh and will waive his six team no trade clause.

We’d love to hear from Pirates fans on all of this.

By Nat Boyle

Thompson turns 26 soon.  The Cardinals tried him as a starter last year, and he posted a 4.66 ERA in that role.  He was at 4.91 in relief, but for his career he’s been better coming out of the pen.  Thompson lost his groundball mojo a bit in ’07, and as a result his HR rate rose dramatically.

At one point, the Cards and Bucs discussed a Wilson-for-Chris Duncan deal.  About a month ago Dejan Kovacevic said he expected Wilson to stay put this winter.  Morris was a Cardinals’ target at various times in ’07.   There hasn’t been much buzz about the Pirates trading Bay to St. Louis.

UPDATE, 12-12-07 at 12:01pm: Buster Olney is reporting that the Padres are "deep into discussions" with the Pirates about a multiplayer trade in which Bay would be the centerpiece.

FROM 12-12-07 at 9:30am:

Tom Krasovic checks in with all sorts of fresh Padres rumors, as he often does.  Below are the ones that haven’t come up elsewhere on the site today.

• The Padres and Pirates might have mutual ground for some kind of multiplayer deal.  Names like Matt Morris, Jason Bay, Xavier Nady, and/or Nate McLouth are possible future Padres.  The Bucs could go for Michael Barrett and/or Padres’ top prospect Chase Headley.  My challenge to you: create a reasonable multiplayer trade scenario between these two clubs in the comments.
• Krasovic says the Padres "explored a trade" for the Cardinals’ Anthony Reyes.  The Indians and Phillies have also been linked to the youngster before.
• As you might expect, Morgan Ensberg will probably be non-tendered today.  He made $4.35MM in ’07, and the Friars don’t want to pay him anything like that.
• Akinori Otsuka is another non-tender candidate, and the Padres could seek to bring him back if so.  Otsuka has been throwing pain-free since late October, though, so the Rangers will probably retain him.

UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 12:01am: The Denver Post’s Troy E. Renck has more. 

• Brian Anderson – remember him? – is on the radar as a lefty swingman.  The 35 year-old hasn’t pitched in the bigs since ’05.
• Renck ponders whether the Rox might revisit talks for Matt Morris, a sentiment echoed by Jenifer Langosch.
• Nothing seems to be imminent on the Fuentes-Lowrie rumor.

UPDATE, 12-3-07 at 9:21pm: A suitor for Fuentes has emerged.  ESPN’s Amy Nelson says the Red Sox are interested and the Rockies could seek Jed Lowrie.  Lowrie would be a nice fit at second base.

FROM 12-3-07 at 8:28pm:

MLB.com’s Thomas Harding checks in with some Rockies nuggets.

• The Rockies have no pressing need to trade Brian Fuentes, so they’ll sit pretty with two closers unless an impressive and helpful offer comes along.  Dan O’Dowd believes four or five clubs might have the goods and need to get Fuentes.  We’ll see.
• The Rox let Josh Fogg’s agent know they’d like to explore bringing him back.  No figures were exchanged.
• The team still hopes to bring LaTroy Hawkins back, but they’d have to go to two years to pull that off.  They already chose not to exercise an effective $3.5MM option on him.  It seems the Rockies may have underestimated the interest in Hawkins. 

• Jason Bay rumors are flying around.  Langosch mentions Steve Phillips’ rumor at ESPN: Kelly Shoppach and Cliff Lee for Bay. Andy Marte could be involved as well.
• The Rangers have decided they desire a corner outfielder, and moved from Nate McLouth to Bay accordingly.  Langosch suggests the Rangers would send relievers over to Pittsburgh – now that would be a bad trade for the Bucs.
• McLouth, by the way, is drawing interest from the Giants and Padres.  He’s also been linked to the Marlins.
• The Rockies may have some interest in Matt Morris.
• Dealing Morris might allow the Bucs to give Brett Tomko what he wants – an opportunity to start.  The Pirates will meet with Tomko’s agent this week.

• Both beat writers are saying not to expect Jason Bay to be traded at the Meetings.  It would be a sell-low move with bad PR.
• Both also agree that Matt Morris staying put.  Kovacevic spins it as if the Pirates should actually want to keep Morris, while Perrotto’s sources suggest the Bucs would have to eat more than 70% of Morris’ contract to ditch him.
• Kovacevic also suggests that the Pirates need Jack Wilson, and that’s why he won’t be going anywhere.
• Relievers Salomon Torres, Damaso Marte, and John Grabow are available and drawing some interest.  Marte in particular interests the Yankees.
• Chris Duffy can be had; the Braves and Marlins have previously expressed interest.  Maybe they’ll renew that with center field vacancies and a new Pirates GM.  Duffy will start in Triple A if he’s not dealt.
• The Pirates are still talking to Shawn Chacon about returning.
• Perrotto notes that interest in center fielder Nate McLouth is picking up, with the Padres and Marlins interested.
• Xavier Nady won’t be non-tendered, contrary to previous reports.