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 does your gut tell you as far as whether or not Tony La Russa will return with the Cardinals next season?

JOE STRAUSS
There are more reasons to believe TLR will return than not. It’s been 10 days since the Cardinals’ inglorious exit from the postseason. No one needs to tell the manager how much the organization invested into this season. He is soul-searching to examine what went wrong, whether he still commands his players’ attention and, at 65, to determine if he still wants to put himself through the annual 8-month grind. The Cardinals may be prepared to make him the game’s highest-paid skipper, status he briefly enjoyed before the LA Dodgers hired Joe Torre two years ago. TLR says he is not interested in managing elsewhere should he step away. However, there is some intrigue given than Torre and the Atlanta Braves’ Bobby Cox have both indicated next year will be their last in the dugout. The Dodgers job especially may be appealing. That strikes me as a longshot scenario, though.

RICK HUMMEL
Tony is back. One of his biggest concerns is that he is wearing thin with the media, which probably is exaggerated. His popularity with the fans, even though the Cardinals had an abrupt exit from postseason play, rarely has been higher. He is getting along nicely with general manager John Mozeliak and he has the best hitter and the top two starting pitchers in the National League.

DERRICK GOOLD
He’ll be back. The reasons to return far outnumber the niggling little hangups he really has to search to find. If La Russa is going to manage somewhere in 2010, the only somewhere he is ready to consider is the Cardinals. He either just wants to hear how much the team appreciates him and would like him to return, or he’s waiting for the results of Albert Pujols’ surgery to know for sure about the team’s chances to contend …

BRYAN BURWELL
To me, it’s hard to imagine that La Russa would walk away from the Cardinals with Albert Pujols, Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright at his disposal.

THE WATERCOOLER

QUESTION: What do you think the Cardinals’ chances are of re-signing Matt Holliday? And if they are to have any chance at all, how much do you think it is going to cost?

DERRICK GOOLD
Last offseason, Matt Holliday and his family sought a break from Denver and rented a house in Southern California, not too far from where he could seek the batting advice of Mark McGwire. It also made for a short flight up the coast on the day Colorado traded him to Oakland. This winter, Holliday said he is planning another move. He’s thinking Austin, Texas. He’s thinking somewhere more centrally located, somewhere close to his dad (NC State associate head coach Tom Holliday) or his brother (Vanderbilt assistant coach Josh Holliday), or at least somewhere closer than way out west. The middle of the country beckons.

Here’s betting his professional path mirrors his personal. The Cardinals have the best chance of any team at re-signing Holliday as long as they are willing to make a fair-market bid at re-signing him. The worst thing they could do is let him get to free agency and lose all of the momentum created by surrounding him with re-signed players, a division-title run and a ballpark and lineup that brings out the best in him. When he knew his time at Colorado was over, Holliday said he valued a place that was going to give him a chance to win consistently — not cycle through winning and losing seasons. He rejected an extension from the Rockies that could have been worth $84 million over five years. Seems like a place to start for the Cardinals, because they seem like a place he’d like to stay.

RICK HUMMEL
The only chance the Cardinals have is to sign him in the window before he becomes available to everyone else 15 days after the end of the World Series. If it gets to that, no chance. I think it will take about somewhere between $90 to $110 million for five years to sign Holliday. Then you’ll properly hear from the Pujols people about re-structuring that contract.

GERRY FRALEY
It depends on who is calling the shots in the Matt Holliday camp. Will Holliday tell agent Scott Boras what to do? A few Boras clients, such as Hall of Fame-bound righthander Greg Maddux, have done that. Maddux turned down more money from the New York Yankees to sign with Atlanta as a free agent.

Or is Boras in charge? In that scenario, the Cardinals have little chance. Boras does not believe in “home-town discounts’’ and likes to raise the bar with every contract. Boras could easily create enough of a market to get bidding into the annual range of $18 million.

If the price rises, the Cardinals must ask themselves a hard question. Can they afford Matt Holliday and still keep Albert Pujols before he gets into free agency after the 2011 season?

JEFF GORDON
The Cardinals will make a good offer, but not the best possible offer. If Holliday wants to stay, he’ll stay and get a nice bump from his current deal. But with so many big-budget teams looking for a corner outfielder, he would have to leave a LOT of money on the table. He will be the top offensive free agent available. I could see Scott Boras playing that into a $100 million deal somewhere, even in this tougher economic market. If I were in John Mozeliak’s shoes, I wouldn’t offer more than $80 million over five years.

KEVIN WHEELER (Host of “Sports Open Line” on KMOX)
I’d say the chances at the moment are 50-50. Holliday seems to like playing here and he’s having success, so that bodes well. The problem is figuring out whether he’ll enter the free agent market or not. If he does, there are some clubs with a lot of money available that don’t have an Albert Pujols to re-sign in the near future.

When he was acquired I thought Holliday would be looking at 3 years and somewhere between $36-42 million, but the momentum right now is raising that bar in terms of years and annual average salary. He’s not a $20 million a year guy — Manny Ramirez is the only OF making that kind of money — but there are some guys making $15-18 million a year who aren’t better than Holliday — (Vernon Wells, Alfonso Soriano, Carlos Lee, Magglio Ordonez.) I’d say 4 years/$68 million or 5 years/$85 million would be fair estimates. Anything more than that and I’d be tempted to take a pass and look elsewhere for a power.

THE WATERCOOLER

QUESTION: John Smoltz got off to a good start with the Cardinals Sunday in San Diego. How important is that given Kyle Lohse’s groin injury and what does Lohse’s injury do to the Cardinals plans to eventually move Smoltz to the bullpen?

RICK HUMMEL
Unless Smoltz encounters difficulty in his next couple of starts, he will be in the rotation until Lohse comes back, which won’t be before the second week in September. If Smoltz still is doing well, he doesn’t see the bullpen until October.

JEFF GORDON
Lohse hasn’t been right all season, so there was always a chance Smoltz could play a rotation role here — if he showed staying power. If the Cards got to the NLCS, they would likely need that fourth starter. So Smoltz’s ability to get through the Padres batting order a second time was notable. He may have to finish out the season as the No. 4 starter — unless John Mozeliak can add still another starter this week. And if I am Mozeliak, I am trying to do just that. When Lohse returns, perhaps HE could go to the bullpen given his tendency to tire in the middle innings because of his lingering forearm injury.

BRYAN BURWELL
Clearly this impressive five-inning stint combined with the loss of Lohse makes it obvious that the short term for Smoltz is as the fourth starter. Don’t expect any seven or eight inning stints, but he will be handed the ball.

GERRY FRALEY
Tony La Russa would consider this blasphemy, but the National League Central race is over. Everything the Cardinals do over the final 36 regular-season games should be with an eye toward the playoffs. Because of that, the Cardinals cannot let Kyle Lohse’s injury change their plans for John Smoltz. They will need only three starters in the post-season: Chris Carpenter, Adam Wainwright and Joel Pineiro. Smoltz will be needed out of the bullpen, and the plan should not change.

Keep in mind one more thing: Smoltz threw well on Sunday against the worst offensive team in the National League. The Padres are last in runs and batting average. An American League lineup of the type that beat up Smoltz while with Boston it is not.

KEVIN WHEELER (Host of “Sports Open Line” on KMOX)
It’s a nice bonus but with an 8-game lead over the Cubs and only 36 games remaining I think the team should stick with the plan to eventually work Smoltz into a late-inning role. It might be wise to extend his stay in the rotation a bit longer than previously planned but the ultimate goal should still be to send him to the pen because they’ll need what he brings to the table out there come playoff time.

A fourth starter isn’t necessary in the playoffs but having someone who can blow hitters away in the 7th and 8th innings most certainly is. The Cards can make it through the rest of the regular season without setup help, but the playoffs are another story.

THE WATERCOOLER

QUESTION: Now that the Cardinals have signed John Smoltz, what are your expectations for the rest of this season for the 8-time All Star and former Cy Young winner?

JOE STRAUSS
I believe what the Cardinals project will indeed play out: Smoltz will make 2-3 starts, at least, before migrating to the bullpen in a set-up role for Ryan Franklin. How he handles lefthanded hitters as a starter will likely dictate how much he is trusted against them in relief. By September, the Cardinals plan to add a third LH to the bullpen. If Smoltz is vulnerable to lefts, he and Trever Miller could form a formidable match-up tandem. It would be unwise to expect too much from Sunday’s start given that Smoltz has not appeared since Aug. 6. This is a low-risk/potentially high-reward move. Whatever Smoltz gives them should be considered a bonus. It is illustrative that GM John Mozeliak says the club has ended its search for additional bullpen help. If Smoltz becomes a serviceable six-inning starter, it is more than the Cardinals have received from the No. 5 slot all season.

RICK HUMMEL
Expectations should be modest, inasmuch as Smoltz didn’t help Boston much and if the Red Sox thought Smoltz had something significant left, they would have kept him. The Red Sox got him to pitch in postseason play, where he is 15-4. That being said, Smoltz may be more comfortable in the National League and might be able to give the Cardinals something of a Jeff Weaver-like transfusion. He ultimately will wind up in the bullpen for October play.

DERRICK GOOLD
It’s hard to reconcile Smoltz’s recent performance with the righthander we thought we knew. He struggled with Boston and in his last start he did not pitch well enough to be a starter with most major-league teams, let alone contending major-league teams. That said, Smoltz is a world-class competitor — and his internal drive is contagious. He’ll merge easily into the vibrant culture of the Cardinals’ clubhouse. Less clear is how his role will develop on the field. Lost in the big ERA and struggles he had as a starter was how effective his slider remained against righthanded hitters. At the least, he’ll be an asset out of the bullpen against righthanded hitters, and that’s truly what the Cardinals need. Any innings he gives them as a starter beyond his two-start tryout in the role is a bonus. He’ll be a presence, to be sure. It remains to be seen if he’ll be a factor.

GERRY FRALEY
The Cardinals are fooling themselves if they expect to get even a minor contribution from Smoltz. He has been dumped this season by two teams that know pitching: Atlanta and Boston. It’s hard to believe either club would have given up on Smoltz had he shown even a glimmer of possibilities.

Smoltz no longer has the arm strength to throw an effective split-finger fastball, which he needs to neutralize left-handed hitters. In Smoltz’s brief time with Boston this season, left-handed hitters batted .440 with a .788 slugging percentage against him.

Smoltz has had a superb career, is the epitome of professionalism and is a certain Hall of Famer. Right now, he looks like another Hall of Famer who did not know when it was over. Steve Carlton pitched ineffectively with five teams in his last three seasons before stopping.

JEFF GORDON
Well, he will help. He will work to become a Pedro Martinez-like starter for this team, working into the fifth or sixth inning. That’ll be a stretch, but it will be more fun watching him try than watching Mitchell Boggs walk hitters and Todd Wellemeyer allow homers. His better role would be the eighth inning, where he could set up Ryan Franklin, move Kyle McClellan toward middle relief and keep Jason Motte out of harm’s way. If Smoltz struggles for a few weeks and Jaime Garcia continues his comeback course at Memphis, maybe the Cards could go that direction. But giving him a chance to start and prove skeptics wrong makes much sense.

KEVIN WHEELER (Host of “Sports Open Line” on KMOX)
I expect Smoltz to struggle a bit in his initial workings as a starter, assuming that’s how it all goes, but to settle into a setup role as the playoffs get closer. Even if Smoltz wants to be a starter, a mistake in my opinion, the team certainly recognizes how unlikely it is that he would crack the postseason rotation. Give him a few starts to get some work in and see what happens while preparing for what makes the most sense, Smoltz working in the 7th and 8th innings primarily facing righthanded hitters. He could be devastating in that role.

THE WATERCOOLER:
The Cardinals are making inquiries on pitcher John Smoltz (according to Joe Strauss in his chat today). Do you expect the Cardinals to make another move, and how valuable can an August addition be?

RICK HUMMEL:
The Cardinals almost surely will acquire a veteran right-handed relief pitcher to handle seventh- or eighth-inning situations. That person certainly would be on a post-season roster, too, because anybody on the roster by Sept. 1 is eligible. Among recent August acquisitions by the Cardinals are veteran righthander Woody Williams (2001) and veteran outfielder Larry Walker (2004).

BERNIE MIKLASZ:
Sorry for stating the obvious, but there’s a glaring need for a RH reliever. Jason Motte will have a good big-league career, but he’s regressed to the point where it seems strange to have him up here. With a 9.50 ERA and 39 baserunners allowed in his last 18 IP, Motte clearly could use a trip to Memphis to refine his pitching. John Mozeliak’s work isn’t finished. The Cardinals GM is under the gun to patch the bullpen. Is Justin Speier worth a look? It’s being reported that the Cardinals have inrerest in John Smoltz. Does he have anything left? Can he get you a couple of late-inning outs? It’s tough out there. How difficult is it to acquire a RH reliever? The Florida Marlins — a contending team — were so desperate they signed RH reliever Esteban Yan, who hasn’t pitched in the bigs since 2006. And for those who say you can’t summon Eduardo Sanchez from Class AA Springfield, I present two words: Bobby Jenks. He made the leap from AA to the Chicago White Sox late in 2005 and became the closer during a postseason run climaxed by a World Series Championship.

GERRY FRALEY:
Philadelphia believes an August addition enabled it to win the World Series last season. The Phillies picked up veteran left-handed hitter Matt Stairs for the bench on Aug. 30, and he had a key two-run homer against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Championship Series. Unlike the blockbusters of July, August deals usually are made to add a needed final piece. The Cardinals could use a few of those pieces: a right-handed reliever, a speed player to be used as a pinch-runner, a veteran pinch-hitter like Stairs. After making the big deals of July, there is no reason for general manager John Mozeliak to stop now.

DERRICK GOOLD:
The Cardinals pursuit of a right-handed reliever has been blocked by … well, every other team’s hunt for a right-handed reliever. The eighth-inning rock they need will be tricky to get. The players are pulled back off waivers or their claims are trumped, which was the case with Russ Springer when Tampa Bay put in a claim and, by rule, had first chance at him before the righty dropped to the Cardinals. August additions can be quite valuable (see: Larry Walker), but the roles the Cardinals would be looking to fill this August are more fine-tuning than roster-changing. Their best bet, if they absolutely have to add a pitcher, is to acquire what John Mozeliak has, in the past, called “a lottery ticket” — that player who has struggled or has been injured and maybe, just maybe, hopefully could capture lightning down the stretch run.

JEFF GORDON:
This team needs another righ-thanded reliever. Jason Motte may put it all together some day, but he is hurting the team now. And for all the good work Blake Hawksworth has done, he remains unproven. So this IS an issue. I see John Mozeliak adding a veteran reliever to mollify Tony La Russa and Dave Duncan, but I would be shocked if he could make a quality addition. Too many teams are looking for help and the pile has been picked off.

* * *

Here’s what Strauss said about Smoltz in his live chat this afternoon:

“The Cardinals are fervently seeking a RH reliever and apparently are indeed interested in Boston Red Sox exiled starter and future Hall of Famer John Smoltz. The organization denied interest “at this time” yesterday but have put in calls regarding Smoltzie. They may be using the same playbook as exercised on Julio Lugo, deny publicly but pursue privately.

“Regardless, Smoltz would certainly add experience and postseason credibility, just not sure how much the future Champions Tour golfer has left in the tank. Stay tuned.”

THE WATERCOOLER

QUESTION: Given Todd Wellemeyer’s recent run of poor starts, what are the Cardinals’ best options concerning a fifth starter as they move forward?

JOE STRAUSS
The path of least resistence would be to give Wellemeyer Friday’s start against the Houston Astros before re-setting the rotation following Monday’s day off in New York. That said, organizational patience with Wellemeyer’s inconsistency may have been exhausted in his last three outings, including a poor showing in relief against the Cubs before the break.

Blake Hawksworth is in the house. He had been pitching well in Memphis — his last Triple-A start was a 7-inning, 1-hit outing in which he received no decision — and could easily be aligned for Friday’s outing. Brad Thompson also started in place of Kyle Lohse when Lohse was on the DL. PJ Walters struck out 14 in this weekend’s start in New Orleans, but his style of pitching has yet to win backers within the major-league clubhouse. Mitchell Boggs also has improved recently, though his propensity to work in and out of trouble spooks pitching coach Dave Duncan.

GM John Mozeliak remains attuned to the trade market, though finding low-cost help for the rotation (Ian Snell?) is difficult at this time of year.

Something will be done, perhaps as early as this afternoon. But the answer remains elusive.
Barring trade, the best option may be reversing roles between Thompson/Hawksworth and Wellemeyer. Most would agree, however, that represents only a temporary fix.

RICK HUMMEL
For one more start, Friday vs. Houston here, Wellemeyer is the best option. After that, the Cardinals won’t need a fifth starter for about 10 days. Then the landscape might change.

GERRY FRALEY
The fifth-starter situation calls for bargain shopping. The biggest bargain out there may be Arizona lefthander Doug Davis. He is only 5-10 but has a 3.75 ERA for a team that gave up weeks ago. Arizona’s bullpen has three blown saves behind Davis, and the offense has scored two runs or fewer in 11 of his 21 starts. The drawbacks are Davis’ slow pace and high walks rate: 4.5 per nine innings. When it comes to a fifth starter, flaws should be expected.

In this search, the Cardinals will be better served looking outside the organization. The minor-league arms tried so far have been found lacking. A pennant race is no place for an overmatched kid.

BRYAN BURWELL
I think in the very short term the way the schedule sets up, La Russa could resort to a modified four-man rotation. In the long term, the club could resort to bullpen games.

THE WATERCOOLER:
It’s five days until Toronto’s self-imposed deadline for making a deal for pitcher Roy Halladay. The Cardinals keep being reported as one of the teams on the Blue Jays’ list of possible suitors. Is it unrealistic to think the Cardinals could get Halladay or do they have more pressing needs at a lower price?

RICK HUMMEL:
I don’t think the Cardinals have the prospects, notably young starting pitchers, to get Halladay. I think their bigger needs are in a veteran right-handed setup man and another right-handed bat, either for left field or off the bench. And that doesn’t necessarily mean Troy Glaus.

JOE STRAUSS:
The odds of getting Halladay: 9-1. The odds of getting any starter: 3-2.

BERNIE MIKLASZ:
It’s unrealistic. Bill DeWitt and Jeff Luhnow will not strip the system of its top prospects to rent Hallday for less than a season and a half. And one more thing: since the end of April this team is batting .245 with a .310 OBP and .396 slugging percentage. And that’s WITH Albert Pujols. The problem is offense. The Cardinals don’t have enough of it.

GERRY FRALEY:
The Cardinals have no shot at Roy Halladay because their player-development system is more a collection of spare parts than impact players.
Philadelphia leads the Halladay because if can offer a prime pitching prospect: righthander Kyle Drabek. Milwaukee and the Los Angeles Dodgers both have top-flight shortstops in the minors.
The Cardinals lack a similar young talent around whom a package can be built. They could do that with center fielder Colby Rasmus, but that would defeat the purpose by taking away from the major-league club.
General manager John Mozeliak deserves credit for trying to get involved in the Halladay sweepstakes, but he lacks the resources to pull off a deal.
Better to aim lower for a fourth or fifth starter such as Arizona lefthander Doug Davis, whose deliberate style lulls opponents to sleep, or Pittsburgh righthander Ian Snell, currently exited to the Triple-A International League.

JEFF GORDON:
Halladay is a team changer. If the Cards got him, they would have the best rotation in the majors. If the deal is there without subtracting Adam Wainwright, Mozeliak should do it. But . . . I can’t imagine the Cards have the young starting pitching, sans Wainwright, to make such a deal. Other teams will offer blue-chip starters capable of stepping in quickly.

THE WATERCOOLER

QUESTION: The Cardinals made a long-awaited move this weekend in acquiring Mark DeRosa from the Cleveland Indians. With this team still hovering near the top of the NL Central and with a chance to win the division, do you think they are done dealing, or do you think there is still a chance they make a run at someone like Matt Holliday to fortify this lineup?

JOE STRAUSS
The Cardinals are not done exploring other deals but they may have bought some time. GM John Mozeliak said Sunday he will take the next couple weeks to assess DeRosa’s effect on the club and act accordingly. Five weeks remain until the trade deadline. The club may believe its greatest need is a pitcher. Should Troy Glaus go on a rehab within the next couple weeks, there will be additional willingness to wait. The benefit of acquiring DeRosa now is first his production, but also assessing where he fits best on the club. He appears slotted as the everyday third baseman with Khalil Greene returning to the DL. But should Glaus progress, DeRosa also becomes an OF option, freeing up chips to acquire a starter or set-up man. Holliday will apparently remain on the market for awhile given Oakland’s heavy asking price.

BERNIE MIKLASZ
Another move is possible, but Matt Holliday is probably too big of a fish to reel in next month. I wouldn’t be surprised if they pursued a starting pitcher to fill Todd Wellemeyer’s spot in the rotation.

DERRICK GOOLD
Adding DeRosa is clearly the move the Cardinals had to make — and make as soon as possible — because it keeps them in contention. It isn’t, however, the only move needed to cinch their intent to contend for a title. What they have done by adding DeRosa is put themselves in position to make a deadline deal with an eye on being better in August, September and then, in a Larry Walker-esque way, October. That includes — but isn’t exclusive to — monitoring the market for Matt Hollliday and seeing if the cost of doing business with Billy Beane drops as the clock ticks toward August 1. Pitching should also be on their radar. DeRosa fills a need. Now the Cardinals can look to augment. The bottom line is the, well, bottom line. Swallowing the remainder of DeRosa’s $5.5 million contract is palatable enough for the Cardinals that they still maintain that “payroll flexibility” to offer any trade-deadline fruit that hangs low enough some dry powder to land in.

GERRY FRALEY
Mark DeRosa batted cleanup on Sunday in his debut with the Cardinals. If that does not say the lineup needs one more bat, nothing does. DeRosa is a solid hitter, but he does not belong in the cleanup spot. He is an ideal No. 6 hitter, maybe with some time in the fifth spot. Given righthander Todd Wellemeyer’s struggles, the Cardinals are going to be in the market for another starter soon, if not already. Wellemeyer is 3-5 with a 6.32 ERA in his last 10 starts and has drained the bullpen by going five innings or fewer in six of his 16 starts overall. That does not fit with a contender.

JEFF GORDON
This team still needs more. If Ryan Ludwick, Rick Ankiel and Chris Duncan continue to struggle with run production, this team won’t have enough offense to make a serious playoff run. Perhaps DeRosa will take some heat off those guys and spur better production. We’re seeing a lot of poor at-bats in critical situations. It’s shocking, really, how badly some of these guys are hitting.

DAN O’NEILL
I would think the Cardinals are done dealing. The Matt Holliday trade never has made sense to me, especially if it includes Ryan Ludwick. Seems to me you’re trading very similar players, trading your only righthanded-hitting outfielder to get a righthanded-hitting outfielder. I think if the Cardinals get Lohse back, they are set with their club for a while, if not for the duration.

THE WATERCOOLER

QUESTION: With Tony La Russa mixing and matching his lineup daily to fill holes, the Cardinals have continued to play well enough to hold down first place in the NL Central. Does this team’s current success rate work against them in terms of the ownership/front office’s willingness to make a trade and/or take on salary to address some of the team’s more glaring needs?

RICK HUMMEL
To a degree, yes, but I think GM John Mozeliak and ownership realize that the Cardinals pitching can take them only so far and that a bona fide third baseman, and to a lesser degree, shortstop, is needed. The club might well be more concerned with the cost of players to give up in a trade rather than actual money.

DERRICK GOOLD
The question assumes that there is a circumstance that the Cardinals front office would be willing to take on salary and address needs, and that isn’t necessarily the case. The Cardinals have said they want to rely more heavily on their farm system. Check. The Cardinals have said they are working within a budget that is linked to attendance estimates and that the economy has forced their expenses to be reduced. Check. The Cardinals have said they want to be in position to strengthen this team. Check back on that.

In the big-swapping days of yore the Cardinals could land big-name help by swallowing unsavory salaries in exchange for warm bodies. Those deals don’t happen all that often any more, and the Cardinals say they aren’t in a position to shoulder an enormous salary. That leaves them with the new-age deals where other teams want pitching prospects, pitching and prospects in that order. The Cardinals may be willing to make a deal, but the bigger question is are they able to … do they have what Tony La Russa calls “chips.” If anything the team’s success gives the front office the cover for what they planned to do all along and proof, if they look at the standings, that their approach has worked so far.

BRYAN BURWELL
Only an ownership bogged down by complacency would view the two-month long success as a disincentive to make a trade. If you are about the business of winning championships, which this franchise has always been, you should take this as motivation to increase your chances of being a playoff worthy team.

GERRY FRALEY (Baseball writer for FOXsports.com, Sportingnews.com and USAToday)
La Russa and his coaching staff have been a victim of their own success with the Cardinals. During La Russa’s time, the Cardinals have milked far more production than could have been expected from a collection of recycled players. That apparently has convinced ownership that there is no need to make a big gesture. Just find another broken-down arm for pitching coach Dave Duncan to fix or another slumping hitter for batting coach Hal McRae to revive.

That alchemy works only so long. The National League Central is there for the taking. Ownership is entitled to make a tidy profit, but this is a case where a significant but wise investment could bring a big return. Think of it as bread upon the waters.

KEVIN WHEELER (Host of “Sports Open Line” on KMOX)
I would certainly hope not since that would mean upper management didn’t learn from the 2008 season. On May 28, 2008 the Cardinals were 31-23 and a game and half behind the Cubs in the NL Central. By the end of the season, after not receiving the reinforcements Tony La Russa openly asked for, they were 11 1/2 games behind the Cubs and in 4th place in the division.

La Russa can squeeze water from a stone with certain players but over the course of 162 games that isn’t always enough. Building depth in the farm system is necessary, for sure, but when you have a chance to win you need to make every effort to do so. You never know from year to year whether or not you’ll be a contender because of all the variables involved, but you do know with absolute certainty that each year you’ll get a chance to add to your farm system through the draft and international free agency.

This year that sense of urgency should be even greater since La Russa’s contract is up after the season. It would be wise for the Cards to make every effort to win while they know they have a manager who can get the job done.