DOWNTOWN — As it turns out, the letters rolling into the mailbag late last week and this weekend saw this coming.
With few exceptions, questions from readers were all focused on the future — how to mold the roster the Cardinals have now into a roster they should have and will need in 2008. Most of the emails came in before the season sank into the Potomac, and now they seem so prophetic. So the future is where this week starts.
There’s a question about moving Albert Pujols to third base, an inquiry about how to make room for Rick Ankiel in the outfield and proposition that states — I believe — manager Tony La Russa should only have to talk to the media about topics he wants to talk about.
Check your Kool-Aid, as Bernie Miklasz wrote, at the door. On with PostCards Daily:
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1. Assuming Chris Duncan is still in the team and not traded for a starting pitcher. Move Albert Pujols back to third, his true position. Duncan to first, his true position. (This gets him out of the outfield where he is a distinct liability.)2. Ryan Ludwick gets a chance at center field, his true position, platooning with Jim Edmonds should he return for his last year. Or he gets it outright.3. Scott Rolen is traded as a package for a starting pitcher freeing up third base for Pujols.4. Left field is filled with a good defensive/high average player obtained in a trade.5. Juan Encarnacion stays in right field.6. Adam Kennedy is traded (maybe with Rolen) as a package for a starter. Brendan Ryan starts at second!
– John Bearden
DG: Don’t confuse youth with speed, because there haven’t been a whole lot of stolen bases in the Cardinals minor-league system this season either. And I shouldn’t confuse speed with stolen bases. Let’s just say both have been lacking throughout the system. And both are needed. That said, I’ll go point-by-point through your proposal, which it should be noted was sent in before the debacle in D.C.:
- Third base is not Pujols’ ”true position” any more so than center field is Ludwick’s “true position”. This elbow soreness that Pujols is experiencing is just one reason why he’s a first baseman and a first baseman to stay. That his position, that’s his best position and that is the position that keeps him from doing further damage to an arm injury that dates back a few years. No reason to put him at third base. Everyone is just going to have to come to grips with Duncan in the outfield, because — yes — that’s his best position, too.
- Interesting. Ludwick has show an ability to play center field and he has the third-most home runs of anyone on the team. I like the idea of seeing more of Ludwick somewhere in the outfield, though platooning Edmonds seems misdirected. If someone else is going to play center field for the Cardinals in the near future, that someone should be Rick Ankiel.
- Easier said than done. Did you see what teams want for starting pitching?
- Keeping Duncan there is the best way to go. One of those Dodgers’ outfielders would be a mighty nice fit, but there’s a question if the Cardinals have anything to offer to pry one loose.
- It’s refreshing to read that sentence in the mailbag. A letter that doesn’t include wild, unfounded RF bashing gets the attention. So will Encarnacion as the Cardinals look to deal him in the coming future.
- Not all that unreasonable. Except, Ryan may have to play shortstop for this team next year, unless they dip into the free agent market or work out an extension with David Eckstein.
Thanks for putting the time into the six bullet points. Wouldn’t be surprised if a few of your suggestions happen, with a little editing to rethink the “true position” assertions. Speaking of Encarnacion …
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– Larry Harnly, Springfield, Ill.
DG: Perhaps not. Encarnacion does have a favorable contract for next season, especially for the kind of production he routinely brings to a lineup. But if the Cardinals believe that a platoon of Skip Schumaker (who is out of options) and Ryan Ludwick (who is having a foothold season) can replace Encarnacion’s numbers then this move makes even more sense. You mention the two X-factors: Is Edmonds around? (He may retire or, as Joe Strauss reported today, he may consider being traded.) Where does Ankiel fit in? The Cardinals are still not sure what they have in Ankiel and it’s nearing time for them to find out. He is capable of playing all three positions, though many believe he’d best be suited for right field. His upside is as an everyday player, but some scouts see him only as a fourth outfielder or part of a left-right platoon (i.e., with Ludwick?). I fall into the Chris Mahoney school of thought: Don’t doubt Rick. And if the Cardinals feel the same way, expect them to make every effort to clear a way for him to play — even if it’s under the guise of a spring-training competition for outfield time.
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– Debra Ernst, Florissant, Mo.
DG: Good to see such a passionate defense of No. 10. The Cardinals can control (or attempt to control) many things. La Russa does not talk until he is ready to — sometimes showering first, sometimes waiting longer than the Major League Baseball-mandated time to address the media, sometimes calling us in earlier than the 10 minutes allowed. But one thing they cannot control is the questions asked. Sure, he can decline to answer them, can offer up a no comment — and he does — because our right to ask wouldn’t be fair if he didn’t also have the right not to answer. But such bunker mentality will only make things worse. Respect is nurtured and strengthened by accountability. That’s part of the job, part of all our jobs.
Perched in an ivory tower and permitting only Pollyannas an audience would have the exact effect you and the Cardinals are trying to avoid.
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Every WEEKDAY as long the questions keep coming, The Post-Dispatch’s baseball writer Derrick Goold will answer fans’ emails in a mailbag blog called PostCards, a spin-off of Bird Land. To comment and discuss the mailbag visit the PostCards blog on StlToday.com. To submit questions write postcards@post-dispatch.com or file them as a comment on this blog. With all questions please include your name and hometown.