Keep an eye out for how fast lefthanded relievers will be signed. The pool isn’t all that deep, so the good ones, like Ohman and Rhodes, will move fast.

Today’s mailbag includes questions on that topic and other hot-stove baseball issues, such as could Skip Schumaker  be converted to a second baseman? Read on, please.

Q: Does the signing of Affeldt by the Giants for 2yrs/$8 mil set the market for LH relievers?  If so, it seems pretty steep. Are the Cards still shopping Ludwick and/or Ankiel, or are they more focused on FAs?

Jeremy

A: Jeremy. For lefthanded relievers, $4 million a year sounds about right. With so much specialization (i.e., lefty vs. lefty) in the game, these types are going to get more money than they should

As for the outfield situation, the Cardinals do have strength there. I would think anybody, with the possible exception of Rasmus in the outfield, is fair game to be talked about

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Q: Has Randy Johnson considered going to the bullpen to extend his career? Would he be a lefthanded alternative for a reliever?
A: Given his history of back problems, the up-and-down nature of warming up, I don’t think Johnson would go for it. Plus, he’s just five wins shy of 300 and wins are much more easily achieved by starting, where you have more control over the outcome of a game.

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Q: Melvin is more than just in a bind, after saying the Yankees were over-paying. That eliminates Milwaukee, I should think, unless Sabathia has an overpowering yen for bratwurst (which the Yankees would fly in by private jet anyway, if need be), or some deep-seded need to pull out his shirttail when circling the bases (the Yankees would not go for that). Hank Steinbrenner is not going to be out-bid, that seems pretty certain.

A: Dennis, my old friend, I think you are exactly right.

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Q: Any word on an Albert Pujols contract extension?

A: Nothing in the works. Pujols said on Monday he would worry about that after 2011. Somehow, I think his agents, armed with a second MVP, will be thinking about it long before that.

Q: Mr. Hummel, Perhaps the Cards could learn something from the Yankees. The Yanks made an over the top offer to C.C. and scared some teams out of the market for him. What if the Cards did this with a reliever? Say Fuentes or Ohman, etc. Identify their most important target and really go after him? What is your opinion of this tactic? Thanks.

A: I don’t think Fuentes is in play because they don’t want to a sign a veteran closer (which Fuentes thinks he is) to a three- or four-year deal. They might go “over the top” for someone like Ohman.

Footnote on previous item:

I confused Sean Marshall of the Cubs with Sean Gallagher, who used to be with the Cubs, but is now with Oakland. I had Pujols-mania on my brain, but no excuse.

The questioner wanted to know if an Ankiel-to-Chicago trade for Marshall would make sense. I wouldn’t trade Ankiel for a reasonably unproven talent, but, furthermore, the chances of the Cubs and the Cardinals making a trade are about as good as the Hatfields adoping a McCoy child and calling it one of their own.

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Q: This may have been mentioned before, but I can’t find the thread. We’re crowded in the outfield, and Skip Schumaker’s offensive stats would be fanatastic if he were at 2B.  He was signed as an infielder - how about letting our former defenisve guru and third base coach (at least for now) Jose Oquendo see if he can turn Skip into the 2B we need?

A: I’m all for that if the Cardinals can’t find anybody suitable either through free agency or trade. This probably isn’t as easy it sounds although the Braves moved Kelly Johnson from outfield to second and now he’s one of the players the Cardinals are trying to get.

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Q: I for one am glad most of the bloggers I read are not the GM.  I wouldn’t be able to afford to attend a game. Looking back at last year the main thing we lacked was the reliable closer. Had Izzy been healthy we would have been in the playoffs. I am concerned about relying on Perez and/or Motte for that role this next year. I think there needs to be a seasoned closer. I still wish to this day, Whitey had let Ken Dayley start the ninth of game 6 in ‘85. I think the bad call and a missed pop fly by Clark (foul but catchable) shook Worrell a little. Also, any idea where Looper is going to end up?

A: Looper could still end up here if he would take a shorter deal. He might have to wait until Dempster, Lowe, Burnett, etc., finds a home, before he signs.

As for 1985, don’t forget the Darrell Porter passed ball, which forced Whitey to walk an ancient Hal McRae (whom Worrell probably would have retired) to load the bases for Dane Iorg. The next spring, Worrell said that Porter had gone to his mask (which could change the pitch) while giving the signs and Worrell, then a rookie, said he didn’t have the nerve to call Porter on it and summon him to the mound. As it turned out, Porter may actually have just been scratching his nose. But the slider Worrell threw wasn’t the fastball Porter was expecting. Anyway, Worrell was the right man for that inning but it turned out all wrong when Iorg broke his bat three inches from the bottom and singled in two runs.

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