Chris Freeman: Jeff, I would like to know how the trade for Glaus will impact the cardinals for this and next year and also how much worse of a defensive player will he be then Rolen and do you think that Glaus will be an upgrade as a whole over Rolen? What is the statis on all of the cardinals injuries from this past year to the main players such as Carpenter, Mulder, Duncan, and Molina? Last question does Colby Rasmus have the make up to be a great player or another Ray Lankford a few good years but not really any great years? Thank You

Jeff Gordon: If Rasmus became another Ray Lankford, that wouldn't be bad. Ray was pretty good in his prime, despite some of those ugly whiffs.
Duncan and Molina should be fine to start the season. Mulder is expected in May, Carpenter in July.

Glaus won't win any games with his gloves, but look for him to produce many more runs.

Mark Supic: Is there any reason for optimism that Adam Kennedy might regain his old form as a solid .280 hitter this year coming off his injury?

Thanks...

Jeff Gordon: Well, he's not THAT old. Other than that, no.

David: Hello, Jeff,

Your colleague Dan O'Neill has a very pessimistic view of the Cardinals, saying, "the day-to-day starting nine includes four answers and 12 questions." I think Dan overlooks the excellent job John Mozeliak has done to fill the depth chart with talented backups to provide protection for each of the 12 questions he raises. The probable starting outfield (Ankiel, Duncan, Ludwick) has three solid to excellent backup candidates (Rasmus, Barton, Schumaker). The presumably weak middle infield (Izturis, Kennedy) also has solid or better backup candidates (Ryan, Spezio, Jiminez). The question at third base (Glaus, with his ailing foot) has solid backup candidates (Spezio, Jiminez, Ryan). The pitching rotation's questions (Mulder, Clement) have adequate backup candidates (Wellemeyer, Thompson, Reyes, Garcia).

Mo's work sets up the roster so that if any of the daily starting nine performs poorly or is disabled, a readily available backup can step in and do a respectable or better job. The Cardinals are much less vulnerable to the kind of injuries that have left them just under a .500 won-lost record over the last two years. So if players like Mulder and Clement, Glaus and Kennedy, and others return to form, I believe the Cards could be competetive in the NL Central. Even if some of the starting nine fail or go on the disabled list, there is a good chance that their backups will fill in adequately or better.

How would you compare your view with Dan's pessimistic assessment of the Cardinals and this cautiously optimistic assessment?

Jeff Gordon: Well, there are a lot of "ifs". And it is tough to count on ifs, as Dano notes. If most of the ifs pan out, this won't be a bad team. If Ankiel and Duncan hit the ball on either side of Pujols/Glaus, this offense will be OK. If Mulder and Carpenter pitch on schedule, and pitch well, this pitching could be fine, too.

I'd like to see the Cards hedge their bet with a few more additions, just to be sure.

John from St. Charles: I am getting the strong impression that the Rams are getting ready to pack up and return to Los Angeles within the next few years. There is an ownership void and a major problem with the Rams contract with the Ed Jones Dome that'll take a lot of public money (again) to hold them here.

Is there any movement afoot to do a "Green Bay Packers"-type grass roots buyout of the team to keep it here in perpetuity? Any NFL franchise is worth something not only in terms of dollars, but also what the team does for our pride and sense of community.

If I owned a share of the Rams, I would probably root, root root for this hometeam too. Plus, local ownership would probably be more understanding of the stadium situation.

Jeff Gordon: IF the Rams ended up getting sold, the price would push $1 billion. That is rich for a public purchase, to say the least.

Jeff: You will probably get a lot of these questions, but any new blues trade rumors? could just be me, however there doesn't seem to be a great market for defensemen right now.

Secondly, now that we are suddenly thin on goalies in the system, will there be a move made on that front?

Jeff Gordon: The market for "D" is thin. If the Blues decide to get a stopgap, fill-in, back-up goaltender while Hannu plays full-time in the AHL, there are no shortage of candidates -- including Curtis Joseph.