Already down one man due to a recurrence of Lance Berkman’s calf injury, the club appears to be ready to bring Skip Schumaker off rehab early for the second consecutive year. That is clearly a performance downgrade. As good as fill-in first baseman Matt Carpenter has been in the early going, he isn’t Berkman.

Of course, Schumaker is more relevant in the context of Jay’s potential replacement. Skip can step in if needed, but what about the Cardinals bench? The immediate options in Memphis to backfill Jay’s roster spot, infielder Pete Kozma (.261) and outfielder Adron Chambers (.229) haven’t started 2012 particularly well with the bat. Neither have third baseman Zack Cox (.137) and catcher Bryan Anderson (.045), other slow-starting Memphians. Like Kozma and Chambers, they are on the 40-man roster, but don’t fit well with the current needs from a defensive position perspective.

Some of the anxious and excited, especially those who don’t understand or care how rosters work, want to see hard-hitting first baseman Matt Adams head up I-55 from Memphis to St. Louis today. They apparently believe one Matt – Adams – would be a substantial upgrade starting at first base over the “other” Matt – Carpenter.

However, the Cardinals’ 40-man roster is full. Some suggest moving the “main” Carpenter, Chris, to the 60-day disabled list to create roster space for Adams.

The situation is more complex than that.

If the Cardinals truly believe that Chris Carpenter won’t be ready until June, then there is little immediate risk in putting him on the 60-day DL retroactive to the start of the season.

One problem is that no one knows. What if Carp improves next week? Is it worth the risk of not being able to use Carp for several weeks compared to the difference between your 25th man being a player already on the roster and one that is not?

Further, taking such a step now would force making a tough roster decision as soon as Carp is ready to come off the 60-day. Whenever it would be, another player will have to be dropped. One has to assess the risk of long-term loss for potential of some short-term gain.

The last two players the Cards removed from the 40-man were both snapped up off the waiver wire. One could argue that both reliever Adam Ottavino and especially outfielder Andrew Brown could be of value to the Cardinals right now had they remained.

Some of the many interrelated factors that must be considered by general manager John Mozeliak include the following:

• How long will Berkman and Jay be out?
• How long until Allen Craig will be ready?
• Is Mark Hamilton getting closer from returning from his spring injury?
• How much would the new player to be added to the 40-man and 25-man, Adams, actually play?
• How much of an improvement would that be over what Matt Carpenter is providing?
• How would this affect Adams’ contract status and potential free agency down the road?
• Who would the Cardinals drop from the 40-man when Chris Carpenter is healthy?

Bottom line, I am not among those clamoring for Adams – based on what we know right now. If the variables change significantly, so might my point of view.

Follow me on Twitter.
Follow The Cardinal Nation Blog on Facebook.

It is justified. The 21-year-old has flashed upper-90’s heat, good secondary offerings, a humble attitude, willingness to learn and a feel for the game. The compliments, especially from those already wearing major league uniforms, have a segment of the fan base drooling.

After leaving MLB camp and making one strong minor league outing, Rosenthal was called upon to take the ball for St. Louis against his new Springfield teammates in the Monday exhibition at Hammons Field. The right-hander was again sharp, with four scoreless innings.

In contrast, the relative struggles of the organization’s top prospect Shelby Miller this spring have led some to already start comparing the two. This despite the fact that one pitcher is one full level of play above the other. Over the winter, Miller was The Cardinal Nation’s top prospect for the second year in a row, while Rosenthal clocked in for his debut at number 12.

Miller, 21, has a track record as the organization’s Pitcher of the Year in both 2010 and 2011, reaching Double-A Springfield. Rosenthal, five months older than Miller, spent all of last season at Class-A Quad Cities, where he was the named the top pitcher in the Midwest League playoffs.

This spring, it was the less-experienced Rosenthal who was the last non-roster starting pitcher in big league camp. He remained six days after Miller had been sent out amid concerns that the Texan’s off-season regimen had not pleased the Cardinals.

Rosenthal will open 2012 with Double-A Springfield, while Miller will headline the rotation for Triple-A Memphis. Leaping over A-Advanced Palm Beach entirely is in itself a huge test for Rosenthal, but the organization apparently has the confidence he is ready. Rosenthal currently seems to have the momentum on his side that Miller needs to regain.

Still, Rosenthal remains unproven above Class–A – until he shows his mettle on the mound in games that count this season. Miller’s Triple-A record is also completely blank.

Some Rosenthal supporters are already wondering out loud if the Missouri native will pass Miller and make his major league debut this season. They are apparently making some bold assumptions how Rosenthal will fare in the Texas League, ignoring 40-man roster considerations as well as a number of other solid starting and relief pitchers already proven at the Double-A and Triple-A levels.

The discussions have evolved to wondering aloud about changes in the Cardinals prospect rankings. This week, I had a personal message exchange with a cynical Rosenthal backer – folks I have labeled the “Rosenthralled” (TM). This individual assured me that a 21^st-rounder would never be ranked ahead of a first-round draft pick because people like me who rate prospects are inherently biased.

When I suggested he go all the way back to our 2010 rankings, in which we did just that – placing a 22nd-rounder at the head of our top 40 ahead of the heralded first-rounder – the conversation ended abruptly. I haven’t heard from him since.

One key difference is that earlier 22^nd rounder, Jaime Garcia, earned his prospect placement by his results on the mound at the upper levels of the system. Rosenthal has his opportunity to take that kind of step forward in 2012.

I like Rosenthal’s potential as well as many, but I wish folks would hold off on the wilder speculation until he demonstrates some success above Class-A. At Memphis in 2012, Miller must prove he is ready for the majors – in all aspects of his preparation.

By their actions on the mound this season, the pitchers will show us whether or not any comparisons between the two will be relevant. In the meantime, “Let’s play ball!”

Follow me on Twitter.
Follow The Cardinal Nation Blog on Facebook.

The action against Stanley, our 26^th-ranked Cardinals prospect, is the organization’s third suspension since the conclusion of last season. It is at least the 24^th affecting a St. Louis farmhand since 2005, the early days of what is now the Minor League Drug Prevention and Treatment Program.

17-year-old Dominican pitcher Erick Hurtado was considered to be the second-best player in this year’s international class for the organization. However, the left-hander’s agreement with the Cardinals was voided earlier this month when he tested positive for Stanozolol as part of his background checks.

In November, Batavia outfielder Reggie Williams was suspended for the first 50 games of the 2012 season. His banned substance was one of the same ones detected in Stanley, Methylhexaneamine. Williams is currently participating in minor league camp, but is prohibited from playing in regular season contests until his time is served. Now, Stanley will be joining him.

Of the 24 Cardinals players suspended under the program to date, seven are currently in the system, including Stanley and Williams (see names below designated with #). None have yet reached the major leagues.

St. Louis Cardinals minor league drug suspensions (2005-present)

Follow me on Twitter.
Follow The Cardinal Nation Blog on Facebook.

Some overly excited fans have actually suggested Adams could become the next Pujols, the Cardinals’ franchise player. Since Adams has yet to play a game above Double-A, I said I would reserve my judgment about that.

Then, I got to thinking. Adams has appeared in another forum in which he could be compared to Pujols. Both players competed in the Arizona Fall League, considered baseball’s top prospect showcase, at a time when each had been selected the Cardinals organization’s Player of the Year.

In 2000, during his whirlwind first year as a professional, Pujols played at three levels during the regular season. He started in Class-A Peoria, flew through A-Advanced Potomac and finished with Triple-A Memphis, where he was named Most Valuable Player of the Pacific Coast League playoffs.

Following the Redbirds’ title, Pujols did not rest. The Cards’ 13^th rounder from the 1999 draft was assigned to the Scottsdale Scorpions of the AFL, where he hit .323 with four home runs and a team-high 21 RBI in 26 games. Pujols was named to the AFL Hall of Fame in 2004 and his Scottsdale number 36 was retired by the league in 2007.

Adams was also not an early draft pick, having been taken in the 23^rd round in 2009. He had a standout 2011, being named the Texas League Player of the Year after batting .300, hitting a Springfield-record 32 home runs and driving in 101. Like Pujols and many others before him, he competed in the AFL this past fall, for the Peoria Javelinas.

Adams’ hitting in the offense-first environment of the desert was ordinary. On the positive side, he collected 19 RBI in 20 AFL games, but walked only three times to go with 28 strikeouts in 80 at-bats.  The power hitter’s line was just .250/.258/.475.  To put that into perspective, every single team in the league had an OPS as good or better than Adams’ .733 mark.

Adams was named to the league’s all-star/prospect showcase game, the Rising Stars Showcase, though participants are selected as much on reputation as league performance. Adams was unable to play due to a minor knee injury that caused the Cardinals to hold him out of the final two weeks of AFL action in a precautionary move.

Is it reasonable to put any stock in a comparison of Pujols’ and Adams’ Arizona Fall League results over six weeks of play? Of course not.

Then again, at this point, what comparisons between the two are appropriate? Perhaps I will come back to this topic at the end of the month. Like Pujols in 2001, this is Adams’ first major league spring training camp.

Follow me on Twitter.
Follow The Cardinal Nation Blog on Facebook.
Follow TCN on Google+.

The reason is the bulging cervical disc in the neck of Chris Carpenter. The veteran ace has been sidelined indefinitely, his projected opening day start in considerable doubt.

My only question is this: Why did the Cardinals wait until March 12 to name their sixth starter?

Even if Carpenter was healthy now, odds are that someone else will be injured in good time. Even if Carpenter has a miraculous recovery and can take the ball in Miami on April 4, the sixth starter will be needed soon enough.

It isn’t as if their rotation hasn’t shown considerable signs of wear. Six weeks away from his 37th birthday, Carpenter just finished his first-ever stretch of three consecutive years without serious injury. Adam Wainwright is just returning from Tommy John surgery. Kyle Lohse has battled injuries the past few years.

Lynn is and has been the most obvious choice as sixth starter.

A very good starting pitcher throughout his minor league years, the right-hander was named the organizational Pitcher of the Year in 2009 after jumping three levels in one season. He is tested at Triple-A, including logging 13 wins in 2010, and is proven at the major league level as well, stepping into a key relief role last season. In our 2012 Cardinals top 40 prospect list, Lynn is the top-ranked starting pitcher other than Shelby Miller and Carlos Martinez.

Other candidates don’t stack up.

Sure, top prospect Miller has made two spring starts, but he has yet to throw an inning at the Triple-A level and could use more time to prepare for what should be a long major league career. Why rush Miller when Lynn is truly ready?

Kyle McClellan went down this path in 2011, filling in Wainwright’s spot to start the season. After a spring ERA of 0.78, McClellan was effective early before running out of gas. Having gone over two months without a win due to injury and ineffectiveness, he was returned to the pen when Edwin Jackson was acquired.

Like Lynn, Brandon Dickson is a proven Triple-A starter whose stuff is not of the same caliber as his former rotation mate. At Cardinals prospect #32 overall, Dickson is just the ninth-ranked starter in the system.

Maikel Cleto is a fireballer who began 2011 in Palm Beach but was forced by injuries to others to make his MLB debut as a reliever. The 22-year-old needs more repetition to refine his pitches and prove he can do more than just throw hard.

While Lynn should have enough time in Florida to prepare to step into St. Louis’ rotation, why didn’t they plan for this from day one? Even if Lynn has to return to Memphis for awhile, I contend the 2012 Cardinals will ultimately be a better team with him continuing to start, and being ready to step into the rotation at a moment’s notice whenever needed.

Yes, Lynn was a valuable member of the 2011 St. Louis bullpen, but there are already more good relievers in camp than jobs available. In a dire situation, Lynn could return to relieving much more quickly than he could execute the reverse move.

I might even go a step further and suggest the 2013 and beyond teams may benefit as well. Lohse and Jake Westbrook will be free agents after this season. The Cardinals need to know if Lynn will be part of their rotation out into the future.

Follow me on Twitter.
Follow The Cardinal Nation Blog on Facebook.
Follow TCN on Google+.

On the other hand, the 23-year-old is not going to continue to produce as he has over the first four games of spring. Sure, let’s give him credit for the grand slam against the Mets and the bases-clearing triple to help sink the Red Sox on Thursday. Then again, no one should be mistaking the big first baseman for Ted Williams, so that .417 batting average is just not sustainable.

Still, the internet is exploding over Adams’s feats, with some already penciling his name onto their projected opening day roster for St. Louis. Calm down, please. I never say “never,” but I give it less than five percent odds of actually happening. Even that would seemingly require an avalanche of injuries to others that would mean significant problems for the 2012 Cardinals.

Some folks seem to have short memories.

Just one year ago, there was another reigning organizational Player of the Year in major-league camp garnering similar attention for unexpected standout play. Further, the infielder had excelled at Double-A Springfield the prior season and had yet to play even one game in Triple-A.

Along with all the other similarities, his name is also Matt – Matt Carpenter.

Until the final week of 2011 camp, it seemed both by playing time given and results delivered that Carpenter might make the season-opening major-league roster. Then, reality set in. He couldn’t sustain his hot play and began the season with Memphis.

Though Carpenter was added to the 40-man roster just before he made his MLB debut last June, he struggled with St. Louis. Despite a good Pacific Coast League campaign, including a .417 OBP, Carpenter did not even receive a September call up. It serves as yet another reminder not to get too high or too low over spring training performances.

A year later, Carpenter is back in big league camp, more prepared to compete for a  job as a utilityman. He remains a decent prospect, number 11 in our 2012 system-wide rankings, but seems destined for a reserve role – in this organization, at least.

Like Carpenter last spring, Adams is also not yet on the 40-man. A more realistic goal than opening the season with St. Louis would be for him to follow Carpenter’s 2011 trail of solid play in Memphis, snag a 40-man roster spot and make a major-league cameo mid-season. Adams could then more realistically compete for a major-league spot next spring.

In summary, no matter what happens this month, the best move for Adams’ long-term development would be for him to don a Memphis Redbirds uniform to start the regular season and play first base each and every day.

Follow me on Twitter.
Follow The Cardinal Nation Blog on Facebook.
Follow TCN on Google+.

Though the topic had been on my action list for some time, numerous inquiries from readers, both fans and fantasy baseball players alike, moved this up in priority.

For those who are interested in expressing your own opinion on the matter, check out the following poll. First consider when Miller makes his debut and how long he might remain. Then decide how you believe the Cardinals will initially deploy him.

Follow me on Twitter.
Follow The Cardinal Nation Blog on Facebook.
Follow TCN on Google+.

Included in row order below are Allen Craig, Kyle McClellan, Kyle Lohse, David Freese, Carlos Beltran and Skip Schumaker.

The Cardinal Nation subscribers should check out on the main site where I loaded the comments from each of the above speakers. I did the same Saturday and Sunday as well. Over two dozen interviews are posted.

Follow me on Twitter.
Follow The Cardinal Nation Blog on Facebook.
Follow TCN on Google+.

Pictured in order by rows: John Mozeliak, John Vuch, Lance Lynn, Matt Carpenter, Tyler Greene, Zack Cox, Rafael Furcal, Adam Wainwright.

The Cardinal Nation subscribers should check out my article on the main site where I posted audio from each of the above and others. I expect to do the same for Sunday and Monday as well.

Follow me on Twitter.
Follow The Cardinal Nation Blog on Facebook.
Follow TCN on Google+.

I put a lot of thought into those selections and take them very seriously. As a result, they end up being solid choices, but conservative in nature, by definition hardly bold. In conjunction, I have been encouraged to take another run at the subject – from a much different perspective.

I would not call the following “predictions” as much as I might label them longer-shot, lower-importance (non-top five), but still interesting potential stories of 2012. I have no idea if none or all seven of the ideas detailed below will actually come to pass, but they each represent ideas that have been bouncing around my head.

Cox passes Adams

Coming off his superb 2011, during which he was named Texas League Player of the Year, Matt Adams is being viewed by some as the heir apparent to Lance Berkman at first base for 2013. While that may happen, I have an alternative thought.

What if Cox continues to hit in Triple-A and Adams slows down? David Freese seems locked at third for St. Louis and Daniel Descalso can cover as a reserve. Matt Carpenter may be a secondary competitor for a bench spot down the line as a third baseman or maybe even a corner outfielder.

So, where would Cox fit in St. Louis? How about a move to first base, where he, not Adams, could become the starter in 2013? An alternate scenario would be for Freese to take his questionable ankles over to first, but I remain skeptical that Cox’ defense at third will be satisfactory at the major league level.

The possibility also exists for either Cox or Adams to be traded, but if the race is close, Cox has a major league contract and a spot already on the 40-man roster. For that reason, under the right conditions, I could see him making his MLB debut ahead of the more-heralded Adams.

Miller forces his way into the bigs in 2012

Many observers see top prospect Shelby Miller’s name penciled into the Cardinals 2013 rotation as a replacement for either Kyle Lohse or Jake Westbrook. Here is how it might happen even sooner.

The identity of the team’s current unofficial sixth starter is unclear. Lance Lynn would perhaps be the most likely candidate, but it appears that he will go to camp with a good shot at holding down a relief spot in St. Louis.

My current projected Memphis rotation is uninspiring – Brandon Dickson, Nick Additon, Brian Broderick, Michael Blazek and Maikel Cleto. Then, there is Miller.

I can envision a scenario in which Miller pitches well in the first half for Memphis and if/when a second-half opening appears in St. Louis’ rotation, the 22-year-old receives the call. Would it be aggressive? Yes. Would I recommend it? Maybe not, but I could see it happening.

In recent years, the Cardinals have typically let young starters acclimate to the majors in a relief role before subjecting them to the pressures of starting. Then again, Miller isn’t a typical pitcher.

Motte becomes team’s oldest reliever

That title seemed more eye-catching and exciting than the original title, “Romero sleeps with the fishes.” The Cardinals’ second bullpen left-hander was with four organizations last summer and couldn’t make the major league roster of two of them.

I don’t have to go too far out on a limb to suggest a Brian Tallet-like year is ahead for the 35-year-old, one in which he is gone no later than mid-season. It could be sooner.

Where I might be reaching a bit more is to suggest the Cards may go with an in-house right-hander to replace Romero. This would depend on a bit of a rebound from Kyle McClellan, especially recovering his past ability to retire left-handed hitters.

As the opening day roster currently looks, there is not enough room for all the experienced relievers. One pitcher from the group of Eduardo Sanchez, Lance Lynn and Mitchell Boggs may have to go back down to Memphis – at least until there is an opening.

None of the non-Romero relievers on the roster have yet reached 30 years of age, but Motte is closest. A Romero departure would make Motte the grand old man of the pen – not counting 65-year-old bullpen coach Dyar Miller, that is.

Speaking of Motte…

Sanchez becomes closer

Anyone who has read my minor league writings over the past few years knows that I have been a big backer of Venezuelan right-hander Eduardo Sanchez. Unlike almost every other reliever who has come up in recent years, the 22-year-old was not shuttled back and forth between St. Louis and Memphis in 2011. When he arrived, he was ready.

Only a shoulder injury kept Sanchez out of the second-half relief picture. He came back to pitch briefly at the end of the season and also threw a few innings in winter ball to ensure he is sound.

Jason Motte did a spectacular job in a set up role last summer before taking over the ninth inning role for the final month of the season and the playoffs. He comes into 2012 camp as the incumbent closer and should leave Florida with the job.

I just have the funny feeling that when Motte’s inevitable bump in the road is encountered, Sanchez will be ready, and this time, won’t relinquish the job.

Komatsu lasts longer than expected

As of right now, the Cardinals bench is sorely lacking in veteran presence. With Allen Craig slated to start the season on the disabled list, the five position player reserves will look something like this:

C Tony Cruz or Bryan Anderson
MIF Tyler Greene
IF/OF Skip Schumaker
1B/OF Mark Hamilton
OF Erik Komatsu

The only other player close would seem to be outfielder Adron Chambers. When the Cards selected Komatsu in the Rule 5 Draft, they said they would prefer to keep Chambers in Memphis playing every day.

I do think the Cardinals will end up inviting a few on-the-way-down major leaguers to camp on minor league contracts to compete for bench jobs, but I have no idea who they might be. So here, I am going with the guys we know.

In this scenario, Komatsu would get to hang around at least until Craig comes off the disabled list. He might even last longer if he hits and Hamilton doesn’t. An injury or two to others would improve his chances even more. Hamilton has the advantage of long-ball potential, though that was strangely missing in 2011. (A variation on the theme would have Matt Carpenter making the team instead of Hamilton, but it wouldn’t change Komatsu’s standing.)

Komatsu has no career at-bats above Double-A, so is hardly a lock for anything. Yet, if he plays well enough, he may log more major league service time than anyone might expect. Remember Brian Barton?

Dry powder used on second base

As folks know, the 2011 mid-season adjustment approach taken was to sacrifice offense (Colby Rasmus) to strengthen both the rotation (Edwin Jackson) and bullpen (Octavio Dotel and Marc Rzepczynski). While that remains a possible scenario in 2012 as well, my gut tells me there will be a higher priority elsewhere.

I suspect that second base will become the Cardinals 2012 trade deadline target for improvement. While I recognize Daniel Descalso’s 2011 contributions, especially in filling the David Freese injury gap at third base, I am less convinced the steady but unspectacular Descalso will hit enough to be an above-average MLB second baseman.

The other in-house options are not necessarily better. Schumaker has given the job his all, but would be better deployed as a reserve outfielder and utilityman than a starting second baseman. Greene has the potential, but we’ve been saying that ever since he was drafted number 30 overall in 2005, just two picks after Rasmus.

Kolten Wong is the best second baseman in the system. Since the 2011 first-rounder is still a few years away, following the Rafael Furcal model again would not be out of the question. In other words, take a chance on a veteran, perhaps in the final months of his current contract, and if he works out, try to convince him to hang around for a year or two more.

Skip logs most starts in center

How this one might come to pass is actually pretty easy to envision. Carlos Beltran’s body, specifically his aged knees, overrules his head. As a result, the hopes of him playing centerfield on a semi-regular basis, at least against left-handed pitching, are scuttled.

While some will call for Allen Craig to play there, think about how Chris Carpenter and the other pitchers would feel about an outfield behind them that consists from left to right of Matt Holliday, Craig and a hobbled Beltran? Trying the Musial statue out there might be comparable.

The centerfield incumbent, Jon Jay, has shown the ability to handle the position defensively, but goes through long stretches where his offense is sub-par.

My thought is that when all is said and done, given the current roster, Schumaker ends up making the most starts of any Cardinal in center in 2012. We don’t yet know the managerial tendencies of Mike Matheny, so I readily admit that I would feel more strongly about this idea had Tony La Russa remained at the helm.

It would take much of the second half for this to play out, and require the club to remain in playoff contention to unfold. (Otherwise, we might see Adron Chambers receive more time.)

OK, so there they are. Seven ideas of potential 2012 stories that should generate some discussion, if nothing else. Vote for your most likely and least likely from this list and comment below.

Link to The Cardinal Nation Blog’s top 20 stories of 2011 countdown

Follow me on Twitter.
Follow The Cardinal Nation Blog on Facebook.
Follow TCN on Google+.

Outfielder Allen Craig and infielder Daniel Descalso had made their major league debuts with the 2010 Cardinals, though neither had enough at-bats or time in the bigs to exhaust their rookie designation. On the other hand, outfielder Jon Jay had appeared in 105 games the season prior, but seemed destined to join Craig in a reserve role for the 2011 club. Descalso was projected by some to be ticketed for a return to Memphis.

As fate would have it, all three not only remained on the major league roster the entire 2011 season, they cemented their futures as big leaguers in the process and earned championship rings.

Craig, 27, had been up and down several times in 2010 after making the opening day roster. In spring training 2011, he batted .359 with 11 RBI and a share of the team lead with three home runs, making his St. Louis return an easy decision.

As Matt Holliday dealt with a series of minor maladies during the season, Craig received time in the outfield. He appeared in a couple of games at both infield corner spots and even was given an intriguing eight-game trial at second base.

His good fortune came to an end when he suffered a fractured right kneecap upon making a sliding catch in foul territory in Houston in early June. Craig missed over two months until his August 10 return to action.

When available to play, Craig offered a tantalizing power bat that could also hit for average. He knocked in 40 runs and homered 11 times in just 219 plate appearances. His slash line was .315/.362/.555. Projecting that return over a full season would cause excitement in anyone.

In the post-season, the right-handed batter launched four more home runs, including three in the World Series, and plated eight. Craig’s playoff OPS was a robust 1.013.

The knee problem from June lingered, however, and Craig needed a procedure to put stabilizing screws in his right kneecap shortly before Thanksgiving. He may miss as much of the first month of the 2012 season as a result of the recovery process.

The 2012 Cardinals had already needed additional outfield depth with the move of Lance Berkman to first base to replace Albert Pujols, but the uncertainty of Craig’s situation may have increased their urgency. Depending on the health of others on any given day during the coming season, Craig may start or be a super sub.

Descalso also performed well in spring training, batting .308. The 24-year-old had made his MLB debut the previous September. Descalso made a credible showing, which was a bit surprising since he was thrown in at third base, a position for which the natural second baseman had not been prepared.

Due to injuries to David Freese and projected top infield substitute Nick Punto, Descalso was pressed into semi-regular duty this season. The left-handed hitter ended up making 81 starts across third base (61), shortstop (11) and second base (nine) and appearing in 148 games in total.

His infield defense was considered steady and his bat was perhaps better than expected. Descalso’s line was .264/.334/.353 in 375 plate appearances. In the post-season, he was ready when called upon, going 3-for-9 (.333) and crossing home plate all three times.

Descalso is expected to report to 2012 camp with a chance to earn the starting second base job. He could be a platoon starter there or serve as the club’s top infield reserve, the role for which Punto was intended last year.

If I had asked who played in the most regular-season contests for the 2011 Cardinals, how many of you would have guessed Jay, at 159 of the 162 possible games?

Despite hitting just .221 in Florida, Jay tied Pujols for the club’s spring lead with 14 RBI and also made his first opening day roster in 2011. As the ups – and especially downs – of Colby Rasmus’ play became more extreme, Jay began to see more and more time.

On the day Rasmus was dealt to Toronto, July 27, Jay was batting .311 with an OPS of .801. His defense in center was steady, easing some of the concern of trading Rasmus. Yet Jay’s offense dipped over the final two months. From July 28 through the end of the season, his line was .277/.320/.403/.724.

In the post-season, Jay struggled mightily. Over 63 plate appearances, his line was .182/.262/.218/.480. With typically better numbers against right-handed batters, Jay is a potential platoon candidate going forward but if so, he would be on the busy side of the platoon.

As noted in the previous countdown article on young relievers, these then-unproven position players were key contributors to the Cardinals’ special 2011 season and should be around a long time into the future as well.

Link to The Cardinal Nation Blog’s top 20 stories of the year countdown

Follow me on Twitter.
Follow The Cardinal Nation Blog on Facebook.
Follow TCN on Google+.

It isn’t as if they hadn’t pitched well in spring training, because they did. Augenstein had an ERA of 0.77 while Batista was at 1.59. It is just that we have seen many times before when a period of short-lived success passes and what remains is not nearly as interesting. Not surprisingly, such was the case for these two.

Augenstein was injured in mid-April and after a long rehab, remained in Memphis for the rest of the 2011 season. He was removed from the 40-man roster in July and released in November.

Batista lasted longer, but was given his release on June 23. He then signed with the Mets and pitched in both the majors and minors over the remainder of the summer.

At least three inexperienced pitchers (in MLB terms) took advantage of the opportunities given them, contributing to the Cardinals’ recovery that culminated in a playoff berth and two cases, the World Championship as well.

They were each ranked among our top 14 Cardinals prospects one year ago, so their emergence should not be considered a surprise. They are Lance Lynn (number three prospect), Eduardo Sanchez (number four) and Fernando Salas (number 14). Each should be in the middle of the mix for a pen spot in 2012.

The pitcher taking Batista’s spot on the Cardinals’ 25-man roster in June was Lynn. The 24-year-old right-hander, a successful starter in the minors, quickly established himself as a reliable reliever before suffering a left oblique injury on August 10.

That injury kept him out until his surprise return in the NLCS. Lynn pitched in five games in both the CS and World Series, tying him for the team lead. He yielded four earned runs in 11 innings for a 3.27 ERA.

When Augenstein went down, Salas received another chance with St. Louis. After having been sent down six times in 2010, this time he stuck. The right-hander from Mexico spent several months as the closer, logging 24 saves in 30 opportunities. Appearing in 68 games overall, he fanned one batter per inning (75 in 75) and walked just 21. His ERA was 2.28.

In the post-season, Salas was called upon a total of 11 times. He gave up five earned runs in 13 1/3 innings for a 3.38 ERA. Salas fanned 12 and walked four.

Sanchez, a 22-year-old Venezuelan, made his MLB debut in April, after coming up from Memphis at the same time as Salas. Like Lynn, the hard-thrower seemed ready, but needed the opportunity to show his stuff in the majors.

Sanchez threw 30 innings over 26 games for St. Louis. He struck out 35 and walked 16. The right-hander won three games, lost one, and was 5-for-7 in save opportunities. His ERA was 1.80.

Unfortunately, Sanchez’ season was scuttled when he was placed on the 15-day DL retroactive to June 13 with what was called at the time a “mild right shoulder strain.” His original late July estimated return ended up extending well into September. Sanchez made just one token late-September appearance. The injury likely cost him a shot at post-season action.

The emergence of these 2011 rookies will help the Cardinals go younger and cheaper in their bullpen going ahead. That frees up salary to potentially strengthen other positions as necessary. With other notables on the horizon such as Adam Reifer, Maikel Cleto, Brandon Dickson, Chuckie Fick and Adam Ottavino, some of the team’s right-handed relief surplus could also be used as trade chips.

Link to The Cardinal Nation Blog’s top 20 stories of the year countdown

Follow me on Twitter.
Follow The Cardinal Nation Blog on Facebook.
Follow TCN on Google+.

For 2009-10, the Cardinals had that in shortstop Brendan Ryan, one of the game’s very best defenders. Yet the organization could not deal with Ryan’s personality and sent him packing last winter.

Shortstop Ryan Theriot had bounced from the Chicago Cubs to the Dodgers in 2010 and didn’t perform particularly well at either stop. Arbitration-eligible, he seemed destined to be non-tendered last fall. Instead, the Cardinals acquired him for reliever Blake Hawksworth and named Theriot their 2011 starting shortstop.

Theriot contributed some key hits for the Cardinals, but his defensive shortcomings became painfully obvious. Manager Tony La Russa initially refused to move Theriot to second base, perhaps because he felt he had no better options at short.

Solid-fielding veteran Nick Punto had been signed prior to last season and could have been a credible alternative to Theriot. The problem was that the former Minnesota Twin could not stay healthy, missing big chunks of the season during three disabled list stints.

On July 31, GM John Mozeliak made another deal with the Dodgers, this time shooting much higher in acquiring veteran shortstop Rafael Furcal.

The 34-year-old solidified the middle infield and served as the Cardinals’ new leadoff hitter. Furcal began slowly with the bat, with a .667 OPS in August before posting a strong .819 OPS in the final month of the season. He struggled in the post-season, with a paltry .569 OPS, but overall was considered a key ingredient in the World Series push.

An energetic performer and enthusiastic teammate, Furcal was re-signed by St. Louis for $14 million for the next two years in a deal announced ten days ago. With few obvious alternatives on the market, the Cardinals are considered by some to have overpaid.

Dogged by injuries in recent seasons, Furcal is no longer an offensive force. Once having stolen 46 bases in a season, his total dropped to nine in 2011. The switch-hitter’s on-base percentage of .316 as a Cardinal was 50 points lower than his .366 mark in Los Angeles the season prior. His career OBP is .348, with the overall annual trend downward.

The club’s main alternative at short is 28-year-old Tyler Greene, a strong performer in Triple-A. After three years of trials with the Cardinals, however, he has yet to prove he should remain in the bigs, let alone be given a starting job. Greene is out of option years, so would either need to stick in 2012 or his time in the organization may be over.

The two veteran middle infield reserves departed following the season. Theriot, again eligible for arbitration, was cut loose by the Cardinals earlier this month. Punto signed with Boston for 2012, doubling his Cardinals salary in the process. Essentially, their role on the team will be assumed by some combination of Furcal, Greene and Daniel Descalso.

For the five years following the Fernando Vina era, which ran from 2000-03, the Cardinals’ second base position was a revolving door of players on low-cost, short-term deals. Tony Womack, Mark Grudzelanek and Adam Kennedy each had their days, augmented by journeymen like Scott Spiezio and Aaron Miles to help hold down the fort.

That changed prior to the 2009 season when La Russa announced Skip Schumaker would become his team’s starting second baseman despite the outfielder’s lack of infield experience. After three years of maximum effort but below-average results defensively, the club seems ready to take another direction in 2012.

Descalso, a 25-year-old rookie in 2011, proved himself as a solid reserve at third base and second last season. If the left-handed hitter proves worthy in spring camp, he seems positioned to take over for Schumaker at second, his primary position as a minor leaguer.

In that scenario, Schumaker, also a left-handed batter, would probably spend more time as an outfield reserve. His roster spot was assured when the Cardinals rewarded him with a new, two-year contract announced earlier this month.

Though Allen Craig also saw action at second base in eight games last season, he would seemingly be considered more of an emergency option than a primary solution there.

Time still remains in the off-season for the Cardinals to acquire another second baseman either as a free agent or via trade, propelling Descalso into a utility infield role along with Greene. Still, given the club’s recent history of low-budget choices at second base, they may just as well decide to ride with what they have up the middle.

Link to The Cardinal Nation Blog’s top 20 stories of the year countdown

Follow me on Twitter.
Follow The Cardinal Nation Blog on Facebook.
Follow TCN on Google+.

Every time the team seemed to struggle behind one pitcher throwing regularly in the ninth inning, a new hurler stepped up to handle the job.

Of their 90 wins, the 2011 Cardinals accumulated a save in 47 of them, fifth-most in the National League. The history books will forever indicate that eight different hurlers recorded at least one save. Five of the relievers unofficially held the job at one point over the six-plus months.

In terms of raw numbers, Fernando Salas led the way with 24 saves, followed by Jason Motte with nine, Eduardo Sanchez with five and Mitchell Boggs with four. The other stray saves were picked up by non-closers Octavio Dotel (two), Trever Miller and Lance Lynn (one each).

Then there was Ryan Franklin, also with one save. I would hazard a guess that coming into the season, no one would have forecast the incumbent closer if healthy would end up with just a single save. Yet, that is precisely what happened.

The 38-year-old had entered 2011 with 82 saves accumulated over the previous three seasons and a firm hold on the closer’s spot. Before June was out, Franklin not only had lost the ninth-inning job, he was unemployed, his playing career over.

Franklin’s bookend in the role was Motte. After an impressive run of 29 consecutive outings without having allowed an earned run, Motte picked up his very first save of the season on August 29th. He held the role during the final month and through the post-season despite never having been named the closer by manager Tony La Russa.

In a clear departure from La Russa’s coyness, new skipper Mike Matheny stated the obvious when he recently identified Motte as the incumbent closer heading into 2012 camp.

In between, here is how a most eventful 2011 unfolded for the Cardinals’ ninth-inning corps.

The Cardinals stumbled on opening day in 11 innings versus San Diego as Franklin blew the save. He absorbed two defeats and blew three more saves through game 16 as the Cards lost their first three series. At that point, Franklin was removed as closer. His appearances dramatically dwindled over time until his June 29 release.

Boggs’ reign as closer passed in the blink of an eye. The right-hander logged three saves at home in late April but lost the job after a meltdown in Houston on April 26. In an odd move, Boggs was optioned to Memphis on May 23 to become a starter and work on his secondary pitches. After three weeks in exile, he returned to St. Louis’ bullpen, but never had another shot at closing, or starting, for that matter.

Sanchez, the youngest of the group at 22 years of age, next held the job briefly. His first save was on April 27, the very next night after Boggs’ Waterloo. Sanchez added four more saves over the next four weeks, but also took a loss and two blown saves.

Sanchez was placed on the 15-day DL retroactive to June 13 with what was called at the time a “mild right shoulder strain.” His original late July estimated return ended up extending well into September. It cost him another shot at the closers job and kept him off the post-season roster.

Salas, St. Louis’ version of Rodney Dangerfield, was next in the barrel. After being sent down to Triple-A Memphis six times in 2010, Salas did not make the Cardinals out of spring training in 2011, either. He did all he could as his ERA in Florida spring games was 0.73.

After being recalled in mid-April, Salas saved his first game of the season on April 28. It also happened to be the third game of that fateful Houston series. Over the last 12 games of May, Salas was a perfect 6-for-6 and had a total of 10 saves heading into June.

By August 11, the native of Mexico had converted 22 of 25 save opportunities (88 percent) and had a record of 5-4. Then came two blown saves in his next two outings. Though he allowed just one run in each game, Salas was out. He was given just three more opportunities the rest of the season as Motte took control.

Despite Motte ending the year as the club’s closer after that very strong stretch as set-up man, Salas actually logged a higher save percentage (80%) than Motte (69.2%) over the course of the regular season.

Still, Motte was a big part of the Cardinals September resurgence as he saved nine of ten opportunities and added two holds, two wins and three no-decisions in his final 17 regular season appearances after taking over.

Overall, the pen had evolved to the point it was a strength in the post-season. Motte appeared 12 times. He went 5-for-5 in save opportunities, though he took one loss, in Game 2 of the World Series. His post-season ERA was 2.19.

Heading into 2012, it is clear the job that no one could seem to hold is now Motte’s to either solidify or lose.

Note: To view detailed stats of all the Cardinals’ 2011 relievers, click here to be taken to the article “St. Louis Cardinals 2011 Reliever of the Year” at TheCardinalNation.com.

Link to The Cardinal Nation Blog’s top 20 stories of the year countdown

Follow me on Twitter.
Follow The Cardinal Nation Blog on Facebook.
Follow TCN on Google+.

For the first time in Tony La Russa’s three World Series since joining St. Louis, I am actually enthused by the opportunity for the use of the designated hitter. (Of course, this is required in the AL home parks.)

Based on past history, that would be a crazy thing to say. After all, in La Russa’s other two World Series with St. Louis, his designated hitters have been more than bad. They were a combined 1-for-14 (.071) with three walks and a whopping eight strikeouts.

In 2006, Scott Spiezio and Chris Duncan received the starts at DH. In the latter case, that pushed light-hitting So Taguchi into the starting lineup in left field. In 2004, Reggie Sanders and another weak-hitting infielder, Marlon Anderson, started as the designated hitter. The Cardinals lost three of the four DH games.

2011 offers promise, however. Allen Craig, a powerful bat, is ready to come off the bench. He can either play right field for Lance Berkman or more likely, become the designated hitter himself.

In fact, with his pinch-hit during Sunday night’s NLCS Game 6, Craig collected more RBI (two) than the aggregate of the Cardinals’ four games worth of World Series designated hitters this decade (one RBI in 17 plate appearances).

Beyond Craig, there are no other good DH candidates on the Cardinals roster. The latter part of that statement is one I recall making about the Cardinals’ options in the previous two Series – no solid DH candidates.

Here are the stats of who served as the DH in the past two World Series and how they fared.

Designated hitters, St. Louis Cardinals, World Series, since 1996

Follow me on Twitter.
Follow The Cardinal Nation Blog on Facebook.

The combination of not being overly superstitious and the fact that Salas keeps getting the job done in one of the most difficult jobs in baseball means the 26-year-old receives another call out here.

On Tuesday night, on the road in Houston, Salas was asked to clean up a major mess, with no outs in the eighth and two runners on base. The Cardinals led by only 6-3 at the time.

After a walk, Salas faced the Astros’ 1-2-3 hitters, collecting a harmless fly ball in between a pair of strikeouts.

With a shaky Cardinals pen, Salas was asked to pitch a second inning. Though he gave up a pair of hits and a run in the ninth, the eighth-inning escape was the difference-maker in St. Louis’ victory.

All told Tuesday night, Salas threw 44 pitches, 31 strikes. He collected his 11^th save of the season.

While Salas can pitch multiple innings, his heritage is not as a long man or a converted starter. Prior to 2011, the right-hander appeared in 145 minor league games since joining the system in 2007. His only starts were four games with Palm Beach in his first season. Salas also had two starts in 43 Mexican League appearances in 2005-06.

I asked researcher Tom Orf to pull the list of the most pitches thrown by a Cardinals reliever when securing a save. Only ten pitchers have tossed more than 44 pitches in this kind of situation since the save stat came into being.

Salas is among a group tied for 11^th – a list that includes ex-closer Ryan Franklin, who also threw a 44-pitch save in 2008. The record of 51 pitches is held jointly by a pair of hurlers – Mike Matthews in 2001 and Juan Agosto in 1991.

Some, though not all, are hurlers more known for their time in the rotation – names like Bob Tewksbury, Joel Pineiro, Matt Morris and Kent Bottenfield. Former closer Todd Worrell made the list twice with two 40-plus pitch saves in 1988.

St. Louis Cardinals, relievers, most pitches thrown in a save

Follow me on Twitter.
Follow The Cardinal Nation Blog on Facebook.

Instead of facing Albuquerque at AutoZone Park, Lynn will be making his major league debut for the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday night at Busch Stadium against the defending World Champion San Francisco Giants.

The 24-year-old will be pitching on three days of rest for the first time this season. With Memphis, he usually went on the standard four days of rest, but also had one six-day break in 2011. In one positive perhaps, that six-day-rest start was Lynn’s worst of the season.

Lynn has been pitching consistently since that six-day-rest outing. He is 4-0 with one no-decision in his last five starts, averaging 6 1/3 innings per start with a 3.73 ERA. His strikeout to walk ratio in those most recent 31 1/3 innings is 31:11.

Known as a dependable workhorse, Lynn has gone less than six innings just once this season. You know which game that was…

At least since arriving at Memphis at the end of 2009, he has never started on three days rest. I didn’t go back further as recent history is clear as to his usage pattern.

Lance Lynn, Triple-A, days rest between starts

Lynn’s 2011 game log

5/30 (on five days of rest): Earned his third straight win and fifth of the season after yielding four runs on seven hits in seven innings against Omaha.

5/24 (four days): Picked up his fourth win allowing only one run on five hits at Salt Lake. Matched his season-high while striking out seven batters.

5/19 (five days): Earned his third win of the season against Tacoma giving up two runs on eight hits while walking two and fanning five.

5/13 (four days): Allowed two runs on eight hits in a no decision against Sacramento.

5/8 (four days): Fanned a season-high seven batters picking up his second win at Albuquerque.

5/3 (six days): Allowed a season-high seven runs on eight hits in only 4 1/3 innings against New Orleans, walking four and striking out five while taking the loss.

4/26 (four days): Received a no decision against Iowa, allowing two runs on seven hits in six innings while walking one and striking out four.

4/21 (four days): Pegged with his second loss, giving up the lone run against Omaha while walking four and fanning five in 7 1/3 innings.

4/16 (five days): Suffered his first loss of the season after six innings of work against Iowa, allowing four runs on eight hits while walking one and striking out six.

4/10: Gave up only one run on six hits while striking out three en route to his first win of the season against Oklahoma City.

Follow me on Twitter.
Follow The Cardinal Nation Blog on Facebook.

Thanks to researcher Tom Orf, the others follow.

Consecutive saves to start a season without a blown save, St. Louis Cardinals

Note that despite Salas having been the team’s fourth choice as closer this season, after Ryan Franklin, Mitchell Boggs and Eduardo Sanchez, he logged at least ten perfect saves to start a season in the shortest elapsed time in team history. Salas collected his ten pack in just one month and three days, over a span of just 32 Cardinals games in total.

In 2005, Jason Isringhausen collected his first ten saves without a miss between games 1 and 41. Izzy went on to log 16 straight before suffering his first blown save on June 2, 2005 at Colorado. That was the second-longest streak to open a season in team history. Tom Henke picked up his tenth save in the Cardinals’ 33rd game of the strike-delayed 1995 season on his way to a franchise-best 22-save run before suffering his first blown opportunity.

To be completely accurate, Salas is actually 12-for-12 this season as he picked up two saves with Triple-A Memphis prior to his April 13 promotion to St. Louis.

His streak ends there, however.

Though Salas was a perfect 19-for-19 in saves for the Pacific Coast League Redbirds last season, in his sixth and final call-up to St. Louis in 2010, he blew his first and only major league save opportunity. Last September 18 against San Diego at Busch Stadium, Salas allowed three earned runs in 1/3 of an inning of work.

These rates may not sustain in 2011, but Cardinals fans would probably be delighted if Salas would log 19 saves in every 20 opportunities as he produced last summer.

Follow me on Twitter.
Follow The Cardinal Nation Blog on Facebook.

Just this past weekend, an excited Shelby Miller used Twitter to declare to the world his promotion to Double-A Springfield. The word was not unexpected, though its timing had been unknown – until Saturday morning, that is.

Within minutes, the news that the Cardinals top prospect was on the move was quickly amplified, not just across Twitter, but it also quickly spilled into the mainstream news channels as well.

While the announcement elicited excitement from most every corner, there may have been a few exceptions. For example, it eliminated the rumor reporting element of “who knew first” emphasized by some in the media.

Further, consider the players already on the Springfield roster and especially the pitchers that were currently starting at Double-A.

They almost had to have been wondering what possible ramifications Miller’s impending arrival would have on them. Will someone be promoted, or worse, demoted? Will somebody be given his release? Who will be taken out of the rotation to make room?

Ideally, organizations would prefer to control the release of all information, but keeping all the fingers in that dike is becoming a greater and greater challenge by the day.

The reality is that social media is clearly not going away. In fact, it should continue to grow in importance for instant dissemination of information, whether or not all the “I”s have been dotted and the “T”s crossed first.

Though Miller’s promotion and its associated roster moves at both Springfield and Palm Beach have not yet been formally announced – after all, he isn’t starting in Springfield until Friday – we have all known the big news for days now…

Follow me on Twitter.
Follow The Cardinal Nation Blog on Facebook.

After Descalso’s Tuesday hit, catcher Gerald Laird was shown in the dugout rubbing the fingers on his non-broken hand together in the universal symbol for money.

“We call him D-Money,” manager Tony La Russa said about Descalso after Tuesday’s win.

This season, Descalso has now driven in nine runs from the seventh inning on with the game tied or the Cardinals down a run. This is generically called a “late and close” situation.

I asked researcher Tom Orf to put Descalso’s early-season, late-game feats into some historical perspective.

In the last 60 years, only ten Cardinals had collected at least seven late and close RBI through the end of May. Descalso makes the 11^th player to do so.

With six games to go in the month, Descalso needs just two more late and close RBI to pass his teammate Albert Pujols and join his hitting coach Mark McGwire at the top of the list as the most productive early-season, late-game Cardinal since at least 1950.

Big Mac collected 11 RBI to kick off his record-breaking 70-home run season of 1998. Pujols had ten early-late RBI in what went on to become the Cardinals World Championship season of 2006.

Descalso may not reach those kinds of heights this season, but his success in crucial situations still deserves notice.

St. Louis Cardinals, late and close RBI, through end of May, 1950-present

Follow me on Twitter.
Follow The Cardinal Nation Blog on Facebook.

From RogerDeanStadium:

One-on-One with Shelby Miller – Pt. 5

Chat with Cardinals No. 1 prospect and Palm Beach pitcher Shelby Miller. Find out what playing high school football in Texas meant to Miller, and how he dealt with the pressure of professional scouts at his baseball games.

While you are there, you can check out parts one through four of the interview as well.

Palm Beach (RogerDeanStadium) has continued to add to their new weekly feature called “Player on a Roll.”

From RogerDeanStadium:

Week 5 “Player on a Roll” – Edgar Lara

Each week we select a Cardinals player with outstanding performance as the “Player on a Roll,” and Week 5 was Edgar Lara.

The Quad Cities channel presents nice summaries of home games, though the club was on the road in recent days and hasn’t yet posted Friday or Saturday highlights.

Follow me on Twitter.
Follow The Cardinal Nation Blog on Facebook.

To open the seventh, all three batters reached against Miguel Batista, two of whom scored. Trever Miller walked his only batter.

Later on, Eduardo Sanchez allowed three baserunners in the ninth, including the tying run. In the tenth, Jason Motte had almost the same line, two hits and a walk. His run allowed was the walkoff game winner for Cincinnati.

In between?

Continuing to work in relative anonymity, Fernando Salas was called upon in what was the most crucial point in the game, in my opinion. There were no outs in the seventh, two runners on base with two having already scored.

Salas not only escaped the jam, stranding the two runners, but also stayed in to throw a scoreless eighth.

The seven members of the current Cardinals bullpen now have an MLB-leading have nine blown saves among them. Sanchez picked up his first on Friday night. Only one St. Louis reliever has not yet blown a save through the first 39 games in 2011 – Fernando Salas.

The relievers have also absorbed eight losses on the season. Only two pen members are yet to be tagged with a loss – Miller and, you guessed it – Salas.

While I am total agreement about when Salas was deployed on Friday, he would not have been used at that point of the game – no matter how crucial it was – had he been tagged with the closer’s label.

Despite not possessing the heat of Boggs and Motte or the slider of Sanchez, I believe Salas has proven he should be deployed in the most crucial situations, regardless of inning.

Motte has been used recently to get out of mid-inning jams. In the table below, you can see that 57 percent of his inherited runners have scored. Only Ryan Franklin and Sanchez, both with very few opportunities, have worse rates on the team.

In terms of retiring the first opposing hitter, Motte has a lower success rate than even Miller, whose troubles in securing outs have been well-documented.

The reliever who has been best at getting his first batter out? That would be none other than Salas.

In summary, Salas is the only Cardinals reliever to not lose a game or blow a save, has been the most proficient at retiring his first batter faced and is among the best at keeping inherited runners from scoring.

Salas rode the Memphis shuttle in 2010, going up and down six different times. When Brian Tallet and Bryan Augenstein are ready to come off the disabled list, this time Salas deserves to stay.

St. Louis Cardinals relievers, through May 13, 2011

Follow me on Twitter.
Follow The Cardinal Nation Blog on Facebook.

Follow me on Twitter.
Follow The Cardinal Nation Blog on Facebook.

Out of time and forced to make a decision, we reluctantly put three on our short list, but couldn’t choose. I suggested a compromise to make our pick. We would each eliminate one from the list and the final one left standing would become our new dwelling. It was agreed.

The house that I liked best, she hated. I too was against her favorite. The one for which we both had the fewest serious objections became the winner by survival.

I wonder if the selection process the St. Louis Cardinals follow for their utility infielder to replace injured Nick Punto could take a similar path. Perhaps manager Tony La Russa and general manager John Mozeliak will play the roles of the opposing decision-makers.

Let’s look at the three combatants.

Matt Carpenter has yet to play a game above Double-A, yet was the organization’s Player of the Year in 2010. The third baseman has been very effective in the first two weeks of spring training.

Ramon Vazquez is an older, well-traveled veteran who does not hit much, but can play major league-quality defense at three positions. The latter virtues are much like Punto.

Daniel Descalso is in between. He has a little MLB experience, can play two of the three positions adequately and is likely a better hitter than Vazquez.

Here is a summary of some of the key factors.

All three are left-handed hitters, so there is no benefit to any one of the three.

While La Russa’s glowing comments about Carpenter on Saturday were widely reported, he also said about Carpenter, “If he gets sent out, he has still had a great camp.”  The manager also noted, “He may be ready and doesn’t fit our club,” a reference to multi-positional needs.

In the same conversation, I asked the manager what Vazquez would have to do to make the team. La Russa said they know what the “solid player” can do. He noted that when others go to the minors, the vets get their at-bats over the final ten days of camp, perhaps said as a reminder that it is still early.

Descalso? No one said anything. Daniel is quietly hitting .304 with a .385 on-base percentage and added a pair of stolen bases.

Descalso has one advantage in that he is the only one to have a place on the organization’s 40-man roster. This is a potential issue for the other two, but not an insurmountable problem.

Descalso has option years remaining as well so could easily be moved back and forth between St. Louis and Memphis as necessary. What to do with Vazquez when Punto returns could be an issue. Starting Carpenter’s option years one season earlier than planned could be a minor concern, coupled to the 40-man issue noted above.

While there is a lot of baseball to be played, could Descalso end up being the easiest alternative, just as was my house selection? As La Russa noted, it may be just a one-month decision.

Follow me on Twitter.
Follow The Cardinal Nation Blog on Facebook.

Based on a combination of factors, including untimely surgery for Nick Punto and a long recovery for oft-injured David Freese, third baseman Matt Carpenter has received more playing time than expected in the first ten games of spring training.

The non-roster invitee, yet to play even a single regular-season game at the Triple-A level, has delivered in the early going. Carpenter has tallied a hit in the last seven games in which he has played. Carpenter is batting a team leading .455 (10-for-22), with two doublse and two triples and is tied for second on the club with six RBI.

It is not as if this is a fluke. Carpenter has a pedigree as a very good player. After all, based on his 2010 season with Double-A Springfield, he was named both The Cardinal Nation Player of the Year and later, the Cardinals followed with their top award as well.

As a result, a group of excited fans are not only penciling Carpenter onto the Cardinals opening day roster – a major feat in itself – some are leaping into projecting him as a platoon partner for Freese. Due to ongoing ankle concerns, Freese is expected to play only two of every three games in 2011 even if he can remain off the disabled list.

With roughly two-thirds of spring training ahead, all I can think of is this: “What would Tony do?”

We have no way of knowing if the manager:

a)     Will value another third baseman more than a utility player.
b)     Will prefer the biggest/hottest bat he can find.
c)     Will want major league experience given a bench that is already projected to include youngsters Tyler Greene, Allen Craig and Jon Jay.

While we don’t know what he WILL do, we know what he will NOT do. The manager will not declare winners for any open jobs at this early juncture.

If you have any doubt, just go back two years ago. Freese would make his first opening day roster, but before that could happen, he had to be recalled from minor league camp. He had sent out in early March because of a slow recovery from foot injuries suffered in an automobile accident over the winter.

While that was clearly an unusual situation, there are other players in competition to cover for Punto besides Carpenter.

Another non-roster infielder has received nearly as many spring plate appearances as Carpenter so far, though he hasn’t done nearly as much with them. Along with Greene and Daniel Descalso, the group is likely competing for two reserve infield roster spots to open the season. It would likely drop to one job as soon as Punto is ready, perhaps as much as two months into the season.

Who is this other NRI infielder?

Ramon Vazquez.

Hardly an exciting name, the left-handed hitter will celebrate his 35^th birthday before the regular season opens. The native of Puerto Rico is well-traveled, having played for six different major league clubs, most recently the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Vazquez has also bounced around the minors as well and in fact didn’t have a single at bat in the majors last season. His career MLB average is .254, but in his last big league action, he batted just .230 for the 2009 Bucs.

He does offer infield versatility and steady defense such as Punto was signed to provide. Vazquez has logged between 165 and 275 major league games at second base, shortstop and third base.

Vazquez has started this spring slowly, at 2-for-16 (.125) with a single and a double though he has also walked three times.

So where’s the déjà vu, you ask?

Back in 2005, another generally anonymous utility infielder who also had previously been discarded by the Pirates, Abraham Nunez, made the Cardinals out of camp as an NRI. The primary assets of the Dominican Republic native were his ability to play three infield positions and switch hit.

Nunez has the same defensive profile as Vazquez, with from between 258 and 293 major league contests at each of the positions of second, short and third. His career batting average when invited to 2005 spring training was an uninspiring .238 and in 2004, he also batted exactly .238 for the Bucs.

In other words, Nunez hardly came into Cardinals camp on a high note.

He batted a surprising .315 that spring, beating out former phenom-for-a-month Bo Hart and ex-major leaguer Wilton Guerrero among others and joined Hector Luna as infield reserves to open the 2005 season.

It wasn’t long after having made the team before Nunez was thrust into the spotlight. When starting third baseman Scott Rolen went down due to injury, large segments of the Cardinal Nation cursed their luck as well as the choice of the man to step in for the star third sacker, who was coming off his MV3 season of 2004.

Nunez ended up receiving 467 plate appearances in 2005. He delivered solid defense and career-bests in nearly every offensive category. A .285 batting average, five home runs and 44 RBI were among his highlights.

In 2006, he translated that into a nice, two-year deal with Philadelphia, where he promptly reverted to the pre-Cardinals Nunez. He is now a baseball vagabond, but that isn’t the point.

I have always believed that one can look back at the Cardinals past and gain insight into what might happen in the future.

Don’t get me wrong.

I am not throwing water on the candidacies of Greene, Descalso and Carpenter. Further, I am not predicting Vazquez will make the 2011 Cardinals, let alone suggesting he will pull a 2005-vintage Nunez season out of his cap.

On the other hand, at this point of the spring, I am not yet discounting Vazquez’ chances of getting hot and at least coming north with the team, either.

Wherever he is now, I bet Abe Nunez agrees.

Follow me on Twitter.
Follow The Cardinal Nation Blog on Facebook.

As the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline approached, the St. Louis Cardinals were still in the National League Central Division hunt, holding a slim half-game lead over eventual winner Cincinnati. Their 15-11 July was their best month since having gone 15-8 to open the season.

With third baseman David Freese apparently nearing his return from injury, the organization placed a major bet, trading offense for pitching. The view was that Chris Carpenter, Adam Wainwright and Jaime Garcia did not offer enough in the rotation to carry them down the stretch. Brad Penny’s return seemed increasingly unlikely, Kyle Lohse was still out following a first-of-a-kind surgery and the minor league hurlers given trials had not impressed.

On July 31, with 58 games remaining, general manager John Mozeliak pulled the trigger on surprise trade, a move that would define his club’s 2010 season. Popular right fielder Ryan Ludwick was sent to San Diego in a three-team deal that netted the Cardinals starting pitcher Jake Westbrook from Cleveland and Class A left-hander Nick Greenwood from the Padres. Mozeliak had received a three-year contract extension just two weeks prior.

Along with the addition of starting pitching in Westbrook, at least three other potential contributing factors to the trade were discussed in the media and among fans. The relative importance of each remains open to debate.

1) Opening up time for youngsters. One by-product of dealing Ludwick was the creation of more playing opportunity for outfield prospects. Jon Jay became the primary beneficiary. First called up in late April, the 25-year-old had not stood out in his Major League debut and was soon returned to Triple-A.

Jay not only was back in July, but he stuck in the majors. During the month, he was absolutely red-hot, with a .431/.500/.667 line. To suggest he would adequately fill Ludwick’s void in right field seemed true – but only for awhile.

Though collectively he batted .300 in 105 games overall in 2010, Jay hit just .244 following the trade, putting his starting mettle into question.

2) Ludwick’s salary. In his second of three arbitration-eligible years, Ludwick made $5.45 million in 2010. Some felt the Cardinals did not want to pay that much money for a right fielder, let alone adding to that a likely raise for Ludwick that could net him several million additional for 2011.

That line of thinking might have held water until the club signed Lance Berkman in December for $8 million to play Ludwick’s old right field post next season. The move returns Jay and potential platoon partner Allen Craig to reserve roles.

While Berkman is considered a more accomplished player than Ludwick, he is older and his salary is higher. Further, Berkman has been injury-prone and is on the downside of his career. Several projection systems have suggested the two’s home run and RBI production in 2011 may not be dramatically different.

3) Ludwick’s desire for regular playing time. It was reported that just prior to the trade, the outfielder had approached manager Tony La Russa to express dissatisfaction with not being in the lineup every day. Ludwick previously had a groin injury which led to caution in deploying him. Yet even after he was cleared by the medical staff, Jay had continued to cut into his playing time.

Some wondered whether Ludwick’s ongoing concern was a contributing factor in the trade.

Westbrook cements spot

Upon donning the Cardinals uniform, Westbrook did his part to justify the transaction, exceeding expectations on the mound. With St. Louis, he tossed nine quality starts in 12 outings with a 3.48 ERA. The already-struggling offense did not rebound from the loss of Ludwick, however. One indication is that the team went just 5-7 in Westbrook’s 12 starts.

Still, Westbrook was impressed with the club and they were happy with him as well. Though the 33-year-old right-hander reached free agency, in mid-November he agreed to terms on a new, two-year contract with a mutual option for 2013.

The first two guaranteed years of the deal are worth $16.5 million in total with an additional $1 million if Westbrook wants to return for the third season but the Cardinals instead choose to buy their way out. The annual salaries are $8 million in 2011, and $8.5 million in both 2012 and 2013. Westbrook also received full no-trade protection.

After the trade, Ludwick struggled mightily in a San Diego uniform, posting a line of .211/.301/.330 in 59 games. He was offered arbitration following the season and is expected to be the Padres’ left fielder in 2011.

Impact on the team

While there were likely many factors in the Cardinals disappointing finish beyond this trade, the bottom line is that the club played far better prior to the deal than afterward. In fact, the team logged a sub-.500 record during the final two months while losing 5.5 games in the standings.

With Westbrook on the staff and Ludwick gone, you might suspect that the offense declined while the pitching improved. It turns out that is only partially the case – at best.

The offense actually improved their run scoring by a quarter of a run per game, yet the Cardinals hitters’ collective average, on-base and slugging all declined post-trade. That may indicate the higher scoring rate would not be sustainable.

The Cardinals’ post-trade pitching was substantially poorer in key measures. Opposing offenses scored three-quarters of a run more per game compared to the first 104 contests. Enemy hitters also had more robust batting averages, on-base percentage and slugging against Cardinals pitching following the trade.

One might wonder if the post-trade numbers would have been even worse without the swap, but the bottom line is that while the Ludwick-Westbrook move was bold, Mozeliak’s big gamble did not pay off in 2010.

Link to The Cardinal Nation Blog’s top 20 stories of the year countdown

Follow me on Twitter.
Follow The Cardinal Nation Blog on Facebook.

That’s right. The Cardinals’ third sackers collectively managed just a .655 OPS this past season.

Third base, a spot in the lineup from which offense is traditionally expected, has instead been a black hole for the Cardinals since Troy Glaus’ standout 2008 campaign. By position, only Cardinals shortstops and pitchers had a lower OPS in 2010.

A fast start by David Freese (.765 OPS) was more than iced by poor play from Felipe Lopez (.664 OPS as third baseman) and Pedro Feliz (.482 OPS) through the final two-thirds of the schedule. A September cameo by unlikely rookie cornerman Daniel Descalso (.648 OPS) wasn’t even enough to raise the position’s aggregate output.

For the second consecutive year, Freese’s season was scuttled by injury. He suffered what was originally called a bone bruise on his right ankle on June 5. The injury at the time was thought to be minor, but proved not. Before being placed on the disabled list, Freese tried to play through it for three weeks, during which time his average dropped from .316 to .296.

Freese’s next injury was a freak one, a broken toe sustained in the weight room. On August 2, during his very first rehab game, he suffered tissue and tendon damage to his right ankle that required season-ending reconstructive surgery. In September, a clean up procedure was needed on his left ankle, making three ankle surgeries in two years.

Signed at a bargain price in late February, veteran switch-hitting infielder Lopez was expected to be a versatile reserve. Instead, because of Freese’s injury, Lopez was pressed into regular duty. He played third base almost daily from late June until mid-August, struggling both with the bat and the glove. Lopez was summarily released in September amid concerns over his attitude and approach.

After failing to secure other alternatives, the Cardinals acquired the 35-year-old Feliz from Houston on August 19. He would prove to be better than Lopez defensively but a further step down offensively for a club that badly needed consistent hitting. Feliz showed his offensive fuel tank was bone dry.

Having seen enough of Feliz after 40 games, manager Tony La Russa turned to September call up Descalso. The 23-year-old was thrown into the fire at third base, not his regular second base spot. In limited action, nine starts, Descalso performed credibly, especially so considering it was his MLB debut.

Looking ahead to 2011, Freese is expected to be back and ready to go from his surgeries. Recent media reports are predictably rosy as to his rehab progress, but who wouldn’t continue to be concerned about his lack of ability to remain on the field?

La Russa announced a plan for Allen Craig to come to camp to compete to be the reserve at the position. An offense-oriented player, Craig was a third baseman in the minors but was later moved to the outfield due to concerns over his defense at the hot corner. Descalso could also figure in the mix and Tyler Greene can play third in a pinch as well.

Third basemen at the upper levels of the minor league system have not yet proven their readiness to contribute in St. Louis. Matt Carpenter had a strong season with the bat in Double-A but has no higher level experience. 2010 first-round draft pick Zack Cox has just four games of regular season professional play under his belt, but does posess a 40-man roster spot.

In other words, the Cardinals seem willing to forget about the offensive horrors from third base over the last two seasons and put their eggs in Freese’s basket once again in 2011. One must hope Freese’s ankles will prove to be stronger than those proverbial eggs.

Link to The Cardinal Nation Blog’s top 20 stories of the year countdown

Follow me on Twitter.
Follow The Cardinal Nation Blog on Facebook.

In recent years, the St. Louis Cardinals have been accused by some of being too cautious with their early draft picks. Reasons suggested include reluctance to pay over slot and a preference for finished collegians with higher floors but lower ceilings.

With two sandwich round selections in the 2010 draft due to the free agent losses of Joel Pineiro and Mark DeRosa, the Cardinals added a high schooler plus three college players, two sophomores and a junior, in the first 75 picks.

Three are right-handed pitchers, Seth Blair, Tyrell Jenkins and Jordan Swagerty, along with the organization’s top pick, former Arkansas third baseman Zack Cox. Cox, taken 25^th overall as a draft-eligible sophomore, was considered by some to have been the top college hitter in the draft, yet fell to the Cardinals due to signing concerns.

On the August 16 deadline, Cox and the Cardinals agreed to a major league contract that will reportedly guarantee him a total of $3,200,000 over four years. It included a signing bonus of $2,000,000, ranked fifth all-time for an amateur with the Cardinals. It was the first major league deal given by the organization to a draftee since J.D. Drew in 1998.

To avoid using one of Cox’ three or four allowable minor league option seasons in 2010, the organization assigned Cox to the Gulf Coast League, a level of play far below his skill level. With so little time remaining in the season, he suited up for just four games there. The left-handed hitter went 6-for-15, .400, with five singles and a double. Cox drew one walk and collected one RBI.

The organization then assigned Cox to the Arizona Fall League, where his hitting coach was Springfield’s Derrick May. The AFL is considered a showplace for players on the cusp of the majors, with the vast majority having Triple-A or Double-A experience.

Initially, I questioned the Cardinals for making this aggressive move with the 21-year-old, but they really did not have other good options available. Without a fall instructional league camp, getting meaningful professional playing experience elsewhere in 2010 would have required Cox to play in an international winter league. That environment is far less controllable and therefore presents an even higher risk.

After a very slow start, Cox improved as he went along, with a .324 average and a .993 OPS over his last ten AFL games. Overall, his slash line was a middle-of-the-road .262/.333/.446 in 65 at-bats. Cox’ 14 RBI in 18 games tied for 22nd in the league. He also received defensive instruction there from Cardinals minor league field coordinator Mark DeJohn. Fielding remains the biggest question about Cox’ future.

With few third base prospects in upper reaches of the system other than Matt Carpenter, who seems slated for Triple-A Memphis, Cox’ initial 2011 destination remains up in the air. If he has a good spring camp and the Cardinals continue to be aggressive, Double-A Springfield may not be out of the question.

After all, what differentiates Cox from the organization’s first-rounder two years prior, Brett Wallace, is that major league deal. By definition, the sand will be flowing through Cox’ hourglass more quickly.

Link to The Cardinal Nation Blog’s top 20 stories of the year countdown

Follow me on Twitter.
Follow The Cardinal Nation Blog on Facebook.

Following Saturday’s signing of free agent outfielder Lance Berkman, St. Louis Cardinals General Manager John Mozeliak declared his 2011 club to essentially be in place. Here are a few of the players who may have impacted in the short term, either positively or negatively, by the moves made by the front office since the conclusion of the season.

Risers

Matt Carpenter. The system’s Player of the Year in 2010, named by both The Cardinal Nation and the Cardinals organization, appears set to become the starting third baseman for Triple-A Memphis in 2011.

With the addition of Berkman, Allen Craig was displaced from the starting outfield picture. Mozeliak announced the ex-minor league third baseman would be returned to his former position in spring camp, ostensibly to become the back up behind fragile David Freese.

If the Cardinals do not move to bring in other reinforcements at the hot corner and if a full-time replacement for Freese is needed during the season, Carpenter could find himself in the mix in St. Louis.

Fernando Salas. I am pretty sure Salas set a Cardinals record with six trips back and forth between St. Louis and Memphis as the extra bullpen man in 2010. Generally, the right-hander did a good job in his MLB introduction.

With the trade of Blake Hawksworth to the Dodgers for Ryan Theriot, a spot in the 2011 Cardinals pen has opened up. Salas would seem to be the favorite entering camp to seize that spot.

Fallers

Allen Craig. With the signing of Berkman, Craig went from the right-handed hitting part of a right field starting platoon to a reserve third baseman/outfielder. While it remains to be seen, my above comments about Carpenter indicate my skepticism that if a full-time third baseman would be needed in the event of a Freese injury that Craig would get that job.

Brendan Ryan. The acquisition of Theriot spelled the end of Ryan starting at shortstop. He does have limited experience playing at the other infield positions and could become a defensive-oriented super-sub if not traded.

Lance Lynn. The re-signing of Jake Westbrook killed off any non-injury hope of a Triple-A starter cracking the 2011 rotation, as did Jaime Garcia the spring prior. Recent vibes from the major league coaching staff indicate they do not consider Lynn ready for the unofficial “sixth starter” role, though that could change with consistent results on the mound.

Kyle McClellan. McClellan is a most important part of the bullpen, yet each spring the club holds open the promise of letting him be a starter, only to snatch it away from him every time. McClellan is a team player and while he has expressed his preference to start, he has proven he will do any job asked. In my opinion, it has reached the point that the organization needs to let McClellan be as good of a reliever as he can be and stop with the “one day he will be a starter” storyline, as it seems clear that isn’t going to happen.

In limbo

Bryan Anderson. Though defense-first catcher Matt Pagnozzi is gone, Anderson, his former job-share partner with Memphis, seems destined for a return to Triple-A for a fourth season. This will not become semi-official until a veteran reserve catcher to replace Jason LaRue is signed, but this seems highly likely. At that point, Anderson will move to the “fallers” group.

Tyler Greene and Daniel Descalso. Unless the Cardinals add another veteran infielder to the roster, there remains a chance that either could make the 2011 club as a reserve. If Ryan is dealt away, their chances obviously improve.

Another factor is who is designated as the reserve second baseman behind Skip Schumaker. If Theriot is restricted to short exclusively, being the only natural second baseman in the mix, Descalso’s chances of making the team could improve. Greene is more interchangeable with Ryan.

Follow me on Twitter.
Follow The Cardinal Nation Blog on Facebook.

Theriot joins St. Louis

On Tuesday, the Cardinals acquired infielder Ryan Theriot from the Los Angeles Dodgers for pitcher Blake Hawksworth. GM John Mozeliak immediately anointed the former Chicago Cubs shortstop as Brendan Ryan’s replacement as his starter there. According to the Post-Dispatch’s Joe Strauss, Ryan is rumored to be headed out of town. Once they pull him out from under the bus, that is.

Theriot is arbitration-eligible and is under team control for two more seasons. More details on his signing are available at TheCardinalNation.com.

Tallet signed

The Cardinals picked up what appears to be a situational lefty in 33-year-old Brian Tallet. He was let go by Toronto after five seasons of both starting and relieving. With decent numbers against left-handed hitters in his career, Tallet looks like he could be ok if not overexposed.

You can find more on him in the same article linked to above. The roster matrix here is current with Tuesday’s moves.

No Type A free agents likely

The Cardinals are not likely to sign a Type A free agent who was offered and declined arbitration, Mozeliak told MLB.com. Otherwise, they would give up their first-round pick in the 2011 First-Year Player Draft, currently sitting at number 22.

Though the final decisions are not yet in, here are the names likely out of bounds as a result. No major surprises. Paul Konerko (CWS), Adam Dunn (Was), Adrian Beltre (Bos), Jayson Werth (Phi), Carl Crawford (TB), Cliff Lee (Tex), Carl Pavano (Min), Rafael Soriano (TB), Scott Downs (Tor), Jason Frasor (Tor), Frank Francisco (Tex), Grant Balfour (TB).

Fat Elvis sighting

Former Astros first baseman Lance Berkman has been told that Houston, who traded him to the Yankees this past summer, does not want the free agent back. In comments to The Houston Chronicle, Berkman included the Cardinals among a number of clubs kicking his tires. Apparently, they considered him a viable corner outfield candidate.

FOX Sports reports that Berkman wants $7 million for 2011 and will likely get it, perhaps from Oakland. The rub is that despite having bad knees, Berkman does not want to be a designated hitter. It appears that getting in better shape could help his cause.

Pags gone

Catcher Matt Pagnozzi, who saw time with St. Louis in September with both Yadier Molina and Jason LaRue injured, has been signed by the Colorado Rockies as a minor league free agent. Pags declared free agency after having been removed from the Cardinals’ 40-man roster following the season.

A pair of Pirates cut loose

Two Pittsburgh Pirates, third baseman Andy LaRoche and switch-hitting second baseman/outfielder Delwyn Young, cleared waivers and became free agents. Both had been removed from the Bucs’ 40-man roster after being designated for assignment. The two were former Dodgers top prospects. LaRoche had been Pittsburgh’s starting third baseman in 2009, but didn’t hit enough to keep the job.

La Roche could offer third base depth for the Cardinals, but they may spend more for a stronger option such as Miguel Tejada. If they stop at LaRoche or someone like him, it would seem another high-risk gamble on David Freese’s health.

Another chance for Big Mac

33 players are up for election to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2011. 14 are repeaters, including Mark McGwire, joined by 19 first-timers. Former Cardinals are in bold.

The complete ballot includes: Roberto Alomar, Carlos Baerga, Jeff Bagwell, Harold Baines, Bert Blyleven, Bret Boone, Kevin Brown, John Franco, Juan Gonzalez, Marquis Grissom, Lenny Harris, Bobby Higginson, Charles Johnson, Barry Larkin, Al Leiter, Edgar Martinez, Tino Martinez, Don Mattingly, Fred McGriff, Mark McGwire, Raul Mondesi, Jack Morris, Dale Murphy, John Olerud, Rafael Palmeiro, Dave Parker, Tim Raines, Kirk Rueter, Benito Santiago, Lee Smith, B.J. Surhoff, Alan Trammell and Larry Walker.

link to bios for each candidate

Cardinals post-season shares

With a second-place finish, the 2010 Cardinals get money even though they didn’t make the playoffs.

Share of Players’ Pool: $549,021.64; value of each full share: $9,679.42 – The Cardinals awarded 44 full shares, 12.05 partial shares and 4 cash awards.

Link to MLB press release

Follow me on Twitter.
Follow The Cardinal Nation Blog on Facebook.