I have every honest intention of running this into the ground. In that you can believe.
The Cardinals have needs, and they have only just begun to address them. By extending Lohse's contract, re-signing LaRue, and picking up Miller and Greene, Moze has renewed my faith. But he's got a lot more work to do. The winter meetings start Monday.
Bullpen
.. Left-handed relievers
..... Charlie Manning
..... Trever Miller
..... __________
One more lefty would do it. I'm thinking Oliver Perez. There's also Fuentes (not likely), Ohman, Beimel, Shouse....
Middle infield
.. Shortstop
..... Khalil Greene
.. Second base
..... __________
Adam Kennedy seems to be the elephant in the room lately. I hope Moze isn't reluctant to sign a second baseman because of the fear of paying Kennedy to sit on the bench for most of '09.
The only problem with re-signing Lopez is that he's not an ideal lead-off man or power bat. And considering the next two items on my checklist....
Power hitter
..... __________
Here's who I don't want: Dunn. Wow, that list was even shorter than I'd thought it would be. (Not that there's any real chance of that happening anyway.) Actually, if it were up to me (which it's not), I probably would put this at the very end of the list--kind of as an "if we've got money left over and just really want to spend it" item--and focus on the real deficiencies rather than the perceived ones.
Lead-off hitter
..... __________
It doesn't sound like anyone projects Greene to take over that spot, so who does that leave? We've got Schumaker....
This spot is generally reserved for a guy who's not so much about the long ball, but more about speed. The guy who can get on base and maybe steal. And since we're known for our unique lineup in which the pitcher hits eighth, we really need two lead-off hitters. Kennedy did not thrive in that role, and Izturis certainly did not impress anyone.
Fifth starter
..... __________
My greatest hopes lay on Carp's ability to return and pitch as brilliantly as we're accustomed (the Cardinals will find out today what the odds are), but reality keeps kicking me in the back of the head and reminding me that it never hurts to have a back-up plan. How about Penny? Penny. Penny. Penny.
