NLCS foes get major gains from minor moves
- Midseason pickups aids Cardinals and Giants
- The Giants traded for Marco Scutaro on July 27
- The Cardinals added one player at the deadline in Edward Mujica
ST. LOUIS -- When the Los Angeles Dodgers loaded up on stars to make a late run at the National League West title, the San Francisco Giants responded by trading for Marco Scutaro.
When the St. Louis Cardinals bullpen continued to stumble through the first four months of the season, general manager John Mozeliak acquired Edward Mujica.
Neither deal generated banner headlines, but both players became integral parts of their teams' march to the playoffs and have left their mark on the NL Championship Series.
Their impact highlights the value of bolstering a club for the stretch run — and the uncertainty of the results.
The July 31 non-waiver trade deadline has become one of the most anticipated dates on the baseball calendar, as fans comb for information on the pieces their teams might pick up to make a postseason push.
The Dodgers made a series of major moves in rapid succession, dealing for Hanley Ramirez, Shane Victorino, Brandon League and, even after the deadline, Adrian Gonzalez, Josh Beckett and injured Carl Crawford.
They finished in second place and out of the playoffs, eight games behind the Giants.
In this first league championship series matching the two previous World Series champs, both GMs have shown that turning over a roster doesn't necessarily have to entail winning the biggest headlines, either during the offseason or near the trade deadline.
Mozeliak said last year's eight-player trade with the Toronto Blue Jays taught him a valuable lesson about remaking his roster.
He was determined to move talented but unhappy outfielder Colby Rasmus before his value diminished, and on July 27, 2011, the Cardinals obtained starter Edwin Jackson and three other players from Toronto in exchange for Rasmus and three others. Four days later, they also picked up shortstop Rafael Furcal.
"When you change your roster by 20%, there's some adjusting to do," Mozeliak said. "We learned that last year, because we were sitting there in the middle of August and things weren't trending very well for us. A lot of people were asking me why things weren't going well, and I think when you bring in that many new faces, you have to be patient. Once it did all come together, it worked splendidly."
St. Louis, 10½ games back in the wild-card race on Aug. 23 last year, rallied to earn a playoff spot on the last day of the regular season and went on to win its 11th World Series in come-from-behind fashion.
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Picking up Cards
This season, the Cardinals added one player at the deadline in Mujica, a nondescript reliever with the Miami Marlins. When he arrived, the St. Louis bullpen had a 4.09 ERA. The rest of the season, it was 3.61.
By registering a 1.03 ERA in 29 games with the Cardinals, mostly pitching in the seventh inning, Mujica helped stabilize the bullpen, which also benefited from the emergence of hard-throwing rookie Trevor Rosenthal.
In Sunday's Game 1, Mujica struck out the heart of the Giants order in the seventh and was credited with the win as St. Louis prevailed 6-4.
Mozeliak jokes that he knew all along Mujica would prove to be the catalyst to the turnaround, but what he really did know is that the veteran from Venezuela would fit in well.
"After I did that trade, I got a couple of texts from other GMs who said, 'Great guy,' " Mozeliak said. "That was really the key for us because it was a seamless transition for him to fit in, accept his role and dominate at it."
Giants general manager Brian Sabean has a history of fortifying his bullpen before the deadline, and he built on that legacy by bringing in lefty Jose Mijares, who had been put on waivers by the Kansas City Royals.
Two years before, when San Francisco won its first World Series since the franchise moved west in 1958, Sabean added two vital pieces in relievers Ramon Ramirez and Javier Lopez, who was a big factor in neutralizing the Philadelphia Phillies' lefty hitters in the NLCS.
"As you go forward in the season, your bullpen has a tendency to get taxed, and if you can plug in a fresh arm and somebody who has a definite role, it actually helps everybody else in the 'pen," Sabean said.
This year, the Giants also acquired right fielder Hunter Pence after the Dodgers landed Ramirez. The most valuable addition, however, has been Scutaro, an 11-year veteran who cost the Giants only minor league infielder Charlie Culberson.
Scutaro batted .362 with 44 RBI in 61 games for San Francisco and broke open Game 2 against the Cardinals with a clutch two-run single before leaving with a hip injury; he could play in Game 3.
The Giants went 39-24 after obtaining Scutaro, who initially was slated for utility duty but forced his way into the everyday lineup. His contributions drew parallels with Cody Ross, one of the heroes of the 2010 postseason after coming on board via waiver claim late that August.
"Marco's a huge reason why we're in this situation," manager Bruce Bochy said after the Giants clinched the NL West. "When you acquire a guy like Ross or Scutaro or (Pat) Burrell or Pence, these guys can determine your season, and Marco certainly has."
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Scutaro fit right in
Scutaro said his assimilation into a new clubhouse was facilitated by the presence of several players he knew, especially fellow Venezuelans such as Gregor Blanco and Pablo Sandoval.
"I always compare it to getting switched to a new school," Scutaro said. "You get to the classroom and don't know anybody and what they're like. You need to learn a new teacher, who would be the manager, and a new principal, who would be the general manager. You have to learn the rules and what they like and don't like."
The roster tinkering sometimes backfires. The Giants didn't get much of a payoff from sending top pitching prospect Zack Wheeler to the New York Mets last year in a swap for Carlos Beltran, although Sabean points out his impact was lessened by a hand injury and the absence of sidelined catcher Buster Posey.
Big-name players typically arrive in their new cities with high expectations, which can have a detrimental effect if they feel pressure to produce right away.
"It depends on the timing in which the move is made, not only for the team but for the player and also on how they fit in and feel comfortable," Sabean said. "If you're plugging a glaring hole, you'll take all the help you can get, and if it turns out to be more than that, it's a bonus."
Sounds like the definition of Scutaro and Mujica.
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Rebuilding or retooling?
It's possible to quickly turn over large parts of a championship team and return to contention, as the 2010 champion San Francisco Giants and 2011 St. Louis Cardinals proved. A look at the lineups from their clinching World Series games, and their 2012 playoff lineups:
Cardinals
Pos./2011/2012
1B/Albert Pujols/Allen Craig
2B/Ryan Theroit/Daniel Descalso
3B/David Freese/Freese
SS Rafael Furcal/Pete Kozma
LF/Craig/Matt Holliday
CF/Skip Schumaker/Jon Jay
RF/Lance Berkman/Carlos Beltran
C/Yadier Molina/Molina
Giants
Pos./2010/2012
1B/Aubrey Huff/Brandon Belt
2B/Freddy Sanchez/Marco Scutaro
3B/Juan Uribe/Pablo Sandoval
SS/Edgar Renteria/Brandon Crawford
LF/Cody Ross/Gregor Blanco
CF/Aaron Rowand/Angel Pagan
RF/Andres Torres/Hunter Pence
C/Buster Posey/Posey