What will free agent outfielder Matt Holliday command in free agency?

Well, agent Scott Boras fetched $180 million for slugger Mark Teixeira in last year’s marketplace. And he told the Los Angeles Times that he considers Holliday a similar talent.

“These guys are blue-collar superstars,” Boras told the Times. “They don’t hit 50 home runs, but they’re complete players. They can give you something without swinging a bat.”

Boras isn’t losing any sleep over Holliday’s NLDS fielding gaffe. Once the New York teams start fighting over his client, that mishap will be forgotten.

“There are differences between hitters and complete players,” Boras told the Times. “Matt Holliday is a complete player.

“There is, frankly, no one like him in the market.”

Oh, well, it was fun having Holliday for the stretch run. The Yankees and Mets are both eager to upgrade in left field and the Dodgers may soon grow sick of Manny Ramirez.

Holliday is the better hitter in the free-agent market, followed by Jason Bay – a player the Red Sox simply HAVE to keep to remain competitive on the tough AL East.

John Mozeliak ought to lock up Mark DeRosa and John Smoltz – two free agents who want to be here — and then see how the market plays out.

MYSTERIES OF THE UNIVERSE

Questions to ponder while Rams fans hope the solitary deep threat Donnie Avery can get back up to full speed:

• Once the Rams fall behind the Colts by several touchdowns Sunday, will they finally open up their offense?
• Who will get canned first, Jim Zorn, Dick Jauron or Norv Turner?
• Is it us, or does the Redskins offensive line have a few issues?
• Where does this hit rank among the all-time NFL cheap shots?
• Would NBA owners really have to guts to vote out the New Jersey Nets’ buyer? Wouldn’t that be kind of dangerous?

QUIPS ‘R US

Here is what some of America’s leading sports pundits have been writing:

Nancy Gay, FanHouse: “Monday night featured perhaps the NFL’s best quarterback battle this season, the duel between Philip Rivers and Kyle Orton, and it all but determined the balance of power in the AFC West, despite the fact that it’s only mid-October. Seriously — who would have thought that Orton, once mistake-prone and reviled and probably still being burned in effigy by Bears fans, would now sit among the league’s elite passers while guiding a 6-0 Denver Broncos team?”

Ray Ratto, CBSSports.com: “Nobody should ever need a job as badly as Jim Zorn seems to need his. And we’re even taking into account the fact that jobs are a bit more precious these days.  But there it is. Zorn has been stripped of his pants as well as his play-calling responsibilities by Washington Redskins Vice President of Stammering What Owner Dan Snyder Wants to Hear Vinny Cerrato, and Zorn didn’t do the one thing he needed most to do. Quit on the spot. OK, the two things he needed to do. One, call Cerrato a miserable little toady who has no more business telling football people what to do than a small puddle of gray liquid. And then quit on the spot.”

Mike Bianchi, Orlando Sentinel: “When discussing the labor dispute between the NBA and league refs, I asked Magic Coach  Stan Van Gundy if he is a union guy or management. ‘Neither,’ Van Gundy said. ‘I’m an NBA coach, which means I’m a temporary employee.’”

Scott Ostler, San Francisco Chronicle: “With all the money the NBA is collecting by fining coaches for whining about the replacement refs (Larry Brown: $60,000), the league can afford to bring back the real refs.”

Dan Daly, Washington Times: “Frank and Jamie McCourt, whose marriage appears headed for divorce, are both claiming ownership of the Dodgers. So we could be looking at a nasty legal fight, folks - or worse, joint custody of Manny Ramirez.”

MEGAPHONE

“A good matchup for us, really. He can explode on a fastball. He likes the big moment, he wants to be there. He can control the adrenaline and handle the moment. Jimmy is about the big stage, he likes the mike and likes to talk. Everything about him is personality, and I love everything about it. When he goes to the plate, he wants to be part of the big moment of the game.”

Phillies manager Charlie Manuel, after Jimmy Rollins took down the Dodgers Monday night.

INBOX

“I used to be a huge Blues fan back in the Hull days and always followed, at the time, what you had to say about the hockey season… soon after Gary Bettman took over, however, the NHL clamped down on fighting, mainly with the instigator rule, and the game has gotten less passionate and more rehearsed because of it . . . every fight for the past 10 seasons or so has been pretty much prearranged by the two guys involved so that nobody gets an extra penalty . . . there’s no ability to stick up for your teammates anymore, especially in the playoffs when the extra penalty is so costly.

“Can you PLEASE protest today’s lack of NHL violence in an upcoming article? I just don’t see how the NHL is worth watching when players are scared to follow through on multiple hits/checks because of the eventual need to fight it will cause. Or, if anything, just assure me that you, too, are not anywhere near as entertained by the NHL as you were 20 years ago.”

Matt Gitlin

Just for our old friend Matt, I dug into the archives for this fine Tony Twist compilation. Enjoy!

Elsewhere on STLToday

Teams should almost never trade their best players while they are still in their athletic prime. So the Rams should keep running back Steven Jackson and the Cards should stay the course with Albert Pujols.

The Rams should audition every ambulatory wide receiver capable of running a post pattern this week.

Monday’s live chat included the usual speculation about the makeup of the 2010 Cards.