Cards Considering Jack Wilson, Izturis, Tejada

matt morris and jack wilson for allen craig or reyes...

cardinals pay all the salaray, basically a salary dump

what do ya think?

We'd be happy to give them Arias since we're set with Young at SS and have Elvis Andrus coming up in a few years.

Don't know why they'd be interested in Arias. He's great defensively but he'd offer a weaker bat than Everett, so enjoy...

I don't think Christian Guzman is something the Cardinals would do. First off, he's a massive injury risk. Secondly, I think the Nationals would actually ask for more for him than they would for Felipe Lopez. If you're looking for a National that the Cards would be interested in, it's him. That'd be my guess at any rate.

Ozzie, I can't believe you are saying this as a Cards fan.

Reyes is the best young pitcher you have, despite last years performance and bad luck. His numbers project to be BETTER than Morris NEXT year...although they don't project him to pitch as much. (I think thats more to do with LaRussa and Duncan than it is with Reyes though)

So lets just say they are the same. Why would you trade Reyes (young, cheap, upside) for Morris (around 10 mil for 1 year) and Wilson (13.75 mil for 2 years)??? Thats around 25 million you would be committing to one mediocre year of morris (at best) and 2 mediocre years of Wilson? Internal options are around as good talent wise and MUCH cheaper. If they are going to trade young players, they need someone that can hit the damn baseball...and thats NOT Wison. Tejada is a better fit.

Aduncaroo, I love Reyes but he will NEVER fully develop under LaRussa and Duncan. Duncan is constantly screwing with the kid's mechanics. And Sorry he's not our top young pitcher... He's not even in the top 5

Wainwright is the best
Followed by SPs only
Ottavino
Mortensen
Garcia
Walters
and Elvis Rodriguez

Ozzie...obviously Wainwright...I'm talking about guys not currently in the rotation.

Without the bad luck last year, Reyes doesn't look so bad. The key here would be to get Duncan to shut the hell up...not to trade low on a decent commodity. He projects very well...Duncan just needs to shut the hell up. Probably won't happen though...but it should.

I personally think the Brewers young players are going to be at least as good as they were, with the exception of possibly Braun. I only say that because if he does get better, he is an offensive Albert Pujols. (NOT defensively) I think the Reds and Cards fight it out for 3rd and 4th. Ozzie...Dusty usually has a GREAT record with teams in his first year or two...its after that when the managing style hurts the pitchers. The reds could be pretty decent next year.

As far as the central division goes, the Brewers have destroyed their bullpen. For the love of God, as of now Derrick Turnbow is the closer again. That it in itself knocks them down to being nothing more than a 3rd place team. I don't think Cincy has the talent right now to make a move above third. They need at least 1 more dependable SP and another couple dependable relievers.

Aduncaroo, we will go into 2008 with some pitching depth actually.

Wainwright
Looper
Pineiro
Mulder
Reyes *if not traded
Wellemeyer

We will also go get another SP via trade or FA

In AAA we will have some insurance for a change
Mitch Boggs
Jaime Garcia
Mike Parisi

and then in late July we get Carpenter back

Oh and Adam Kennedy has to improve some. He can't be as bad as he was in 2007

Plus guys like SO Taguchi, Aaron Miles, Gary Bennett, and Kelly Stinnett won't be getting playing time like they did last season.

Our minor league system is finally developing options from the minors to cover injuries instead of giving the ABs to guys that can't hit their own weight

if Rolen is on the team next season, which is still in doubt, he has to improve. The guy couldnt raise his arm without intense pain for most of the season. Same with Edmonds, the poor guy was never eve 85% healthy last season. Duncan was a complete wash after the all star game as he tried to play through his hernia. Those factors alone should allow all 3 to improve on their numbers. Do i expect the Rolen and Edmonds of old? No but i do think they won't kill our offense again next season like they did in '07. Ankiel is a wildcard. People look at his k's and lack of walks, but you have to temper that with the fact he's only been a full time hitter for 2 seasons and will still continue to become a better hitter with the more ABs he gets.

As far as Wellemeyer goes, I don't mind him as our swing man/6th starter until Carp gets back. Duncan had some sucess with him last season and so he shows some promise.

Another blessing for us is the fact that we will actually have some talent in Memphis to reach down for if guys struggle, we haven't had that ability for a couple seasons thanks to Walt Joketty, and no i didn't misspell that, The guy was a joke over the last few years.

No I don't....he isn't taking Rolen's injury risk into consideration, like they never do. Projection systems are great, but they never work for guys like Rolen. I called it all last off season where I argued and argued that Ramirez was going to be better than Rolen and injuries were a BIG part of it. The same holds true for next year. Ramirez has some risk as well, but Rolen and the DL are SURE to become friends once again.

Prior and Wood buddy...Prior and Wood. Its a broken record...

Believe me Ozzie...I live in St. Louis. I know all about Scott Rolen. But if you keep on planning to get more than 120 games MAX out of him, you will be sorely, sorely mistaken.

I have trouble seeing why everyone is so ready to ride off Anthony Reyes. The guy can pitch. We have seen it. Does no one else remember how hard Jeremy Bonderman got hit in the begining of his career? There is no reason to think Reyes can't have that type of success. The Tigers saw him at the top of his game in the first game of the World Series in 2006 and the White Sox had their hands full when he 1 hit them in one of his first career major league starts in 2005. He has the stuff, Cardinal fans just need to be patient. Not all young pitchers will explode on the scene the way Wainwright did.

"Dusty usually has a GREAT record with teams in his first year or two..."

He's managed two teams. One team he was given the 2nd best player in the history of baseball, the other he had the best starting rotation in baseball. He does good when he has a plethora of talent. And Dusty isn't just bad at managing pitching staffs (let's not short change him). He doesn't play the best players, play non-productive veterans thinking they will hit out of slumps, and completely ignore the farm system. Not to mention he'll preach his low OBP and 'swing in RBI situations' philosophy.

I'm not saying Wood and Prior are exactly the same as Rolen here. Its not that hard to figure out though...

Rolen continues to struggle because of injuries, the team and the fans count on him every year anyway, and it becomes a cycle. Does that sound familiar? I was in that cycle as a Cubs fan and I live in St. Louis, so its pretty damn easy to see that cycle going on here. A reoccurring shoulder injury might not have the affect it does on pitchers, but it affects Rolen all the time, whether it is his defense or swinging the bat. This isn't that hard to see if you back away from being a fan and take a look. Why do you think teams aren't jumping at the chance to trade for him when he "projects" to get a ton of at bats and be typical Scott Rolen??? Not to mention the fact that they know his team wants to trade him because they have said so and he has a very public rift with his manager. its Because they see the same thing I do here...

ozzie i can't believe i read that right . i am a cub fan so theres no love for the cards . BUT i have a great deal of respect for taguchi. every time i have watched a cardinal game this guy is ready to play . he plays hard , he has some speed , he has a good defense and he always finds a way to contribute . the guy plays hard every game and does it for less than a million . maybe he is only a fourth outfielder but for as many times as he has come in off the bench or filled in for whoever was hurt , there should be more love for him that . i have more respect for him than rolen , pujols , and edmonds combined . i hope he is in a cub uniform next year and maybe he will be a pain in the cards butt as much he has been to the cubs .

yes he is replaceable . but that doesn't erase how he contributes . pujols has a ton of more talent than taguchi will ever have . but i see and hear the same whining coming out of his mouth as mcguire did . and yes i hated sosa long before he started heading south . sosa was greedy and arrogant . but i have a great deal of respect for the players who show up everyday to play the game rather than make their millions . much like ozzie the great himself and willie mcgee .

There's no denying So Taguchi's heart, but in the same breath, I will be glad to see him replaced by someone more talented.

Aduncaroo, you can't compare Edmonds and Rolen, Edmonds is at the end of his career and is falling apart and as such if the Cards can get 115-120 Healthy games from him, then it will be considered a good year. Rolen on the other hand, finally has his injury correctly fixed and will be able to bounce back now.