From the premature announcements file, Ryan Franklin plans to retire at the end of 2011.
↵↵↵Less than a year has passed since Franklin agreed to a below-market extension that runs through the 2011 season. Then, Franklin says, he will have had enough.
↵"I think I owe it to my family," Franklin said before Friday's series opener against the Oakland A's. "I've missed a lot of things that have been going on. I don't want to miss a lot more.
↵"If I wasn't able to provide for my family and we weren't going to be OK to the extent that either my wife or I would have to continue working, then I should play more. But I'm financially sound. I don't see having to keep playing for that reason."
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Impressively sound reasoning and family mannery. But if he manages to make 2010 or 2011 the first season in a Cardinals uniform where that sterling start doesn't lead to a frighteningly bad April he'll have a hard time turning people away, having officially become a Proven Veteran Closer.