Robert DeSutter: Should we expect a fully rehabilitated Carpenter when he returns? Will his abilities be up to par with his standard he set last year and the year before it?

Who will be the starting 5 when it's all said and done and Mulder and Carpenter are back in the lineup?

Carp, Mulder, Looper, Thompson & Wainwright - seems to be the obvious answer.

Do you see this as a team that can go to the post season? In today's day and age, with division titles becoming more and more irrelevant, do you see the Cards grabbing the wild card?

How far are we from getting Bennett back?

Jeff Gordon: There is no reason to worry about Carpenter's surgery; it was minor stuff. Mulder is another matter, since shoulder operations are much more iffy. As for the late-season rotation, I'd put Reyes in that equation over Thompson. Anthony has "plus" stuff. I'm not giving up on him. Thompson is a nice fallback. Wells has the ability to bounce back in the second half, but the losing DOES take a toll. He may be the victim of battered pitcher syndrome.

Bronco: Jeff,
I have been a Cardinal Fan since i can remember and although i am now living in Colorado and unable to attend games in St.Louis I do have MLB with Direct TV and watch every game i possible can but i do miss some of the nuances going on during the game. What i can see through Direct TV and XM Radio leads me to Juan Encarnacion.
While I agree that Juan Encarnacion is hitting and seems to be somewhat coming through in some key spots i find myself just not liking the way he plays ball. He just doesn't seem to be a true Cardinal. He doesn't seem to hustle or move runners along very well just not playing the Cardinal Way. Maybe I am wrong as i said I cannot go to the games and must watch and listen through TV and XM so I could be missing some things but with the fact that he is hitting some now can't we trade this guy for something? anything? something for AA or AAA ? I sure would like to see Ankiel up with the Cards so we can see what we have with him. I do not think he is our savior but we need to know if we should sign him long term and play him at the Major League level. Don't We?

Jeff Gordon: Juan E. might have some trade value IF he keeps hitting and IF the Cards pick up some salary. In the near term, his improved hitting allows the team to give Rick Ankiel (four hits, including his 15th homer Sunday) some more time in Memphis. How about a Juan E./Ankiel platoon later this year?

Rob: Jeff,
I know that TLR doesn't like to do contracts during the season but don't the Cardinals have to know if he is coming back or not now? This can and will affect many moves the Cards will or will not make, like Reyes, if TLR and Duncan are not coming back then don't trade Reyes, keep him down on the farm gaining confidence and get him ready for next year, but if TLR and Duncan are coming back then the Cards probably have to trade him as he and Duncan have a difference in philosophy. I am all for TLR managing the Cards for as long as he wishes, I feel he is a great manager who was done an exceptional job with the Cards most of the time he has been here. I think that with what he has accomplished and been a company man the Cards owe him the job for as long as he wants it, but I also think TLR owes it to the Cards to not leave them hanging all year without an idea on what direction to take the team because they do not know if he will be back or not. Wouldn't the whole organization be better off knowing one way or the other? as much as I hope he is with the Cards next year at least they could start preparing for life without him if they knew for sure he wasn't coming back. TLR just sign a new contract and let's get back to winning the division and vying for World Series berths.

Jeff Gordon: Knowing Tony's plans might help management plan, but I don't see Walt making any in-season trade based on who will manage the team in 2008. He is looking to help the '07 team while protecting most of his long-term assets. Once the season ends, I'm guessing Tony will make his decision quickly -- allowing Jocketty to operate accordingly.

As for Reyes, he will have little trade value until he pitches consistently at this level. And if he pitches consistently at this level, there would be no reason to deal him.

Kevin: Jeff,

Anthony Reyes and (who?) equals Mark Buehrle?

Thanks,
Kevin

Jeff Gordon: Colby Rasmus, Joe Mather or Jaime Garcia, and maybe more. The White Sox will get HUGE offers for Buehrle if he becomes available. Other contenders have lots of prospects. Even if the White Sox happened to like Anthony, they would need a lot more.

Luke Andreassen: Some blame Jocketty some blame DeWit, who's to blame for the poor off-season choices? Is it that DeWit won't pony up the $$ for Walt to work with or did Walt just make some poor decisions this year?

Jeff Gordon: Had Walt had a $110 million budget instead of a $95 million budget, he could have kept Suppan and upgraded over Weaver with another starting pitcher. He still would have kept Edmonds, which is looking like a much better decision. And I still think Kennedy could work out. As for Wells . . . well, it's getting very, very late.

On the other hand, the Franklin move paid off handsomely. So did the Russ Springer signing. Bucking up to keep the bench was a good move, too, even though Preston Wilson was never right. Spiezio, Miles and Bennett have been terrific and Ludwick was a nice minor league pick-up.