Dexter Fowler and John Mozeliak were all smiles at the press conference.
The former Chicago Cub was coming off a World Series run and sat there answering questions, sincerely informing the St. Louis media that he was happy to be here and ready to bring the bliss of November parades back to Clark Avenue. He got paid after all, $82.5 million to be exact. A sum of money that could hide any misgivings or hesitations about going to a team.
Year one wasn't that bad. Fowler missed a portion of the season due to a variety of injuries, yet finished with a respectable slash line, power stats, and WAR. Things looked good for the second season, but there was only one thing: Tommy Pham was taking over Fowler's center field spot. A shift that many saw happening in year four of Fowler and the Cardinals was happening in round two. What?! The guy who was settling into a five year deal was being balked for a guy who turned down a two year contract offer. Baseball isn't a kind friend to the comfortable.
However, the Cardinals and Fowler never could have envisioned 2018 playing out like it has, with the embattled outfielder hitting below .200 and playing himself out of a starting job. Along with the emergence of Harrison Bader and a swing that just won't find its groove, Fowler hasn't been in the lineup consistently for over ten days as July gets underway.
A paternity leave should leave the team and fanbase missing the player that departed and counting the days until his return. Heck, when Jose Martinez left in June for the birth of his child right before a series with the Cubs, certain fans took offense and threw some shade at Martinez for the ill timing. Yes, those people actually exist. Fowler got the opposite this week from fans and also members of the front office.
I didn't find harm in John Mozeliak's comments on a struggling Fowler, even if they weren't fixated on the proper target. Fowler has shown initiative and hustle in his attempt to recover what was lost, even going to pitching coach Mike Maddux for some perspective. Mozeliak's comments showed a woke President of Baseball Operations, but has also caused a domino effect in the clubhouse with his highest paid position player.
Fowler returned in San Francisco with a blunt response for his boss. Brazen with authority and confident of his future, he told the media that his teammates, plenty of them, texted him and came to his side in the hours after Mozeliak's comments went viral. He didn't like the comments and surely won't forget them.
One can't blame him. When you look left and the beat writer for the Athletic for the Cubs is putting out there how the Cardinals have betrayed you and a glance to the right shows local media and fans trying to figure out what is going on, it's not hard to figure out that Fowler's head is in a distant cold place right now.
The key thing now is figuring out where this train leads. I don't think it's going towards a healthy resolution for the Cardinals. Whether or not Mozeliak stabbed his player in the back with comments made in two separate interviews, the suspicion is out there and it won't be dismissed right away. This isn't white noise in a fast-paced digital world. These are well-placed thought out theories that will gain traction with every game that passes without Fowler in the lineup.
Fowler isn't going to catch fire suddenly and put this notion to rest. While I have never supported the idea of him loafing and not caring, I don't think his efforts will expand now with the cat out of the bag and the thunderstorm rolling in over the team. His bat has been sleeping for three months and isn't hitting baseballs with much zing when bat and ball do connect, so how would that change in time?
Fowler has five home runs and his slash line is disgusting. There's no excuse for that, but the clues don't lead to a satisfying turnaround. When Joe Maddon gave his two cents and said Fowler was a great teammate and full of life in the Cubs clubhouse, one has to see there are indeed two different Fowlers here. The fun and free-wheeling guy who hit a mammoth and meaningful home run against the Cleveland Indians in 2016 isn't the same guy who helped the Cardinals walk it off against Chicago in early May.
This situation can't be repaired, and even if it were possible for Fowler to find his swing, Mike Matheny and Mozeliak won't take Bader out of the lineup long enough for the veteran to find his way. That time has came and went, almost as fleeting as the good will between player and team. If you had Jon Jay and Daniel Descalso having better years than Fowler back in February, count yourself as someone who needs to buy more lottery tickets.
I for one applauded the signing back in December of 2016. It fit the Cardinals needs, even if the term was long-winded and far-fetched. I was at a radio station Christmas party when a picture was posted of Fowler at the airport headed to St. Louis on the TMA Fan Page. It wasn't long before the details came out and the agreement was official. People were excited. Fowler's knack for getting on base, hitting for power, and injecting energy and enthusiasm into a clubhouse was legit and far from a rumor.
These days, that energy is gone and the ability to get on base and hit for power is nonexistent. Once again, it won't be easy to rekindle or reboot. Fowler can't find his way at Memphis or starting once a week while spending most of his hours pinch-hitting around cage work during games. It doesn't help that he offers next to nothing on the defensive side of the game, becoming even more of a liability in right field than he was in center field. Fowler's baserunning skills aren't great and he isn't stealing bases. The clubhouse magic trick never came true either, with Fowler looking more like a guy forced into that role than naturally walking into it.
This isn't pity for Fowler, so don't take this piece the wrong way. When your OPS struggles to stay over .600 in July, there's something wrong and you aren't doing your job. As far as fans and media are concerned, he's healthy and not playing hurt. There's no secret and sudden hip impingement lurking with Fowler. He's simply having a terrible year at a bad time for the organization.
Make no mistake about the timing. If the Cardinals were 15 games better than the .500 mark, this would be a smaller issue. Struggling high-paid athletes are easier to hide when things are going well, but impossible to cover up when your team sits 6.5 games out of first place, resting comfortably in third place for weeks. The Cardinals have shown zero signs of sustainable life, so every glaring issue is magnified, with Fowler's struggles taking up the most room on the pavement.
Can the Cardinals find a taker for Fowler? The chances aren't good, but I do think there's a team out there will may buy into a change of scenery storyline if the Cardinals eat a year or two of the deal. It will be the latest contract misfire cover-up by Mozeliak, who is already dining on part of $15 million of the remaining tab on Mike Leake's contract to the Seattle Mariners. Unless Brett Cecil makes a wicked discovery, his four year deal won't look good.
If Mozeliak is able to find a taker for Fowler's fee, it will come with a price. He will now approach every future acquaintance with at least a varying degree of hesitation. Things aren't running as smooth as they were years ago, with many of Mo's moves coming into question. He may be able to smoother a few of those worries with young talent, but not all of them. The Fowler situation is a symbol of newfound discord in the Cardinals organization that once seem untouchable.
The Dexter Fowler chapter in St. Louis won't end well, and it will end sooner rather than later. If he somehow turns it around and finds a way to forget about the perception of his play and comments made by his boss, it will seem like a miracle, almost cinematic. I sincerely doubt it.
I don't think the Cardinals will play Fowler enough for him to find what is missing, and I don't think they will keep him on the bench to come up with a plan. July will be telling for both parties, but a breakup is still on the way. It's just a matter of time.
What started out with smiles (supposedly genuine) has broken down into a puddle of unsure faces and behind the scenes "who said what" shenanigans.
Once a World Series champion and owner of the best free agent outfielder contract on the market, Fowler now sits on the bench, waiting for his bus ticket out of town.
