In the previous post, we looked at the potential of the St. Louis Cardinals’ middle three hitters in 2011, Albert Pujols, Matt Holliday and Lance Berkman, through a comparison of their career milestones to the famous 2004 MV3 of Pujols, Jim Edmonds and Scott Rolen.

In that analysis, I left Pujols out since the aggregate of his numerous accomplishments since 2004 would have tipped the balance too strongly in favor of the 2011 trio.

For the poll topic at the conclusion of the article, I slipped in a list of other top Cardinals duos during the Pujols era, asking readers to select the “best”. In a close race, at the time I type this, the pair having received the most votes was from 2005, Edmonds and Larry Walker.

Not being entirely satisfied where I left the subject, I decided to make another quick run at it. In this case, I summed the OPS+ of Pujols and his two most productive counterparts each season since Albert’s 2001 debut.

By definition, using OPS+ provides only a high-level offensive view, but it does allow Pujols’ yearly numbers to be included. For a 2011 projection, I simply listed the career OPS+ marks of Pujols, Holliday and Berkman.

* partial season
# career averages

Not surprisingly, the MV3 in 2004 earned their reputation with the highest OPS+ total of the Pujols years. The same three also logged the second-best OPS+ total the year prior.

If Pujols, Holliday and Berkman each post career-average seasons for them in 2011, their total OPS+ would rank only in a tie for sixth over the last 11 years.

Then again, it doesn’t seem to matter all that much in the big picture. As the far right column indicates, having three players with high OPS+ marks does not correlate well with the entire 25-man roster reaching the post-season. Three of the top five seasons by this measure were non-playoff ones, 2003, 2008 and 2010.

Further suggesting a lineup with depth (and good pitching) may be more important than having three offensive stars is the fact that the Cardinals reached the playoffs in four of the lowest five OPS+ total years. The 2005 reader voting favorite ranks ninth in this measurement despite the club having won 100 games and the 2006 World Champions are eighth of 11.

Earlier I made the assumption that Holliday and Berkman will be the among the Cardinals’ top three contributors in 2011, joining Pujols. What do you think?

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With the addition of free agent Lance Berkman, the St. Louis Cardinals will have a formidable middle of the order. Manager Tony La Russa has the former Houston star penciled into the fifth spot in his 2011 lineup behind incumbent all-stars Albert Pujols and Matt Holliday.

Memories return to the 2004 season, a time when the club had three offensive heroes, a trio that performed so well that they may have canceled each other out in the National League Most Valuable Player voting – yet still finished 3-4-5. Pujols, then 24 years of age, was joined by Scott Rolen and Jim Edmonds.

It was the last time a noteworthy label stuck to the offense, as the three were called the “MV3.”

Could the new group justify the return of the moniker or perhaps earn a new tag of their own? Of course that remains to be seen on the field in 2011, but based on career numbers, the idea is not crazy.

A long-time member of Houston’s “Killer B’s,” Berkman will be one year older next season than Edmonds was in 2004, 34. That season, Rolen was 29, two years younger than Holliday will be in 2011. Obviously, the constant is Pujols, with six more stellar years of performance logged since 2004, including three MVPs of his own.

Putting Albert aside, let’s look at how the two pairs stack up using career accomplishments through 2004 and 2010 as a comparison. The Triple Crown categories of batting average, home runs and RBI along with Gold Gloves as a defensive indicator follow. The first three measures especially are often cited in MVP-worthiness comparisons.

Batting average. Led by Holliday’s seven years with a .300 or higher average, the 2011 pair has substantially more such seasons than did Pujols’ 2004 cohorts at the time.

Home runs. This is a very close category, with the 2004 duo holding a slight eight seasons to seven edge.

RBI. Berkman’s six 100-plus RBI years puts the 2011 pair barely ahead, ten to nine.

Gold Gloves: This is a blowout. Neither Holliday nor Berkman own a single fielding excellence award, while Rolen and Edmonds already had 13 Gold Gloves between them by 2004.

Of course, the past is just that. It remains to be seen if Berkman can return to his previous level of offensive prowess while dealing with the demands of returning to full-time outfield duty.

For a rebirth of the “MV3” to follow, it would be required as the 2011 Cardinals clearly need this group to hit.

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The long-time St. Louis Cardinals pitching coach has been all over the news this summer, not only for the right reason – due to the considerable successes of his 2009 mound charges – but also because of controversy over his son, former Cardinals outfielder Chris Duncan.

As trenches are dug deeper and deeper, the St. Louis future of Dave Duncan seems to be getting cloudier, perhaps to the point the coach will or has already decided not to return for 2010.

I could not help but think about another prominent Cardinals story from recent years in which off-field disputes became bigger than the team, leading to an important cog in the club’s machine to leave town.

The story of the trade of Scott Rolen almost two years ago resurfaced earlier in the month when the third baseman returned to St. Louis, wearing the uniform of the Cincinnati Reds. Rolen went out of his way to visit Tony La Russa in the manager’s office on August 10^th in an attempt to clear the air between the two.

Duncan’s circumstances are very different in that his dissatisfaction seems to have stemmed from his son’s treatment by segments of the fans and media and the club’s front office while Rolen had conflicts with his manager and the team’s medical staff.

I don’t know Duncan well, but I do know that he is a straight-shooter and a very principled man. That may not have served him well when his comments critical of the Chris Duncan trade itself, the club’s front office and the players in their farm system received widespread attention and put the coach in an unfavorable light.

Just a few days earlier, Duncan’s longtime friend and boss La Russa had lashed out at those critical of Chris Duncan, saying the negative treatment of the slumping slugger made him “want to vomit”.

Earlier this month, Duncan instituted a blackout policy against the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, apparently over articles written about the younger Duncan. In reference to Chris, Dave also noted the “talk-show guys will have to find a new whipping boy.”

Based on Chris Duncan’s struggles and subsequent release after one month with Boston’s Triple-A club in Pawtucket, it is clear he is not right. Whether a winter of rest and recovery will fix what ails him remains to be seen, but only the coldest of the cold would not wish a return to past success for Chris.

Looking at the Chris Duncan trade from a baseball perspective, most unbiased observers can see its merit from the Cardinals side. Not Dave Duncan, however.

It may be far more difficult, if not impossible for Dave Duncan’s situation to be repaired. The depth of his feelings are illustrated in his comments at the time of the trade. Those remarks may have been amplified by surprise since he reportedly was not informed of the impending trade other than by La Russa. Still, they seemed the words of a disappointed father, rather than coming from the professional coach that he is.

“The way I look at it is he was traded for a player who had very little (leverage) … he (Julio Lugo) was designated for assignment,” Duncan said. “It’s highly unusual for a major-league roster player to be traded for somebody like that. So somebody wanted to get him out of the organization, and they’ve accomplished what they wanted to accomplish.

“Either that or we don’t have anybody in the minor leagues that they wanted for (Lugo). One or the other.”

Duncan was back in the headlines when he asked for a personal day off this past week but declined to explain why. Frankly, it is none of our collective business, but it just added fuel to the “Duncan is leaving” fire.

The Post-Dispatch’s Cardinals beat writer Joe Strauss has his finger on the pulse of the club as much or more than any non-team employee. Strauss states flatly that “Many close to Duncan do not expect him to return (in 2010).”

It would be a shame if that happens, just as it was when Rolen and La Russa decided they could no longer work together.

Yet, Dave Duncan is just one month from his 64^th birthday, a time when many Americans are considering retirement. He has been in a professional uniform for over 45 years, with the last 30 years as a major league pitching coach, the longest such stint in MLB history.

Strauss reports that Duncan’s contract option for 2010 is a joint one. In other words, for him to return, both the coach and the front office would have to agree.

If Duncan can’t satisfactorily salve that which is causing his itch, whether it was due to the fans of St. Louis, the media, his own bosses or all of them collectively, then as difficult as it would be for everyone, perhaps he should leave after the season. Having to remain in a job that you no longer enjoy is no place to be.

If that is what transpires, we can only hope that the passing of time will not lead to the principals to look back with regret over how they handed themselves in the heat of the moment.

As Rolen himself observed earlier this month:

“They say time heals all wounds, but at the same time things happen and you don’t rewrite those things. You either accept the way it went down and you accept the changes that were made for the better. Or you harbor negative feelings and have a tough time putting your head down at night.”

After all Dave Duncan has done for the Cardinals, he deserves to be able to put his head down at night. Here’s hoping he can and will continue to be able to do so.

The conclusion is that many teams further out in the standings that were making trades were wasting their efforts and perhaps hurting themselves for the future.

As the reader comments that follow point out, eight of the 28 reached the World Series and four of them won, a sample that is too large for my tastes. I am not going to go off on how badly the 162-game season has been devalued by a first-round best-of-five series. I won’t, but I would really like to. Well, maybe I will just a little bit.

A baseball purist at heart, I can begrudgingly acknowledge the value of the wild card for fan interest purposes. Still, the first round of the playoffs needs to be extended to seven games even if it means shortening the regular season. Further, the wild card must be put at a greater disadvantage (only one or two home games at most). (The first point caused an awful flashback to Ford Frick and his fricking 1961 asterisk.)

At any rate, Luttrell’s post left me wanting. The most important question was left mostly unanswered.

Which teams were not within five games of the wild card at the non-waiver deadline but still made trades that are most likely to do them no good?

I am not sure why the writer stopped short of the logical conclusion, so I will satisfy my own curiosity, focusing on the National League.

First and foremost, the St. Louis Cardinals were in first place by a half-game on July 31. The other NL Division leaders were Los Angeles and Philadelphia. The co-wild card leaders were San Francisco and Colorado. Other teams within five games of the two were Chicago, Florida, Atlanta, Milwaukee and Houston.

In other words, only six of the 16 NL teams were not either leading their division or sitting within five games of the wild card.

Somewhere Bud Selig is uttering “excellent” while tenting fingers together, even if he isn’t counting his money at the time. (Heading further astream, is it just me or can anyone else see the resemblance of a rug-free Bud with Mr. Burns from The Simpsons?)

Two of the “out of it clubs” are from each division. They are New York and Washington from the East, Cincinnati and Pittsburgh from the Central along with Arizona and San Diego from the West.

Pittsburgh dumped half their team. San Diego shipped off ace Jake Peavy. Washington jettisoned first baseman Nick Johnson. The Mets and Diamondbacks basically did nothing of substance.

That leaves the one schizophrenic seller-buyer-seller, the Cardinals current opponent, Cincinnati. Walt Jocketty’s Reds made three deals, the biggest in adding former Cardinals third baseman Scott Rolen from Toronto.

This trade probably won’t turn out to be quite as bad as the ill-fated deadline deal made by the Bucs two years ago when they inexplicably picked up Matt Morris, but is as equally puzzling. The Reds were 12 games under .500 at the July 31 deadline and have gone 3-5 since.

In a weird and unfortunate parallel with the Cards’ earlier acquisition of Mark DeRosa, the newest Red has been able to play in just four games for his new club. Rather than a wrist injury, Rolen’s problems have resulted from a beaning suffered a week ago Sunday at the hands of his ex-St. Louis teammate, Rockies pitcher Jason Marquis.

As Cincinnati falls further back in the standings, they made a waiver trade on Sunday sending reliever David Weathers to the Milwaukee Brewers. They had earlier sent infielder/outfielder Jerry Hairston to the Yankees. In other words, if the Reds were a buyer for one day last week, they were a seller immediately before and after.

So there you have it. Other than the odd trade of Edwin Encarnacion and two prospects for an aging, injury-prone and expensive Rolen, none of the NL teams considered too far back in the standings made any such questionable deals.

Maybe that is why the author didn’t bring his original post to its logical conclusion. At least in the NL, there doesn’t appear to be much of anything to say.

Yesterday, I received a note from a long-time reader suggesting that someone needs to step up and give credit to the Cardinals “front office and management for giving the team a chance to win. They truly stood up.”

I have dissected the Matt Holliday trade, trying to define how the success of the deal could be quantified. At the time of the Mark DeRosa acquisition, I gave ownership kudos for backing up their infamous “dry powder” comments from the off-season.

Yet I haven’t really said much about the events of the last week in a comprehensive manner.

Let’s start with the Chris Duncan for Julio Lugo trade. It was unfortunate that the behind-the-scenes unhappiness of Duncan’s father became public. While pitching coach Dave Duncan usually gets praise from this corner for being a straight shooter, his comments critical of the front office would have been better left unsaid.

If Chris Duncan is truly healthy, his poor results on the field dictated something needed to be done. A fresh start with an American League club where he can both compete for time at first base and designated hitter may be best for him over the long haul. Instead, had Duncan remained around following the arrival of Matt Holliday, his opportunity for at-bats would have evaporated, anyway.

The acquisition of Lugo with little to no salary commitment for the next two months plus the entire 2010 season was a nice return for Duncan in my opinion, despite what Papa had to say. In the upcoming days, I am hoping to see more of the Lugo at second, Brendan Ryan at shortstop combo.

Jess Todd being selected by Cleveland as the player to be named later in the DeRosa trade was a tough pill to swallow, coming on top of losing Chris Perez in the same deal.

Stepping back however, the Cardinals believed that Todd, their Minor League Pitcher of the Year in 2008, was better suited to a relief role than starting. Given their obvious need at the back end of the big league rotation, they would not have made the change with Todd had they not believed it was best.

Of all the commodities that make up a baseball team, arguably right-handed relievers may be the most plentiful. That is not to say that Perez and Todd may not be fine major leaguers for a long time, but they are more replaceable than most.

That brings me to the Holliday trade. My initial reaction was negative, as losing six years of Brett Wallace for two guaranteed months of Holliday alone seemed imbalanced – even before adding Clayton Mortensen and Shane Peterson to the Oakland A’s take.

Again looking at the bigger picture, the Cardinals did what they felt they needed to do to win this year. That could be expanded to include future years if DeRosa and Holliday can be re-signed.

At this point, anyone questioning the commitment of Cardinals ownership would seem to be on very shaky ground.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Joe Strauss has consistently bashed those who follow the Cardinals minor league system, coining the derogative term “Hyperventilating Prospect Geek Fraternity” to describe them.

For awhile, that bothered me until I reminded myself that Strauss isn’t making this stuff up. He may very well be reflecting a strong line of feeling emanating from those with whom he deals regularly.

Real tension remains in the organization, but how much is too much? By definition, when one faction is missioned with “winning now” while another is to build for the future, tradeoffs have to be made.

Perhaps one such “HPGF” member is Erik Manning, well-known from his past work at Future Redbirds. Blogging for FanGraphs, Manning expresses disappointment over the recent trades, saying they “gutted” and “razed” St. Louis’ farm system.

I can understand where he is coming from, though as noted above, I am going to let the season play out before second-guessing such an aggressive set of moves clearly intended to win now.

What bothered me, and apparently Rob Neyer of ESPN, too, is Manning’s use of the trades to attack Tony La Russa.

Manning asserts the deals were made to “assuage” the manager. Apparently, he feels that because La Russa made public comments about liking Holliday as a player, it translates into ownership rolling over for him.

The reason Manning states is to convince La Russa into staying in St. Louis beyond this season. Never once was it noted that the Cardinals are a better team right now as a result. Never once was it suggested that a more competitive team is what Albert Pujols has said will be his biggest factor in deciding whether to re-sign with the Cardinals.

I just don’t buy Erik’s line of thinking.

Commitments to win come at a cost. We all understand that. If Manning sees the price to have been too high from his vantage point as a prospect-watcher, I can accept that, too.

But dredging up La Russa’s past squabbles with Scott Rolen and Adam Kennedy seem to be a huge stretch. Does anyone really believe that the trades this July would have been unnecessary if Rolen and Kennedy were still Cardinals?

Further, blaming La Russa for Rolen’s issues with the Cardinals organization is a gross oversimplification. The genesis of Rolen’s problems was with the medical advice and treatment prescribed by the club’s physicians. The other issues were a by-product of Rolen’s unhappiness.

Who knows all the details behind Kennedy’s problems? Not being in the clubhouse every day or in many cases never, means we may be tempted to try to draw firm conclusions from snippets of data. Team chemistry cannot be measured by WAR or UZR.

But anyway, what does it matter? Rolen and Kennedy are irrelevant to Holliday and DeRosa, irrelevant to here and now.

As Neyer concludes, “What I’m saying is that La Russa, after 2,516 wins, may have earned the benefit of the doubt on personnel matters.”

Manning closes with a stern warning: “I can only fear what will happen to the Cardinals if they keep him (La Russa) around longer.”

Who knows? They might even win another World Series.

Pujols will soon pass the next two (former) Cardinals on the list as Jim Edmonds (175 games) and Scott Rolen (114 games) together accomplished the feat 289 times since the start of the 2000 season. Yadier Molina has the second-most such games of any active Cardinal at 54, one ahead of Ryan Ludwick.

Two or more RBI games (2000-2009)

(players still in the Cardinals organization in bold)

Albert Pujols	285
Jim Edmonds	175
Scott Rolen	114
Edgar Renteria	88
Yadier Molina	54
Ryan Ludwick	53
J.D. Drew	51
Chris Duncan	46
Mike Matheny	46
Mark McGwire	38
Rick Ankiel	36
So Taguchi	36
Tino Martinez	35
Craig Paquette	30
Juan Encarnacion	29
Fernando Vina	28
Troy Glaus	28
Eli Marrero	27
Ray Lankford	27
Reggie Sanders	26
David Eckstein	20
Scott Spiezio	20
Larry Walker	19
Aaron Miles	18
John Mabry	18
Skip Schumaker	18
Eduardo Perez	16
Placido Polanco	16
Fernando Tatis	15
Miguel Cairo	15
Hector Luna	14
Mark Grudzielanek	13
Will Clark	12
Eric Davis	10
Gary Bennett	10
Shawon Dunston	9
Adam Kennedy	8
Kerry Robinson	8
Preston Wilson	8
Thomas Howard	8
Abraham Nunez	7
Jason LaRue	7
Colby Rasmus	7
Bobby Bonilla	6
John Rodriguez	6
Brendan Ryan	5
Mike Difelice	5
Nick Stavinoha	5
Orlando Palmeiro	5
Roger Cedeno	5
Bo Hart	4
Brian Barton	4
Einar Diaz	4
Felipe Lopez	4
Jason Marquis	4
Joe Mather	4
Marlon Anderson	4
Ron Belliard	4
Chris Widger	3
Joe Thurston	3
John Gall	3
Scott Seabol	3
Tony Womack	3
Adam Wainwright	2
Brett Tomko	2
Carlos Hernandez	2
Cody McKay	2
Darryl Kile	2
Jason Isringhausen	2
Keith McDonald	2
Khalil Greene	2
Matt Morris	2
Mike Mahoney	2
Wilson Delgado	2
Andy Benes	1
Braden Looper	1
Brian Barden	1
Cesar Izturis	1
Gene Stechschulte	1
Jeff Suppan	1
Jeff Weaver	1
Joel Pineiro	1
Jose Vizcaino	1
Kelly Stinnett	1
Kip Wells	1
Kyle Lohse	1
Mark Mulder	1
Mark Worrell	1
Mike Parisi	1
Steve Kline	1
Woody Williams	1

A special thank you to Tom Orf for the data.

Worrell wounded

San Diego reliever Mark Worrell, unhappy with the Cardinals over a lack of opportunity, received his with the Padres this spring. The sidearmer had pitched well enough that he was expected to make the team.

That was before elbow soreness hit. Now he is shut down with this ominous comment from manager Bud Black, after talking with team doctors.

Black said, “It doesn’t look great.”

No news yet on the second player to head to the Padres in the Khalil Greene trade, but whoever it is, I still like the Cardinals side of the deal.

Perdomo still fighting among Giants

Taken in the December Rule 5 Draft, Luis Perdomo is one of nine relievers vying for two spots in the San Francisco Giants bullpen. It he doesn’t make the team, he will passed through waivers and if unclaimed, will return to the Cardinals minor leagues.

Izzy’s first outing with Rays

Nobody is getting too excited in Tampa Bay yet, but Jason Isringhausen made his first spring appearance the other day. Not dominating, nor should it have been expected with Izzy coming off elbow surgery.

Still, there is hope that Izzy can be part of the pen mix and given closer Troy Percival’s age and health risk, this could be a good place for the exiled Cards all-time saves leader to get his career back on track.

Julian brutally honest

After turning down an earlier offer from Washington, former Cardinals reliever Julian Tavarez accepted this time – a non-guaranteed minor league deal with a spring camp invite.

Since leaving the Cardinals after the 2005 season, the 34-year-old right-hander has pitched (and departed from) Boston, Milwaukee and Atlanta. If he makes the cut, Washington will become his 11^th MLB club.

Never known for taking things very seriously, here is what Tavarez said about joining the Nationals:

“Why did I sign with the Nationals?” Tavarez told a group of reporters. “When you go to a club at [4 a.m.], and you’re just waiting, waiting, a 600-pounder looks like J. Lo. And to me this is Jennifer Lopez right here. It’s [4 a.m.]. Too much to drink. So, Nationals: Jennifer Lopez to me.”

“I would like to be a starter, but it’s like my father said: ‘You want Jennifer Lopez, but does she want you? No.’ You just take whatever she is giving to you. So I just take whatever they give to me … They give to me as a long man, I take it as a long man. Set up man, I take it. Starter, I take it. I can do whatever.”

The Kipper is back!

I had recently been dogging the Toronto Blue Jays as the destination for old Cardinals to die. Perhaps that is now the Washington Nationals. Ray “Burger” King passed through there on his way out of the game and Ronnie Belliard and now Tavarez are there today.

There is another recent addition – former Cardinals starter Kip Wells. The Nats’ brass are tantalized by his 90-93 mph fastball and movement on his slider. Right.

Since leaving St. Louis, where he was an awful 7-17 in 2007, Wells couldn’t stick with Colorado or Kansas City, either. He hasn’t had a winning season since 2003. Wells can earn $500,000 if he makes the team.

Good luck with that.

Maroth to minors, Clement doing ok

Speaking of Toronto, left-handed pitcher Mike Maroth was sent down to the minors by the Jays. No surprise there. He surrendered five runs, four earned, and seven hits in 2 2/3 innings in his first start on Saturday.

One of the players that beat him out was another former Cardinal, Matt Clement. He’s still in camp, having allowed three runs in six innings. For the Jays, that is good, I guess.

Haerther hits the field as Rolen sidelined

In his first action of the spring, outfielder Cody Haerther went 2-for-2 and drove in two runs for the Jays on Wednesday. If the former Cardinal minor leaguer can ever put the injuries behind, he has a chance to eventually make it as a reserve outfielder.

In response to a reader question, though he was taken in the Rule 5 Draft last December, Haerther does not have to be returned to the Cardinals when he is sent down. That is because he was on the Springfield roster and was taken in the minor league phase of Rule 5.

Former Cardinals third baseman Scott Rolen has been eased into spring action with just 13 at-bats so far. He had to leave Wednesday’s game due to a sore back that is not supposed to be serious.

There were rumors that the Jays were hoping for a hot spring from Rolen to attract trade interest. With him being owed $22 million for this season and next, there aren’t going to be any takers.

Sir Sid’s groundhog day

The Kansas City Royals signed pitcher Sidney Ponson to a minor league contract, with an invitation to spring training.

They want to see if he “has anything left in the tank”. If that means ample food and drink, the answer is “yes”. If they mean the ability to pitch consistently well, the answer is “no way”.

Though I didn’t peg the team, the first part of my earlier prediction has come true. I figured Sir Sidney would pitch well enough in the World Baseball Classic for the Netherlands (Dutch Aruba, remember?) that he would be signed somewhere.

Step two will be to pitch well in a game or two. Step three is to revert to being himself. Step four is to be waived. Step five is to be re-signed by the Yankees, before a repeat of steps two through four.

By the way, Ponson finally settled with the Orioles on his grievance based on being released in 2005 with a $10 million deal for 2006 in place. There were those alcohol-related problems…

Rico to China

Last year’s Joe Thurston-come-from-nowhere to make the team feel-good story was career minor leaguer Rico Washington. He made the 2008 opening day roster due to Brendan Ryan starting on the disabled list and lasted less than a month in the bigs, but he did make it after a dozen years of trying.

Rico is on a different career trajectory now, having signed with defending champion Uni-President Lions in the Chinese Professional Baseball League for 2009.

Pomeranz back on the mound

The White Sox signed former Cardinals right-hander pitcher Stuart Pomeranz. It was a minor league deal, of course.

The 24-year-old was the Cards’ second-round pick in 2003 and at one point, was a top-ten prospect in the organization. He never made Triple-A, though he did pitch in the Arizona Fall League in 2006.

Pomeranz’ shoulder was injured for most of 2007 and after being released last spring, he didn’t play the rest of the season as far as I can tell. I assumed he had retired.

Spivey-man sighting

Now, here is one that floored me. The Mets signed second baseman Junior Spivey to a minor league contract.

I don’t know what was more surprising – that Spivey is still playing or the fact that he was given a professional contract. After spending 2005 with the Nationals, he came to Cardinals camp in 2006 hoping to win the second base job, but spent the entire season in Memphis. That is a good thing. After all, I don't think I could have survived a whole season of Mike Shannon calling him "Spivey-man".

Junior played in indy ball in 2007 and also had a short Triple-A look-see with the Red Sox that season. Where he was last year, I have no idea. Maybe hanging out with the "Simo-man".

Preston is limping back

Speaking of indy ball and retired guys I thought I would never see again, Preston Wilson signed with Newark Bears in the Atlantic League. (What the heck? They also signed Pete Rose Jr. and have Carl Everett on the team, too.)

Wilson’s chronic knee problems must have improved enough to hobble out there. He last played in 2007 and managed just 64 at-bats for the Cardinals.

(A tip of the cap to Cardinals Best News Links for the Rico and Wilson news.)

The player wanted the security of a multiyear contract and the opportunity to remain in St. Louis. As a result, Lohse pressured Boras to deviate from the agent’s standard operating procedure and close a deal prior to the pitcher re-entering the free agent market.

I am amused when I read some revisionist views of these events, crediting Boras for outsmarting the Cardinals in getting the deal done early, before the market softened. Truth is that Boras made it very clear at the signing press conference that he was not in favor of it, but deferred to the pitcher’s demands. Dumb luck is sometimes better than no luck at all.

At the time of the announcement, many of us had at least mild concern over the deal for several reasons. First, the price felt like no bargain for a middle-of-the-rotation starter with a solid, but unspectacular record. Now with the full benefit of hindsight, the market decline has exposed the Cardinals as having paid more than they should have due to their haste.

The second area of general discomfort is the no-trade clause present for the entire term of the deal and finally, the fourth season just feels like one too many years.

I know. The use of the term “feeling” is about as subjective as any comment can be.

Here’s why. Let’s look at the other most recent contracts for a period of over three years initiated by the Cardinals with players that would have been free agent eligible.

Chris Carpenter, December 2006

Their ace was coming off his most two recent seasons in which he won one Cy Young Award and placed third in the other year to go along with a World Series victory. The Cardinals were trying to sign one of the top free agent starting pitchers, Jason Schmidt, so the club negotiated a massive extension with Chris Carpenter as well.

The Cardinals did this despite the fact they had one year plus a club option remaining on Carpenter’s then-current contract. The amounts due the pitcher for the 2007 and 2008 seasons would have been $15 million under that pre-empted deal.

Instead, the Cardinals paid $19 million over the last two years as part of their renewed five-year, $63.5 million commitment to Carpenter, plus they also hold a 2012 club option. That leaves just $44.5 million of guaranteed money to go.

An unstated reason to do the deal when they did was to maintain the salary structure of the club as Schmidt was in line to fetch almost $16 million per year. The Cardinals wanted to ensure Carpenter’s compensation was in line with the highest-paid pitcher on the team. They and the Dodgers reportedly offered Schmidt comparable contracts, but the free agent opted for the West Coast. Whew!

In the two years since, Carpenter and Schmidt between them have earned about $1 million per inning pitched – a total of 47 innings while drawing over $44 million and counting.

Scott Rolen – September 2002

Shortly after coming to the Cardinals from the Philadelphia Phillies that July, new third baseman Scott Rolen received an offer he couldn’t refuse, eight years and $90 million. (Rolen and CEO Bill DeWitt Jr. are shown on signing day.) After productive early years, including a run for the top as part of the 2004 MV3 and a 2006 World Series crown, the relationship ended prematurely last January.

Upset with Cardinals management over his treatment and with his shoulder weakened by multiple surgeries, Rolen wanted out of Dodge. Amazingly, then-new sheriff John Mozeliak found a taker in the Toronto Blue Jays.

Troy Glaus moved to St. Louis as the unhappy Rolen headed to the Land of the Great White North, where his offensive struggles continued. The Cardinals-Glaus marriage, while solid in its first year, will end after the 2009 season, while the Jays will still be bound to pay a declining Rolen $11 million in 2010.

When considering the Carpenter and Rolen deals along with what might have been with Schmidt, is there any reason the Cardinals shouldn’t be concerned about making a long-term commitment to any player?

It just so happened that Kyle Lohse was next in line.

Footnote: Not included here are three long-term deals put in place under different circumstances – to buy out young players’ arbitration-eligible years and beyond.

These contracts were given to Albert Pujols in 2004 (seven years, $100 million plus a team option for year eight), Yadier Molina in 2008 (four years, $15.5 million plus a team option for year five) and Adam Wainwright (four years, $15 million plus team options for years five and six).

Pujols’ deal is clearly a bargain but external pressure is already mounting to extend his current contract – despite the fact its final three seasons still remain – two contract years plus the club option.

While year one of both Molina’s and Wainwright’s contracts have been favorable for both sides, good player health for each is key to the club getting full value for the risk taken in issuing the long-term deals earlier than required.

10. Kyle Lohse: From Jobless to Four-Year Contract

After having been traded at the deadline in two consecutive seasons, right-hander Kyle Lohse arrived in Philadelphia in time for the 2007 stretch drive. Though the Phils fell in the playoffs to the National League champion Colorado Rockies, Lohse wanted to stay in the City of Brotherly Love.

Despite the then-29-year-old’s career record of 11 games under .500 and an ERA pushing five, Philly reportedly floated a reasonable three-year, $21 million offer past agent Scott Boras early last off-season. Rejected then withdrawn, it would be the last bid Boras and Lohse would see until spring.

Meanwhile, the St. Louis Cardinals were patching together their 2008 rotation, hoping Matt Clement, then Mark Mulder and Chris Carpenter could return from injury and lead them into the playoffs.

Even as spring camp began, it became clear that Clement could not contribute and the others may not be able to be relied upon, either. When Joel Pineiro added to the woes with shoulder problems in March, Cards GM John Mozeliak quickly dialed up Boras.

The resulting deal was a bargain – one year at a base of $4.25 million, reaching $4.75 million with innings-pitched incentives. Lohse would go on to lead the 2008 Cardinals in victories with a career-best 15 and post the lowest ERA of his eight years in MLB at 3.78.

Lohse was the first Cards pitcher since Matt Morris in 2004 to start both Opening Day and the initial post-All-Star break game. He cracked off a nine-game win streak that ended in late July which was the longest on the team since Carpenter’s 13-game run in 2005. Lohse’s .714 win mark (15-6) was fifth-best in the NL.

Lohse didn’t want to be homeless again this off-season, so in September, he ordered Boras (against the agent’s better judgment) to negotiate an extension to enable the pitcher to remain in St, Louis. A four-year, $41 million deal ensued, announced as the season ended.

It remains to be seen whether the extension will prove to be a wise business move for the club, but where would the 2008 Cardinals have been without Kyle Lohse?

I prefer not to think about it.

9. The Drafting and Success of Brett Wallace

The 2008 First-Year Player Draft was an important one for the St. Louis Cardinals. While the overall reputation of their farm system has been steadily improving in recent years, it seemed more a measure of quantity than top quality.

Other than top prospect Colby Rasmus, few if any Cardinals farmhands were being mentioned by industry watchers as among the best in the game. With the 13th overall pick this June, their best position since prior to the Jeff Luhnow years, the organization had a chance for a big move.

They passed with flying colors by taking third baseman Brett Wallace of Arizona State University, recognized by many as the most polished hitter in the entire draft. The two-time Pac-10 Player of the Year and the only hitter in ASU history to hit over .400 in two consecutive seasons, the California native received a signing bonus estimated at $1.84 million.

The rap on the 22-year-old is his defense, though he is still learning, with only a couple of years of experience at the hot corner. Some critics can’t get past Wallace’s 6-foot-1, 245 pound frame and assume he is a statue defensively.

While at least one writer derisively asserted that Wallace has “falling down range”, others, including yours truly, have seen him play and believe he can be a credible major league third sacker. Wallace hears the negatives and told me he uses them as motivation.

This fall, I asked Wallace where his defensive efforts are being focused.

“The angles for me are a big thing and reading the ball off the bat. I think there are sometimes balls that I am not used to because I haven’t been playing there that long. A ball is hit and it takes me a second… It’s a constant adjustment, reading different hops and reading the angles are some of the main things I am trying to work on.”

There is no doubt about the bat. Between Quad Cities and his season-ending skip-level promotion to Double-A Springfield, Wallace’s line was a solid .337/.427/.530 (BA/OBP/SLG).

He was asked to participate in the prestigious Arizona Fall League and though he started slowly, he then came on strongly. Against the higher-quality arms in the AFL, Wallace improved his slugging while keeping his OPS constant (.309/.381/.585).

With Troy Glaus in his final season contractually in St. Louis, the only remaining question is whether Wallace will execute another leapfrog manuever, this time over David Freese. The latter, acquired from San Diego for Jim Edmonds one year ago, excelled with the bat at Triple-A Memphis last season and currently seems to be Glaus’ heir apparent, though that is a most tenuous title.

If he continues at his current pace, established in less than six months as a professional, Wallace could make his first appearance in the majors before the conclusion of the 2009 season, with 2010 still anyone’s guess.

Mark DeJohn

8. Minor League Success: 60 Games over .500

For some years the laughingstock of those who rank farm systems, the St. Louis Cardinals’ investment in rebuilding their minor leagues is finally getting noticed. Just this past week, it became known that Baseball America plans to rank the Cards as the number eight system among the 30 across MLB.

One measure of success is minor leaguers joining the big league team. As I noted here, eleven different players made their major league debuts for the Cardinals in 2008, nine of whom were products of the farm system. At least three of them became major contributors to the club – Kyle McClellan, Joe Mather and Chris Perez, while Mitchell Boggs, Jaime Garcia and late addition Jason Motte all showed promise.

Two players were invited to join Team USA for the Olympics and five were selected to play in the Futures Game. While Memphis had just one All-Star, Springfield had eight, Palm Beach seven, Quad Cities three and Batavia six. Johnson City and the Gulf Coast League Cardinals had one All-Star each, with the former’s representative, Curt Smith, was named the Appalachian League’s Player of the Year.

In addition to individual success, there were positive results on the field in 2008, too. The Cardinals top six minor league affiliates all had winning records and combined to win 60 more games than lost (376-316, .543).

Chris Maloney’s Triple-A Memphis Redbirds reversed several losing seasons, finishing in second place in the Pacific Coast League American North Division.

The Springfield Cardinals of the Double-A Texas League just missed the second-half North Division crown. Pop Warner’s team actually had the division’s best first half-second half record combined, but did not make the post-season.

The Palm Beach Cardinals won the first-half East Division crown in the Florida State League, but lost in the playoffs to the eventual league champion.

Steve Dillard’s Quad Cities River Bandits ended the season two games over .500 in Midwest League play.

Not only did the Batavia Muckdogs win the Pinckney Division of the New York-Penn League, they took the league crown. It was the first title in the 51-year history of the franchise. Mark DeJohn was named our Scout.com Cardinals Minor League Manager of the Year.

The Johnson City Cardinals of the Appalachian League finished six games over .500, their first winning season since all the way back to 1996!

Only the Gulf Coast League Cardinals struggled, as they were a feeder for other clubs while relying on high school draftees and Caribbean academy players making their US debuts. One of the league’s youngest clubs finished 17-38.

In addition, a vast majority of the managers and coaches will be returning in 2009, offering continuity and the potential for further improvement next season.

7. Long-Term Extensions for Young Stars Yadier Molina and Adam Wainwright

Some may be surprised to see this topic rate so highly. On the other hand, I feel so strongly about it that I can’t help but wish I could have scored it higher.

While many fans focus on the bottom line of payroll spent and agonize over high-priced free agents, the key to be able to afford such luxuries is to grow and protect top talent.

Such was the case early in the year when the Cardinals locked up two important parts of their future, catcher Yadier Molina and pitcher Adam Wainwright, long before they had to. Each player signed a long-term deal that carry into his free agent years, assuring him of remaining with the Cardinals for some time.

Molina was first. In January, he agreed to a four-year contract extension worth $15.5 million with a club option for a fifth season. With the agreement, the Cardinals and Molina avoided salary arbitration and keep one of the game’s best young catchers in the organization through at least 2011. The deal includes the first and potentially second of Molina’s free-agent eligibility years.

The catcher rewarded the club with his trademark defense, recognized as the NL’s Gold Glove backstop for 2008. It was Molina’s first award. He also batted a career-high .304.

Wainwright followed. In March, he inked a deal that covered 2008 plus Wainwright’s three arbitration-eligible seasons, 2009, 2010 and 2011, along with a pair of team option years that would eclipse his first two seasons of free agency. As a result, the now-27-year-old could remain in a Cardinals uniform through the 2013 campaign.

Financially, the contract can be four years, $15 million, five years, $24 million or six years, $36 million. No matter how you slice it, the deal looks to be a bargain for the club, while giving the player earlier financial security than he would achieve otherwise.

6. Troy Glaus for Scott Rolen Trade

Two birds with one stone. Addition though both subtraction and addition.

Characterize it how you want, but make sure you recognize this deal for the masterful stroke it was.

On January 14, Mozeliak and the Cardinals traded disgruntled third baseman Scott Rolen to the Toronto Blue Jays for their third sacker, Troy Glaus. Rolen’s once powerful offensive game had declined after three shoulder surgeries and his dissatisfaction with team management deteriorated to such a level that something needed to be done.

All over baseball, it was known the Cardinals had to move Rolen. Not a great bargaining position to be in. To that time, the best (and perhaps only) public offer for Rolen was made by the division-rival Milwaukee Brewers, who anted up injured left-hander Chris Capuano. Mo wisely passed.

Glaus, while a solid player since coming up with the Angels in 1998, had struggled with foot injuries recently, possibly aggravated by the artificial turf in Toronto. In addition, Glaus’ name was among the many that had come up in the Mitchell Report.

Following the trade, the newest Cardinals third baseman did everything that was asked of him and more. Though lacking the range of Rolen, Glaus was very dependable, with a league-high fielding percentage at the position of .982 against just seven errors all season long, the latter setting a new club record.

Offensively, Glaus answered the bell for 544 at-bats over 151 games, with the former his highest count since 2002. He delivered results, too, with 27 home runs and 99 RBIs that were both third-best on the club as was his OPS+ of 124. Glaus typically batted in the number five spot in the lineup, behind Albert Pujols and either Ryan Ludwick or Rick Ankiel.

As noted above, Glaus is under contract with the Cardinals for 2009. He has the right to test free agency following the upcoming season. On a Cardinals team that was labeled by many as being “in transition” in 2008, the addition of Glaus was huge, though it was generally unheralded.

Already posted:

Top 20 Cardinals Stories of 2008: #16-20

Top 20 Cardinals Stories of 2008: #11-15

Coming soon:

Top 20 Cardinals Stories of 2008: #1-5

Projected Top St. Louis Cardinals Stories of 2009