Hal: Dear Chatmeister Extradornaire:

Do you think that the Cardinals are jumping the gun brining Duncan back up. The dude is hitting .160 in the minors. Mather is a superior athlete that can play first and outfielder much, much better than Duncan.

What happens if the calf strain is nothing more than a charley horse and Pujols is available say next Tuesday. Are the Cardinals willing to DL their stud when he could DH in the upcoing 9 game swing thru Boston, Detroit and KC?

On a side note, have you ever seen a more hideous ride than Desormeaux gave Big Brown in the Belmont?

Joe Strauss: Your question will soon answer itself. I didn't see Duncan hit in Memphis but it is admittedly a small sample of at-bats for a guy sent down ostensibly to get himself "right." El Hombre has more than a "charley horse," Hal. No one is soft-selling this one. Desormeaux' ride wasn't good but it was only the last event within a difficult week for the horse. (A guy like Edgar Prado would have offered a better ride. Promise.) I was rooting for the horse but was hardly disappointed for his connections. A lot of what's wrong with the sport can be found in that group.

DoubleDown11: JSL!!!

Sitting here while the shoe is being changed, I noticed on my Wi-Fi that Chris Duncan will be the emergency call-up to replace Albert Pujols at first. Looking at his stats (hitting .190 and slugging a shade under his weight), why was he considered a call-up BEFORE Pujols went down (Mozeliak mentioned it in his pre-game talk with The Cat)? And furthermore, what's with the rumors that his dad is essentially the de facto hitting coach, essentially replacing McRae and Aldrete? A bit hypocritical when it comes to treating him like "one of the 25", don't ya think?

Dealer is done shuffling the deck, so I got to run.

DoubleDown11

Joe Strauss: A former major league hitter himself, Coach Duncan did take an active interest in his son's struggles before Chris was sent out. I'm not sure what that says but many perceive it as more of a negative than a positive. Chris credited Hal McRae for much of his development. "Hypocritical" may be a little strong. Jose Oquendo helped Yadier Molina's hitting a couple years ago. Sometimes relationships are as important as anything. It's doubtful Chris has a stronger relationship with anybody in the clubhouse than he does with his father.

edbart: I thought that the idea of sending Chris Duncan to Memphis was to allow him to work out his problems in a lower stress situation. He is batting .167 there, and apparently has not worked out his problems. Instead of bringing up Duncan, why don't they bring up Josh Phillips? He is hitting .288 against right hand pitchers and has 8 home runs. He was signed as a back up in case Albert had arm problems, do the Cardinals not have any confidence in Phillips ability to play in the major league?

Joe Strauss: The Cardinals have major issues with Josh Phelps' defense. He demonstrated throwing issues during spring training. He made eight errors in 82 games tere last season with the Yankees and Pirates. He's viewed as a bat.

Dave Newman: I don't have a witty greeting so I'll get right to it.......first, is it me or does Troy Glaus look fantastic at 3b? No, not Scott Rolen fantastic, but mere mortal fantastic. I watch almost every game and I am amazed at his defense this year. Is it health? Feeding off the play of the others? It's been a very pleasant surprise and he deserves kudos.

Second, how is it that the Cardinals went from "worst minor league system in history" to the abundance of depth we now see, in just a matter of a couple years? It's astounding? I've never given much stock to the "minor league rankings," but when Stuart Pomeranz was a top guy we should have believed it. What gives? The demise of the Redbirds so hoped for by Cubs fans has been greatly exaggerated (sp?).

Thanks
Dave

Joe Strauss: You've hit the board even without a witty greeting. Consider yourself validated, Dave. Glaus looked stiff in spring training but has gradually become more mobile. This spring Toronto Blue Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi suggested that Glaus was betting charging balls than Rolen. (The ChatMeister was disbelieving.) Rolen remains in a class by himself when healthy. Glaus almost made an impossible play Tuesday night but then got beat by what looked like a more playable ball down the line. As C. Ripken once said, "It's not a range position; it's a reaction position."
As for the system's image makeover, I credit the current heirarchy with facilitating advancement of prospects. Guys are being given the opportunity to succeed or fail rather than stagnate. The willingness to dismiss former pet prospects, including Pomerantz, suggests J. Luhnow is ready to take names. Luhnow certainly has his detractors, but player development appears to be more proactive. A lot of folks are buying into it.

Tim B: HOF Question. I am sure you have plenty of doom & gloom questions for the day. It is possible that this is the last year for Smoltz, Glavine, Maddux, Griffey & Randy Johnson. To me (and I assume most people) they are all HOFers. If they do retire at the end of the year which ones do you think would make it in the first year of eligibility? I am not a Braves fan but if they retire at the same time I hope the 3 of them go in together. The only one I can see somebody not voting for the first time is Smoltz.

Joe Strauss: All are HOFers. Smoltz is done. Maddux keeps insisting he's on his last year but he loves the game. Griffey may want a shot at 700 HR but will get it only with an AL team. Glavine may go out after this year, retiring as a Brave, which is perfect. RJ is one injury away from retirement. It's staggering to see how many deserving HOFers are currently playing the game. It's a cool game to play, especially when debating folks like Vizquel, Kent, Thomas, etc. I'm hard-pressed to think of a time when more HOFers were walking the game.