The plan to trade Kyle Lohse at the trade deadline for a more long-term return on our investment seems to be a long shot by now. With Mark Mulder staying in relief at the moment, Matt Clement still rehabbing in the minors, and the possibility of Chris Carpenter as a reliever, there isn't a whole lot of room in the rotation to subtract guys. Viva El Birdos sums up the reliever and starter situation and comes to the conclusion that we'll most likely need another starter somewhere down the line, either externally or internally. Perusing MLB Trade Rumors, there could be a match with the San Diego Padres, who have a couple decent starters to consider.

Randy Wolf, signed to a one-year contract at $4.75 million, has a no-trade clause that may or may not include the Cardinals, but he has been good enough to be a good trade option for the Cards. He has a 4.13 ERA in 98.0 innings, but his main attraction is a 8.17 K/9 and a 2.41 K/BB ratio as a lefthanded pitcher. While he hasn't played a full season since 2003, Wolf has always had the ability to put up good numbers when he has pitched. Featuring a 88 mph fastball and a 68 mph curve, Wolf doesn't quite fill the smoke-and-mirrors mold, but he's not going to blow pitches by you. If he can stay healthy for a full season, which is the big question, he would be a very valuable part of anyone's rotation. He'll be 32-years-old in August.

As for what it'll take to get him, Lboros speculates that it'll take an important prospect to get him. Who's an important prospect? Names like Bryan Anderson, Jonathan Jay, and Shane Robinson come to mind. The Padres might even find a guys like Mike Parisi and Joe Mather attractive, given how well they have fared in Memphis this season. Given San Diego's outfield situation, I think they'd value a guy like Jay, who has offensive potential and defensive prowess with a few questions surrounding his arm.

Greg Maddux is another Padre that could be a rotation target. He brings grit, experience, and a heck of a resume, coupled with his 3.52 ERA and 3.95 FIP. At $10 million and a no-trade clause, he has a bigger price tag and could be out of our budget. Still, he would be Tony and Dave's dream - a pitch-to-contact veteran with post-season experience. The Cards have made their runs at him before, but maybe one last chance at a October run would be enough to convince him to come to St. Louis. The Braves or Cubs might be better suitors for the 42-year-old.

Excluding the fact that he doesn't strike out many (4.57 K/9), Greg has some good peripherals this season: 1.58 BB/9, 0.79 HR/9, and a 50% ground ball rate. It's tough to judge what it'd take to get him, but it would probably be similar to Randy Wolf, as Maddux might not have much left after this season. Would the Padres take a chance on Chris Duncan? Maybe a healthy Anthony Reyes would be better, as they could replace the old with the new.

Beyond that, the Padres don't have that many other rotation solutions for the Cards to consider. I seriously doubt they'd put Chris Young on the block, but if they did he'd have to be a top target. Shawn Estes is washed up. Jake Peavy? I wish...


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Maybe you've noticed a few changes around here, maybe you haven't...

but I thought I'd let you know about some of the changes made recently to improve this blog.

1.) Posts from the home page now have a "Read More" function, allowing more posts to be displayed from the main page without taking up a bunch of space. Simply click "Read More" and the rest will magically appear before your eyes.

2.) You can now sign-up to receive posts delivered right to your inbox, as shown in this post. Just enter your e-mail address and you can stay up to date.

3.) You can now comment directly from the post page, instead of being redirected to another page that didn't look anything like this blog. It was an inconvenience to comment the way it was before, but now you can feel free to comment right on the spot.

4.) Author highlighting in comments section. My comments are now highlighted by a baby blue color to allow you to identify my comments more easily.

5.) Social bookmarks can be found at the bottom of each post. If you especially liked a post, you can submit it to social sites such as BallHype to expose it to a wider audience, which I would greatly appreciate!

6.) The header has been slightly modified to have a shiny look.

There you have it. I'll be back to baseball soon, but I needed to get those changes moving. Hope you like them!


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With da Pads 8th home loss in 8 games, it looks like they are getting ready to jettison payroll even though they could still win in the pathetic NL West.

SD UT article

My guess is it Cubbies first, then Bravos.

The Associated Press
Published on: 06/27/08


Chautauqua, N.Y. — NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said its "ridiculous" to reward untested rookies with lucrative contracts and wants the issue addressed in contract talks.

"There's something wrong about the system," Goodell said Friday. "The money should go to people who perform."

Goodell: NFL rookie pay-scale 'ridiculous' | ajc.com



Goodell referred to Michigan tackle Jake Long's five-year, $57.75 million contract — with $30 million guaranteed. Long was the first overall draft pick by the Miami Dolphins in April.

"He doesn't have to play a down in the NFL and he already has his money," Goodell said during a question-and-answer period at the end of a weeklong sports symposium at the Chautauqua Institution. "Now, with the economics where they are, the consequences if you don't evaluate that player, you can lose a significant amount of money."

Third overall selection Matt Ryan signed a six-year, $72 million contract with $34.75 million guaranteed with the Atlanta Falcons in May.

"And that money is not going to players that are performing. It's going to a player that never makes it in the NFL. And I think that's ridiculous," Goodell said.

Goodell said he favors lowering salaries offered to rookies, but allowing a provision for those players to renegotiate their deals after proving themselves on the field.

His statement was greeted by a long round of applause from the estimated crowd of 2,000 inside the amphitheater.

Speaking to reporters before his appearance, Goodell said he plans to open negotiations with the players union on a revamped labor deal this fall. He's listened to concerns from all 32 owners in meetings over the past month.

"We just finished a series of one-on-one meetings with all 32 teams, where I have a better understanding and people have a better understanding of the economics each team is facing," Goodell said. "I think we can identify what it is we need in a negotiation to continue to make the agreement work for the NFL and for the players."

Goodell said the key need is to have the NFL Players' Association appreciate the financial challenges owners face with rising stadium construction costs and a faltering economy. Those issues were not anticipated in the previous collective bargaining agreement, which provided players a 60 percent share of the league's gross revenues.

"As our costs increase outside of player costs, that other 40 percent ... squeezes the margins and just makes it financially unworkable," Goodell said. "There has to be some more recognition of the costs."

League owners, last month, voted unanimously to opt out of the CBA that was signed in spring 2006. The decision to opt out maintains labor peace through 2011, but will result in changes regarding the NFL's salary cap and contract signings if a new deal is not signed by March 2009.

Goodell referred to next March as a deadline, but "not the end deadline," but hoped a deal could be reached by then. If not, teams will enter the following season without a salary cap. While there are concerns some of the NFL's richer teams would use their vast resources to buy up star players, there's also a drawback for players.

Under the new rules, the time for free agency in an uncapped year would rise from four years to six and allow teams to protect one extra player with franchise or transition tags. In addition, the two-year lag would allow many teams to extend the contracts of their most important players, maintaining the continuity that is important to winning teams.

Goodell acknowledged the NFL and its owners failed to foresee the economic issues that would face the league when the last CBA was approved.

"There have been some things that none of us could've envisioned," Goodell said. "You have an economy that's weakening. You have aspects of the deal that we didn't realize that we were going to be building billion-dollar stadiums. ... Things happen. I don't look back at it as a mistake. I look back at it as what do we need to do going forward?"

I agree with this 100%,
You get a new job, do you get top pay right off?
Of course not, so why are they ( rookies) getting more than tested veterans?

The Associated Press
Published on: 06/27/08


Chautauqua, N.Y. — NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said its "ridiculous" to reward untested rookies with lucrative contracts and wants the issue addressed in contract talks.

"There's something wrong about the system," Goodell said Friday. "The money should go to people who perform."

Goodell: NFL rookie pay-scale 'ridiculous' | ajc.com



Goodell referred to Michigan tackle Jake Long's five-year, $57.75 million contract — with $30 million guaranteed. Long was the first overall draft pick by the Miami Dolphins in April.

"He doesn't have to play a down in the NFL and he already has his money," Goodell said during a question-and-answer period at the end of a weeklong sports symposium at the Chautauqua Institution. "Now, with the economics where they are, the consequences if you don't evaluate that player, you can lose a significant amount of money."

Third overall selection Matt Ryan signed a six-year, $72 million contract with $34.75 million guaranteed with the Atlanta Falcons in May.

"And that money is not going to players that are performing. It's going to a player that never makes it in the NFL. And I think that's ridiculous," Goodell said.

Goodell said he favors lowering salaries offered to rookies, but allowing a provision for those players to renegotiate their deals after proving themselves on the field.

His statement was greeted by a long round of applause from the estimated crowd of 2,000 inside the amphitheater.

Speaking to reporters before his appearance, Goodell said he plans to open negotiations with the players union on a revamped labor deal this fall. He's listened to concerns from all 32 owners in meetings over the past month.

"We just finished a series of one-on-one meetings with all 32 teams, where I have a better understanding and people have a better understanding of the economics each team is facing," Goodell said. "I think we can identify what it is we need in a negotiation to continue to make the agreement work for the NFL and for the players."

Goodell said the key need is to have the NFL Players' Association appreciate the financial challenges owners face with rising stadium construction costs and a faltering economy. Those issues were not anticipated in the previous collective bargaining agreement, which provided players a 60 percent share of the league's gross revenues.

"As our costs increase outside of player costs, that other 40 percent ... squeezes the margins and just makes it financially unworkable," Goodell said. "There has to be some more recognition of the costs."

League owners, last month, voted unanimously to opt out of the CBA that was signed in spring 2006. The decision to opt out maintains labor peace through 2011, but will result in changes regarding the NFL's salary cap and contract signings if a new deal is not signed by March 2009.

Goodell referred to next March as a deadline, but "not the end deadline," but hoped a deal could be reached by then. If not, teams will enter the following season without a salary cap. While there are concerns some of the NFL's richer teams would use their vast resources to buy up star players, there's also a drawback for players.

Under the new rules, the time for free agency in an uncapped year would rise from four years to six and allow teams to protect one extra player with franchise or transition tags. In addition, the two-year lag would allow many teams to extend the contracts of their most important players, maintaining the continuity that is important to winning teams.

Goodell acknowledged the NFL and its owners failed to foresee the economic issues that would face the league when the last CBA was approved.

"There have been some things that none of us could've envisioned," Goodell said. "You have an economy that's weakening. You have aspects of the deal that we didn't realize that we were going to be building billion-dollar stadiums. ... Things happen. I don't look back at it as a mistake. I look back at it as what do we need to do going forward?"

I agree with this 100%,
You get a new job, do you get top pay right off?
Of course not, so why are they ( rookies) getting more than tested veterans?

This morning, my antivirus said stltoday showed Heur malware and it would not go there. Does anybody else have that showing?

Probables: Kyle Lohse vs John Maine @ 6PM.
espn game.

LaRue
The Official Site of The St. Louis Cardinals: News: St. Louis Cardinals News

MSN schedule
FOX Sports on MSN - MLB - Schedules

Yahoo schedule
MLB - Scores & Schedule Monday June 30, 2008 - Yahoo! Sports

Standings.
The Official Site of Major League Baseball: Standings: Regular Season Standings
Won 47 Lost 36

mattcrossman
SportingNews.com - Your expert source for MLB Baseball stats, scores, standings, blogs and fantasy news from MLB Baseball columnists
Cardinals don't have the talent to sustain hot start
There are few on it you would want for your team other than Albert Pujols.
Heck, there might be no one on it you could name other than Albert Pujols.

Additions and corrections are appreciated.

The Nashville Sounds are at Memphis Redbirds @ 7PM.
Probables: Brad Thompson (again?) vs Richie Gardner.
Memphis Redbirds: Home
Redbirds : Memphis Commercial Appeal
AM 560 Sports 56 WHBQ - The Voice of the Fan!
I have a ticket. I think I will be there, instead of here.
I can't cause Brad to do any worse than he has.

The Midland RockHounds are at Springfield Cardinals @ 7PM.
Probables: Kyle Sadlowski vs Ryan Webb.
Springfield Cardinals
JOCK 98.7 FM

The Tampa Yankees are at Palm Beach Cardinals @ 6PM.
Palm Beach Cardinals: Home

The Quad City River Bandits are at Clinton LumberKings @ 7PM.
Quad Cities River Bandits: Home

The Danville Braves are at Johnson City Cardinals @ 6PM.
Johnson City Cardinals: Home

The VSL Pirates are at VSL Cards @ 11:30AM.
Minor League Baseball: Clubs: VSL Cardinals
New time zone
Current local time in Caracas - Venezuela

The GCL Cards are at GCL Nationals @ 11AM.
Minor League Baseball: Clubs: GCL Cardinals

The DSL Cardinals are at DSL Athletics2 @ 9:30AM
Minor League Baseball: Clubs: DSL Cardinals

The Batavia Muckdogs are at Jamestown Jammers @ 6PM.
Minor League Baseball: Clubs: Batavia Muckdogs

MiLB Standings
USATODAY.com
MiLB team schedules
Minor League Baseball: Schedule: Schedule
Minor League Baseball: Multimedia: Gameday Audio

Off topic:
The Big Guys host the Mutts. I hope they won't be very gracious hosts.
Probables: Kyle Lohse vs John Maine @ 1PM.

Cards Website - Home link
The Official Site of The St. Louis Cardinals: Homepage

FSN schedule
FOX Sports on MSN - MLB - Schedules

A while ago I wrote this on the Rockin' the Red Facebook page, and, given the nature of Rick's home run revival, I thought it'd be appropriate to use as a test post trying out my new "read more" feature.

Rick Ankiel, the former pitcher, has been promoted to the big club after jacking 32 homers in Memphis as the center fielder. In his first game back, he belted a 3-run home run over the right field wall. As he trodded around the bases, he was greeted by Hank Aaron at first base and embraced him with a hug. He then was met by an onslaught of bystanders at home plate asking him to kiss their babies and then proceeded to do an in-game interview on the on-deck circle as Albert Pujols was batting. Rick gave credit to Chuck Norris, who "taught (him) everything (he) know(s)." Bear Grylls was spotted later on, having trekked across the entire Canadian frontier with just the clothes on his back to congratulate Rick. "It's amazing what you can do following the moss on a tree and using parachute string," Bear said, referring to Ankiel's miraculous comeback.

You may now return to your normally scheduled programming. Go Spain!


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