Give it a rest.

I know, I know - he's barely played above replacement level the last 2 years, is unlikely to get any better, and is surely going to take PAs that could have gone to younger players with more upside.

None of those players, however, bested Roy Halladay in an epic 10-pitch AB that produced the only run of the Cardinals 1-0 Game 5 win over the Phillies.

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Before the 2009 season, Pujols was quoted by Jon Heyman in SI

"I'm not going to lie to you: It's not about the money all the time," Pujols said when he got to spring training. "It's about being in a place to win and being in a position to win. If the Cardinals are willing to do that and put a team together every year like they have, I'm going to try to work everything out to stay in this town."

At the time, the Cardinals had failed to qualify for the playoffs in 2 consecutive seasons. Since then, there's no disputing that the Cardinals organization - through trades, free-agent signings, and long-term commitment to player development - have put Albert Pujols in a position to win. Given present ownership's track record of retaining top tier players (McGwire, Edmonds, Rolen, Pujols, Carpenter, Holliday) at high, but not idiotic salaries, and Albert's own willingness to 'work everything out to stay in this town', there is little reason to think he'd leave.

The question remains: Why isn't it done?

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[Editor's Note: I'm out of pocket this morning, but in lieu of a typical no-content morning thread I thought I'd promote this great set of photos from musial6. Check all the fanposts, while you're at it—there's some great stuff in the recommended section. -danup]

I'd just returned to my seat in the top of the 6th, the Pence plate appearance already in progress. I photographed several shots of Jackson throwing over to first. I decided to focus on Utley/Pujols in anticipation of another pickoff throw, but Jackson went ahead and threw a pitch, so I got Utley leaving with the pitch instead...I stayed with Utley (ignoring the ball in play) and by chance picked up Furcal's throw as Utley rounds second. I then go back to Pujols for the play at first and get him coming off the bag - then was fortunate to get a nice shot of Utley dead meat at third.

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It was a fine night for a ball game.

With the tying run on 3rd with 1 out in the 5th, Brendan Ryan hits a fly to left.

Bobby Scales catches the ball.

Mark DeRosa is safe at home. Score tied 2-2 after 5.

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Apologies if this has been covered, but I couldn't find any discussions on VEB regarding Colby Rasmus' batter's box positioning...



note how pretty much everyone else stands at or near the back of the box...

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Good luck to Mr Lamping. He will be missed. This club was a mess when he took over, and his tenure as Cardinals President has been nothing short of a renaissance. I wish him all the best in his new gig.

That being said, there is a good deal of angst in Cardinal Nation these days. I'm willing to give the new team president a chance to carve his own legacy, but he would be wise to earn back some of the goodwill that the club has blown these last few years.

my suggestions (for what they're worth) after the jump...

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I've long written off our chances for 2007, but Ankiel-mania has gotten to me and I'm starting to feel mild symptoms of pennant fever.

Kennedy is out. Brendan Ryan is in. We've replaced JuanEnc with Roy Hobbs. Edmonds is hitting. The rotation is showing signs of stability (knock on wood). The Cubs and Brewers are stuck in neutral.

Mind you up to this point 2007 is eerily similar to 1997 (always clinging to faint postseason hopes despite never being above .500, lots of ill-fated contract extensions for declining players following the previous year's miraculous postseason run, devastating injuries to the rotation, the emergence of a new young ace, the August arrival of a rockstar power hitter who revives hopes of a late season charge - and we all remember how 1997 ended - but unlike 1997, there's no powerhouse team in the NL Central - and just like 2006, the playoff birth is there for the taking.

If we can keep this up in these upcoming series in Milwaukee and Chicago, this race will get very interesting. This team has got nothing to lose - they've experienced the highest of highs and the lowest of lows - all they can do is go out there and leave it on the field. I'm by no means optimistic, but I like our chances a lot better now with Ankiel and Ryan in there instead of bums Kennedy and Encarnacion.

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/boxscore?gid=270620112

I know it's the Pirates, but the man had an 0-6 record with 9.75 ERA and a 2.03 WHIP coming into the game.

Does he just tank on purpose at the beginning of each year? Is he high? There has to be some kind of rational explanation for this.

I guess his trade stock just went from 'junk' to 'don't buy'. Another good start and he'll be up to 'risky'.

I know it's a small sample size and he's always one tricky flyball away from an extended trip to the DL, but I'd sure like to have him right about now.

16 AB .500/.500/.875

The Royals are not going anywhere in that division this year. Come June, assuming KC is 10+ games out and Reggie's not hurt, I think Walt should try and reacquire Reggie. He can still rake, the fans love him, and he's good for the clubhouse.

It'd be great if they could get someone like Dye, but I just think the asking price will be too high (for a 33 year-old career 110 OPS+ rightfielder who can walk at the end of the year). Plus, Walt should stick to dealing with GMs that don't know what they're doing (no more trades with Cleveland or Oakland please).

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[I'm posting this here in hopes of getting some dialogue going on this issue]

When are the Cardinals/MLB going to start offering fans the ability to purchase live in-market games streaming over the Internet? Every year you guys reduce the number of games on free television. I attend 40 games a year and I subscribe to the MLB.tv online package. I'm more than willing to pay to watch my Cardinals, but I refuse to be strong-armed into getting cable or satellite.

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Now with Mulder signed, it seems unlikely the Cardinals will re-sign Weaver. It's unknown what kind of money Weaver is being offered, but when Marquis gets 21M/3yr, one can draw the conclusion that Weaver will be able to get more than we should be willing to pay.

He'll probably sign for 28M/3yr in the next week, and the Cardinals PR machine will say they wanted him back but he wanted too much guaranteed money and some fans will jeer Weaver for leaving when WE ALL KNOW he owes his career to Dave Duncan and will resume sucking as soon as he goes to another team.

So assuming we're confident Weaver will suck on another team, why don't we just wait for him to flop? Then we just wait for the phone to ring when that team tries to unload him (to the only club who could possibly have any interest in the bum).

Yeah, he could be awesome for his next team and we'll wish we had kept him...and Gil Meche could win the AL Cy Young and lead the Royals to the World Series...

even if he never comes back, we'll always have October 2006.