THE WATERCOOLER

QUESTION: While so much of the free-agent focus for the Cardinals seems to be on Matt Holliday or a replacement for him in left field, what is another part of this team where help is needed and that fans may be overlooking?

JOE STRAUSS
There is an obvious need to replace what Joel Pineiro represented this year. The Cardinals were a pitching-dominant team for much of this season, so much so that their offensive deficiencies were masked until September’s fade. Should Holliday go elsewhere, the Cardinals may spend more resources on a starting pitcher since they concede there is no way to replace Holliday with a single offensive talent. The public clamor for Boston Red Sox free agent Jason Bay is likely to go unanswered. It’s increasingly likely the club will seek to fortify its bullpen with an established set-up reliever to front Ryan Franklin. Think a Russ Springer type, not a Billy Wagner type.

RICK HUMMEL
The Cardinals must have an everyday third baseman, something they didn’t have until Mark DeRosa was reasonably healthy in late July. And, of course, there is no guarantee he will be back. Also, the Cardinals must put together a bench with more firepower, especially from the standpoint of adding a veteran hitter.

JEFF GORDON
This team needs a proven power arm for the right side of the bullpen. That person could graduate into the closing role if Ryan Franklin is unable to regain his ’09 regular season form. And this team could also use a proven left-handed starting pitcher to balance up the rotation. Also, this team needs a lefty bat for the bench — somebody with some pop. So there is lots to do here.

DAN O’NEILL
Without question, the Cardinals have to improve their bench. Signing Mark DeRosa would go a long way toward that goal in that he can play several positions and he hits with power. It could also be that the club has more help for the bench from its Memphis affiliate (Allen Craig?). But certainly, the Cardinals need a bench crew that includes a good defensive infielder and a couple of bats that make the opposing manager pay attention.

KEVIN WHEELER (Host of “Sports Open Line” on KMOX)
One of the spots in the starting rotation will still have to be filled with a Major League starter. I can’t envision the team giving Joel Pineiro a long-term contract based on one strong season, so with he and John Smoltz filing for free agency the team currently has two rotation spots open. The wise move would be to fill one of them with a solid veteran — maybe bringing Smoltz back — while leaving the fifth spot for someone like Jaime Garcia to claim in spring training.

I don’t think anyone is really overlooking this part of the team but while Matt Holliday is the big name we’re all talking about, let’s not forget that this team was carried largely by the starting rotation in ’09 and they’ll have to make sure someone is there to replace what Pineiro gave them this past season.

THE WATERCOOLER

QUESTION: Assuming the Cardinals cannot get Matt Holliday re-signed and that Jason Bay stays with Boston, who are some other options out there that you think the Cardinals should pursue to man left field?

JOE STRAUSS
First, it is premature to assume either premise. Holliday’s market may not be as firm as some insist, especially if Bay returns to Boston and the New York Yankees remain on the periphery. But playing along, the leading free agent outfielders remain Bobby Abreu, a Type A who can steal bases but is also a very limited defender who has suffered a significant ebb in power. The Cardinals literally return to where they started if Holliday leaves, becoming a Pujols-centric attack almost forced to put Ryan Ludwick into the cleanup role.

If the club is serious about giving David Freese a chance to win the third base job, its best options become a trade for an outfielder. John Mozeliak acquired Troy Glaus under duress before the ’08 season. It is feasible that the Washington Nationals make Adam Dunn available this winter before he enters the walk year of his deal. Dunn is owed $10 million next season, a relative bargain in comparison to a 6-8 year deal for Holliday or a 4-year splurge on Bay. Bay, however, represents an extremely good fit in St. Louis should talks with the Red Sox stall.

DERRICK GOOLD
One of the reasons the Cardinals’ push for Matt Holliday is so pivotal to their 2010 roster is there is a steep plummet from the class of Holliday and Jason Bay to the other free agents out there this winter. Not one of them is an obvious candidate to hit cleanup behind Albert Pujols like either of those top-shelf left fielders would be. Bobby Abreu or Vlad Guerrero may have the name recognition to do so, but they don’t have that everyday, NL look at this point in their careers.

A name in that second or third tier of free agents that intrigues is Xavier Nady, one year removed from a 97-RBI turn with Pittsburgh and the New York Yankees. He lost 2009 to injury, but had back-to-back 20-homer seasons before that. Nady would be an interesting instant-scratch ticket. Some low-risk options could be found in the secondary market — the players non-tendered by teams. According to reports, the Florida Marlins are likely to non-tender Jeremy Hermida, a lapsed top prospect, and former Brave outfielder Jeff Francoeur could be set free by the New York Mets. Not the big-splash, big bat the Cardinals crave for the middle of the lineup. But if they whiff on Holliday it may be where the Cardinals have to go to supplement the in-house candidates and hope lightning strikes left field.

RICK HUMMEL
Give Allen Craig, one of the top power hitters in Class AAA at Memphis, a glove and work him out in left field all spring. His bat may be good enough but possibly not his defense. Otherwise, sign DeRosa, if his wrist is deemed all right, and make him more or less a full-time outfielder.

JEFF GORDON
I would keep Mark DeRosa and play him in the outfield, if it is determined Skip Schumaker is the long-haul solution at 2B. I’m not sure you can find somebody else with solid 20-homer, 80-RBI potential in free agency. This could also open the door for somebody like Allen Craig to get some OF at bats when De Rosa takes some starts at 3B to spell Freese or 2B when Skip gets a break against lefties.

There isn’t much to deal for, say, a Josh Willingham-type. A guy like Xavier Nady could be interesting to rehab.

THE WATERCOOLER

QUESTION: What do you feel should be the Cardinals top priority this offseason?

JOE STRAUSS
Obviously, getting a handle on Matt Holliday’s situation is significant because of what signing him would do to the club’s financial flexibility. Likewise, losing him to free agency frees up significant money to pursue another direction. Holliday is Scott Boras’ leading free agent this winter. Boras typically leaves his top client on the market for an extended period. This tendency does not square with the Cardinals’ desire for a quick resolution. If Holliday reaches the open market, the Cardinals’ task in signing him becomes exponentially more difficult, so much so that Jason Bay’s name now freely floats within the organization. The team’s late-season meltdown against “plus” pitching underscores the need for further improvement.

DERRICK GOOLD
This very public eagerness to work on an extension with Albert Pujols strikes me as a non-traditional strategy, especially with two years remaining on his contract and his leverage likely never better with a second consecutive MVP on the way. It makes sense to do eventually, but why the push to do it now? Unless they want to do something in concert to make sure when they add a new player Pujols is still the highest-paid player . . . hmm. Simply, the priority should be outfitting the lineup around Pujols, Mr. I Want to Stay With a Contender, and to do that with the best bat that fits — the team’s finances, the team’s structure and the team’s approach, all of it. That still is Matt Holliday. Linking his best years to Pujols’ best years is in everyone’s interest.

RICK HUMMEL
The top priority is to explore the prospect of re-signing OF Matt Holliday to a long-term deal. If not, I would offer him arbitration (to make sure of getting two draft picks) and he might even accept that if there isn’t a long-term deal he likes anywhere.

JEFF GORDON
Top priority: Lock-up Albert Pujols for the long haul. Once that is done, the cornerstone is secured and all the other decisions will fall into place. The other matters are minor compared to this one. If he can’t be secured during this offseason, for whatever reason, then the need to re-sign Matt Holliday increases — since this team will need somebody to build a batting order around from 2012 on.

KEVIN WHEELER (Host of “Sports Open Line” on KMOX)
Bringing back the manager and the pitching coach would be at the top of my list. I’m not sure Matt Holliday is worth what the market will bear, so I wouldn’t rate him No. 1. Plus the team has kids like Allen Craig and Jon Jay who may prove worthy of an opportunity to do in 2010 what Colby Rasmus did in 2009. In fact, I’m almost leaning toward letting all the kids battle for the open roster spots early in the year and then dealing for veterans, if necessary, come June or July. I think what the team did this year worked quite well and I’d follow that pattern again just in case guys like Craig, Jay, David Freese, Jaime Garcia, Blake Hawksworth and Mitchell Boggs have breakthroughs. Spend the money to get Albert re-signed and then deal for veterans in-season, if necessary.

THE WATERCOOLER

QUESTION: With news of an uncertain timetable for Troy Glaus’ return, it’s now looking like David Freese will man the hot corner for the Cardinals to begin the season. Coming over from the Padres via trade and spending just one year in the Cardinals’ minor league system, many here don’t know much about Freese. What would you tell people to expect to see from Freese at 3B and at the plate as the season gets under way?

JOE STRAUSS
It’s been 30 years since the Cardinals employed a rookie 3B on Opening Day. Freese is there for offensive production, though he is considered at least major-league average defensively. There is little question about Freese’s power. The ball jumps off his bat. With Glaus likely out through May, the more important issue is whether Freese is prone to overexposure. He was a high-strikeout guy at Memphis last season (but improved as the season progressed). How does his left foot hold up? Joe Mather is an option but not a preferred one. There is little ready depth at the position, since TLR holds the strong opinion that Brett Wallace is light years away defensively and Allen Craig is projected as a first baseman/OF. I’m not sure it’s comforting when second base is no longer the biggest question on the infield.

RICK HUMMEL
Freese seems to be moving all right in the field after his Achilles’ tendon injury in January. At the plate, he is best when he uses the whole field and he has good power to right-center-field. Manager Tony La Russa will bat him down in the lineup, either seventh or eighth, at least until he has more at-bats.

DERRICK GOOLD
Scouts I spoke to who watched him blossom in Triple-A Memphis last year universally lauded David Freese’s ability to play third base. He has a consistent and good enough arm, and a feel for the instinctive reactions needed to excel at the position. On the tricky fields of the Grapefruit League, he’s been comfortable and gained the faith of a discerning pitching staff. His play at third is going to be good enough that it allows some latitude if he is slow to adjust offensively.

He’s going to strike out — maybe even a lot (111 last year) — but Freese was able to work with hitting coach Mark Budaska in Memphis to expand how he uses the field. What started as an attempt to have him drive the ball gap to gap also helped unlock latent power. In July, he hit .378, slugged .694 and 16 of his 37 hits in the month were extra bases. Thirteen of his 26 home runs came after July 1. Freese has had back-to-back seasons of 90 RBIs and that nose for driving in runs doesn’t vanish. It could be awhile before he’s a middle-of-the-order hitter in the majors, but he’s going to add RBI depth to the lineup, especially nestled somewhere toward the bottom of the order.

JEFF GORDON
Making the jump from high Class A to Class AAA last season was challenging, but Freese adapted on the fly. Like Ryan Ludwick, he had to become more selective at the plate. He has hit at every level he has played at, but he had a lot to learn about facing more mature pitchers. Once he became more disciplined, the results followed. He is an above-average fielder, which makes him a better long-term option that Joe Mather, Allen Craig or Brett Wallace. He should do OK in the field and contribute some offense from low in the batting order.

GERRY FRALEY
Rather than bloviate, why not ask a major-league scout about David Freese? A scout with a National League East team offered this report on Freese:

“I know he has real power, especially if he can extend his arms. He can get tied up on balls over the inside half. His defense has held him back: decent arm but below-average range. San Diego liked (Kevin) Kouzmanoff and (Chase) Headley better than him and talked about making him a catcher. He’s a guy, just a guy. With all the ground-ball guys on their staff, I’d go for defense over offense.’’

KEVIN WHEELER (Host of “Sports Open Line” on KMOX)
Defensively, reports indicate that Freese is a very good glove man at the hot corner. I don’t think it’s unreasonable to expect his defense to be close to what Glaus would provide in a normal season. His glove alone should make him the favorite to get the majority of starts at third while Glaus is on the mend.

Offensively you’d have to expect a bit of a decline from Triple-A to the majors. He has very good power, perhaps in the 20-25 HR range over the course of a full big league season, but his strikeout rate (1 K every 4 AB) at Memphis last year was a bit scary. Granted, Freese was making the jump from High-A to Triple-A but he was an appropriate age (25) for his level in ’08. His minor league numbers are outstanding (.906 career OPS) but it’s important to remember that until ’08 he was always a bit older than most of his competition.

If Freese gets 300 at-bats for the Cardinals this season I’d expect him to hit around .265-.270 with 10 HR, a fair number of RBI and a bunch of strikeouts. If he’s better than that, which is certainly possible, then the Cardinals will have some interesting decisions to make in the near future.

THE WATERCOOLER

QUESTION: Good or bad, what St. Louis Cardinal player has surprised you the most so far this spring with his performance?

JOE STRAUSS
I think Ryan Ludwick’s early struggles have caught the attention of many, but Ludwick dealt with a similar slow start last March. My guess is he’ll loosen up by camp’s end and current concerns will prove a bit overblown.

My selection isn’t a flashy one: Allen Craig (24) doesn’t project for this organization because he doesn’t have a position other than first base. (Third base proved a poor fit the last couple seasons, though Craig led Texas League 3B in fielding pct. last season.) That said, Craig has a live RH bat. He hit 21 home runs in the Florida Coast League two years ago while amassing a .312 average. He smoked 22 HR at Springfield last season while hitting .304. He likely will be Memphis’ starting 1B this year. He was third in his league in HR in ’07 and fifth in ’08. Like many Cardinal farm hands, he projects as “a bat.” I wonder what he might do as somebody’s LF. This organization may not be his best fit but a strong year at Memphis may make him attractive to an AL club.

If you want hyperventilating, flowerly over-talk about what’s in the system, you can head down the cyber-block. But this guy intrigues me. Entering today’s Grapefruit League game vs. Boston, Craig is batting .500 with three long hits and 7 RBI. He doesn’t scare.

DERRICK GOOLD
Tyler Greene. Here was a first-round pick from 2005 who scuffled from the moment he got a million-dollar bonus all the way up the ladder of the minor-league system. He was raw. He was gangly. He was hampered by serious injury. And then things clicked in 2008. Greene became a more refined player in the field and showed vast improvement at the plate — even beyond his numbers. Last July, he could have been a prospect whose promise was flickering out. Today he’s playing well enough to vie for a major-league job.

RICK HUMMEL
Joe Mather has surprised me with his agility at third base. He looks more comfortable than I had thought he would.

JEFF GORDON
I would say Jason Motte. We all knew he could throw hard. But he looks polished this spring, working off-speed and breaking pitches into his repertoire. From what I saw in Jupiter, he looked capable of handling at least a chunk of the closing role. He seems to have the make-up for the job, too. He does not appear to be a fretful lad. He is just the opposite, actually.

TOM ACKERMAN (Sports anchor on “Total Information A.M.” on KMOX)
I’ll go with Chris Duncan. After recovering from major surgery, all he’s done in spring training is hit .370 with 2 HR and 10 RBI in 27 at-bats. The home run he hit on Tuesday against Detroit’s Zach Miner was a soaring blast over the right-center field wall, into the wind. So far, the swing is back — and a lot sooner than I expected.

KEVIN WHEELER (Host of “Sports Open Line” on KMOX)
It was a tough call between Chris Duncan and Khalil Greene but I’ll go with Greene as the player who has surprised me the most. First of all, nobody is talking about him. That’s a very good thing. The only reason there would be something to talk about would be if he were struggling. With all the questions about second and third base this spring, it’s nice to see that Greene, at least for now, has been a stabilizing force.

Part of my “surprise” with Greene’s performance has to do with how he looked in the first week of full-squad workouts. His swing was a bit out of whack and he seemed to lack that trademark Cardinals intensity. Khalil just didn’t fit in at the time. Who knows, maybe that was just a natural phenomenon because it was the first time he’d switched teams as a pro.

Spring training numbers shouldn’t be counted for much, especially not for veterans, but Greene only whiffed once in his first 10 games down in Florida. For a guy who has problems with over-swinging and striking out that’s a good sign. Let’s hope the improved approach carries over into the regular season.

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MIDDAY NEWS AND THOUGHTS

THE WAY TO (BEAT) SAN JOSE: A huge game for the Note tonight against Western Conference beast San Jose. A loss tonight just two days before Detroit’s Red Army arrives could spell the end of playoff hopes by the weekend. A win tonight guarantees a split of the two games against the Conference’s top two teams, and perhaps even gives the Blues an emotional lift that carries over in the form of momentum Saturday night. Needless to say … a whole lot on the line.

Jeremy Rutherford tells me coach Andy Murray this morning highlighted three keys to victory tonight. They are:

1. Blues have a “big-body” game.
2. Good puck protection.
3. Keep the puck on the offensive end.

So, assuming all three of these things get accomplished and the Blues win the game, here’s who I’m picking as the top 3 stars based on the three keys above.

1. Big body game … David Backes muscles, hits and contributes a couple points.
2. Good puck protection … Carlo Colaiacovo provides it on both ends this evening.
3. Keep puck in offensive zone … Gotta go T.J. Oshie on this one. If anyone out there does “whatever it takes” to get that puck and keep it in the zone, I say it’s Oshie.

There you have it. If the Blues win, those are my three stars. Who would be yours, based on Murray’s keys to the game?

YOUNG, FIERY AND AS GOOD AS THEY GET: Young Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon has to be mentioned in the same breath as Mariano Rivera and Francisco Rodriguez as being among the game’s top firemen. Papelbon has done everything asked of him by the Red Sox and he’s already sewn up a World Series clinching 9th inning. But for the most part, Papelbon flies under the radar and you don’t hear much about him outside of Boston … until now, that is.

Papelbon recently opened up in an interview with Esquire magazine (many great details, like his dog chewing up a million-dollar baseball and Curt Schilling suggesting Papelbon is not the sharpest tool in the shed by saying Papelbon is “not exactly a charter member of Mensa”) and in that interview the thing that will garner all the headlines in Boston is that Papelbon just came out and said what many others have danced around for months: Papelbon says Manny Ramirez was a “cancer” on the Red Sox last year.

Here’s an excerpt from the Esquire article: “The beautiful thing about our team is, we don’t let anybody get above the team. (Manny) wasn’t on the same train as the rest of us.” And here Papelbon starts banging his kitchen table for emphasis, the punctuation marks in his sentences changing: “He was on a different train! And you saw what happened with that. We got rid of him, and we moved on without him. … You have somebody like him, you know at any point in the ball game, he can dictate the outcome of the game. And for him not to be on the same page as the rest of the team was a killer, man! It just takes one guy to bring an entire team down, and that’s exactly what was happening. Once we saw that, we weren’t afraid to get rid of him. It’s like cancer. That’s what he was. Cancer. He had to go. It sucked, but that was the only scenario that was going to work.”

Papelbon … firing strikes, like always. You can read the full article here.

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SOMETHING TO PONDER

L.T.’s BACK AND TAKING AIM AT RECORD BOOKS: After a tumultuous offseason where Chargers running back LaDainian Tomlinson’s future with the club became uncertain, the player and team reached accord yesterday on a restructured deal that should keep LT in the powdered blue for at least a few more years. Those who read this space regularly know I felt it would have been a mistake had the Chargers let LT skip town. Now, with everyone in the family happy again, LT is setting his sights on loftier goals.

According to San Diego Union-Tribune columnist Tim Sullivan, “After years of artful evasions and smooth sidesteps, the Chargers’ reunited-and-it-feels-so-good running back officially took aim at Emmitt Smith yesterday. LT declared his desire for the National Football League’s career records for rushing and rushing touchdowns, both presently in Smith’s possession, and says he is now prepared to pursue them longer than he had previously planned on playing.”

Tomlinson currently has 11,670 rushing yards, which leaves him 6,595 yards behind Smith’s 18,355. Smith leads Tomlinson 164-126 in rushing TDs.

I don’t know that a RB who turns 30 years old in June has enough in his legs to gain 6,595 or punch in another 38 TDs, but I’m happy to see he’ll be attempting it with the only NFL team he’s every played for.

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STAT OF THE DAY

9 — Most consecutive 50-goal seasons. The feat was accomplished by Mike Bossy of the New York Islanders from the 1977-78 season to 1985-86. Bossy tallied 53 goals in his rookie season, making him the first NHL rookie to hit the 50-goal mark. He then continued the streak for his first nine seasons in the league, including 50 goals in his first 50 games in 1980-81 to tie Maurice Richard’s 36-year-old record. Chronic back pain caused Bossy to miss 17 games the year his streak ended, and he ended up with 38 goals that season. The back ailment ultimately led to Bossy’s retirement at age 30. (Source: “Hockey’s Top 100: The Game’s Greatest Records”)