RetroSimba

Ricky Bottalico was acquired by the Cardinals to be a setup reliever, became the closer instead and didn’t perform well enough to keep the job.

On Nov. 19, 1998, the Cardinals got Bottalico and pitcher Garrett Stephenson from the Phillies for outfielder Ron Gant and pitchers Jeff Brantley and Cliff Politte. The Cardinals also agreed to pay $6 million toward Gant’s salary over the next two years and Brantley’s salary in 1999.

With an 0-5 record, eight blown save chances and a 4.44 ERA, Brantley was a bust as Cardinals closer in 1998 and he relinquished the role to Juan Acevedo over the last two months of the season. Acevedo responded with 15 saves and the Cardinals were convinced he’d be their closer in 1999. “Our people have (Acevedo) ranked among the top five in the National League,” Cardinals general manager Walt Jocketty told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

What the Cardinals wanted were established setup relievers to protect leads before turning to Acevedo in the ninth. They thought they’d acquired an ideal tandem in Bottalico, a right-hander, and Scott Radinsky, a left-hander they signed as a free agent after he posted a 2.63 ERA and 13 saves for the 1998 Dodgers.

Quick study

Bottalico was a catcher in college at Florida Southern and Central Connecticut, but wasn’t selected in the major-league draft. The Phillies signed him as an amateur free agent in July 1991 and projected him to be a pitcher.

“I knew I threw the ball hard, but I really didn’t have even a windup at that point,” Bottalico said. “I was throwing more like a catcher, straight from the ear.”

Bottalico was sent to the low levels of the Phillies farm system and was used as a starter. “I learned more about pitching in the first week of minor-league baseball than in the whole rest of my life,” Bottalico said.

After making 11 starts in 1992, he was converted into a closer and began a quick ascension through the farm system. “The Phillies saw my intensity level,” Bottalico said. “Once they saw that, I was labeled for a closer’s role.”

Bottalico debuted in the big leagues with the Phillies in 1994 and he had 34 saves for them in each of two seasons, 1996 and 1997.

In April 1998, Bottalico had surgery to remove bone spurs in his right elbow. He sat out two months, returned in July and “struggled to regain his control and velocity,” the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

Left-handed batters hit .375 against Bottalico in 1998. He had an 11.68 ERA in August and a 5.59 ERA in September.

Something is amiss

The Cardinals approached the Phillies in November 1998 and suggested trading Gant for Bottalico, Phillies manager Terry Francona said. “We were dying for a 30-homer guy like Gant,” said Phillies general manager Ed Wade.

To sweeten the deal, the Cardinals said they’d include Brantley and Politte and pay portions of the remainder of Gant’s and Brantley’s contracts, Francona said.

The Phillies included Stephenson in the package because he’d filed a grievance against them, claiming he was sent to the minors while injured, and “wore out his welcome here,” Wade said.

Though Bottalico was 1-5 with a 6.44 ERA for the 1998 Phillies, Jocketty called him “a guy we’ve liked for a long time” and said Cardinals doctors were convinced the pitcher’s arm was sound. “My arm hasn’t felt this good in years,” Bottalico said.

Early in the 1999 season, Bottalico pitched well for the Cardinals and Acevedo didn’t. Bottalico had a 1.46 ERA in 11 appearances in April. By mid-May, Acevedo had a 6.75 ERA, so the Cardinals made Bottalico the closer.

Though Bottalico had stretches of success, he faltered in the final two months of the season. His ERA in August was 9.72 and in September it was 7.84.

Meanwhile, Radinsky injured his elbow and didn’t pitch for the Cardinals in August and September.

The relievers who began the season as the Cardinals’ top three all produced poor results:

_ Acevedo, 4-5, 5.06 ERA, four saves as a reliever.

_ Bottalico, 3-7, 4.91 ERA, 20 saves and eight blown save chances.

_ Radinsky, 2-1, 4.88 ERA, three saves.

Bottalico had “too many walks, too many late-inning home runs, too little confidence” during the second half of the season, the Post-Dispatch surmised.

The pitcher who turned out to provide a boost was the throw-in from the Phillies deal. Stephenson, sent to the minors early in spring training, was called up to the Cardinals in June 1999 and won his first five decisions. He finished 6-3 with a 4.22 ERA. In 2000, he was a 16-game winner for the Cardinals.

One and done

The Cardinals were 75-86 in 1999 and they vowed to make moves to improve.

On Nov. 16, 1999, the Cardinals acquired reliever Dave Veres from the Rockies and projected him to be their closer in 2000.

Soon after, the Cardinals offered to deal Bottalico and outfielder Eric Davis to the Dodgers for starting pitcher Ismael Valdez and second baseman Eric Young, the Post-Dispatch reported. When the Dodgers balked at taking Davis, talks continued about a swap of Bottalico for Young.

On Dec. 12, 1999, the Dodgers got what they considered a better offer and dealt Valdez and Young to the Cubs for pitchers Terry Adams, Chad Ricketts and Brian Stephenson. A week later, the Cardinals got second baseman Fernando Vina for Acevedo, catcher Eliezer Alfonzo and pitcher Matt Parker.

Unable to trade Bottalico and unwilling to pay him the $2.2 million salary he got in 1999, the Cardinals decided they wouldn’t offer him a contract for 2000, making him a free agent. “I had a feeling this is what they might do,” Bottalico said.

In January 2000, Bottalico signed a one-year contract with the Royals, bringing his short, unfulfilling stint with the Cardinals to an official end.