The man with the most to lose in the Todd Zeile trade was one of the biggest cheerleaders Friday.
Third baseman Steve Buechele knows Zeile was brought in from St. Louis to take his job. Buechele doesn’t know whether that means he will sit on the bench to fill in at third and first when needed or whether he’ll be traded or released.
“It’s obvious I’m going to be affected one way or the other,” said Buechele, who went through the same gamut of emotions two weeks ago when the Cubs nearly traded for Montreal third baseman Sean Berry.
“If you can take the emotions out of it, it’s a great deal. We needed a bat and we got one.”
Of course, it’s impossible to take the emotions out of it, especially for Buechele, who has been one of the steadiest defensive third basemen in either league, but has struggled at the plate with a .189 average.
“They can’t sit around and wait for me to come out of my slump,” said Buechele. “The bottom line is, if I’m here and I have a different role, I’ll accept it.”
The numbers: Technically, the Cubs signed Zeile to a one-year contract worth $3.7 million. But that really translates to $3.29 million since salaries are calculated on a 162-game season and this year’s season is only 144 games. The Cardinals already have paid Zeile about $1.07 million, which means the Cubs will spend a little more than $2 million to have Zeile the rest of the year. On top of that, the Cubs agreed to pick up $500,000 of Mike Morgan’s salary this year.
Now pitching: Right-hander Anthony Young, just 10 months removed from elbow surgery, will start Saturday’s game in place of Morgan. Young, a starter last year, is 0-1 with a 7.71 earned-run average in 2 1/3 innings of relief work since being activated last week.
Jockeying Jocketty: It’s beginning to look as if Walt Jocketty, the new general manager of the Cardinals, didn’t get quite all the power he thought he was getting when he took the job. The Zeile fiasco is a sure sign. Zeile said publicly one of the reasons he wanted to be traded to the Cubs was because the Cardinals reneged on a three-year, $12 million contract they offered him this spring. Jocketty made the deal and was later told the club didn’t have that kind of money.
Cubbie blue: Zeile said this isn’t the first time he’s wanted to come to the Cubs. Last winter, Zeile was one of those players who briefly became restricted free agents. He said he called his agent immediately and said his first choice was to sign with the Cubs. A big reason is manager Jim Riggleman, who managed Zeile at Double-A and in the instructional league and was the Cardinals’ first-base coach when Zeile broke into the majors in 1989.
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Curiouser and curiouser: Guess who the Cardinals called up to fill Zeile’s spot on the roster? Chris Sabo, the failed White Sox designated hitter.