Expos Beat Out Others to Colon

St. Louis Cardinal General Manager Walt Jocketty assembled his staff Thursday and began “prioritizing� the starting pitchers other clubs might be willing to trade before the July 31 non-waiver deadline.

The trauma of Darryl Kile’s death won’t soon dissipate, but the Cardinals lead the National League Central and there’s the reality of the race and “what we view as a responsibility to our players, fans and Darryl to try and do everything we can to win the division and more,� Jocketty said.

What that means, he added, is trying to find some way to compensate for the loss of a pitcher who had never been on the disabled list, who had thrown at least 219 innings in five of the last six years and had gone 41-24 in his two-plus seasons with the Cardinals. It means, he went on, trying to find some way to secure another starter while “knowing we can never replace Darryl’s innings and leadership. He was the staff leader and our horse. He took the ball no matter what.�

Jocketty wouldn’t discuss specifics, but it can be certain that at or near the top of the Cardinals’ priority list was the name of the Cleveland Indians’ All-Star-caliber right-hander, Bartolo Colon.

It was suspected throughout baseball that the Indians, despite having finally developed a young ace after a decade of American League Central dominance in which the quality of their pitching never matched the potency of their offense, would turn around and trade him because of their financial and competitive retreat.

It was never suspected that the Montreal Expos, seemingly headed toward elimination or relocation next season and controlled by the commissioner (who seems to be doing a better job with the Expos than his own Milwaukee Brewers), would beat the Cardinals and other interested teams to Colon.

They did it Thursday in a six-player trade, giving up Lee Stevens and three prospects, including highly regarded shortstop Brandon Phillips, for Colon, who is 10-4 and joins Javier Vazquez, Tony Armas, Tomo Ohka and Carl Pavano in a suddenly more formidable rotation as the Expos, alive in the wild-card and NL East races, play for today rather than worrying about the uncertain future.

“This definitely proves our intention,� General Manager Omar Minaya said by phone, suggesting he didn’t leave an executive role with the New York Mets to be anyone’s lame duck. “We not only want to compete, but we want to win. I said when I took the job that I was going to do whatever I could and be as creative as possible in order to put this team in position to win.�

The Expos are last in the majors in attendance and revenue. Colon makes only $500,000 more than Stevens this year, tantamount to a wash, but is owed $6 million in a club option next year. However, if the Expos aren’t operating, the option becomes another club’s obligation. If they are operating, they figure to be in a better economic environment. A labor dispute could idle Colon and the Expos, but Minaya said this was a no-lose situation and that he didn’t need to run it past anyone other than the club president, Tony Tavares.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen with the club next year or if I’ll still be a general manager,� Minaya said. “But we not only improved for today, but if we’re still operating five years from now, I think this is a good baseball trade. We not only got one of the best young pitchers in the majors, but a 24-year-old pitcher [Tim Drew] who was a No. 1 draft choice of the Indians.�

In a remodeling that has seen the Indians also trade Roberto Alomar and let Manny Ramirez, Juan Gonzalez and Kenny Lofton leave through free agency, Colon is only the first of the club’s midsummer moves. Pitcher Chuck Finley and first baseman Jim Thome also figure to be traded, with the Boston Red Sox hot after Thome.

The Indians started the weekend having gone 25-40 after an 11-1 start, and General Manager Mark Shapiro doesn’t sugarcoat the capitulation, the fact he is now building for 2004 and ’05.

“I realize our fan base is going to take a hit,� he said. “Hopefully, by next year, when the fans can see the skeletal framework of our new team and start identifying with the young players we’re trying to develop, maybe some will come back. [Owner] Larry Dolan has assured us he will step up when we are ready to be a contender again.�

In St. Louis, where the Cardinals began a weekend series against the Cincinnati Reds with the division lead at stake, Jocketty said he was convinced there would be pitchers available despite the labor concerns and economic limitations affecting many clubs.

Among the starting pitchers who could be traded, in addition to Finley, are Detroit’s Jeff Weaver, Florida’s Brad Penny, Toronto’s Esteban Loaiza, Philadelphia’s Robert Person and Terry Adams, and Kenny Rogers of Texas.

Starting pitching was expected to be a St. Louis strength, but Jocketty sighed and said, “What’s that about best-laid plans? We had seven starters in spring training, but we haven’t had five of them together at any time since the season started.�

The Cardinals have put six pitchers on the disabled list--Garrett Stephenson and Andy Benes are currently on it--and have already used 18 pitchers.

Matt Morris (10-5) has held up as the rotation ace, but Bud Smith, who came up last year to go 6-3 and throw a no-hitter in San Diego, is 0-5, and Woody Williams, 7-1 after being obtained from the Padres last season, only recently came off the disabled list.

Jocketty said he would hate to think where the Cardinals would be if the unheralded Jason Simontacchi, whose failing pitching career had taken him to Italy, hadn’t won six of seven decisions.

“What Jason has done for our pitching is what Albert Pujols did for our offense last year,� Jocketty said. “We couldn’t have counted on it.�

Now the Cardinals have to try to replace a pitcher who can’t be replaced, and one of the first options is already off the board.