MLB Wold Blog had cameras behind the scenes in the St. Louis Cardinals war room on Draft Day. Here is what the story of that day told by Owner/GM dwboyce...
Hitting is the priority in St. Louis. Our club is last in the league in homeruns and all other major offensive categories. I made it crystal clear to our scouts that our hopes rested on obtaining either a power bat at catcher, or a power bat at first base or left field. If either of those two options were lacking, we were to default to pitching. As the draft unfolded, stunned silence gave way to apoplectic fits of rage. Of all the yellow teeth, curled mustaches and mono-brows I had been forced to deliberate over for days on end, five of the first six heavenly-faced mug shuts selected never made it across my desk. We then watched coveted everyday reliever Mac Kirkland go early, perhaps predictably, taken at #7. A jack and coke helped settle me down and deal with the reality of the situation. A heated debate erupted in our war room as our pick rolled around. Given the lack of any hitting remaining, we had a choice to make: short reliever Vin Cueto, who had better stuff in the opinion of many, or starting pitcher Mark Prince. After much time, we settled on Prince, hoping that his stellar control, velocity, his ability to induce a ground ball and the movement on his pitches would offset his mediocre effectiveness that perhaps we were underestimating. We issued our pick – and then watched as Donnie McInerney – the Kodiak bear wrestling, stud hitting catcher from Alaska and would be perfect, no-brainer selection for St. Louis – was selected right behind us. I asked my scouts if anyone had bothered to check out Alaska recently. Security arrived a few minutes later to escort my scouting staff to my private jet, where they will spend the entire winter there scouring that state for talent.
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