lwanderson99: Jeff,

With all of the talk about help at 3rd base, has there been any discussion of giving Allen Craig a chance in the Majors? I know he was moved to the outfield and then First Base. I also know he struggled for a while but he appears to have regained his batting stroke.

Jeff Gordon: His hitting hasn't reached that level yet. I did see him in spring training and he did make a great impression. He could be a bench guy some day.

JaLyn1201: Gordo, now that it looks like Izzy is really done, is there any chance that the Cardinals will honor him with a "day"? Has La Russa said "over my dead body he comes back to Busch" so he has to wait for the Matheney/Mabry era for this to happen? I would sure love to see him as the bullpen coach with Matheney or Mabry as the manager in another 3-4 years but I guess DeWitt will not want to pay anything for this kind of talent!

Jeff Gordon: Honoring Izzy would be a great idea. So would bringing him back in some capacity. He really showed his leadership in '06 when he got hurt. He coached up Wainwright as a closer.

Tackleberry: What is your best guess as to what the Cards will do with these outfielders at the end of this season? Do you really see Ludwick/Duncan/Ankiel all coming back in '10? If not, why not move someone now and get something/anything in return?

Jeff Gordon: They have to hit to become commodities. I'd see Ludwick returning because of his glove and his right-handed bat. This team needs to add one more RH outfield with real clout. This could mean just letting Ankiel walk as a free agent if nobody wants to trade for him.

Tackleberry: Gordo,

Carpenter looked tired last night (a comment made by Mrs. Tackleberry) even before he threw a pitch. How much do you think DeWitt's most recent comments took wind out of these guys' sails?

Also, when will this club stop using the "we faced a lefty" crutch?

Jeff Gordon: Guys just waiting around for help to arrive should be the first guys the team offers around. As for the lefties thing, this RH/LH imbalance has been evident from Day 1. Khalil Greene was supposed to help some of that. So were Freese and Mather, once Glaus bowed out for bulk of the year. Their collective failure (some related to injuries) created a real void.

It's not hard to ID this team's need. Dealing for that on June 15 is tough. A lot will change between now and Aug. 1 around baseball.

James: Thanks Gordo for doing these chats. I was wondering what your thoughts are on where this team will end up? Do we make a trade or not, and if we don't make a trade how will the team respond? I know the season is still pretty young but we don't seem to be improving. Do you think the team peaked in the first month or can we get back to where we were? Thanks so much!

Jeff Gordon: Change is needed, as we can all see. The Cards still need to see which Ryan Ludwick will finish the season and which Rick Ankiel will finish the season. Khalil Greene must get one more run to see if he can offer anything. Will Kyle Lohse pitch any time soon? With so many questions, it's safe to say this team isn't a trade away from greatness. If the Cards don't narrow down their needs, there won't be much John Mozeliak can do from his perch.