The Severed Cortex

Link: http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3143881&campaign=rss&source=MLBHeadlines

Just keep remembering this mantra: Baseball is a business. The Cardinals released fan favorite So Taguchi yesterday and while this will make many in Cardinal nation rue the fact that baseball is indeed a business, this was a necessary move. While So Taguchi probably still has a year or two left as a 5th outfielder on a sub-par team like the Pirates or Royals, (or as a starting outfielder back in Japan), the Cardinals can do as well, or better, playing a much younger guy. I am sad to see So get released and I hope the Cardinals find a place in the organization for him, perhaps even director of Far East baseball operations would be the perfect fit. Even if it's a totally made up position, the Cardinals need to put something in place for him. He never complained once to the media about his role on the team; the late-inning defensive replacement or to spell a starter to give him a day off. It didn't matter to So whether he played left, right, or even at age 38 center field. He played wherever he was asked to play whenever he was asked to play. I can't say I'm a big fan of So Taguchi the baseball player, but I am a big fan of So Taguchi the man. In the day and age of prima donna athletes, So Taguchi should be every working man's hero. In Japan he was a star. In America he was just another outfielder. He didn't make the club the first year and instead of sulking back to Japan, which I'm sure most American and/or Latin American players would have done had the tables been turned, he accepted his assignment to Triple A Memphis, worked hard and earned a spot on the big league 25 man roster. Can you imagine Scott Rolen or Milton Bradley or any other host of starting ne'er-do-wells taking a minor league assignment without complaint? Doubtful.

But, the fact remains that So Taguchi's skills, now at age 39, have deterioted to the point where playing a younger guy makes more sense. It's sad for So Taguchi and it's sad for a very large number of Cardinal fans. I have hope that the Cardinals will do the right thing and bring him into the front office. If not, I hope when Jose Oquendo gets a managerial job, (and he deserves one), he makes So Taguchi one of his coaches. Whichever MLB team gets those guys as coaches/manager, will have the hardest working man, overachieving team ever. Good luck So Taguchi. I hope to still see you wearing the birds on bat in another role.