gasw: Thanks Jeff,

I don't understand why we would not want Pinero back. And if Holliday wants too much, let him go. I would rather see us get some hitters rather than boppers, who hit homeruns but strike out a lot. 280 avg., 80 rbi., and use the rest of the money for bullpen and starters. I also think we should keep Ludwig. What am I missing here?

Jeff Gordon: Pineiro pitched very well for the Cards, on balance, and is a good fit with Duncan. But let's see where the dollars fall with him. I can see the Cards putting money into one starting pitcher and leaving the No. 5 slot -- and a couple of back-up spots -- to young pitchers.

With Holliday and Bay likelyt to sign elsewhere, it appears Ryan Ludwick will collect a nice raise and return to the outfield. It would be nice to see what he can Rasmus could do with full-time roles this year.

HiltonHead Matt: Jeff:
Being out of state I appreciate your dicussions that keep me up to date on the Cards and Rams. But, I must not be very smart. Spags says that Bulger gives the Rams the best chance to win. We are 1-7 and have shown no offense all year. As a rule, Bulger has shown no leadership and has played poorly. Yet, you have stated many times that Null is not ready. What I don't understand is that can Null be any worse then Bulger? Can our record be any worse with Null? At least playing Null we can see if he is our answer for the future or will we have to seriously find a qb either in the draft or by trade. I would like your thoughts on why Null is not ready and why we must stick with Bulger. Thanks for your time
HiltonHead Matt

Jeff Gordon: Null was shaky in his limited preseason work. He is a small college QB coming out of a spread offense, so he must adapt to the speed of the NFL game and the mechanics of running a pro-style offense. I'd love to see him get time in a blowout losses, like the one coming up against New Orleans.

In time, he could be a very interesting candidate. As I've noted before, the demise of NFL Europe hurts a kid like this. The Rams could have allocated him for a season of work in a pro-style offense.

Fans begged and begged and begged for Kyle Boller. While Kyle's mobility is a plus, we saw how that turned out. Hence the Bulger "best chance to win" line from Spagnuolo.

dwd: I was reading about the aftermath of the Illinois/Minnisota football game and apparently there is some talk of the Vikings moving to LA now that they are Super Bowl contenders. Have you heard anythig about this?

Jeff Gordon: The Vikings have been linked to other cities for years, due to the long-running struggle to get a new football stadium built. Many years ago San Antonio seemed like a possibility.

Sean B: Who are some free agents we might look at for the bullpen? That seemed to be a weakness towards the end of the year.

Jeff Gordon: A guy like Rafael Soriano, turned out by the Braves, would be the ideal get. He could be a power set-up guy or he could graduate into the closing role, if needed. He is EXACTLY what the Cards could use.

Philly ram fan: Hey Jeff, I'd love to see the rams take a look at the QB playing at Delaware, Pat Devlin. A former recruit of Miami who choose Penn st. Has a lot of upside, strong and accurate arm with mobility. What do you think is Delaware have another Flacco???

Jeff Gordon: That could be the sort of QB the Rams take later in the draft. I'm guessing that Spags will need a lot of convincing to take a quarterback in the first round. He believes in building from the line out.