John Mozeliak: Hello, I would like to thank all of you for your thoughtful questions and apologize for being late...computer problems. I hope to spend the next hour getting to most of your questions.

JimmyBallgame: I know that you will probably answer the official front office line, but aren't the Cardinas worried about the SS / 2B options?
What can be done to bring this area up to major league average standards?
The Cardinals need help.

Bernie Miklasz: We understand the uncertianly in our middle infield, but we truly believe Izturis will make us stronger up the middle and we fully except Kennedy to have a better year.

Jeff T.: John,

Thanks for taking the time to do this for us. What is the chance that we will get to cheer on our own St. Louis kid (Kyle McClellan) come opening day. All the reports sugguest that he could be the fifth starter but has a better chance as the long relief role. What is the latest on him???

Bernie Miklasz: McClellan has had a wonderful spring, and given how successful he was last year we are not surprised by this. He will be challenged this spring and given he role change from reliever to starter we need to be careful not to rush him. I do think he is ready for a big year.

drelboc: First of all, I want to offer my sincere thanks to JSL!!! (THE CHATMEISTER-OMNIMSCIENT) and the PD for arranging this forum. 2nd, I am very honored to have the chance to post my question to you Mr. Mozeliak. Congradulations on your new post. I think you are doing a GREAT job in tough times!

I am concerned about the starting pitching. If Clement, Mulder and Carpenter all stumble in their comeback from their health issues, I have my doubts that the "current" pack of middle and back end rotation pitchers could keep us in games consistantly.

If the starting pitching falters in the first 2 months of the season, and the three above mentioned pitchers are not able to return as expected, is this a season that we just get through and wait until there are some viable free agents to go after this winter, or will you "aggressively" try and fix it for this year and beyond, through trades?

Thank you for your VALUABLE time to mix with us St Louis Cardinal fans. Like the last 44 years, I am excited for the season to start.

From Topeka, Ks
Respectfully,
Dave Cobler

Bernie Miklasz: I cannot argue with you points on starting pitching and given where Pineiro is we will have to look at ways to improve...I'm sure that is how I will spend the rest of the day.

Jimmy m: MO! Please dont Skip the SKip! He's paid his dues, lets give him a chance! great job so far.

Bernie Miklasz: Skip will get every chance, honestly he has done a great job.

Scott: Mr. Moziliak,
You have large shoes to fill today standing in for/with the Chatmeister. Good luck! My question is why in a "youth movement" period with the Cards, how Brendan Ryan seems to be shuffled down in the deck with the addition of depth/insurance players signed in middle infield positions. His play last year leave many to believe he should be playing every day. What's management's take on B. Ryan's future in St.Louis?
Scott C.
Piedmont, Mo

Bernie Miklasz: I like the energy Ryan brings to this club, and when you consider one of our goals this off-season was to look at ways to get younger. Production is what counts but understand youth typically means flexability and we are striving for this.

Bill from Iowa: Mr. Mozeliak,

I really like how our minor league system is "getting younger", and some of our prospects are showing up on the top of lists like those that Baseball America compiles.

My question for you is--how close are we to where you'd like our minor league system to be? ie: ideally a system that is "stacked" at every level, with the only difference in quality-of-prospect being the number of years until they are shining at Bush Stadium?

Thanks--and keep up the good work!

Bill

Bernie Miklasz: The minor leagues are our future, so if we ignore this value component of this business well, we are in the wrong business. We have quality drafts in the past few years, and will continue to invest in our minor league system. I'm please with the direction we are headed and I look for us to continue to get stronger.

Jeremy Landreth: I was really surprised when Larussa decided to sign another contract with us. The Cardinal's brass appear committed to developing players from within the organization. Larussa has always preferred veteran players. How were the two sides able to reconcile on these obvious differences in philosophy?

Bernie Miklasz: Tony is a HOF manager, but he does understand the direction we are going. You can become younger and still win, and I assure that's our goal to win. Honestly, Tony has been great to work with this off-season and I believe he is excited about our young players coming.

Buk: Mr. Mozeliak,
Great job so far. With an apparent renewed interest in developing young talent, will the cardinals be spending more money on future draft picks? The organization's unwillingness to spend on young players has cost them a couple of blue chippers (Phil Hughes comes to mind) So is this renewed interest legit or just a euphemism for "we aren't going to spend money?"

Bernie Miklasz: We are very serious about taking the best players available, in Hughes case it was not about money it was about development time. We missed there, and we have looked at why and have improved how we scout at the amateur level.

Brian B: With the shortage of reliable pitching available early, why the hesitation to sign someone like Kyle Lohse? I understand we are relying on Carpenter, Mulder, Clement, and now Piniero to get healthy. But wouldn't it be beneficial, as a team "in transition," to bulk up in this area and then trade for prospects with this surplus? And Aaron Miles? Really? Otherwise, I think everyone respects what you have done so far and everyone wishes you the best.

Bernie Miklasz: I feel everyone missed on the pitching market this year, as of today the only multi-year deal for a starter was Silva. The market was fluid and never reached what many believed would happen. As we sit here today teams are now looking to move their access pitching and there are still a few pitchers out there of interest. I will continue to explore both markets, based on the last few days we need to add depth.
With regard to Miles, he is well respected on this team and gives us great protection at SS/2B. He does have value!

Lynda Pinney Domino: It's great of you to make yourself available to the fans for questions. What do you, the GM, expect to do in the free agent market next year? It seems that teams have the funds to be able to give multi-year contracts to their top players approaching free agency, thus making the 2009 free agency pool project to be little better than this year's. Realistically, will you be able to get anything more done next year than you did this year, even with a bunch of money freed up with some big contracts off the books?

Bernie Miklasz: I'm not sure next year's group in any better than this past year, most teams are tying up there year players and therefore less players of interest are entering the market. Saying that is exactly why having options for Mulder and Clement were so important. At least we have some control of our future. I do agree that if we do not pick-up their options then we would have a larger pool of dollars in the open market.

Jordan: Is there concern within the organization of having 4 potential left-handed hitting outfielders for at the least the next few years with Ankiel, Duncan, Rasmus, and Schumaker? With such a strong core of young players all hitting from the left-side, and with the Cards recent struggles against left-handed pitching, is there a need to seek a starting rigthanded hitting outfielder from outside the organization? Or is there help within the organization (excluding Ludwick of course)?

Bernie Miklasz: We are very excited about Joe Mather and we think he is close. Your point is an excellent one, and if we thought there was someone who would give us better protection in terms of a long term solution we would have to have interest.

TennCardFan: Hello; Sorry about the walking wounded starting pitching. Given the uncertainty, has there been any thought to restoring Ryan Franklin to a Starter, since he has so many pitches, and experience?

I was thinking that Politte, Jimenez, Perez or Motte could take his spot, which he could return to, if necessary, once Pineiro/Clement/Mulder return.

Bernie Miklasz: Franklin did so well last year we would perfer to keep him in his current role. But if we continue to have setbacks then it may have to be consider...not there yet.

TennCardFan: If the final outfield spot for the 25 man roster is between Brian Barton and Juan Gonzalez, who makes the decision, you or Tony?

Shouldn't Barton's future weigh more than Gonzalez' past?

Thanks

Bernie Miklasz: Yes! Barton has had a good spring and continues to work hard. He was a Rule V pick so we can't take that lightly. Juan has done everything we have asked, and is signed to minor league contract, so in the end we do have more flexibility with him.

B: Do you seriously think we can get to the playoffs this year with this rotation? Absolutely ridiculous....your the GM for the St. Louis Cardinals not the Kansas City Royals. Make something happen...ask DeWitt for more money. My summer is gonna be ruined.

Bernie Miklasz: Your summer will not be ruined, look at this way you get a chance to watch a rotation truly evolve. Consider the following addition each month. Clement, Mulder, and then finally Carpenter. But I get your point and will continue to look for ways to save your summer.

R Major: Mo, Will the cardinals play this OF of Ludwick, Ankiel, and Duncan with Schumaker and Barton as platoon players and let Colby play in Memphis? Man o man that seems short sighted Mo. Ludwick and Skip are 4th OF's at best and Rasmus is the future, please lets let Colby start with the Cardinals and get the learning curve started.

Bernie Miklasz: Rasmus is truly an exciting player, one that we have not seen in years. We do not want to rush him, more importantly we do not want to have a negative effect on him by forcing him he is not ready. He is learning a lot this spring and will continue to be watched closely. Stay tuned...

Dan: Why can't we ever get a high profile pitcher? We fill that stadium up 82 times a season and we deserve to have a competetive squad. Looper, Piniero, Thompson, Wellenmeyer would not start anywhere else in the league but here. We deserve a competitive team and if that means shelling out money so be it. I want to win. This rotation is pitiful. And don't mention Carp or Mulder because they won't be starting so it's like we don't have them. Get a real pitcher instead of these band-aid jobs you guys always get.

Thank for your time.

Sincerely

Dan Cedric

Bernie Miklasz: I get it, but this was a terrible market and of the high profile pitchers traded we did not match-up. Pitching is so hard to find, but I assure we have been aggressive in the past and will continue to pursue pitchers in the future.

Cole Kutz: Mo, do you think the Cardinals will be able to resolve the issues with the Memphis Redbirds ownership and keep your AAA club in that city?

Bernie Miklasz: I'm very hopeful we will remian in Memphis. It is a great ballpark and our players have always enjoyed playing there.

Bukowski: Mo,

Do you personally read Viva El Birdos? What do you think about the blogosphere and it's effect (or lack of) on the game in general - and yes, we know you're setting a trend with the program you announced...would you ever post on it? Be interviewed for it?

Bernie Miklasz: I have read it, loved the report card to my parents...that was funny.

Kevin in Kirkwood: John,
Assuming all things are equal between Barton and Gonzalez at the end of spring....Who makes the team? This will be the most telling position battle in terms of if the "youth movement" is real or not.

Also, Joe Mather is having a great spring. Looks like he is getting serious consideration for Spiezio's old role. Will he get some time at 3B soon?

Bernie Miklasz: Can't ignore Kirkwood, you asked many quality questions and made good points. Mather has done well at all four positions. Barton is playing well, so we will have a few difficult decisions at the end of camp, but that is a good thing.

John Mozeliak: This was my first time participating in a live chat, and it was overwhelming. I'm sorry if I did not get to all your questions, but I hope we can do this again once the season starts. We are excited about this season, health is the driver here, so if healthy we will surprise a few people. Offensively we should be better than a year ago. We have had a good spring so far and will continue to look for ways to improve.
Thank you