"Rumor became reality Sunday for Brendan Ryan as the Cardinals fulfilled a month-old pledge by dealing the shortstop to the Seattle Mariners for hard-throwing but raw pitching prospect Maikel Cleto. Less than two weeks after acquiring Los Angeles Dodgers middle infielder Ryan Theriot, general manager John Mozeliak moved Ryan in return for a 21-year-old righthander believed at least three years away from a projected arrival as a major-league reliever. The move also ended Ryan's dogged belief that reports of an imminent trade would prove unfounded. "I didn't know if it was some of the truth or all of the truth," Ryan said Sunday. "Obviously it was the truth. I understand they wanted a little more consistency." The Cardinals advertised a desire for more offense as motivation for dealing a star-quality defender who struggled to a .223 average last season. However, a mix of frustrating incidents prefaced the move, beginning with January's surprise wrist surgery that hindered Ryan's readiness to open the season. Ryan never recovered, feeding growing organizational impatience over his tardiness and talkative personality that became an issue to some veteran players. Ryan finished the 2009 season as starting shortstop for a playoff team. He finished 2010 as the player most likely to be traded. "I believe I've never been blamed for not being me. I think you can spin it any way you want," Ryan said. "If you've got some personalities, that can be a good or a bad thing. I think I was the same guy in '09 that I was in '10. But when you're struggling, it's easier to point to certain things to explain what's going on. "It's cute and fun when things are going well. But when you're struggling, it's easier to say, 'He wasn't focused or prepared.' I don't think that's the case. It's more about lost confidence and feeling lost." Mozeliak remained circumspect about off-field elements that contributed to the deal except to say, "Changing the culture of the clubhouse was important to us. Given the personalities involved, we felt this an appropriate way to make a change." An offense that never consistently found high gear last season proved inescapable as well. Ryan's on-base-plus-slugging percentage plummeted from .740 in 2009 to .573 last season." Read more: http://www.stltoday.com/sports/base...cle_585b7cf1-1530-5dd0-b307-bc87ed2d7301.html
