St. Louis Globe-Democrat

Cardinals pitcher Kyle McClellan was working out on Tuesday afternoon when he saw the news come across the ESPN ticker at the bottom of his TV screen.

“It said ‘Breaking News, Cardinals sign Holliday,’” McClellan said. “I was really excited.”

The Cardinals and Holliday agreed to a seven-year, $120 million deal on Tuesday that will likely be announced on Thursday after Holliday passes a physical.

“He’s a guy that came over and made an impact, not only on our team, but in the clubhouse,” McClellan said of Holliday. “He’s a great guy to have, a great teammate, and I am excited to have him for a full season. The impact he had on us last year, just in a half season – I’m excited to see what our team can do with him for a whole year.

“I think it changes the whole outlook of our lineup, having two guys in there and that’s not even talking about Ryan Ludwick, who is also a big threat. Those three guys are some serious run producers. It’s going to be dangerous.”

The news of Holliday’s signing reached starter Kyle Lohse in California when his wife, Gabrielle, got a text message from Holliday’s wife, Leslee, saying that they were coming back to the Cardinals.

The Lohse family, who were celebrating their son Kameron’s birthday at Dave and Busters, now had another reason to celebrate.

“I was really happy,” Lohse said. “Obviously, anybody that saw what he did last year offensively after he came over, you can tell that he’s going to be a big boost to our lineup. You look up and down our lineup and we are going to have a pretty strong chance to score some runs with Ludwick and Skip (Schumaker) and Colby (Rasmus) having another year under his belt. I’m very happy that we got him back.

“You can’t expect him to hit .400 or whatever he hit when he came over, but it definitely makes a difference when you have him behind Albert. Teams are going to have to make their choice as far as who they are going to face or not let beat them and that makes it hard on the game planning side of it when you face our team. I think it makes a huge difference when you add somebody of that caliber. It makes me excited for the season right now.”

Reliever Blake Hawksworth was watching the basketball team at his former high school play when he got a text from a friend saying that Holliday had signed. He hurried home and got on the internet to make certain the news was true.

“I got on Rotoworld and checked it out,” Hawksworth said. “I wanted to see how many years it was for and all of that. It’s awesome. I’m sure that everyone is glad that it’s done now and I’m sure he’s thrilled. If anyone deserves that kind of money and that contract, it’s him. What he did for us last year was such a boost and hitting behind Albert now, that’s scary man. It’s going to be awesome.”

Holliday propelled the Cardinals to a 39-26 record after his arrival on July 24, leading St. Louis to the NL Central crown. But the club fizzled in the playoffs, getting swept by the Los Angeles Dodgers in three games.

The addition of Holliday allows Ludwick to remain lower in the lineup, likely in the number five spot behind Holliday – a spot that appears to be a better fit for both him and the Cardinals' offense. With Schumaker and Rasmus potentially batting in front of a trio that includes Pujols, Holliday and Ludwick – followed by Yadier Molina and Brendan Ryan – the Cardinals enter spring training with one of the deepest lineups in the National League.

“As a pitcher, looking at it, that’s a lineup that you don’t want to come in and face,” McClellan said. “If you are a reliever and you come into the game knowing that you have to face Pujols, Holliday, Ludwick, those guys – that’s not fun.

“The whole key is going to be if our number two guy can get on base in front of Albert. Then they can’t pitch around Albert because they have Holliday next and they are putting a guy into scoring position. And that’s when Albert does his damage, when guys have to challenge him.”

Holliday hit .353 with 13 home runs and 55 RBIs in just 63 games after arriving in St. Louis. He had four hits in a memorable first game with the Cardinals in Philadelphia and never stopped hitting the rest of the season.

The Oklahoma native gives the Cardinals the much-needed protection for Pujols that they had been seeking.

“We would sit out there in the bullpen and say, ‘Gosh, I would not want to pitch to this lineup,’” Hawksworth said. “I mean starting at the top with Skip and working your way down - there’s not an easy out. Matt, he’s not the most vocal guy but he just goes out and he’s such a hard worker on and off the field. He’s constantly hitting. He takes care of his body. He’s a great clubhouse guy, super friendly. I had nothing but a great couple of months with him. I’m excited to see him and watch him have another great year.”

The signing of Holliday comes almost a month after the Cardinals signed pitcher Brad Penny to a one-year contract. And with just a few small decisions remaining at third base and the back end of the starting rotation, the Cardinals now head into pring training as the favorites to repeat in the NL Central.

“I think everyone is excited and I think there’s good reason to be,” Hawksworth said. “Obviously last year we kind of lost some steam going into the playoffs, but getting everyone back was a goal and Matt is just a big piece of our puzzle. I am sure the management and front office is pretty glad that it’s all over and can just look forward now.”

McClellan, who said he will head for the Cardinals spring training home in Jupiter, Florida, on Jan. 18 to get out of the cold weather, also likes the Cardinals chances heading into spring training with ‘The Senator’ now on board.

“I feel like we’re in a good spot right now, we’ve got our core players back,” McClellan said. “Our starting staff is going to be phenomenal this year with the addition of Brad Penny and based on the years those guys had and even Lohse - he had such a fluke year with all of the injuries and I think he’s going to get to where he was the year before. You get those guys back and then you add a guy like Matt Holliday to our offense and then maybe the pieces they are still looking to add, I think it’s going to be a good club if we can stay healthy, which every year is always the goal, to stay healthy. I think (GM John Mozeliak) and Mr. DeWitt have done a great job of giving us a chance to compete.

“Matt is a great guy in the clubhouse. His wife and kids were great. Like I said, not only is he a really good fit for our club, but he fits kind of what Cardinal baseball is and what Cardinal players are about. He’s a guy that comes in, he was real quiet at first and then got to know guys and really blended in really well. I think chemistry in the clubhouse can carry a team a long way and I think Matt is going to be a big contribution to that.”

Globe-Democrat.com sportswriter B.J. Rains can be reached at bjrains@globe-democrat.com.

• Email
  • Share this item

    Send this to a friend

  • Grab the link

    Copy and paste the link:

  • Blog about it

    Blog about this page.

  • Close
• Comment