THE WATERCOOLER:
Is it smart baseball to spend nearly 40 percent of a team’s payroll on two players as the Cardinals could do with Albert Pujols and Matt Holliday?

JOE STRAUSS:
No. If the payroll were $125 million, then maybe. But with a $100 million payroll as the Cards were last year. No.

RICK HUMMEL:
If it were Pujols and Bob Gibson, maybe. But one of the players has to be a pitcher to be worth it.

BERNIE MIKLASZ:
The Cardinals are up against it unless they expand the payroll. If you count Albert Pujols’ existing contract, they’re alread obligated to pay out a guaranteed $55 million-plus to players in 2010, and it’s about the same in 2011. And keep in mind that the salary number is likely higher than that, because it does not include the arbitration-related salaries that will be paid to Ryan Ludwick and Skip Schumaker. On the positive side, the list does include three starting pitchers who are locked in for the next two (at least) seasons: Chris Carpenter, Adam Wainwright and Kyle Lohse. So they do have a rotation foundation to work with. And there are some young pitchers (Jaime Garcia, Blake Hawksworth, Mitchell Boggs, etc.) worthy of an opportunity. But if Matt Holliday commands, say, $15 million a year, you are looking at $70 million to $80 million guaranteed obligations for each of the next two seasons.And that doesn’t include Pujols’ likely increase if there’s a new contract for him. Either way, it doesn’t leave a lot of spending room for other needs, including third base, a strong fourth outfielder, perhaps a veteran starting pitcher, and the bench. The Cardinals can pull it off, but it’ll be tight. The question is: what is Holliday worth? Is he a $20 million a year player? No. Is he a $15 million a year player? I don’t think so, but he will be if some other team is crazy enough to offer it. I can’t set Holliday’s market price. The teams shopping for left fielders will do that. But I see no reason why he’d have to be paid as much as Pujols. Not even close, really. If the market breaks in the Cardinals’ favor, they might be able to get Holliday at a “reduced rate”, though we’re still talking about an awful lot of money.

DERRICK GOOLD:
If that were the Cardinals only payroll bloc to maneuver around then maybe. But it’s not. The Cardinals also have Chris Carpenter, Adam Wainwright and Kyle Lohse locked up for, possibly, the next three seasons, and in 2011 that trio will cost $33.5 million That means more than two-third of the projected payroll can be isolated on five players. The only way the Cardinals — or any other team for that matter — can lump so much of the payroll on so few players is if they can count on getting contributions from prospects and young stars — not players, stars — who not yet arbitration eligible. Colby Rasmus, for example, is one. Brendan Ryan, for another couple seasons, is another. Lefty Jaime Garcia projects as one. Outside the organization, however, the Cardinals are not viewed as a team that can lean this much on its minor-league system. The depth of the organization has improved. But its depth is mainly in complementary players. The Cardinals have players who will play in the majors. But there is a difference between minor-leaguers who play in the majors, those who stay in the majors and ones who will star in the majors. The Cardinals don’t have the obvious contributors storming up the ranks to paint themselves into a financial corner.

THE WATERCOOLER

QUESTION: What a night Thursday was. Cards lose in the bottom of the ninth. Mizzou gives up 27 points in the fourth quarter and falls to Nebraska. Blues give up 1-0 lead to lose their home opener. In your time covering sports here in St. Louis, what has been the most devastating loss you’ve witnessed?

DAN O’NEILL
What happened Thursday night was bad, but not close to being the most disappointing for this scribe. There was the Cardinals losing Game 7 of the 1968 World Series to Detroit, with Bob Gibson on the mound and Curt Flood misplaying a ball in center field. Gibson losing Game 7 — unthinkable. …There was Missouri’s overtime loss to Nebraska in 1997 when the Cornhuskers caught a bogus tipped pass in the end zone to stay alive. … Missouri’s basketball loss to UCLA in the 1995 NCAA Tournament when Lollipop Guild member Tyus Edney went the length of the floor with six seconds remaining. … the Don Denkinger call in the 1985 World Series. … Adam Vinatieri’s 48-yard field goal as time expired to beat the Rams in the Feb. 2002 Super Bowl. … Neil O’Donoghue’s miss from 50 yards as time expired in Washington, denying the Football Cardinals a playoff spot in 1984. … all were more disappointing than Thursday.

JIM THOMAS
Well, that’s a lot of ground to cover. I was in Oklahoma that sunny day in 1986 for the Norman Conquest: Sooners 77, Missouri 0. LB Brian Bosworth — The Boz — eating a hot dog, standing near the stands in the second half. … I covered a succession of Missouri basketball losses to the likes of Northern Iowa and Rhode Island in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. … And I’ve seen the Rams lose in just about every manner conceivable. But I have to go with Super Bowl XXXVI, New England’s stunning Super Bowl triumph over St. Louis. The Rams, Mike Martz, the Greatest Show on Turf were never the same after that one.

JEREMY RUTHERFORD
For sure, the Rams’ 20-17 Super Bowl loss to New England in 2002 was the worst in recent memory. Watching the Rams tie the score and then seeing Tom Brady march the Patriots 53 yards on six completions for Adam Vinatieri’s game-winning field goal was tough. But I’m going to throw another heartbreaker into the mix for the hockey fans. … It happened on Dec. 6, 2006. With a sellout crowd in attendance at Scottrade Center, where a lavish pregame ceremony took place to retire Brett Hull’s No. 16, the Blues laid a complete egg in a 5-1 loss to the Red Wings. To me, that was rock bottom of the Blues’ freefall. I’ll never forget Hull doing an interview with a few us during the game, and he made a comment about it being a great night despite the debacle on the ice. A few days later, Blues coach Mike Kitchen was fired, and the Andy Murray era began.

BILL COATS
Game 7 loss to the Tigers in the 1968 World Series. Cardinals were up 3-1 in the series, then Curt Flood slips in center field, then Mickey Lolich shuts down the bats. That took a while to get over.

KATHLEEN NELSON
Game 7, 1985, the game after the Denkinger fiasco against KC. The Cardinals lost 11-0. For goodness sake, it was the seventh game of the World Series and the Cardinals totally flopped. Their inability to rebound for the biggest game of the year was far more disheartening than losing because of a blown call.