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Another top starter for the rotation and quality left handed relief are the biggest needs the Cardinals have.

Another top starter for the rotation and quality left handed relief are the biggest needs the Cardinals have.
CardsFan2 | 09/05/08, 07:34 AM

Remove the word Cardinals and replace it with the names of 28 other teams and repeat the sentence.

Not a Cards fan nor a La Russa fan but why has the Cards powers that be gotten so chinchrod lately? With their attendance and overall budget they should be targeting a solid-but-not-outrageous-salaried FA every season or every other season.

Honestly,

With the Division in site we made absolutely NO MOVES before the deadline. NONE. We allowed quality pitchers to leave, squandered our bullpen, have little to no team speed, and not NEARLY enough pop in the lineup. Where would Albert be without Ludwick and an incoonsistent Ankiel?? I'm very disappointed in Jocketty - 2 years removed from a World Series Title and we have been usurped by the frickin' BREWERS!!!

Bring in some POP!! For the mound and the plate!

With the division in site we made absolutely ZERO moves...why??? Our pitching is average, our bullpen is awful, we have no serious protection for Albert except for Ludwick and no team speed to speak of...what the blue heaven is going on Walt?!

I think this offseason could be pretty interesting for the Cardinals. With Izzy, Encarnacion, and Mulder coming off the books, that's $21.5 million freed up. If they don't re-sign Lohse, it'll be another 4.25 million.

The problem is there aren't too many impact bats available this offseason at shortstop and second, the only two glaring holes in the Cards' lineup. And I think they'll prolly resign Lopez if he keeps up his hitting. The outfield's a bit crowded as it is, and Glaus, Pujols, and Molina aren't going anywhere next year.

That leaves a lot of room to improve the pitching. There's no reason they can't go after a solid #2 for $10-12 million a year and invest heavily in a solid bullpen.

I'm glad to see Tony come right out and say this......in a way he is throwing down the gauntlet to Mozeliak that this team is good, but they need more help.

Steve - when you add Looper, Springer and Izturis, the number is well over $30M freed up. They'll have big arbitration raises to Wellemeyer, Ankiel and Ludwick, probably, but there should still be significant cash freed up.

I'm like you.....I'd like to see an impact middle infielder, but I'd prioritize LH relief and a top 3 starting pitcher. We should be able to do that with the $20M or so total that is freed up.

I think this is a very big offseason for Mozeliak

what is wrong with this team. First we have an outfield that has problems hitting left-handed pitching. second, we have a team that hits homeruns with nobody on base. third, Larussadecided to bat the pitcher in the 8th slot to give Pujols more chances for RBIs. Its ironic that Pujols has struggled the past 2 years getting to 100 RBIs. This leads me to the 4th problem: The Cardinals are at the top in Batting Average. Their average with runners in scoring position scares me. Forget the starting pitcher and get a reliable relief pitcher and someone who can hit behind Pujols for average. Its funny that whomever you put in front of Pujols, starts hitting the ball. Now its Glaus. Who will it be next week.

rhymeister

Are you aware the Cardinals are among the top franchises in terms of percentage of revenue spent on player salaries?

CardsFan2 ...Those are the kind of statistics that people come up with to justify whatever they are doing.......Try telling that to a big name free agent this winter.....Apply that to your job . would you turn down a better paying job because that next employer paid less of a percentage of their revenue to salaries?...Besides, I would take stats like those with a grain of salt. Who came up with that one...open the books on any team, and then let us decide...No one has ever seen the open books of any pro franchise...No One...

TenRings, you have a valid point about some of the guys getting raises. Ludwick's bound to get a big raise, and with Ankiel being represented by Boras, he won't be cheap, either.

I don't really think our offense is the problem. We have four hitters who are all capable of hitting at least 25 HR and driving in 80. And lots of players have trouble hitting lefties; that's why they're generally in much higher demand than righties. If we just stack our lineup with right-handed batters, we'll be in trouble when we face right-handed pitchers, who comprise the vast majority of pitchers.

Every offense sputters from time to time; that can't be avoided. But our biggest problem is the bullpen (see Wednesday) and the back end of our rotation. Right now we have roughly 30 blown saves. If we had won just half of those, we'd be in front by five games and wouldn't even be discussing this. I'm excited to see how Perez does given a full year next year, but we need a dominant set up man, and one or two lefty specialists who can shut people down, like Kline and King did a few years ago. Flores and Villone are the sole reasons my blood pressure's skyrocketed this year.

looks like he needs some hair of the dog

50yearfan

I was addressing the perception that the Cards take in tons of money; but, are too cheap to spend it on players. I realize the free agents don't give a rat's **** about team revenue. They just want to get paid. I fully expect one or two big signings this winter with the money the Cards have coming off the books, hopefully it will be spent on pitching. We're scoring runs better than we're preventing them.

Can't they find a better picture of Tony than that one? He's either got a hell of a headache or Izzy just told him he wants to come back with the Cards.

I'm expecting sobriety from Tony. I think at the end of the day, we will both be disappointed.

Have another drink Tony

What do I see when the demons come? I see Sarah Palin wearing nothing but a housebill....

TenRings, you brought up a very valid point. Tony is letting the teams brass now we need help and fast.

Looper has been a pretty good pitcher in the starting roatation. Springer has been shaky at times but has shown promise for the future with the team. And Izturis has a 'never say die' attitude. You can tell he puts his heart and soul into the game. Whether he is offered a multi year contract remains to be seen. He has become an instant fan fave. Wellemeyer I feel can anchor the starting rotation along with Wainwright, among others. Ankiel and Ludwick (who is an NL MVP canidate) will probably garner a multi year deal. Terms to be negotiated.

Most will agree with this this: the bullpen needs the most help. With the downfall of recent games, we can't rely on mediocre outings by the bullpen. It would be nice to have Izzy back, but with his Tommy John-esque surgery, his future with the team and possibly with baseball, is in doubt.

The brass knows whats on their plate. They just need to know how to handle it with what is available.