Renteria, Jocketty Differ On Deal
Cards didn't want him, former shortstop says
Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch
March 17, 2005
Cardinals coach Jose Oquendo admonished friend Edgar Renteria
before the
Cardinals' exhibition with the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday. Oquendo
said he wasn
't necessarily mad at Renteria for leaving the Cardinals for the Red
Sox but
that Renteria hadn't returned his calls this offseason.
"But we know Edgar. He never answers the phone anyway," Oquendo
said.
Renteria said, "I don't answer my phone because it's my
offseason, you know?
But he knows I love him."
But Oquendo said he questioned Renteria about statements
attributed to him
that he wasn't happy in St. Louis.
"We joked about it," Oquendo said. "But I told him, 'If you're
not happy
about something, you've got to be sure you explain the right things.' I
don't
think we treated him that badly over there. He said he was misquoted."
Oquendo told Renteria that if he was going to be misunderstood
because of a
language barrier, "Then don't say anything."
But there seemed to be no gap Wednesday. Renteria said that he
signed with
the Red Sox rather than the Cardinals because it was a matter of "I
guess,
respect."
As the conversation progressed, it became clear that the money
had something
to do with it, too.
"They would say they offered $39 million. But that's not true,"
Renteria
said. "We never talked about 39 (million). We always talk about 32. I
say I can
take a little less and I'll stay in St. Louis but not like that. They
never
offered 36. They stayed on 32 all the time."
General manager Walt Jocketty said the Cardinals offered a $36
million deal
and a $39 million deal, but that the $39 million deal had money
deferred, which
made the actual value about $36 million.
Jocketty said the club had offered a package last spring that
exceeded the
Red Sox's $40 million, four-year deal.
"I just don't like him thinking that we didn't try. That's not
right,"
Jocketty said. "We did try. There might have been some miscommunication
between
him and his agent. But ... as long as everybody is happy. I'm very
happy. I like
who we got.
"We either could have Edgar or a top-of-the-rotation guy in
(Mark) Mulder, a
quality shortstop (David Eckstein) and a quality second baseman (Mark
Grudzielanek) for ... a little bit less."
For his part, Renteria said he would have stayed for $36 million
in actual
dollars.
Jocketty said, "The ($39 million) offer was made with deferrals.
The value
depends on how you calculate it, but it would be paying him millions of
dollars
10 years from now and we think that's a good idea in most sports."
Renteria said he wanted to sign a four-year contract for less
than $30
million a couple of years ago, but that the Cardinals didn't want to do
that.
"That's when I realized maybe they didn't want me on the team,"
Renteria said.
Jocketty said, "We spent a lot of time and effort in trying to
get the thing
done, and we almost blew a couple of other things waiting to see what
they were
going to do."
Asked why he didn't make a $40 million offer in November,
Jocketty said, "We
thought his value had gone down."
Reiterating what he had said in December, Renteria said the Red
Sox had tried
harder to sign him. "We called them (the Cardinals) all the time,"
Renteria
said. "They told us we had to wait for their call. When they said in
the paper
they offered $39 million and I left for $1 million (more), that's not
true. That
's why I want to say the truth. They know I know what happened. It hurt
my
feelings a little."
Jocketty agreed that the Red Sox tried harder.
"Boston does have to work harder because they didn't have the
player,"
Jocketty said. "They had to convince him. We thought we had done our
job
convincing him we wanted him all along."
Early in the offseason, Boston was unsure it wanted to commit to
incumbent
shortstop Orlando Cabrera on a long-term basis. When Renteria became
available,
Boston general manager Theo Epstein moved quickly.
"I kind of thought he was going to go back to St. Louis," Epstein
said
Wednesday. "But the longer it dragged out, he left us with the
impression that
if a team became aggressive with him, he would consider going
elsewhere. So that
's what happened."
Renteria said, "I'm going to miss my teammates. And Tony is one
of the best
managers in baseball. I'm going to miss him.
"It was a real hard decision (to leave) because I love the fans
of St. Louis.
I love the city. I loved everything there. They're going to be my team
for a
long time. I left my heart in St. Louis. I left everything in St. Louis.
"But you have to do the best for your family and the best for
me."
La Russa values Renteria as much as any player he has managed.
Renteria's
years with the Cardinals were "six wonderful years," La Russa said.
But Mulder probably is a Cardinal because Renteria isn't. "I
don't think we
can win without pitching," La Russa said. "I don't care what division
or league
you're in."
Speaking mostly of Mulder, Oquendo said, "A lot of times you need
the guy who
's coming in, not the guy who's leaving. We've improved a lot on the
double play
(with Grudzielanek instead of Tony Womack). Eckstein's a good leadoff
hitter. I
think we're going to be OK without Edgar."
First baseman Albert Pujols became close with Renteria during
their four
seasons in St. Louis. Pujols laments Renteria's move but doesn't dwell
on it,
saying they will always be friends.
Pujols said, "I've got two great teammates in Mark Grudzielanek
and David
Eckstein. David won the World Series in his second year in the league
and he
knows how to win, just like Edgar. We've got two winning guys."
Renteria hit .287 last season, driving in 72 runs, after driving
in 100 in a
.330 season in 2003. He didn't win a Gold Glove after winning in 2002
and 2003.
"He's the type of guy who's noticed, but not noticed," said
former Cardinals
reliever Mike Timlin, a teammate of Renteria's for the second time now.
"When a
big play happens, he's part of it. But he doesn't raise his hand, he
doesn't
shoot the guy down, there's no fanfare.
"He just goes out and does the right thing at the right time."
"Edgar's a winner. He doesn't care where he is," Oquendo said.
"He could be
by himself and if the team wins, he'd be happy."
Renteria fully expects the Red Sox to be winners. "This is a real
good team,"
he said. "I know now why they beat us."
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