So Long Uncle Walt! Cardinals and GM Jocketty Part Ways

ST. LOUIS, MO -- Although the formal announcement took place at 4:00 p.m. Eastern time, the news reverberated through Major League Baseball and along the banks of the Mississippi River at about 7:30 when it was announced that the St. Louis Cardinals and longtime general manager Walt Jocketty would be parting ways.

"Parting ways" was a nice way of telling the man, affectionately known throughout Cardinal Nation as Uncle Walt, the locks would be changed on the doors the next time he wanted to come into his Busch Stadium office.

I'll never forget the way all the players, players' wives, family members and stadium staff were out giving Jocketty a hug after the Cardinals won the 2004 National League Championship Series. I never saw an organization so appreciative and close to its general manager. It was something you were proud to be a part of.

The news hit me and the rest of the staff like the perpetual bullet that has continued to rip through Cardinal Nation with bad news all of 2007.

Teams change general managers all the time these days which makes it even more special to realize Jocketty had been in St. Louis for 13 seasons. Just last season, Jocketty engineered the 83-78 Cardinals into the World Champions, the first World Series the club had won in 24 years. It was well worth it. I never saw a set of fans so happy.

Then again, this is St. Louis, the envy of all fan bases in Major League Baseball. When people want to criticize fan bases, most teams are open targets, but you have to carefully choose your words when you go after the Cardinals.

The city of St. Louis is not exciting to say the least. Spending a month there during the 2004 playoffs, I learned very quickly it was a sports town. If there wasn't a sporting event going on, you could fire a shotgun down Chestnut Street and not hit anyone at high noon on a weekday. However, when the Cardinals, Rams or Blues are in town, the place is rocking. The Cardinals, in recent history, have been the lead horse of the bunch winning 105 games in 2004 and 100 more in 2005.

Mark McGwire was the biggest acquisition by Jocketty in 1997 that continuously sold out games at Busch Stadium. In 1998 when McGwire went for the home run title, you couldn't find a seat at Busch (or anywhere else the Cardinals played that season). It snowballed from there. The Cardinals were a mainstay in the playoffs with big names coming in, and despite having a solid but not overwhelming payroll the Cardinals were as good as anyone to be picked as World Champions.

Jocketty was the cornerstone of those years. The thing about Jocketty is that you could always get a smile out of him. People felt comfortable with him steering the ship and he was great for public relations.

In a time where general managers feel an entitlement of appreciation, exclusivity and respect, Jocketty was just real. He had charisma and a look of success, but you never saw him try to avoid fans or click open his cell phone to ignore someone. Granted, in Cardinal Nation, your fans tend to be a cut above everyone else in the area of class.

Whoever gets Jocketty now will get a prize beyond their wildest dreams. Other teams, such as Pittsburgh and Houston are kicking themselves that they jumped the gun on other general managers, rather than waiting for the off-season to see where all the cards (no pun intended) fell.

Jocketty's successor and interim GM, John Mozeliak, is about as good of a replacement you're going to get in the meantime. Mo is described as a liaison between the civil war that seemed to be brewing between Jocketty and the player development office. Hopefully he will be able to bridge the two areas and keep the Cardinals as a contender. It's hard to see Mo without Walt. They always seemed to be together. Yet, I have no doubt Mo can pull off the job as general manager.

There are outside candidates proposed, but the only other person I could see coming into St. Louis and keep things going while working with player development is the Los Angeles Dodgers' Logan White. White has always impressed me from a distance and in person as a down to earth guy who is very well-versed in the game, its players and knows how to bring out the best of his scouting and player development personnel. Anyone other than Mo or Logan and I will have a hard time seeing it through.

I have never experienced the parting of a general manager while working in an organization until this year, and it hits you like a lightning bolt... and just one year after a World Series Championship.

So long Uncle Walt! Good luck where you land. I know there will be a well-deserved welcome party when you arrive.