Olney's Latest: Cardinals, Snell, Milledge, Maine, Fuentes

"The Mets seem to be rushing John Maine back from the DL in an attempt to keep their playoff hopes alive. "

Yes, because John Maine is really going to have an impact on whether this team makes the playoffs. They are 2 and a half games up, so they are hardly trying to stay alive. They don't even know whether Maine will pitch again this year, and if he does, whether he will relieve or start. Even when John Maine was healthy, he wasn't all that important to the Mets playoff hopes, having a subpar year. But yeah, I am sure they will risk the future health of a young arm who they don't need right now, by bringing him back to try to stay in the race ( a race in which they lead by 2 and a half), in a year in which he didn't help while healthy, and expect him to help while not healthy, and jeapordize his career. Makes no sense at all.

I rarely hear it mentioned, but I wonder if Cardinals fans would be willing to part with Rasmus for a young front line pitcher or is he considered "untouchable?"

From an article on the Cardinals official Website:

"One player not scheduled to play this winter, however, is outfielder Colby Rasmus. The organization's No. 1 prospect checked out physically, Luhnow said, but has chosen to stay and work out in the U.S. over the winter. Luhnow said he had no problems with that decision.

He also played down rumors of disenchantment between Rasmus and the organization.

"I think he's going to focus 100 percent on being ready for Spring Training and making this club," Luhnow said. "That's where his head needs to be. Forget who's posted what online, or what people are saying about what he's doing or not doing. He and I had a good long chat [Tuesday], and I believe he's got the right attitude.

"When you talk to him directly, he has one goal and one goal only, and he's pretty focused on it. I tried to communicate to him that I have that same goal. That we all do, really.""

Maybe the A's can work out a deal for Rasmus.

The A's have a ton of good young pitching, and are looking to add a lot of offense this offseason.

It would be interesting to see the Cards move Rasmus as part of a package for either Cain or Greinke. I think they have the other pieces that could get it done.

I would take Cain over Greinke, but I think Greinke is awesome, is underrated, and is currently a slightly better pitcher. But I give the edge to Cain because of their contract situations.

Cain is a year younger (23 vs. 24), is under team control for an extra year (2011 vs. 2010), and has a signed contract through 2011 so you do not have to worry about going to arbitration like you would with Greinke. Just having Cain for the extra year more than makes up for the difference (if any) in ability.

In terms of pure pitching, I think they are almost equal, with a slight edge to Greinke. They have similar strikout rates (8.0 over the last 2 years for Greinke, 7.5 over the same time for Cain, though Cain gets a boost by facing pitchers instead of a DH). Greinke obviously has better control (2.5 BB/9 vs. 3.6 BB/9). They are almost identical in arm strength with fastballs around 92-94 mph. Both have proven to be physically durable over the past few years. While Greinke is ahead in these areas, Cain is a year younger and could equal or pass Greinke with some improvement in his control.

Honestly, the difference between them over the course of a single season is almost negligible. But the extra cost-controlled year makes Cain more valuable.

Rasmus is such a stud talent, he is a great centerpiece. For the Royals, you could include Bryan Anderson and then a few lower level arms (Ottavino?). For the Giants, maybe Jess Todd, Joe Mather, and someone else. Those should at least be pretty solid starting points.