One of the finest young men to wear the Cardinals uniform since I started following them in 2004. Anyone who says otherwise only looked at the box score of the game instead of watching them day in and day out. Skip was one of the most liked teammates in the past decade and he truly found a way into the hearts of Cardinal fans. No one on the Cardinals team ever got on Skip for "not trying hard enough" or for "not being willing to go the extra mile" simply because it never happened. Skip was the best of the best when it came to playing the Cardinal way.
With this all being said, I think the trade that has broken so many Cardinal fans' heart was a good trade. You may be conflicted right now, but if you know anything from reading this, know that I was as heart broken as the next die hard Cardinals fan when I read on the internet that my beloved Skippy Schu was heading to LA. I will give you three good reasons why it was a smart trade.
Lack of playing time. Skip's playing time has been dwindling ever since his breakout year in 2009, especially this past season with the new manager. Matheny made it pretty clear that he is willing to sacrifice the better offense that Skip had for the better defense that Descalso had. With Matt Carpenter preparing to come into Spring Training as a second baseman and with the recent signing of super-utility man Ty Wigginton, Skip was bound to see an even greater deduction in playing time. If Matheny wanted to get more offense at second base than what Descalso offered, he can easily turn to Matt Carpenter or Ty Wigginton.
Skip requested a trade. Cardinal fans didn't find out till after the trade, but Skip had actually requested to be traded. As a way of thanking Skip for his exception professionalism and love for the city of St. Louis during the past 10 years, MO went the extra mile and trade Skip to a team whose stadium is only an hour away from Skip's permanent residence. Skip was also be reunited with his hitting coach, Mark McGwire, who had been Skip's personal hitting coach long before Mark was hired by the Cardinals. While Skip does have to part ways with the city of St. Louis, which is heart-breaking, but he can fully settle into Los Angeles with his wife and daughter.
Double-A Shortstop is a good player. If you only glanced at Jake Lemmerman's stats, you would probably think that the Cardinals got the short end of the stick. That however, may not be true. The number that sticks out the most among Lemmerman's stats is his .233 batting average in 2012. Yes, that's not a pretty number, but he is still a solid offensive player. Although his batting average has dropped from .363 his first season to .283 his second season to .233 his third season, that doesn't automatically mean he is not improving as a hitter. A player's batting average is an old school statistic that if solely looked upon, will not depict an accurate picture. Although Jake's batting average was a career low at .233 last season, his .347 On-Base-Percentage was still very good, in fact, it is amazing considering how low his batting average was. As a team, the Cardinals led the major leagues in OBP with .338. The ability to consistently get on base even when they're not hitting well is a quality that managers look for for top of the order hitters. Rafael Furcal, who was the Cardinals' leadoff hitter for the majority of the first half of the season and some of the second half had an OBP of .325. Jake stole five bases with a 55% success rate in his first season. In his second season, he stole 10 bases with a 76% rate. In his third season, he stole 8 bases with a 100% success rate. That stat alone shows his maturing into a smarter baserunner.
While this all might not classify Lemmerman as a solid hitting shortstop, these stats might. Jon Jay, the Cardinals' every day leadoff hitter, averages one extra base hit for every 13 at-bats. Although Lemmerman has a lower career batting average, he averages an extra base hit every 9.5 at bats. In 2011, 21% of Lemmerman's hits were doubles. In 2012, even though his batting average dropped 50 points, his percentage of doubles hit increased by 14%. His percentage of triples, home runs, walks, and stolen bases all increased. It's really hard to be able to tell which players are going to do well in the major leagues and which ones aren't, but no matter what, when you see a player who is progressing in all areas of his game, you know it's a good sign. Lemmerman probably won't be a career .300 hitter, but that doesn't mean he won't be a good hitter. Imagine him as a micro version of Ian Kinsler. Kinsler is a great hitter even though he hit .255 and .256 the past two seasons. While Lemmerman probably won't hit 20 home runs or steal 20 bases either, it wouldn't surprise me if he hit 10-15 homers with 10-15 steals while getting on base a lot. He is a great doubles hitter and could very well turn out to be a good hitter overall.
Schumaker wanted to be traded, and he was traded to a favorable place for him. The Cardinals got a player at the only weak position on their team/farm system who has shown positive signs of a quality major league player.
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