HEG: Gordo I find myself agreeing with TLR on most moves this year; usually I disagree on about 2 out of three moves he makes. Motte in my opinion is not ready for the closing role; he needs to refine his pitches & gain back his confidence; maybe in Memphis. I believe the Cards need to relieve & close as the situation presents itself; from my observations I believe if the Cardinals move an outfielder it will be Ankiel but that could happen later in year if an injury occurs; everything seems to be working for the Cards thru first 7 games but that could could change. Agree or disagree on statements above???

Jeff Gordon: Ankiel could go, yes, because Rasmus is waiting to replace him and there are OFs stacked up at Memphis. This is Rick's make-or-break financial year. He will need to blow up big to cash in big, since the free-agent marketplace is much tighter now.

Motte could trade places with Chris Perez soon if the two continue on their current paths.

ernie from california: I get the feeling that Ram management knows (because the team needs lots of help) it should trade down to improve the team. It is just a matter of accepting the best deal, which may only happen at draft minutes time. Do you agree?

Jeff Gordon: Trading down makes all the sense in the world. Maybe somebody will make a last second pitch. But this doesn't look like the sort of draft where that will happen at the top.

Glenn Turner: Gordo:

Blues much better matchup agaist Vancouver than San Jose. Vancouver is good. I see the Blues matching up pretty evenly with the Canucks forward lines. I give the advantage to the Canucks at Goalie. I do not know enough about the Vancouver defense. What do you see as the keys to this series?

Jeff Gordon: The Canucks are deep on D with puck movers, so it's tough to fore-check them. That is a big edge for Vancouver, along withe goaltending. Up front, the Blues may have more weapons.

George M.: Hi, Jeff. You mentioned in your article today that it could be tough getting all 4 outfielders their at-bats. There are close to 1800 at-bats for the 3 outfield positions, plus around 150 pinch-hit at-bats, plus some at first base when Albert needs a day off or can come out of a lopsided game early. So it looks to me like close to 2000 at-bats there. Also, everyone seems to be assuming that this will be the first year in a long time that the Cardinals haven't had to DL an outfielder. I see everyone in that group who can stay off the DL getting at least 500 at-bats. I think that should be enough to stay sharp and fresh at the same time, but I don't know about staying content? Can you elaborate on the remarks in your column? Thanks.

Jeff Gordon: Ludwick has a breakout season, then sits twice in week while batting .389. That is not ideal. How many 100-RBI outfielders sit out games while healthy and hitting well?

Dropping Rasmus back to three starts a week would also not be ideal. He needs regular work at this age.

Over the long haul, the Cards will have some DH games and a few Pujols off-days to help get at bats. And somebody will tweak a muscle, making TLR's job easier. But spreading three jobs among four full-time players is tough.

Tackleberry: Gordo,

Does it concern you at all that the "Big Three" that are supposed to be Pujols' support (Ludwick, Ankiel, Duncan)are averaging a strikeout more than every four AB's?

Jeff Gordon: Greene strikes out a lot, too, and he could hit behind Albert some more this year. That is an issue, since Ks take away from sac flies and RBI groundouts.

Let's see what these guys hit with runners in scoring position this year. That will be a bigger number than just strikeouts.