"Stop, Cubs, stop."
Admittedly not as catchy, but it's a tune in the heart of many St. Louisans, a lyrical longing that the Cubs' success will somehow cease.
The Cardinals had the dubious distinction of finishing in second behind the Cubs, just 17 { games back. Now, you can only control you. And so, while pitching will be the key for the 2017 Cards _ and defense, which in a perfect world prevents the pitchers from having to earn four (or five) outs an inning _ the Cards must nab an outfielder. At this point, we can only report, speculate and opine. But I'll tell you, none of the options is juicier than Dexter Fowler, if only because he could be Johnny Damon West (more enticing for a certain section of Cards fans than even Kim Kardashian West).
Johnny Damon, like Fowler, was the fun-loving center fielder of the curse-breaking champs. The 2004 Red Sox and 2016 Cubs are forever connected in history, teams stitched together by Theo Epstein and now stitched together in history, figuratively but fittingly, by red lace. Now, Damon also played the 2005 season with Boston, but like Fowler is now, he was a free agent coming off an All-Star year, and heading into a season at the age of 31.
Damon, of course, signed with the Red Sox's rivals. And in four seasons in pinstripes, Damon hit .285 with a .363 on-base percentage, while averaging 18 homers and 27 stolen bases. But most notably in Yankee lore, he hit .364 in the 2009 World Series, the Yankees' first since the Red Sox had won not only in 2004 but also in 2007.
Signing Fowler would make Cards-Cubs a souped-up soap opera, the latest high-octane storyline. To think ... Fowler's following game, after hitting a lead-off homer in Game 7 of the World Series, would be against the Cubs. The Cards host those guys in the opener on April 2.
And it is weird to even envision a player in Cardinal road gray, accepting a World Series ring at a Wrigley Field pregame ceremony on June 2.
Back to this winter, a new group of politicians and decision makers are indeed heading to Washington: Baseball's annual Winter Meetings will be in the D.C. Area from Dec. 4-8, and general managers and lobbying agents will wheel and deal. A season ago, the Cardinals traded center fielder Jon Jay during the Winter Meetings (the trade nabbed Jedd Gyorko). This winter, it's very possible the Cardinals trade for a center fielder, or perhaps they sign one via free agency. I'm growing on this Fowler idea. That is, if the Cards can get him to a contract he likes for three or fewer years, knowing the likes of Mags Sierra or Harrison Bader are in the wings _ and, even if the Cards didn't have a center-field prospect, the prospects of a 34-year-old Fowler manning the vast Busch outfield is worrisome.
"I don't think anyone's going to tell you that this is a world-class free-agent market _ it's not," Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak warned of a group in which Fowler is a top-five player. "Having more available dollars might not necessarily make you a better club."
But the Cardinals' interest in Fowler makes sense. He (now) comes from a winning organization. He can get on base out of the leadoff spot _ consider that his .393 on-base percentage was sixth-best in the National League. Curiously, he had a higher on-base percentage on the road, at .411, than he did at Wrigley, at .374. And in September and October, his overall .414 on-base percentage was higher than any other month except April.
ESPN advanced stats show that he had the lowest "chase rate" in all of baseball. That means he swung at the fewest pitches outside the strike zone, at 17.5 percent.
His fielding is good, not great. He is coming off a positive-rated season in the advanced stat category UZR (Ultimate Zone Rating). Alas, it was his first positive rating since his rookie year in 2008.
At the general managers meetings in Scottsdale, Ariz., Cubs general manager Jed Hoyer shared that Fowler "is a great teammate _ one of my favorite things about him is his looseness. You always hear his voice in the clubhouse, he's always smiling. I think a lot of our persona as a team is attributed to being loose, and he's one of the key guys for that."
But the Cubs got what they needed out of Fowler _ they have a young outfield prospect ready to go _ so now the Cards (or Indians?) could get what they need out of Fowler. Incidentally, the Cards (or Indians) would love, love, love to be the team that knocks the Cubs out of the 2017 playoffs.
If Fowler is to wear the birds on the bat _ but not his signature No. 24, of course _ he would join a captivating category of Johnny Damon-like players. His friend Jason Heyward would be there: He was the best overall player on the 100-win Cards team knocked out of the playoffs by the Cubs; then he signed with the Cubs.
Wade Boggs hit an eye-popping .338 in 11 seasons with the Red Sox (and with a .428 on-base percentage) before joining the Yankees in 1993. And the image of him riding a cop's horse in Yankee pinstripes, upon finally winning a World Series in 1996, still sears in Boston, even three Red Sox titles later.
Dusty Baker played in three World Series for the Dodgers, but broke blue hearts often with the Giants teams he later managed.
Lonnie Smith won a World Series title for your St. Louis Cardinals in 1982 ... and then won a World Series title against your St. Louis Cardinals in 1985.
And then there was Don Gullett, the Reds pitcher on the 1976 World Champions that beat the Yankees. He then joined the Yankees and won the World Series in 1977.
But to me, Gullett will always be most-remembered for his "role" in my favorite baseball quote. In the 1975 World Series, Red Sox-Reds, Gullett was set to pitch Game 7 against the flamboyant Bill Lee. Before the game, Reds manager Sparky Anderson said something along the lines of: "Win or lose, my starting pitcher is going to the Hall of Fame." Upon hearing this, Lee said of the famous Boston watering hole: "Win or lose, I'm going to the Eliot Lounge."
