Eric: With the signing of Pietriangelo, and if he were to make the team (ala Perron) do you see the asking price for a McKee going down to maybe take a 3rd round pick, or packaging two defensemen together maybe a young defenseman like Polak or Woywitka to bring in a young talented forward. I know we have alot of potential on the blue line, but potential gets people fired, it doesn't win hockey games. Thank you for your time

Jeff Gordon: Given the depth on the blue line, it will be tough for Alex to pull a Perron. As for McKee, the key is his salary. If the Blues move it, the team will have more to spend on forwards. Whether that happens this year or next, it will likely happen. There are so many defensemen on the rise.

Young talented forwards are tough to find. Teams will want more than the price you suggest, unless the young guy is highly paid and something of an enigma. Then it would salary dump for salary dump, ala Afinogenov.

JD Clark: Jeff, thanks for the great forum!

My question is do you have a list of the key Rams players who are going to be free agents after the season? Do you see the Rams signing any of them? If I remember, I think Bartell and Incognito will be and OJ definitly will be. Any info will be great, Thanks. JD

Jeff Gordon: Atogwe will be the next Ram to get a long-term offer before he gets to free agency. The Rams should do the same for Richie is he stays healthy. After that, the team must decide what to do with Holt.

Barry Bonds: I agree with the no place for end of the line steroid abusers, but if Glaus has a spot on your team then why not me?

Jeff Gordon: Barry went "all in," without remorse. He still faces criminal charges. He may be the worst teammate in the last 20 years. And he is a LOT older, with legs that are shot. In a year, the Cards may decide to move on without Troy. In the near term, he is a nice player for this team.

stlfan5: All i hear from cardinals fans is that they want to trade glaus and have freese play third next year. Is freese even ready for the majors and would they cardinals ever consider this move for next year?

thanks

Jeff Gordon: Glaus, with one year on his contract, would have some trade value. Some. But why rush Freese into the bigs when Troy gives you very nice production? If Troy leaves in a year as a Type A free agent, the Cards could collect a high compensatory pick and move on.

If Troy had two or three years left at this money, his value for trade might be greater. And the Cards' motivation to move him might be greater.

Pete: I personally have to tow the party line when it comes to supporting the Cards FO. I think they have shown a dedication to fielding competitive and winning ballclubs over the years Dewitt has been in possesion of the team. Walt Jocketty had to go because his methods had gotten stale and were not in keeping with the current model of leveraging the overpriced veterans signed or traded for with cheap and talented farm system roster spots on the big league club. People seem to forget the fact that the Dewitt Era has ushered in a basically unprecedented era of competitve and winning baseball and has been willing to lock up key core players to keep this trend in tact. It's prudent business to not overcommit to length and amount in dealing with FA contracts, especially pitchers. They've made gargantuan strides in player development and MO has done an admirable job with the quagmire that he was handed with all the BS he's had to deal with. Let's not lose our heads! Your thoughts?

Jeff Gordon: I agree totally. Walt was fabulous, but changing economic conditions in the game -- namely the have-not teams having more to spend -- makes it tough to poach quality veterans. Walt found that out last season in St. Louis and this season in Cincy.

Player development is at a premium now. Free agency is for the rich or the foolish, at least at the high end. Mozeliak has done great work so far and DeWitt has delivered playoff berths, pennants and a world championship. He has a vision for the franchise and I agree with it.