kaeagles: Hey Joe,

It was reported today that Rick Ankiel is set fpr surgery on a sports hernia. He dealt with three lingering injuries and yet was never placed on the DL. Could his injury situation(s) have been handled better?

Joe Strauss: Well, yes. I don't see how his production the last two months argue against shutting him down when it became clear he was diminished. Of course, that's hindsight.

roger from lake tahoe: joe, mcclellan is a very good pitcher, he's just been overused. why no third base and outfield call ups when we needed them? starting the clock is a silly reason. if the cards have dollars to spend, why not invest in our youth? we had at least two third basemen better than lopez. and why, with good talent in aaa are we playing infielders in the outfield?

Joe Strauss: I disagree that Wallace and Freese are better options at 3B than Lopez, a former All-Star player who has hit well since being acquired. I do believe there may have been value promoting Freese, but only if the manager was open to using him. I can't answer why Miles, Lopez, Kennedy and (tonight in RF) Brendan Ryan have been taking time from Barton and Nick "the Schtick" Stavinoha if the club is, indeed, in a look-ahead mode. It is fair to say there are two schools of thought about what's in the system. I'm not sure the people in uniform embrace the front office spin.

Joe Strauss: That's going to do it for this week. Next week we will likely go into detail about the possible solutions to the Cardinals problems. The ChatMeister may list the top several alternatives for SP, LHRP, middle infield, "impact" bat and "swing man." Meanwhile, stay away from sharp objects and calm down. The season may be a loss but, for now, there is still Joe Strauss Live!!! every Wednesday. Thanks for your participation and look forward to next week's season-ender.