Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, the holiest day of the year for competitive eaters everywhere. And while it is a wonderful, glorious holiday for family and togetherness and food and all of those things, let's face it: Thanksgiving tends to not be so good on the baseball side.

Not that it's bad, mind you. There just generally isn't that much going on. right around now for baseball, and this year holds true to form. The local paper is, quite honestly, breathlessly reporting on the contract talks between the Cardinals and a player who will likely throw all of 40-45 innings in 2009 if everything goes right. That, my friends, is the very definition of a slow news day.

So, in what is quickly becoming an annual tradition around here, let's take a step back from the hot stove talk, and the stat projections, and the roster construction. I'm going to just make this a free, wide-open thread, to talk about whatever you like, with an emphasis, of course, on what you may be thankful for this year. I've often heard it said that listing the good things in your life is a very healthy, life-affirming exercise; I don't know how true that is, but hey, let's give it a shot.

Me? Well, I could say that I'm thankful for Ryan Ludwick's big campaign. Or just another season from Albert. I could say I'm thankful for the exciting play we saw from our rookies, or the future that we could glimpse at times watching them take those first, Bambi-like steps toward big league success. I could say that I'm thankful for a season that turned out to be better, and more competitive, than I ever would have believed before it began. But in the end, all of that's just a wordy, detailed way of saying something very simple: I, dear friends, am thankful for this game. All of it.

See, I've had one of the worst years of my life this year. I really have. It hasn't been all bad, of course; I've attained a fair amount of professional success this year. But what good there has been has really served mostly to highlight a hole in my life. I lost someone very dear to me this year, and everything else has been tinged with that.

But as has nearly always been the case in my life, the game of baseball has been there for me. Night after night on the car radio as I drive to the rest of my world, a companion that gives so much and asks so little in return. For those of us who love this game, calling it a diversion seems almost a sacrilege, and yet there is perhaps no greater praise we can heap upon it. No matter how bad the economy may be, or what worries you may have about your family, or the fact that the half of your bed you thought you had finally filled is emptier than ever and will remain so, at least a little, you can always sit down, turn on the ballgame, and let it take you. It may be cold comfort some days, but comfort it remains.

I'm also thankful for internal inconsistency. What do I mean by that? Well, I'll tell you what I mean by that. See, yesterday I was looking for something on the internet. I was looking, in fact, for a song that was on an episode of Chuck (which, by the way, remains one of my very favourite shows; I cannot recommend it highly enough to you), and in doing so, I happened across a review/discussion sort of site. Well, there was a post, reviewing the episode in question, discussing the quality of the writing, the action sequences, and what have you. Then there was a comments section, much like this site and virtually every other discussion site in existence.

Well,  I found the song I was looking for, and then I began reading the comments. And what I found was people who really enjoyed the show, but then plenty of others who just absolutely ripped on the show for having a lack of internal plausibility, having tons of logical flaws, and just in general being sort of unrealistic. I found myself thinking, "My god, what miserable bastards. These are the same sort of people who used to watch Friends and focus on nothing but how big the apartments were. I mean, really? That's all you can think about? How much does it suck to be that unable to just enjoy something?"

Now, why am I telling you this, you ask? Why am I, quite possibly, insulting many of you with my diatribe against people who break down television into waaayy too much detail? Well, because I once had an argument with my friend Travis over the production quality of the percussion track of The Arcade Fire's "Intervention" that lasted close to two hours. (By the way, in case you aren't familiar, "Intervention" isn't an album, it's a song. 'Bout four minutes long.) See, I've always thought that, as brilliant a track as it is, the drums are way overproduced, much too smooth to fit in properly with the overall feel of the song. I want something sloppier, rougher, and with more noise to it. That's right, folks. Two hours of just that sort of talk. Brutal, I know. And of course, I also realised the number of hours I've spent on this here website, debating arcane formulae and which acronym is best used to determine whether or not someone is worth a three- or four-year deal. I'm willing to bet that more than one person would read over the discussions we have here and scream at all of us, "It's just a friggin' game, people! What the hell is wrong with all of you? Can't you just enjoy this shit, without having to turn it into some sort of giant ordeal?"

And so I'm thankful for that. I can treat different aspects of life completely differently, without ever really noticing any sort of incongruity between them. I can also look down on people who see things differently from me; in the end, I think that may be the greatest gift of all.

Lastly, I'm thankful for all of you. I started writing here at Viva El Birdos last year on Halloween, and the gig has been wonderfully gratifying. The feedback, both of the positive variety and the, "Dude, you suck. WTF?" variety is always appreciated. (Well, one a little more than the other, but what can I say?) I'm thankful that I have a place like this to indulge in one of my great passions, with a group of people so very learned, who are just as passionate about the game as I. So thanks to all of you for making this place special.

And have a very nice Thanksgiving, everyone. I hope you all have lots to be grateful for this year.

First off, let me say congratulations to the Most Valuable Player in the American League for 2008, Mr. Dustin Pedroia. I won't even hold it against Mr. Pedroia that he plays for the Red Sox. Promise.

You know, I really have absolutely no clue what I'm going to write about this morning. All of the postseason awards have now been awarded, so not a whole lot to talk about there. Not much movement on the free agent market, and, honestly, there probably won't be any until after the arbitration deadline has come and passed. Hell, we can't realistically expect much more to get done until the winter meetings start up. Add to that the fact that I'm suffering from a wicked case of writer's block this morning, and you have the makings of a nasty, nasty chore.

I just went and put on an Ennio Morricone record on the stereo. (Morricone is the guy who composed all the music for the spaghetti westerns, the Sergio Leone stuff.) I've decided to treat this entry as one would a showdown. I shall face down the doldrums of baseball news in the dusty square of VEB Town. I doubt that I shall come out the winner, but at least I will go down shooting. 

First off, let's take a look at Pedroia. Jon Lester is probably the crown jewel of the Red Sox' player development wing on the pitching side (with an honourable mention to Papelbon), and I would have to think Pedroia might be that guy on the positional player side. Youkilis is great and all, but Pedroia's got positional scarcity on his side, big time.

Pedroia was taken in the second round of the 2004 draft, #65 overall. Should I bring up the fact that the Cardinals passed on taking him, not once, but twice? Should I also include the fact that with said picks the Cards took Chris Lambert and Mike Ferris? Nah, you're right. Probably best not to bring that up.

I have to say, it was a tough year to be trying to pick the MVP in the AL. There wasn't a single performance that was just so outlandishly good (such as the one put up by our own Senor Albert), it was impossible to ignore. That being said, I am a bit shocked that Grady Sizemore didn't get more support. Awful team or not, batting average of .267 or not, 30/30 seasons don't just come along every day. Of course, public enemy #1 in New York, Alex Rodriguez (also known as Captain Choke), had a pretty decent season as well, with a .965 OPS, exactly 100 points higher than that posted by Pedroia. Or what about Joe Mauer? Mauer seems to be the forgotten man around baseball, finishing behind his own teammate Justin Morneau despite having an OPS only nine points lower (.863 vs .872), while playing a position as far away from Morneau's as you can possibly get on the defensive spectrum.

Still, I find it tough to argue against the Pedroia selection. By most metrics that I've seen (and I am nothing if not suspicious of defensive metrics), he plays somewhere between solid and plus defense at a premium position. His .865 OPS this season was 172 points higher than that of our own Adam Kennedy, and only 50 points less than that of Chase Utley. In short, Pedroia was an extremely valuable player this year for the Boston club. Was he the Most Valuable Player? Tough to say, but I certainly don't see it as any sort of travesty.

In slightly more Cardinal-related news, Jeremy Affeldt is officially off the market, as I'm sure most of you have heard already. I suppose it isn't a huge tragedy, missing out on a guy like Affeldt, whose career numbers are, shall we say, somewhat less than spectacular. Even so, I'm more than a little bit disappointed to see Affeldt somewhere else. I thought he would have been a perfect fit for the Cardinals, both as a reliever from the left side and also as a possible candidate to fill that Brad Thompson sort of swing man role. You can easily fill out a bullpen without having a bunch of sinister arms; the Angels managed to have one of the best bullpens in all of baseball despite the lack of a single lefty for a couple of years. Still, Affeldt I thought offered a great opportunity for the Cardinals. Great stuff, still young, all the peripherals pointing the right way. Oh well. I suppose that Mo and Co. were looking elsewhere. I just hope that Ohman or whoever they've decided to fixate on ultimately ends up being worth it.

Affeldt is the very first free agent of the year to sign, which strikes me as a bit odd. Not because of who the player himself is, mind you, but because of the team he signed with. I'm  more than a little bit puzzled by the Giant's motivation here. I understand that lefty reliever may have been a weak spot for the Giants last season (I honestly have no idea if that's true or not), but when you're in the position that San Francisco is in, don't you think you might want to start your massive rebuild somewhere other than left handed relief pitching? Please tell me I'm just missing something here, because I'm just kind of at a loss.

Well, awards season is officially over, and I can't really argue with virtually any of them. (Well, except the Gold Gloves, but let's face it; those are a joke anyway.) How about you guys? Any one single award you felt was just a complete sham this year? For reference sake, here's the list of the major awards:

• NL MVP- Albert Pujols
• AL MVP- Dustin Pedroia
• NL Cy Young- Tim Lincecum
• AL Cy Young- Cliff Lee
• NL ROY- Geovany Soto
• AL ROY- Evan Longoria
• NL Manager of the Year- Lou Pinella
• AL Manager of the Year- Joe Maddon

Really, the only one of those I really disagree with is Pinella, but that could be just because of my irrational hatred for all things Cub.

So, last chance everybody. You got a beef with an award? Put 'em all right here, because we'll be into the Hot Stove talk thick of things before you know it, and these awards will be largely ignored until time comes to hear about them throughout 2009.

Take care.

Good morning, friends. And how are you today?

You may all remember that last week, we took a vote on a variety of issues facing Cardinal Nation today. Well, the votes are in, they've been counted, and the voice of Viva El Birdos has been heard!

We ended up with 91 total votes. To be honest, there were more votes, but apparently I wasn't clear enough on the formatting. I tried to count the ones that weren't in the comma-delimit format, but only made it through part of them before I just ran out of both energy and time. So 91  votes it is. And here, members of the voting VEB public, are the results:

A. Will Chris Carpenter be healthy enough to contribute in 2009?

1. Yes- 47 votes
2. No- 44 votes

And the yesses have it here, by the very slimmest of margins. Chris Carpenter will be healthy enough to make a contribution in 2009, everyone! Hooray!

Personally, I come down on the 'no' side of the equation. I almost think Carp will be healthy, but I also happen to think that the only way you can possibly look at it is to assume that he won't be. If he's healthy, great. But I'm certainly not counting on Carp for anything next season.

B. Which of the following outfielders would you be most willing to trade this offseason?

1. Rick Ankiel- 29 votes
   
2. Skip Schumaker- 56 votes
3. Ryan Ludwick- 5 votes
4. Colby Rasmus- 1 vote

I think it's pretty obvious here that we're all coming down squarely in the corner of moving the player that's going to have the least impact on the Cardinals. If you look at it, as the outfielders become less valuable, the more willing we are to move him. That's not surprising, of course, given that we are, in fact, Cardinal fans. I would, however, be interested in knowing the rationale behind those who chose one of the non-Skippy choices. I assume that they were banking on the return value, as well as the various questions attached to each.

Me? I vote Ankiel. He's a nice middle point. He's more valuable than Skip, but less so than Ludwick. He's probably going to get expensive after this season, and he has health concerns. Still, he should bring a solid return from a team with a need for outfield help or left handed power.

C. Who do you want closing games in 2009?

1. Chris Perez- 72 votes
2. Jason Motte-  12 votes
3. Jason Isringhausen- 0 votes
   
4. Ryan Franklin- 0 votes
5. Other- 7 votes

Wow. A landslide victory here for Young Pitcher. I am a little surprised that not even one person gave Izzy a vote for old time's sake. I am not, however, surprised that Franklin didn't get a vote. Franklins for drinking? Awesome. Franklins for closing? No effing way.

D. Felipe Lopez in '09: yea or nay?

1. Yea- 32 votes
2. Nay- 59 votes

And the nays have it, by a nearly two to one margin. I'm the Red Baron, and I approve of this result.

E. When should the Cardinals begin talking to Albert Pujols about a contract extension?

1. Now- 27 votes
2. After next season- 54 votes
3. 2010- 10 votes
4. When he becomes a free agent- 0 votes

This seems to be a pretty balanced, sensible answer to me. One poster did request an additional option; that it should have already been done, but most people are comfortable waiting one more season. Not too many are comfortable waiting any longer than that, though. And no one, I mean no one, is willing to let Albert get his foot out the door. Again, that seems pretty sensible to me.

F. Who is the most attractive lefty relief option on the FA market?

1. Brian Fuentes- 19 votes
2. Jeremy Affeldt- 41 votes
   
3. Will Ohman- 16 votes
   
4. Scott Eyre- 0 votes
   
5. Other- 15 votes

It appears we like the upside and potential underratedness of Affeldt, compared to what may very well be an overrated Brian Fuentes. Fuentes will be a Type A free agent, and I'm just not sure if he's worth a first round pick. Affeldt throws harder, might possibly be an option to swing into a starting spot for a turn or two, and won't cost the Cards a pick. Good choice.

G. What should be Mr. Mo's biggest priority this offseason?

1. Middle Infield- 74 votes
   
2. Bullpen- 9 votes
3. Starting pitching- 7 votes
   
4. Impact bat- 2 votes

It appears that we are of one mind on this issue. The impact bat, the rotation, even the bullpen are secondary concerns. The middle infield is the most glaring hole this team has, and we all want to see it filled in, at least a little bit.

H. Who would you like to see succeed Tony La Russa?

1. Jose Oquendo-  61 votes
2. Pop Warner- 13 votes
3. Don Mattingly- 2 votes
4. Bobby Valentine- 1 vote
5. Other- 14 votes

Yet another landslide. I'm really not surprised by this one, though. We've all seen Oquendo in a Cardinal uni for so long, it seems like it would be a travesty for him to go anywhere else. Interesting, of course, that we feel that way, when he's on his way to interview for the Mariner's managing gig today.

I was a little surprised that neither Mattingly, who is seen as one of the next guys to get a gig, nor Valentine, who has hinted that he would be interested in coming back to America, interested more people. We are an insular bunch, we Cardinal fans.

Interesting write ins included Jim Edmonds (who I actually think would make a tremendous hitting coach), and the man himself, Mark McGwire. Now  that be a story line.

I. Which of the following minor leaguers is most likely to make a significant contribution to the Cardinals in 2009?

1. Bryan Anderson- 4 votes
2. Jess Todd- 18 votes
   
3. David Freese- 23 votes
   
4. Mitchell Boggs-  46 votes

This one, I'm sure, is a matter of positional opportunity. Both Bryan Anderson and David Freese are blocked at the big league level, and Jess Todd is behind Boggs himself on the depth chart. Hence, Boggs is the man.

I do have a question here. For anyone who voted for Anderson, did you do so on the basis that you think either Yadi will get hurt and Anderson will get a chance or that Bryan will somehow force his way on to the big league club with a briliant spring, or did you vote for Anderson on the basis that you think he'll be traded, thus making a contribution in the form of another player? Just curious.

J. Do you like me?

1. Yes- 48 votes
   
2. No- 3 votes
   
3. Maybe- 40 votes
   

Well, while it is nice to see that the yes's handily outnumber the no's, I obviously didn't learn my lesson from my attempted courtship of Nikki Rush in the fourth grade. You never, ever put a 'Maybe' box on there. That just doesn't do any good! At least force them to say yes or no; you may get lucky and they'll feel bad about hurting your feelings and not answer no. Maybe just gives them a way out. Sigh... First Nikki, now VEB. I just don't know what I'm going to do.

Thank you all so much for participating in the Viva El Birdos voting program. Feel free to discuss the results at length. Oh, and by the way, I don't think I'm going to be doing too many more of these any time soon. Digging through all of those numbers is a pain.

So now we have our official VEB positions figured out. If you're reading this, Mr. Mozeliak, this should give you a pretty good idea of what direction you need to be moving in. Now get cracking.

First off, congratulations to our new President Elect, Mr. Obama, as well as anyone else who may have won an election yesterday. Hopefully, this new regime will prove to be a harbinger of more prosperous times than what we've all been through in recent years. I also have to say, I'm a little glad the whole thing's over. I'm a fairly political person, but I'll also be the first to tell you that a 21 month election cycle is a little bit much.

Given that it's election season, I thought we might try something a little different this morning. I'm assuming that all of you out there are, in fact, good Americans who went out and participated in our democracy yesterday. But what's that, you say? You say you haven't had enough? "Aaron, I haven't had my fill of voting for things! I love weighing all the options carefully. I love the thrill of that moment, the moment when you come to a decisive, firm decision about an issue! And I just haven't had enough of that illusory sense of power that comes from participating in a representative democracy, the feeling that I've made a real difference, even though the actual electing is done by a group of officials who are not, in all reality, beholden in any way to me! So what do you have to say to me?"

Well, first off, I would tell you that you seem to have a bit of a mixed bag going on there. You seem to be awfully cynical about the process for someone so in love with the process of voting, but hey, we've all got our issues, right? I would then tell you not to fear, because the Baron is gonna take care of you, baby.

See, what we're going to do here at Viva El Birdos today is we're going to vote. It occurred to me not too long ago that we all have our own positions, and we mostly know each other's positions, at least on an individual basis, but it's kind of tough to really get a handle on the community opinions as a whole.

Thus, in the interest of, a) getting a better handle on how the community feels about a variety of issues as a whole, and b) filling up a day's post when there really isn't much of anything to talk about, I shall pose these ten questions to you, the Viva El Birdos reader. Feel free to discuss as much as you wish, but please include your votes at the top of your post. Please comma delimit, with no spaces, the same way we do the community projections. Please use the numbers for the choices in your votes, and remember to press the key down firmly when making your selection. I ain't havin' no hanging chad bullshit in my election.

A. Will Chris Carpenter be healthy enough to contribute in 2009?

1. Yes
   
2. No

B. Which of the following outfielders would you be most willing to trade this offseason?

1. Rick Ankiel
2. Skip Schumaker
3. Ryan Ludwick
   
4. Colby Rasmus

C. Who do you want closing games in 2009?

1. Chris Perez
2. Jason Motte
3. Jason Isringhausen
   
4. Ryan Franklin
5. Other

D. Felipe Lopez in '09: yea or nay?

1. Yea
   
2. Nay

E. When should the Cardinals begin talking to Albert Pujols about a contract extension?

1. Now
2. After next season
3. 2010
   
4. When he becomes a free agent

F. Who is the most attractive lefty relief option on the FA market?

1. Brian Fuentes
2. Jeremy Affeldt
3. Will Ohman
   
4. Scott Eyre
5. Other

G. What should be Mr. Mo's biggest priority this offseason? 

1. Middle infield
   
2. Bullpen
   
3. Starting Pitching
4. Impact bat

H. Who would you like to see succeed Tony La Russa?

1. Jose Oquendo
2. Pop Warner
3. Don Mattingly
4. Bobby Valentine
5. Other (feel free to specify)

I. Which of the following minor leaguers is most likely to make a significant contribution to the Cardinals in 2009?

1. Bryan Anderson
   
2. Jess Todd
3. David Freese
4. Mitchell Boggs

Do you like me?

1. Yes
   
2. No
   
3. Maybe

Remember, everyone: your vote truly does count. I'll get these all tabulated up before next Wednesday, and we shall see what the official VEB positions truly are.

Have a nice day, folks.

The game is supposed to begin at 7:30 central tonight, and apparently they should have plenty of time to get it in. Of course, whether or not that holds true remains to be seen, but the radar looks good, as far as I can tell.

I really don't have any analysis to offer you guys tonight, largely based on the fact that the situation we're seeing is pretty much unprecedented in the annals of professional baseball. I do think we'll get a chance to see David Price throw a couple of innings, so there is that. We may also see Brad Lidge toss multiple frames, a la 2004 NLCS Lights Out Lidge. No matter what happens, I'll be happy with the series, as it's been a great battle overall, but I'm pulling hard for the Rays, if only so that we don't have to face the blackness quite so soon.

Well, seeing as how the World Series remains in a complete holding pattern, locked in the sixth inning of game 5, I'm freed up to do something I was going to hold off on until the real baseball was over.

See, last week, I put up the second part of my look around at what trading chips the Cards have. I covered the minor leagues last week; I did the majors the week before, if you're interested.

Anyhow, the reason I bring this up is that, as I was reading over the comments section later on, I was fascinated by all the different interesting trading scenarios that various posters had. Not necessarily the deals themselves, but the overall philosophies that they implied. There was mention, as there pretty much always is when the subject of roster construction is discussed nowadays, of the work that Billy Beane has done in building a ball club that is competitive nearly every year, while sporting one of the lowest payrolls in all of baseball.

What I found most interesting of all, in fact, was that there were some individuals who seemed interested in moving players that I look at as absolute cornerstones, guys like Troy Glaus and the like. Well, that got me to thinking: if one were to look at the Cardinals from a purely value-oriented standpoint, and attempt to fill up your roster with the lowest cost players possible, what would that end up looking like?

Now, please don't think that I'm advocating for this approach, or saying that I think this would be any kind of good idea. I'm simply interested in seeing what would happen if the Cardinals were to suddenly go all Florida Marlins on everybody and just trade off all the pieces they could and go bare bones.

Continue reading this post »

Ah, good morning! It's so very nice to see you again. How have you been? And the family? Delighted to hear it.

Look, I'm going to level with you all. I simply do not have the time, nor, honestly, the energy to cook up an elaborate intro on this lovely Wednesday morning. Thus, having said that, I shall dive directly in to the subject at hand, and trust that you, the El Vivi Birders reading public, come here for the meat of the content, rather than the flowery window dressing that I typically spend so very much of my time engineering. Anyhow, onward and upward.

Last week, I took a look at some of the Cardinals' best pieces of trade bait at the major league level. this week, I'm going to do the same thing, but focus on those players who are still in the minors. Of course, when it comes right down to it, pretty much every player in the minor leagues is trade fodder to a certain degree, so in order to keep this manageable, I'm going to work with maybe just the absolute most prominent six or eight players. And so, without further ado, here they are, folks. If the Cards make a deal this winter, chances are these are the names that will probably be involved.

Joe Mather- Last week, an astute poster pointed out that Mather probably should have been included in the majors, and he was right. Mather is no longer considered a rookie by MLB, due to the number of major league at bats he took in 2008, thus, one has to consider him as a major league outfielder.

The thing is, to me, Joey Bombs still just feels like a minor leaguer. I still think of him almost purely in terms of his possible future projection, rather than thinking of what he can do for the team right now. Regardless, though, Mr. Bombs is a major leaguer, whether he feels like one to me or not.

Mather offers excellent right handed power. His power isn't his only tool, but it is definitely his most notable. It has been said that Mather can play center field if need be, but I don't think that I would want to try and use him as the full time guy out there. Still, a corner outfielder with the kind of power and athleticism that Mather offers is nothing to sniff at. He still struggles a bit with good breaking balls, but showed a willingness to take a walk as he adjusted to major league pitching. I have to say, I think Mather, even with the injury that forced him to shut it down early this past season, offers a very nice value to a team looking for some youth, some defense, and big time pop.

Colby Rasmus- Ah, here's the big one. Whether it's in rumours for Jake Peavy or possibly being dangled for the impact bat that the manager so craves, Colby is the single most discussed prospect in all the Cardinals' system. And really, that is exactly as it should be, seeing as how Rasmus offers something that very few other players in the Cardinal system do: true impact potential.

Colby Rasmus is what is commonly referred to as a five tool player. He can hit, he can field, he can run, he can throw. The man can do it all. What he can't do, though, is get away from the fact that he just had a tough transition to Triple A in his first go 'round. Unfortunately, that also means that his value is probably depressed just a shade, compared to what it was, say, last offseason.

Still, Colby will be in the top 5 or 10 prospects in all of baseball heading into the 2009 season, as well he should. There aren't many teams out there that have a player of this caliber in their system; honestly, Colby is probably the best positional prospect the Cards have had since J.D. Drew. (I know, Albert, but Albert wasn't that big time a prospect. He's just a completely unique situation.)

Bottom line, if you're going to trade a Colby Rasmus, you had better get one hell of a return for him. When you look at the potential that Colby has, combined with the financial flexibility he allows, I personally have to come to the conclusion that there aren't more than a handful of players in all of baseball that would truly return good value for young Mr. Rasmus. Fortunately, it looks as if Mozeliak and the front office realise what they have.

Daryl Jones- Are you beginning to see a pattern here? Of course, we all know that the Cardinals are deep in the outfield, so this shouldn't come as any huge surprise.

Always a bundle of tools, Jones finally began to turn those tools into real production this year. He split the season between High A ball and Double A Springfield, and put up some eye popping numbers. At both levels, he put up on base percentages better than .400; particularly impressive for a player known to have plate approach issues. Combine his ability to get on base with his speed on the basepaths and solid gap type power, and it's easy to dream on players Jones could grow up to be.

Of course, it was the first good year Jones has had in the minors, to be perfectly frank. Teams may be willing to shoot the moon for Jones, looking at his tools and projecting him to be the next Curtis Granderson, but you could also see certain teams being a bit wary of Daryl, hoping to see more of this year's production before they give up anything too very meaningful for him.

Mitchell Boggs- With Jaime Garcia now on the shelf, Boggs probably becomes the Cardinals' best pitching prospect, offering the best combination of proximity to the majors, having already appeared with the big club last season, and projection remaining, with a repertoire that's heavy on power but could become even more impressive with some fine tuning.

The questions with Boggs, to be frank, pretty much all center around the fact that he really only has two pitches. The fastball is nice, with both velocity and movement, and he features a power curve as well, but that's pretty well where it ends. His changeup is iffy, and he throws a slider as well that just flat out doesn't do a whole lot. Even so, Boggs could easily end up a strong presence at the back end of a bullpen if starting doesn't work out. To me, Boggs offers a pretty strong value, particularly for a team looking for a swingman type. Just how much that's worth is an interesting question, of course, but my feeling is that Boggs should bring one very good, but not elite, prospect in return, if the Cardinals decided to move him.

Clayton Mortensen- Remember when we all thought that we would see Mort working out of the St. Louis bullpen by the end of the season? Back in spring training, the buzz was that Duncan had absolutely fallen in love with this tall drink of water, due to a power sinker that just chews up wood bats. Alas, it was not to be, and after being pushed up to Triple A due to injury, Mortensen struggled, lost his confidence a bit, and then struggled a bit more as he tried to right the ship.

I'm still very high on Mortensen, personally, but I think his trade value is a little bit iffy at the moment. Yes, he was in his first professional season and reached Triple A, but he was also a college senior when he was drafted, so he was older than most of his class already. His numbers at Memphis are ugly, with a nasty K/BB ratio that suggests a definite habit of nibbling when the going gets tough.

Most likely, Mortensen doesn't have enough value right now to make it worth moving him. Anything you could get would likely be pennies on the dollar when you look at his potential, rather than his less than stellar numbers this year. I don't think you can move him right now; instead, at least give him time to try and get established in Triple A before you even consider a deal involving this young man.

Jess Todd- Also known as Gozer the Gozarrian and, simply, the Destroyer, Jess Todd stomped through the minors this year like a a giant marshmallow nightmare as he made his way from afterthought in his college rotation to big time pitching prospect.

Todd blew through three levels of the minor leagues in 2008, and looked mighty impressive doing so. Teams love that kind of fast riser career arc, and by most accounts, Todd has the stuff to succeed at the highest levels, with an array of cutting, sinking, and straight fastballs to go along with a plus slider and a nasty little changeup.

In fact, probably the only things that keep Todd from being a big time prospect
 are his size (5'11"), and his delivery. His mechanics are definitely funky, and it's entirely possible that his delivery may limit him to a bullpen role down the road. Still, of all the Cards' prospests this season, Todd may have garnered the most buzz. That's certainly worth something in the trade market. How much, I'm not willing to speculate exactly, but he's certainly not anything to sneeze at.

Adam Reifer- One of the Cardinals' late round, 'upside' picks in last year's draft, Jeff Luhnow called Reifer the sleeper of the draft. So far, Luhnow looks like a friggin' genius on that one.

Pitching for short season Batavia, Reifer struck out over 31% of the hitters he faced this year. Just as importantly, he walked a little under 12%. Even more important than either of those things, though, is the fact that he managed to stay healthy this season. After suffering through elbow problems his junior year of college, Reifer looks to be back on track, as he remained sound all year.

When he's on, some scouts have gone so far as to rate Reifer's fastball a pure 80 (on the 20-80 scouting scale), and his slider at least a 70. I don't care what level a guy plays at, the stuff doesn't lie. He even has a nasty little changeup, though he doesn't throw it all that often. There isn't much of a track record on Reifer, so he's probably not all that valuable at the moment. If he continues on the way he has so far, though, expect to see his name begin popping up all over prospect lists in the very near future.

Jason Motte- You only need to know one thing about Motte: 101.

That's the speed his fastball was repeatedly clocked at this year. He may not have much else going for him, but Motte can still throw the ball through a brick wall. Never have too many of those guys on your team.

Of course, other teams know perfectly well about Motte's less than impressive secondary pitches, and will probably hedge their bets accordingly. Still, there was talk of Motte for Ohman during the season, and I'm absolutely thrilled the Cards didn't pull the trigger on that deal. Moving a guy with Motte's stuff at the end of the game for a LOOGY just doesn't make much sense. He can probably do better for the Cards than what he could bring in trade. I fully expect them to hang on to Mr. Motte.

David Freese/ Allen Craig- I'm sticking these two together because, honestly, I'm not sure there's a better way to approach them. Both are third base prospects. In most organisations, a couple of prospeccts like these might look at the impending FA of Troy Glaus and assume that means there will be more opportunity to play ball, even start, than any of them ever expected there would be.

However, in the Cardinals' system, there just happens to be an elephant in the room; well, a Walrus, at least. Brett Wallace, the Cardinals' first round draft pick this season, is moving along at a ridiculous pace, and will likely push Freese and Craig both for playing time very, very soon. Sadly for them, they simply can't stand against the bat of the Walrus. Even is he can become just an adequate defender at third base, that really leaves no place for Freese and Craig to go; unless, of course, that place is in another organisation. Both players have outstanding bats, with Freese probably having the overall better base of tools, particularly when it comes to defense.

Overall, I think that at least one of the two of Freese and Craig almost has to be traded this offseason, if only to help ease the logjam of third sackers the Cardinals have at the top levels of the minors. There are only so many roster spots at Triple A, and nearly all of the Cards' minor league third basemen belong there.

Bryan Anderson- And so we come to the other big fish on the list. The only catcher on this list, Anderson presents us with a unique skillset.

Look, most of us know the story on Anderson by now. He bats from the left side. He hits over .300 pretty much by rolling out of bed. His defense is moving in the right direction. In short, Bryan Anderson is a special talent, and his value is pretty special as well.

For most of the time that Anderson has been in the Cardinals' system, I've been a staunch opponent of moving him. Catchers who can do the things he can are just too rare for me to be comfortable with him being shipped out. However, it is more and more obvious as time goes on that Anderson probably isn't going to get too very much of a chance here in St. Louis, rightly or wrongly. Yadier Molina is firmly entrenched, and Anderson simply has too much value to stick him at backup catcher. It seems the only way to get the proper value from his skills is, unfortunately, to trade him.

That makes Anderson officially the best trade piece the Cardinals possess. And he is a good one, make no mistake.

I think those are probably the best bullets the Cards have, at least in the minors. There are others, of course, but I don't think the others are nearly as attractive as these players right here. Even these, though, the cream of the crop, still have significant questions attached to many of them. If anything, this should serve to illustrate, quite succinctly, that even though the Cardinals' farm system has made absolute quantum leaps forward under Jeff Luhnow's skilled stewardship, there is still a long way to go before the Cards have a system the like of Boston, or Tampa Bay, or even the Atlanta ballclub. Can the Cardinals afford to make a big time deal? Of course they can. The question is, should they?

   Hamels                Billingsley

Echoes of Brooklyn

With Torre in the dugout

A peche for glory

So far this offseason, we've all tossed out our very favourite trade targets on a pretty much daily basis, hashing and then rehashing the details of every deal that could possibly bring us that personal hobby horse we so dearly wish to have. And why not? It's our right as fans, damnit! There aren't any games going on (at least not for our boys in red), so we might as well talk about what could be for next season, right?

But what about the other side of the equation? We all know just which player- or players- that we would like to see the Cardinals pick up, but we rarely focus on the guys going the other way. The bullets, so to speak, that make the deal happen. Really, if you want to come up with a deal that just may actually work, it's probably best to start with your own side, rather than looking at who you want. Figure out how much value you yourself have, and go from there.

So, with that in mind, let's treat some human beings like chattel, shall we? It doesn't have to be a comprehensive examination, of course. I thought that, to start at least, we'll take a look just at what the Cards already have at the big league level. Call it a bird in the hand situation. I think that most of us know who the trade chips are. Now let's see just how good a chips they are.

Adam Kennedy- Hey, I figured we would start out right at the top. The top, of course, as in the top of most fans' wish lists to be moved this offseason.

I have to say, at this point, I think that Adam Kennedy has pretty negligible trade value. He is still a very, very good defensive second baseman; most of the defensive metrics had him amongst the very best at the position in 2008. It appears that at least some of his problems in 2007 were caused largely by his knee malady, and he looks to be healthy again. Unfortunately, Kennedy's bat apparently didn't get the memo that his knee was supposed to contain some sort of miraculous fountain of youth chemical that would begin pouring out the second it was operated on, because it has just refused to come back out of hiding. He did hit better in '08 than in '07, thankfully, but that's a lot like saying that getting punched in the crotch is quite a lot better than getting kicked in the crotch. Either way, it just isn't all that much fun.

Bottom line, any team that agrees to take on Kennedy's salary, even for a single season, simply isn't going to give the Cardinals much in return. He's a pure salary dump player, useful really only as part of a package deal, I think.

Skip Schumaker- Yeah, I know he's a fan favourite, as well as a manager favourite. Still, when it comes right down to it, Skippy is replaceable.

Now, that's not to say he doesn't have some real value. He's a very strong defender, and doesn't fit too badly at the top of a lineup. His plate discipline came a long way this season, and he still makes good contact. He even showed a modicum of pop at times. He's still relatively cheap, so that certainly helps. As one of our posters states so very eloquently in his signature, Skip and Kosuke Fukudome are roughly equivalent players, and the Cobbler isn't going to cost you eleven million a year.

I have to say, I'm sort of hoping to see Skip get moved this winter. I think he has pretty good value on the market, while the Cardinals have options internally that I think would be much better in the long run. I like Skip, don't think for a second that I don't, but he's really a pretty damned good trade chip.

Troy Glaus- Glaus is a bit of a left field trade piece, I know, but still a valid one, I think. He's under contract for the 2009 season, having exercised his option when he was dealt to the Cards last offseason. Given the numbers he put up this past season, Glaus would be quite a deal for anyone looking to add some serious pop at the hot corner.

The problem with Glaus, of course, is that he has a complete no trade clause that he would have to waive before any deal could actually get done. He seems quite happy here in St. Louis, and I'm sure would require a pretty substantial inducement to waive the clause. I would think that he would probably be interested in playing on the west coast only, and any team looking to get him would probably need to offer him at least a three year extension. Unfortunately, that limits his trade value fairly significantly. Still, a guy with his numbers and pedigree might still be able to bring a pretty penny on the open market, and the Cards are suddenly awash in third base prospects who are at least relatively near the show.

Ryan Ludwick- Oy. This one is tough to suggest, to be perfectly honest. There's no way you give up a guy who puts up the type of numbers that Ludwick is capable of, right? Well, there are certainly reasons to at least consider it.

First off, Luddy has a pretty extensive injury history. I know, it seems a little callous to consider trading a guy because he's had trouble staying healthy, but that is the situation. He's had two healthy seasons in a row, after many, many years of near-constant time spent on the DL. Can he keep himself in one piece for a third year in a row? 

Second, while the numbers Luddy put up this year were certainly impressive, you also have to be cautious about putting too very much weight on them. As much of a question as his health is, you absolutely have to have the exact same concerns about how real this level of production is.

So what you have here is a player right around thirty years old, with one pretty good and one outstanding year under his belt. He's still cost controlled, as his service time is only in the two year range, so that does help his value. Still, you have to question just how much a team is going to be willing to gamble on Luddy being reality, rather than just a one year wonder.

Rick Ankiel- Another tough one. The kid's been with the organisation forever, so there's obviously some serious emotional ties between he and the team, not to mention the fans. I have to think that Mozeliak would be, at the least, hesitant to move Rick.

On the upside, Ankiel is ridiculously talented, in almost every facet of the game. He's got power to spare, showed the ability to hit for at least a fair average, and can play the outfield quite well. He's probably better suited for right field than center, but he's quite adequate either place. The arm, of course, doesn't hurt matters any, as runners have to be on the lookout for him tossing them out anywhere, at any time.

On the downside, Ankiel is almost thirty himself, has a pretty extensive injury history, and still doesn't really have a whole lot in the way of plate discipline. His track record is very limited, yet he's also close to free agency. A team looking to pick up Rick would essentially be getting only one year of cost controlled performance, thus driving his value down. Overall, all the caveats with Ludwick apply to Ankiel too, only moreso. He has some value, certainly, if only because of his talent, but Rick Ankiel just isn't as good a commodity as many seem to believe.

Chris Duncan- This one, honestly, is probably a non-starter from the get go. Duncan just had pretty radical surgery on his neck; the sort of surgery, in fact, that doesn't really have any kind of precedent for an athlete coming back from. He has about two thirds of a good season, to be honest, he can't play the outfield, and that's pretty much all there is to say about that.

Chris may come back in 2009 and turn himself back into the valuable commodity he was after the 2006 season. Then again, he may not. Either way, he's not getting moved this offseason, and has really no value even if he were.

Chris Perez- Now here's an intriguing fellow. We all know of Perez's limitations, and we've seen just what he can do all the same. You want a player that could net you something serious on the trade market, brother, this is it.

What we have here is a young, cost controlled, close to closer ready pitcher with very little injury history and an absolutely electric arm. He does have some pesky issues with his control, of course, but when he's on, he's unhittable already, and he's just a baby. The sky is the limit with Perez; of course, that's also probably the reason you would hope not to move a guy like him.

Bottom line, Perez is probably the Cards' best trade chip at the major league level. (And yes, I consider him a major league pitcher, no matter what La Russa might say about the plans for him next year.) He is the most valuable to the Cardinals, but also the most valuable to most other teams as well. If you're looking to bring in a guy like, say, a Brandon Wood or the like, Perez is likely the sort of player you'll end up having to use to get it done.

Come to think of it, while watching the Rays in the postseason, one can't help but notice that they're using Dan Wheeler, and not the good Wheeler, to be honest, to try and close out games. While the name Zobrist is getting thrown around a lot 'round these parts, I think Perez is worth more than that. The Rays do, of course, just happen to have a guy, plays shortstop, down in the minors. Name of Brignac, I believe...

And really, that's about it. Guys like Thompson and Pineiro, I honestly don't think they have a whole lot of value. Pineiro is waaayy too expensive for what you get, and Thompson just isn't worth much on the market. I could be wrong about Puppy Kicker, at least, but I don't think I am. I still consider Mather a minor leaguer, as his time here was very, very limited. So, to be honest, those are probably the best bullets that the Cards have to deal with this offseason. Most of the other players I could bring up are, in one way or another, much more necessary to the team. As much as I like Bryan Anderson, I'd be awfully leery of dealing Yadier Molina. The middle infielders are all free agents or named Aaron Miles.

So that's the crop. What do you guys think?

Enclosed you will find Johnny's final grades for the term. I just want to say, once again, what a tremendous pleasure it has been having him in class this year. You will recall, back at the midpoint of the term, I sent along Johnny's grades, along with notes for possible areas of improvement. I have endeavoured to provide you with a similar report at this point, in the hopes that we can work together to further your son's development.

There are, of course, opportunities for improvement. I have done what I can to identify said areas, and I trust that you will take any and all steps necessary to see that these areas are given the appropriate attention. Remember, a symbiotic relationship between the institutional and the home is of paramount import when a child's future is in question.

All in all, it has been a productive and exhilarating year for me, and I hope for the students as well. As always, if you have any questions, concerns, or just wish to check in on some bit of minutiae in the progress that John has made, I encourage you to contact me at any time. Until such time as we speak again, I remain,

                   Sincerely Yours,

                   Dr. Reginald Ecthelion Dante "Red" Barontonoviel

P.S.- Overall, John's conduct this year was exceptional: however, I would request you please ask him to stop forcing everyone to call him 'Mr. Mo'.

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