JD: Gordo,
With all of the hype of the draft coming up it is very exciting to think of the what some of these prospects are capible of bringing to our team. With so many needs what do you think is more important OL or DT/DE with our first pick? (Long vs. Long/Dorsey/Gholston) If you were the GM who would you choose and also what about jumping into the bidding for J. Allen out of KC and moving down in the draft?

Jeff Gordon: We touched on Allen earlier. I'd go DE first, but I can understand the Dorsey pick. As for Jake Long, I see the appeal -- but shouldn't the Rams try to get Pace and Barron on track for this season and draft a developmental OT instead?

Ralph: Schumaker started as a shortstop. At some point this season, should La Russa consider moving him back to his original position? I know he hasn't played there in a long time, but Izturis is not cutting it as a hitter and Skip can't be worse defensively than Eckstein at short.

Jeff Gordon: Skip would have been an interesting experiment at 2B had the Cards not stacked up some depth there. But SS? Nah, that would be desperate. La Russa could pull a Mayo Smith and do something like that in the playoffs -- remember Mickey Stanley? -- but not in the regular season.

Let's see what Ryan can do there instead.

ernie: The rams should deal, getting the most value. Who should that team be and for what deal?

Jeff Gordon: The perfect move would be to trade down with the Ravens, get the eighth pick, take Ellis or Gholston, and add a second-rounder and something else to make the deal. Don't settle for a high '09 pick, though, since Linehan can't worry about '09. He has to win now.

Kevin: Jeff,

Does MLB keep teams from trading before the July deadline? It seems they do. If MLB permits deals prior to that time how likely are the Cards to pull a trade and how soon could that happen?

Are the Cards so set on an '09 return of Renteria that they would not deal for Uribe, Jack Wilson or another hitting shortstop? Could a Wilson and Nady or Bay deal be possible?

Thanks,
Kevin

Jeff Gordon: Teams can deal right now. But the trade market doesn't heat up until June, when teams exhaust all other options and see where they are headed for the season. It's too early for the also-rans to sell off players now -- and a lot of GMs still believe they can win with what they have in their organizations.

Uribe and Wilson could be had, I suppose. We've talked a lot about Bay, but can he regain his old stroke? Nady is OK, but this team has lots of OF options.

Craig: Jeff, 2 questions: "WHO" would the cardinals target as a power bat and what would the cardinals package together to get him - Is glaus hurt?

Jeff Gordon: We've talked about Bay and Young -- and Michael Young, to me, would be the perfect target. As for Glaus, the guy has seven doubles, 11 walks (second only to Albert) and 10 RBI. Not great, of course, but La Russa has seen progress in his swing. The homers will come for this guy once he stops trying to lift pitches out of the park.