Good morning/afternoon…

1. My Wish List for Rams vs. the Chiefs: I want to see OT Jason Smith pancake a few Chiefs, and show improvement, and secure a starting job so he can avoid embarrassing the Rams. If the No. 2 overall pick can’t win a starting job on a mediocre offensive line for a team that’s gone 5-27 the last two years, then owner Chip Rosenbloom ought to be asking why he dished $33 million on guaranteed money for the guy… I want to see Rams DT Adam Carriker make some plays and justify his roster presence and playing time. I want to see these young corners (J. Wade, B. Fletcher, J. King) justify the donation of former No. 1 pick Tye Hill to ATL for a 7th-round draft choice. I realize Hill isn’t the second coming of Roger Wehrli, but is he really worse than the many inexperienced CBs on the roster? … I want to see Keith Null connect and be accurate and look confident so he can win the No. 3 QB job… even though he’s a Brewers fan, I want to see WR Derek Stanley step up and win a roster spot; he still has upside in his career, unlike some of the wideouts he’s competing against for a job … I want to see hothead Chiefs coach Todd Haley fire another assistant — any assistant will do — at halftime. How about Haley sacking offensive coordinator Chan Gailey after three preseason games? Wow. A Linny move, there.

2. Cardinals Need to get Ryan Ludwick Going: Heading into Thursday’s matinee against the pitching-impoverished Brewers, Ludwick was 3 for 5 in the series, which is a good sign. The addition of Matt Holliday has dramatically strengthened the middle of the STL lineup. But if Ludwick, who bats 5th, can get rolling the Cardinals will be even more formidable. SInce the All-Star break, Ludwick’s slugging percentage is only .372. He has but one homer since July 26. Since the break, seven Cardinals’ regulars (or semi-regulars) have a higher SLG than Ludwick: Holliday (.691), Albert Pujols (.573), Rick Ankiel (.489), Julio Lugo (.488), Mark DeRosa (.448), Skip Schumaker (.417) and Brendan Ryan (.400). Ludwick has done a decent job (.271 BA) with runners in scoring position (.271).

(BTW, only Pujols has more ABs than Ludwick for the Cardinals since the All-Star Break, though Holliday would be second in ABs had he arrived a week earlier.)

3. Difference Between Ludwick, Then & Now: Last season (37 homers, 113 RBIs) Ludwick murdered all kind of fastballs. Location didn’t matter. Not so, this season. According to data at STATS LLC, Ludwick is batting only .180 on outside fastballs. That’s glaring for this reason: in 2008, he hit .347 on fastballs away. And while last season Ludwick smoked low fastballs for a remarkable .472 batting average, this season his BA for low fastballs is .258.

4. Colby Rasmus, Blade Runner: The rookie CF usually reaches his target when he’s on the bases. I’m not talking about stolen bases; I’m talking about functional speed - being able to take an extra base a runner on balls in play. According to data at Bill James online, Rasmus is the Cardinals’ best runner this season with a net gain of +20. He’s gone from first to third on a single 50 percent of the time; scored on a single from second 89 percent of the time; and scored from first on a double 80 percent of the time. And the Raz speed also helps him avoid hitting into double plays; he’s hit into DPs only 5 percent of the time when faced with potential DP situations. According to the same data, Ludwick is the second-best runner at +14, and B. Ryan is third at +11.

5. Bernie Bytes: Allen Craig, the STL hitting prospect who doesn’t have a defensive position, is batting .402 with 18 HRs in 189 ABs in the second half of the season at Class AAA Memphis … Saturday at The Ed, how will a young Mizzou defense hold up to Juice Williams throwing to (big) Benn and that extraordinary ensemble of those gifted Illinois receivers? … on July 22 the Cardinals lost 4-3 in Houston, and with the win the Astros’ cut the Cardinals’ lead to one game. Six weeks later, the Astros trail the Cardinals by 15.5 in the NL Central standings. My gosh …. The new Forbes NFL Value Rankings are out, and the Rams are ranked 25th among 32 in the league with at an estimated franchise value of $913 million… new music that I shouldn’t like, but do: “Ursa Major,” the new one from Third Eye Blind. Hey, we’re all entitled to guilty pleasures in music … former Cardinal utility man Aaron Miles is batting only .176 / .218 / .236 for the Cubs and is 1 for 20 since returning from the DL on Aug. 5 … Sports Illustrated’s Peter King predicts a 5-11 record for the Rams; sounds about right.

Thanks for reading …

-Bernie