With the season officially (if not mathematically) half over, this seems like a good time to ask about whether some players with big question marks over their heads are going to contribute in the second half. I'm curious what folks here think, so I thought I'd throw these names out and see what you expect from them.

Rather than ask everyone to predict specific stats for each player, I thought it would be interesting to ask a more general question - which of the following players will make a significant contribution to the Cards in the second half? The phrase "significant contribution" is obviously open to some interpretation; I figured I'd let everyone decide what they think it means, making this a broad optimistic/pessimistic question. It's sort of a gestalt view of what the VEB group expects from these players; I realize the yes/no format will be frustratingly vague to some, so please feel free to add some non-gestalty details or stat predictions too. For reference, I've included some (major league) numbers for each player for the past 2-3 seasons; the HR totals are based on 162 game averages, prorated for the 71 games left this year. One possible interpretation of "significant contribution" would be will they put up the numbers you expected of them back in the offseason, before various injuries, anxieties, surgeries, and incompetencies came to pass. But feel free to use your own interpretation (and feel free to explain it).

Rick Ankiel: He announced going into the ASB that he was still dealing with significant pain and stiffness from his collision with the outfield wall in early May. Presumably a few days off has helped a little, but a few days can only do so much. Even before the collision his slash lines were .247/.326/.395 with 2 HR, well below average for his brief outfield career so far.
Stats (2007-2008): .270/.334/.515, 15 HR

Mark DeRosa: The latest word is that he'll need surgery in the offseason to repair his wrist, but he hopes to play through the injury the rest of the season. FWIW, he had a pain-free batting practice today and personally hopes to play as early as Saturday.
Stats (2006-2008): .291/.368/.453, 7 HR

Chris Duncan: There's been considerable speculation here that he's still dealing with the effects of his neck surgery. As far as I know there haven't been any specific statements to that effect from the Cards medical staff, but there wouldn't necessarily be if he's just dealing with lingering weakness or stiffness. Or maybe he just hasn't humped a trophy lately. We all have needs.
Stats (2006-2008): .267/.355/.486, 12 HR

Troy Glaus: He's hitting - not well - at Palm Beach, but still can't throw. There was a rumor recently that he would need a second surgery (which would presumably sideline him for the year), but as far as I know there hasn't been anything definitive about that.
Stats (2006-2008): .261/.364/.491, 14 HR

Khalil Greene: Apparently playing with Springfield tonight. Rotowire says he could be back in St. Louis "by next weekend," but I doubt too many people would be willing to put money on that. Last time he came back he homered in three straight games, then he got beaned.
Stats (2006-2008): .240/.291/.421, 10 HR

Brett Wallace: My strong impression is that most of the relevant people in the organization are very much against bringing him up this year, but what do I know? It shouldn't be too surprising that a walrus is somewhat ungainly at third, but with those tusks he's a lot less likely to get Hee-Seop Choi'ed than Rolen.
Stats: Nothing to see here; move along.

Todd Wellemeyer: Since Joel Pineiro stole the magic beans Welley got from Duncan, he's gone back to pre-2007 Welley. Except now he's doing it for 4-5 innings at a time instead of 1-2 innings at a time.
Stats (2007-2008): 3.95 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, 6.4 K/9, 1.9 K/BB, 10 HR allowed

Trade: Finally, just for fun - will there be at least one person not currently in the organization who will make a significant contribution? It could be a pitcher, a hitter, a back-up for Fredbird... will we make any "impact" trade this summer?
Stats (2006-2008): Just for fun, imagine Halladay's stats here. Turns out they're really good.

I don't know of a convenient way to do a single poll incorporating all these guys, so if folks are interested I figured we could to a comma-delimited list of yes/no answers, like we do for preseason predictions, and if there are a decent number of responses I'll tabulate them next week. To start things off, for the following order:

Ankiel,DeRosa,Duncan,Glaus,Greene,Wallace,Wellemeyer,Trade

my answers are

no,yes,no,no,no,no,yes,no

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