SB Nation User Blog: stlfan

Trade Deadline Deals - Not this year, don't worry!

stlfan — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 03:50:49 -0000

Within today's main post someone made an interesting point; or at least it seemed interesting to me. The poster asked the question (and I paraphrase) "When was the last time the Cardinals were sellers?" I figured that I would take a look at as many trades as I could for as long back as I could handle.

2009 season
December 4, 2008 - Traded 2 PTBNLs (Mark Worrell and Luke Gregorson) to San Diego for Khalil Greene. Buyers.

2008 season
July 26 - Traded Anthony Reyes to Cleveland for Luis Pedermo. Neither buyer nor seller.
January 14 - Traded Scott Rolen to Toronto for Troy Glaus. Neither buyer nor seller.
December 15, 2007 - Traded Jim Edmonds to San Diego for David Freese. Neither buyer nor seller. Seller, if I had to choose one there.

2007 season
July 31 - Traded a PTBNL (Sean Danielson) to Boston for Joel Pineiro. Buyers.
June 22 - Traded a PTBNL (Chris Lambert) to Detroit for Mike Maroth. Buyers.

2006 season
July 31 - Traded Rich Scalamandre to Atlanta for Jorge Sosa. Buyers.
July 30 - Traded Hector Luna to Cleveland for Ronnie Belliard. Buyers.
July 5 - Traded Terry Evans to Anaheim for Jeff Weaver. Buyers.
December 7, 2005 - Traded Ray King to Colorado for Larry Bigbie and Aaron Miles. Neither buyers nor sellers.

2005 season
December 18, 2004 - Traded Daric Barton, Kiko Calero, and Danny Haren (ouch) to Oakland for Mark Mulder. Buyers. (or so we thought...)

2004 season
August 6 - Traded Jason Burch and PTBNLs (Luis Martinez and Chris Narveson) to Colorado for Larry Walker. Buyers.
March 21 - Traded Matt Duff to Boston for Tony Womack. Buyers.
December 31, 2003 - Traded JD Drew and Eli Marrero to Atlanta for Jason Marquis, Ray King, and Adam Wainwright. Both buyers and sellers.
November 21, 2003 - Traded Tino Martinez to Tampa Bay for PTBNL (John-Paul Davis) and Evan Rust. Sellers. This is the first example I could find going back. Davis and Rust never made the bigs. Martinez went on to put up an .823 OPS for Tampa that year and hit 23 homers and had 20 doubles. This was a salary dump, BUT the big thing here is that it was in the offseason. It still was not a trade deadline dump.

Before that, the next salary dump/sale I could find was trading Dustin Hermanson to Boston for Dustin Brisson, Luis Alfonso Garcia, and Rick Asadoorian. None of them made the majors as well. Again, this was an off-season deal. (December 15th, 2002.)

The most recent trade deadline dump could be July 31, 2001 when we traded Jason Christiansen to San Francisco for Kevin Joseph. Joseph threw 11 innings in 2002, his only major league experience. The next season was his last in professional baseball. Jason Christiansen, at the time of the trade, had thrown 30 games for the Cardinals that season (and 21 the previous season in a partial season with the Cards). He was having a good year with the Birds on the Bat and finished even better with the Giants later.

Pujols to 3rd

stlfan — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 02:18:06 -0000

I believe that the Cardinals should move Albert Pujols to 3rd base. There, I said it. I figured it would be the easiest way to say it...to just come out and start with it. I believe that the Cardinals should move Albert to 3rd base because it would enable us to improve the third base position's production by adding a first baseman instead. It would also give the team a lot of flexibility defensively.

I would assume that Pujols, within 2-3 years, would become a very good defender at third base. All the man does is impress in everything he puts his mind to doing.
Defensively, Chris Duncan is a decent option at first base. In the outfield, where he currently roams, he is a bad to mediocre option at best.
Defensively, Skip Schumaker is a good to great option in left field. At second base, where he currently roams, he is a bad option.
Defensively, the Walrus, Brett Wallace, projects as a first baseman or a DH, not as he is currently being used at 3rd. Moving Pujols would allow Wallace to be brought up at some point and not have to worry nearly as much about playing defense. He could just, then, learn to rake the MLB pitchers.

Then, the Cardinals could go a myriad directions with trades.

Adam Dunn has been mentioned elsewhere on the site as a trade option. He is in the same boat as Duncan defensively. Dunn brings a bigger name and a bigger bat than Duncan can give us, at least at the moment. I'd prefer to play him at first than clog up an already crowded outfield.
Mark DeRosa has been rumored to be coming to St. Louis, most recently here. He would be a pretty good defender at 2nd base, which would be open by moving Skip back to the outfield. I think his bat projects much better as a second baseman than a 3rd baseman.
Apparently Adrian Gonzalez could be on the block in SD, along with Jake Peavy. Adrian Gonzalez would pretty much keep the 1b defense the same as it is now...and add much more pop than we've seen at third since 2006 with Rolen reasonably healthy.
Matt Holliday has been rumored to (and I paraphrase) "not caring about staying in Oakland." Holliday would represent a big bat in the lineup and the biggest name that could probably be gotten to appease Tony. Holliday is a plus defender. I am assuming that if Holliday is brought in, that one of our current outfielders, not named Ludwick or Rasmus, will be dealt as part of a package deal. I would be fine if both Duncan and Ankiel were sent off for Holliday, leaving us with a Ludwick, Rasmus, Holliday, Skip platoon out there.

I know that there are minuses to moving Pujols. The biggest, first and foremost problem is that nobody but Albert really knows what is up with his right arm. He seems to be healthy right now. I think that now is the time to do it, if there ever is a time. I believe that to keep Albert past 2011 the club will have to be competitive. Albert has expressed the desire to move to 3rd if it helps to keep the team competitive.

Thanks for reading, stlfan.

PS - I do not mind if this becomes the dumping ground of all trade discussion so that we can keep it all in one place...

First-Year Player Draftee Questions

stlfan — Sun, 31 May 2009 23:04:49 -0000

So, over at Vivaelbirdos, I was talking to a few of the Cardinals faithful about the draft. The topic of middle infielders and catchers (which I believe to be our biggest needs in Cardinal Nation, in terms of prospects) that can rake came up. I looked up some basic stats (mainly SLG, OPS, and XBH) on the NCAA.org site and came up with the following people.

Has anyone seen any of them in person? Does anyone go to the school and get to see/hear about them constantly? What do you all know about these kids?

Are they kids who will stick in their current positions, or are they (like Pujols and possibly Brett Wallace before them) kids who will need to change positions in the majors based on their not so hot fielding prowess? Does their power project to the majors? Do they have any speed? etc.

Thanks for any responses that I get.

Bryan Marquez – 2B – NMSU
2009: 215 AB, .414 – 83 runs, 14 doubles, 22 homers, 85 rbi, 49:29 BB:K .534 OBP, .795 SLG

Gary Helmick – 2B – Towson
2009: 228 AB, .430 – 72 runs, 12 doubles, 9 triples, 17 homers, 51 RBI, 32:23 BB:K .502 OBP, .785 SLG

Tommy Nurre – INF – Miami (OH)
2009: 202 AB, .406 – 53 runs, 18 doubles, 1 triple, 17 homers, 54 RBI, 28:34 BB:K .498 OBP, .757 SLG
16 steals, 1 caught

Jordan Kreke – SS – Eastern Ill.
2009: 188 AB, .394 – 50 runs, 16 doubles, 3 triples, 13 homers, 59 RBI, 8:22 BB:K .433 OBP, .718 SLG
5 steals, 0 caught

Nate Freiman – INF – Duke
2009: .352, 47 runs, 15 doubles, 20 homers, 59 RBI .463 OBP, .703 SLG

Hayden Johnston – INF – Ohio
2009: .393, 61 runs, 25 doubles, 16 homers, 47 RBI, .448 OBP, .701 SLG

Matt Vern – INF – TCU
2009: .369, 56 runs, 15 homers, 45 RBI, .474 OBP, .699 SLG

J.T. Wise – C – Oklahoma
2009: .374, 17 homers, 61 RBI, .703 SLG

2009-2010

stlfan — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 14:53:40 -0000

While everyone else is busy being disappointed by the St. Louis Blues early playoff ouster at the hands of the Vancouver Canucks or celebrating the incredible comeback that the St. Louis Blues were able to make to even get into the post-season for 4 meaningful contests, John Davidson, Larry Pleau, Al MacInnis, Doug Armstrong, Andy Murray, et al will be figuring out (starting today) how to make this team better for next year. They'll be figuring out how to get the St. Louis Blues to play like they did for the last 38 games of hockey instead of the first 44 games of hockey. I figured that I would take a stab at what the team could look like, barring freak injuries, come October.

First off, let's look at who is leaving. According to this site, as of right now, Keith Tkachuk is no longer a Blue. He does not have a contract going into next season. Manny Legace will, most likely, be joining the scrap heap. Dan Hinote and Brad Winchester are the other two UFA's on the roster at the moment. On another site, it is stated that Mike Weaver and Trent Whitfield are free agents as well. Those two sites only show UNrestricted free agents (UFAs).

For the Blues, there are several restricted free agents, as well. This means the Blues have the option of matching any offers made to these players. I'll list players that I think could make an impact on the 2009-2010 roster only: BJ Crombeen, Chris Holt, Jay McClement, Roman Polak, Chris Porter, Steve Regier, Marek Shwarz, Steve Wagner, and Jeff Woywitka.

At goaltender, Chris Mason has earned everything he's ever wanted: A starting goaltender's job in the National Hockey League. 57 games with a .916 save percentage, plus 21 out of the last 25 games (not including the playoffs) giving up 3 or less goals, will give you a good chance to play every day the following season. Ben Bishop, I believe should and will be backing up Mason. I could see Chris Holt giving Bishop a run for his money, but I'd rather see Holt in a full season starting in Peoria, personally.

On defense, the Blues have a lot of talent. There are 5 guys who, in my mind, are sure bets to make the team on defense. Erik Johnson should be back in form by the time October rolls around. If that is the case, he very well could be the top d-man. Alex Pietrangelo, especially for a 19 year old, played well in his "cup o' joe," to steal a term from baseball players getting a quick look at what the big leagues are like. He should be a top 4 defenseman. Barret Jackman has had a rough couple of years, compared to the beginning of his career. I think that with two other really good defensemen (and a good surrounding cast back there), he will step up his play in a reduced minute role. He will be in his age 28 season and should be rounding into his prime for the next 3-5 years. I hope that the toll of 18-23 minutes per night for the past 3 years playing on a bad team (minus the tail end of this season) won't scar his future seasons. Carlo Colaiacovo led all Blues defensemen with 29 points this season. He had a rough playoff run, but most of the Blues players did. Eric Brewer is still the Captain of this team for the moment, so there is no way to keep him off the ice either. The rest of the defensemen are battling for one spot every night.

Jay McKee was the top d-man in +/- this year, with Tyson Strachan finishing 2nd in only 30 games played. Jeff Woywitka was third in +/- and 3rd in points (for Blues d-men). Other than them, Roman Polak played some good minutes (and some bad) in the playoffs, and Steve Wagner and Mike Weaver played a bit in the regular season, with Weaver seeing time int he playoffs, too.

At forward, Brad Boyes led the team in goals, assists, and points. David Backes was second on the team in goals and points. David Perron was second on the team in assists and third in points. Add in a healthy Paul Kariya and Andy McDonald and you have a pretty decent top 5. Either Patrik Berglund or TJ Oshie round out a good top two lines, while the other will start at center on the 3rd line (unless Andy Murray decides to split up this top 7 talent and go with a 3-line rotation to keep players more fresh.)

Jay McClement, BJ Crombeen, and Alex Steen make another pretty good line, but that only gives you a top 10 and, of course, 12 forwards are needed.

Unless FA acquisitions are made, I could see DJ King and St. Louisan Cam Janssen battling out for a regular lineup spot on the fourth line, especially in the grind of a long season and someone taking a cheap shot at a top 7 player from above.

Someone else who knows the minor league talent better than I could help me out here. Going off of who played in St. Louis this year, one spot will be left wide open to be won by one of the following: David Koci, Steve Regier, Cam Paddock, Chris Porter, and Yan Stastny. I can't say that I'm thrilled with any of those options.

Onto the Free Agents. This site shows one version of the Top 30 free agents in the summer of 2009 and this site I believe could list everyone. Dominic Moore looks like a St. Louis Blue. He is a checking liner in effort. Enough said. Alex Burrows, with whom Blues fans are now familiar, could be a force on offense, especially with Oshie, Perron, Backes, etc clearing the boards and crease for him. I don't think the Blues will go after the Sedins because they'll cost too much money. Steve Bernier is a restricted free agent, meaning Vancouver could match an offer. For some reason, I thought they re-signed him last year to a 2 or 3 year deal.

The biggest impact on the defensive end could be Jay Bouwmeester. I would love to see him round out our top 6 defensemen. That would be an incredible defensive corps.

If anyone knows anything different than I, or if you agree or disagree, I would love to see comments and have a chance to forsee next year's roster. Thanks!

Early Lineup Wishes

stlfan — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 03:30:10 -0000

So I know it is way to early in the season to say anyone is going to stay this hot or cold over the course of the season, but as the Royals you really need to stay hot. You need to make this team (and this fan base, in particular) believe that they can win and will , THIS year. The AL Central is not putrid, but is going to be a winable division by ANY of the 5 teams, if they get hot.

That being said, I think that this is the lineup that must be played at the moment until they cool off.

Alberto Callaspo - 2B - .433 OBP, .898 OPS (Switch hitter)

Coco Crisp - CF - .396 OBP, .990 OPS (Lefty)

John Buck - C - .476 OBP, 1.476 OPS (Righty)

Mark Teahen - 3B - .413 OBP, .888 OPS (Lefty)

Mike Jacobs - 1B - .629 SLG, .962 OPS (Lefty)

Mike Aviles - SS - second leadoff hitter (if that makes sense)

David Dejesus - LF - second second hitter (ditto)

Billy Butler - DH - second three hitter - (he can play 1st and Jacobs can DH, if you like)

Willie Bloomquist/Mitch Maier/whomever - RF - fills out the lineup...whoever you think can give you the best game that day.

I think that this lineup would give you the best chance to win day in and day out at this point in the season. You keep pushing the defensive side of the ball because with the way the starters are going, you just need to keep playing good defense behind them and build their confidence more.

First fanpost in a while, don't rip me too hard.

Go Royals!

Best Blues Lineup

stlfan — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 18:18:28 -0000

Hello St. Louis Game Time readers,

I have been following along on this site for about a month now, but have yet to really post anything significant, because I have refused the urge to post anything until now, when I think I have something significant to contribute. I looked through the archives and did not see anything about this topic.

The topic I’m here to discuss today is this: If you could put together a team (20 players – 12 forwards, 8 defensemen, and 2 goalies) from St. Louis Blues past as a team, who would be on it. Now, I’m going to make a limitation or two. Looking over at www.hockey-reference.com, I found out that 108 players have played two full seasons (164+ games) in a Blues uniform. Only 69 players have played three full seasons (246+ games). Even though I would have to knock out some of my all-time favorites, I think at least three seasons (or 246 games played as a St. Louis Blue is needed in order to make this team. Starting goaltenders usually play less games, so I’m using 3 years at 60 games played = 180 minimum games for a goalie.)

FORWARDS:

1st Line – Brendan Shanahan / Bernie Ferderko / Brett Hull

2nd Line – Jorgen Pettersson / Pierre Turgeon / Joe Mullen

3rd Line – Brian Sutter / Garry Unger / Jamal Mayers

4th Line – Wayne Babych / Doug Gilmour / Pavol Demitra

The first line averaged, respectively, 1.1/1.16/1.26 points per game as a Blue.

The second line averaged, respectively, .91/1.09/1.11 points per game as a Blue.

The third line averaged, 2.29/1.12/1.27 PIM per game as a Blue, and still could put the puck in the net regularly. I could not put Sutter or Unger on line 4, so this line goes here. Another note: Mayers made it over Keith Tkachuk (and others) because he is one of only 7 Blues to play a decade of hockey in STL.

The fourth line averaged, respectively, .87/.92/1.00 points per game as a Blue.

DEFENSEMEN: (or defencemen, as those tricky Canadians would say. J)

1st Pairing – Al MacInnis / Chris Pronger

2nd Pairing – Barclay Plager / Bob Plager

3rd Pairing – Jeff Brown / Barrett Jackman

I think the first two are two of the best defensemen ever, so there was no doubt in my mind that they deserved the top pairing. The second grouping went together because they were both in the Blue Note for 10 or more seasons and played fantastically when they were. Plus, you can’t split up the brothers if you can avoid doing so. The third pairing was very difficult for me to decide. Jeff Brown actually leads all Blues defensemen ever with .89 points per game. Part of that, I’m sure, was being on a power play with Brett Hull to pass to. He held his own, though, scoring 80 goals in 4+ seasons as a Blue. Barrett Jackman is probably my favorite post-lockout player on the Blues roster, so that was my deciding factor there.

GOALTENDERS:

Curtis Joseph & Grant Fuhr

My reasoning is this: CUJO was my favorite player growing up in the Brett Hull era. He made more ridiculous glove saves than any goalie I can remember. Patrick Roy had the butterfly, Dominik Hasek had the stacked pads, Joseph used the glove as well as Ozzie Smith. He carried the team in a time where top line defensive defensemen did not really exist here in St. Louis. My apologies go out to Murray Baron, Rick Zombo, and Garth Butcher…but they are fantastic 2nd and 3rd line defensemen. Grant Fuhr had the luxury of Al MacInnis and Chris Pronger clearing the way for him.

(Note: even with the 180 games played caveat for goalies, only 4 played as a Blue long enough to be on this team – the two I chose, plus Mike Liut and Greg Millen.)

stlfan

Royals' first winter signing: Jairo Cuevas

stlfan — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 03:44:33 -0000

In case everyone missed it, as I'm sure nearly everyone did, the Royals claimed Jairo Cuevas off of waivers from the (guess who) Atlanta Braves this week. He has spent 5 years bouncing between Rookie ball and AA, all in the Atlanta system. He is a 24 year-old right-handed starting pitcher. In 81 games (72 starts), he has thrown 377 1/3 innings, allowing only 329 hits. He has struck out 357 and walked 180 (not quite a 2:1 K:BB.) He posts a 4.05 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP. He only has given up 23 homers in those 377+ innings.

Unfortunately, his numbers have gotten progressively worse on his way up the ladder through the minors.

The Cardinals and Injuries

stlfan — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 12:04:11 -0000

After the 2007 season, I took an extended look at the Cardinals injuries in that season. If memory serves, I believe 22 of 25 opening day starters were hurt at some point throughout the year. That was 88% of the roster from Opening Day.

In 2008, the Cardinals were similarly hurt. Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright (the club's two aces) missed time due to injury. The rotation also had Todd Wellemeyer and Braden Looper miss a little bit of time to the injury bug. The bullpen was in shambles because of injuries to Josh Kinney, Tyler Johnson, Jason Isringhausen, (and others?). Also, nobody needs to be reminded of Mark Mulder's season(s).

In the field this season, Yadier Molina, Albert Pujols, and most of the outfield was injured for parts of the season. It is not nearly as extensive a list this year as last. That is a good thing.

Lastly, in the minors/majors department, one Colby Rasmus went down with an injury AND we already know that Jaime Garcia and Mike Parisi are probably lost for the entire season in 2009.

My questions, then, are:

Why are the Cardinals so injury plagued? Are we targeting players with higher risk of injury somehow? Are we not doing a good job of preventing injuries? Are our GM's gullible in trading for injured players? Are we taking riskier chances on free agent acquisitions?

How can the Cardinals franchise, as a whole, become more preventive in health care of their employees? There is not much use in having a Chris Carpenter, Mark Mulder, Mark McGwire, Jim Edmonds etc. to long-term contracts in which we pay players to sit on the bench (thank goodness McGwire retired when he did and pretty much gave the Cardinals salary cap to work with.)

In essence, what is going on and how can we fix it?

The End Of the Season

stlfan — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 00:12:47 -0000

Here at the end of the season, I am very conflicted on what I would like to see happen. Truthfully, Honestly, I do not think this team has it in them to pull of a miracle run like the 2006 team did. The 2006 team had a lot of injuries that all seemed to be coming back to get healthy at the right time, right when the playoffs were about to win. This year, the injuries keep on coming and the players are not coming back from them on any reasonable time table for consistent winning to occur.

At catcher, Molina is hurt for at least a few days after the collision last night. That leaves career backup Jason LaRue and Johnson from AAA.

At first base, Pujols is injured, but playing...presumably because he is having an MVP type season and he would like to keep it up and win. He also believes (so he says) that he will be back early next year if he has surgery after the season is over.

At second base and shortstop, the combination of Lopez, Ryan, Izturis, Kennedy, and Miles are all healthy. /sarcasm OH BOY!!! /end sarcasm

At third base, Glaus is now injured, so one of the middle infielders has shifted over to play even more. All we have left is Barden and he isn't playing. LaRussa has refused, pretty much, to bring up Freese and/or Wallace.

In the outfield, Mather and Duncan are on the DL. Ankiel is too injured to start. Barton has been on the DL and isn't playing much since coming back. That leaves us Skip, Ludwick, and a MI or Phelps or Stavinoha. None of them are good options at this point. I believe Jones is technically up as well, but he hasn't been mentioned much and definitely isn't going into a game any time soon...so it seems.

At pitcher, Carpenter is still hurt, he won't be starting any games for sure. Waino is back, but is he at full strength? Welley has pitched more than ever before, ditto Looper. Lohse is fine. Pineiro is Pineiro. Garcia's down for this year and next. Izzy is done. Tyler Johnson is done for the year. Kinney is just coming back.

So you might ask...stlfan, what are you going to suggest with all this bitching and moaning?

My suggestion is to be done with this season and move toward next year, which is supposedly when we're supposed to be retooled and back on track anyway.

I would suggest to set down any player that is injured at all (anything somewhat serious) and allow youngsters and/or players that we do not plan to sign/ will not be bringing back finish out the season.

C - LaRue and Johnson

1b - Phelps

2b - Miles/Lopez/Kennedy

SS - Ryan/Izturis

3B - Barden/Ryan - I would also bring up Freese.

LF - Play Stavinoha and Jones. We need to know for next year if they can play.

CF - Skip - we need to know if he can play every day and hit lefties

RF - Ludwick - we need to get good ABs from him whenever he is actually healthy.

Also bring up Rasmus (IF the team plans on him having a realistic shot at starting next year with the big league club. If LaRussa has already decided he will be in Memphis, then don't tease him.)

Pitchers: I shut down anyone hurt or thrown way more than before (Welley/Looper?)

Waino (if COMPLETELY healhty)

Lohse (finish out the year)

Looper (until he hits 200-205 IP then shut him down)

Welley (give him 3 more starts or so...until he hits 180-185 IP and sit him down - unless you don't plan on keeping, then throw him as much as you want)

Boggs (give 4-5 more starts after Welley gets sat down)

To fill in for those above, I give Thompson and Pineiro starts in the rotation.

In the pen, I see Perez, Franklin, and Motte finishing out the year closing and in the setup role. I would sit Carpenter down and see if (once again) he could possibly be healthy by the spring.

Left in the pen are: Villone, Flores (and pull both LOOGYs once they walk the first batter they face), Springer, Parisi, Jiminez (bring both up if they aren't), Kinney, Mark Worrell (bring him back up in case needed).

I really just believe that this season is over and we need to get people healthy for next year. I really have thought this over for days now, and believe it to be the best course of action. I don't think that anyone (not just Cardinal fans, but BASEBALL FANS in general) wants to see a playoff team sport a lineup like tonight's (game 3 of the Cubs series). It would not be good for baseball.

Arizona Fall League

stlfan — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 12:17:53 -0000

9 Cardinals will be involved with the Peoria Saguaros, writes Derrick Goold. The persons in question:

AA Coach Pop Warner - has led the AA Cardinals to 73-63 (2007) and 73-60 (2008) records.

High-A LHP Tyler Norrick - 24 years old - Only played in 6 games, starting them all, over two classes (High-A 5 starts and AAA 1 start) this season. Total of 22 1/3 IP, 20 H, 15 ER, 2 HR, 30 K, and 17 BB.

High-A C Steven Hill - 23 years old - 69 games between rookie ball, High-A ball, and AA ball. 266 ab, 77 hits, 43 runs, 17 homers, 46 rbi, 11 doubles, 3 triples, 14 bb, 73 K, 0 sb attempts.

AA LHP - Justin Fiske - 23 years old - 38 games played, 8 games started, 8 games finished, 1 save (between A ball, High-A ball, and AA ball). 73 IP, 72 hits, 30 ER, 5 HR, 90 K, 34 BB.

AA LHP - Brad Furnish - 23 years old - 28 games played, 23 games started (between High-A ball and AA ball). 131 IP, 119 hits, 67 ER, 14 HR, 86 K, 61 BB.

AA RHP - Adam Ottovino - 22 years old - 23 games started (all at AA). 108 1/3 IP, 129 hits, 66 ER, 15 HR, 92 K, 51 BB.

AA 3B - Brett Wallace - 21 years old - 47 games played (between A and AA), 176 ab, 60 hits, 37 runs, 8 hr, 33 rbi, 11 doubles, 1 triple, 17 BB, 34 K, 0 sb attempts.

AAA SS - Tyler Greene - 24 years old - 120 games (between AA and AAA). 462 ab, 120 hits, 76 runs, 16 hr, 46 rbi, 22 doubles, 4 triples, 28 BB, 128 K, 18 for 24 SB.

AAA OF - Shane Robinson - 23 years old - 98 games (between AA and AAA). 363 ab, 112 hits, 54 runs, 5 hr, 41 rbi, 21 doubles, 3 triples, 21 BB, 56 K, 15 for 22 SB.

Looks like Wallace will not be coming to St. Louis. I, for one, am fine with that. Josh Phelps can probably do the same in September and not cost a year of eligibility, or start the arbitration clock early, or anything.

Another notes, Gordon Beckham, the highly touted shortstop out of U. of Georgia, will be starting next to Brett Wallace. Could be a fun team to watch...if it were on television.