Cards Working on Filling Final Hole

Well, things aren't completely set for the Cardinals quite yet, but we're getting close. It's certainly not too early to talk about them yet, it's never too early to talk about the defending World Series Champions. Let's get up and throw some dees at Cardinal baseball.

*The big question remaining is Jeff Weaver. Will the Cardinals sign up or not? I guess the thing that bothers me most about this situation is that if the Cardinals do sign him they claim he will be their number two starter. But if they don't sign him, they act like it's no big deal. This doesn't make much sense to me, if it's not a big deal to sign your number two starter then something is wrong.

I wish I could figure out which way this one is going. I'd like to see Weaver back in a red and white uniform, but I got this itchy feeling that Scotty Boras plans on making it difficult. I don't think we should, and I don't think we will, overpay for Weaver. I understand how impressive his post-season performance was, and I've raved about it in blogs since, but I question Weaver's ability to keep that intensity throughout. Rumors speculate that the Cardinals have offered him a two year deal, but the hold up is the third year. Weaver wants it, the Cardinals don't. I don't expect the 'Birds to budge on this one either, considering the only real competition right now is from the Mets.

Of course, whether we sign Weaver or not goes a long way in setting the rotation. With him, I can see Wainwright heading back to the bullpen and serving as a temporary closer until Izzy comes back. The question from there, of course, is whether or not Izzy ever gets his job back with Wainwright in the pen? Either way, it would be pretty nice to see a Wainwright/ Isringhausen set-up/closer situation late in games, no matter what order they come in. However, if we don't sign Weaver then I think it's a safe bet to say that Sir Adam will be in the rotation along with Carp, Kip, Anthony, and Mulder (once healthy).

Who knows how this is going to play out? We should know much more once Weaver makes his decision, hopefully by the end of the week.

*Whether you like it or not, I think the outfield is set. It goes Juan, Jimmy, Duncan across the board. There are questions here: 1) Jimmy BIG Time Baseball's health. 2) Encarnacion's health. 3) Duncan's youth, bat, and defense. If Edmonds and Encarnacion can stay healthy, and Young Dunc can continue hitting for power and solidify his defense then we should be ok.

I know there has been speculation concerning trading Duncan or Encarnacion, but I would consider that dead in the water. If the Cardinals are playing "content" with not having Weaver in their number two spot and going forward with what they have now, then I surely don't see them trading for another starter. Yes, the rotation is questionable but when was the last time it wasn't?

*Russ Springer, Adam Kennedy, AaronMiles, So Taguchi, Scott Spiezo, Gary Bennett, Kip Wells, and Mark Mulder all either signed or re-upped with the Cardinals this year.

*Preston Wilson is still a free agent and the Cardinals are expressing much interest in resigning him. If not, then expect a competition between Taguchi, John Rodriguez, Scott Spiezo, and Skip Schumaker for bench time in the bigs. Although it's really between Skip and J-Rod, Speezy and So are penciled in already.

*Names to miss: Timo Perez. Oh yea, and Jeff Suppan.

*Names to Remember: Ricardo Rincon, Larry Bigbie.

*I promised a minor league update so here it is:
Here are the final stats of St. Louis' AFL competitors, as well as updates on Cardinals farmhands honing their skills in the Dominican Winter, Venezuelan Winter and Mexican Pacific Leagues. After each caption, I've labeled in astericks** those who being considered potentials to play, at some point, on this year's squad.

Peoria Saguaros Squad
OF Amaury Cazana Marti -- Marti, a 32-year-old Cuban defector, raised a lot of eyebrows with his phenomenal AFL performance. The left fielder batted .345 (29-for-84) with four homers, 14 RBIs and 16 runs scored. His homer during the Saguaros' season finale snapped a monthlong power drought. *Possible call-up*
RHP Dennis Dove -- Dove made six relief appearances for the Saguaros, allowing two runs over 9 1/3 innings. Opponents batted .129 against the 25-year-old. Not too shabby.
LHP Eric Haberer -- Haberer threw balls in seven games for the Saguaros and did not receive a decision. The Illinois native allowed five earned runs over 10 innings.
RHP Mike Parisi -- After allowing 14 runs over his first 11 innings, Parisi closed out the year by yielding one run in his final five frames. The 23-year-old finished with a 7.88 ERA, and opponents hit .265 against him. He's considered a top prospect, but after those numbers all that could be reconsidered.
RHP Stuart Pomeranz -- A pair of disastrous starting efforts inflated Pomeranz's ERA to 9.00, but he also had his share of dominant outings. The 21-year-old finished the season with a 15.58 ERA at home and a 2.16 mark at home.
SS Brendan Ryan -- Ryan was a regular in the Saguaros' starting lineup the entire season. He finished the season tied for the league lead in hits with 39, drove in 20 runs and scored 19. *Although not any time while Eckstein is around, Ryan is considered the shortstop of the future for the Cardinals.*
OF Nick Stavinoha -- A 24-year-old native of Texas, Stavinoha scuffled through a lackluster AFL season, hitting .218 (17-for-78) with a homer, eight RBIs and four runs scored.

Dominican Winter League
RHP Gustavo Martinez -- An 18-year-old native of Colombia, Martinez has allowed 10 runs -- eight earned -- over 10 innings for the Leones del Escogido.
RHP Ricardo Rodriguez -- Rodriguez has struggled for the Azucareros del Este. He is 0-4 with a 17.06 ERA over five relief appearances. Pretty much about the same stats Ricardo Rincon had for the Cardinals in the BIGS this year before he went down with an injury.
RHP Dennis Tankersley -- A 27-year-old Major League veteran, Tankersley is 3-2 with a 2.60 ERA over 27 2/3 innings for the Tigres del Licey. His name sounds familiar, doesn't it? Tankersley, 26, is a native of St. Charles, Mo., just outside of St. Louis, and he attended St. Louis Community College-Meramec. He went 9-8 with a 4.24 ERA in 136 innings for Triple-A Omaha in the Royals system in 2005, striking out 104 and walking 59. In parts of three Major League seasons, all with the Padres, Tankersley is 1-10 with a 7.61 ERA in 86 1/3 innings. However, his Minor League numbers are much more impressive. For his career, he's 51-39 with a 3.40 ERA and more than a strikeout per inning in the Minors. Following the 2002 season, Tankersley was ranked as the Padres' No. 2 prospect by Baseball America -- ahead of familiar names such as Jake Peavy, Oliver Perez and Xavier Nady.

Mexican Pacific League
RHP Andy Cavazos -- Cavazos, whose last appearance came on Nov. 15, is 2-0 with a 4.20 ERA and three saves for the Algodoneros de Guasave.
C Iker Franco -- The starting backstop for Yaquis de Obregon, Franco is batting .254 (30-for-118) over 39 games. He has seven homers, 17 RBIs and 17 runs scored. *Impressive numbers, for sure, but don't expect him to be up any time soon. Yadi is the man for now.*
LHP Jaime Garcia -- A 20-year-old left-hander, Garcia is 1-0 with a 3.60 ERA over three relief appearances for the Naranjeros de Hermosillo.

Venezuelan Winter League
RHP Jose Garcia -- Garcia is 0-1 with a 6.16 ERA over 19 innings for the Caribes de Oriente.
2B Rayner Laya -- A 26-year-old utilityman, Laya has appeared in 20 games for the Aguilas del Zulia. He is batting .178 (8-for-45) with six RBIs. *Can you say John Mabry? No.*
2B Juan Lucena -- After a three-week layoff, Lucena appeared in a game for the Tigres de Aragua on Nov. 24 and went 1-for-4. He is batting .241 (7-for-29) overall.
IF Jose Martinez -- Martinez, 20, has 31 at-bats over 19 games for the Tigres de Aragua and is batting .161.

*These are all names that may be unfamiliar to you. Other names you've heard much more about include:
CF Colby Rasmus -- Once life without Jimmy Baseball begins, so does life with Colby Rasmus. Dude's a stud, apparently, and all signs point to him roaming center come 2009. He even joined the Cardinals Caravan this year.Rasmus, the Cards' first pick in the 2005 First-Year Player Draft, hit .310 with a .373 on-base percentage at Quad Cities while slugging .512. He hit 11 home runs and stole 17 bases, all after starting the season with a 1-for-24 slump. Rasmus slugged .626 in June. According to the most recent available rosters, Rasmus is the third-youngest player in the Florida State League. He will turn 21 in August.
RP Troy Cate -- You've heard his name a lot lately mentioned in talks for the upcoming season, but I wouldn't bank on it. Maybe in 2009. Cate, a 26-year-old southpaw who pitched most of last season in the Class A Advanced Florida State League, was recently added to the Cardinals' 40-man roster. Cate has been lights-out over three postseason starts for Venados de Mazatlan. The California native has allowed just three runs on eight hits over 21 innings of work while striking out 21. He has walked just five batters, and opponents are hitting a wasted .116 against him.

***Benjamin Hill contributed to the statistics compiled for this report.***

Peaceout.