Will Cardinals Fold or Call? A Response

So here I am, minding my own business, grieving over the St. Louis Cardinals, getting ready for football season. And here comes fellow Sports Central writer Mike Round. He wants to break down what's gone wrong for the Cards and how things might play out between now and next season.

It's a reasonable subject for discussion. The Cards are the defending champs. And when the defending champs stink, it's a story. That's just the way it is.

But that doesn't mean I like it. Reading Round's column reminded me of the first time I visited the dentist after a five-year absence. Decay here. Root canal there. Pull those wisdom teeth.

I don't want to hear it. Leave me alone.

But you can only ignore poor dental hygiene for so long. Eventually, the slight discomfort becomes so painful and obvious you have to face facts. You've done what you've done, and now you have what you have.

It's the same with bad sports teams. You can pull for them all you want. You can turn your hat inside out, point to a silver lining and play the "what if" game. But the ending is the same.

Pain.

As it relates to the Cardinals, there are choices to be made. There's no more debate on buy or sell. It's selling time. The choice now is who.

And the questions go past next week's trade deadline. I know Albert Pujols will be at first base. I know Chris Carpenter has a long way back. Everywhere else, from Walt Jocketty to Tony La Russa to the last guy on the bench, there's uncertainty.

Not that anybody asked, but here's what I'd do:

Make sure Jocketty stays. The GM is the most important position in the organization. The Cards have a great one. Don't screw it up. Pay the man. Pay him big.

Trade Juan Encarnacion, call up Rick Ankiel, and hand him the full-time right field job. (This should happen as soon as possible.) Pencil Jim Edmonds in as the starting CF and hope like hell he stays healthy. Sign a better backup CF than So Taguchi, then get rid of So Taguchi. (Sorry, So. You've been a big part of the team. Thanks for everything.) It's not worth spending big on the position because Colby Rasmus, currently in Double A Springfield, should be ready to make the club in 2009. Chris Duncan stays in left. Ryan Ludwick stays on the team in a bench role. Skip Shumaker has to fight it out.

Scott Rolen stays. (The key is to shut him down now. Take the decision away. That's it. See you next spring.) You have to let David Eckstein walk. Nostalgic value aside, the back problems are only going to get worse. Make a hard play for Jack Wilson from Pittsburgh. If you don't get him, push Jarrett Hoffpauir (Triple A Memphis) early and suffer through the growing pains. Brendan Ryan stays. Adam Kennedy gets another shot. (They never should have let Mark Grudzielanek walk.) Albert Pujols isn't going anywhere ever, and Mike Round should take care never to mention the possibility again.

As for the rotation, they have to spend. Chris Carpenter's injury was the single worst thing to happen to any team this season. He's the guts of the staff. And since he's not coming back for a while, they need new guts.

Mark Mulder is supposed to come back in Oakland form, but I need to see it before I get my hopes up. I have full faith in Adam Wainwright. I still think Anthony Reyes can be good, though I'm not sure it'll be under Dave Duncan (sometimes he just doesn't mesh with guys). Kip Wells has been demonstrably better in his last two starts, for whatever that's worth.

Going into next season, the front of the rotation should be Mulder (there aren't going to be any true number ones on the market), big free agent signing (there should be some solid number twos), Wainwright. The four and five spots are between Wells, Reyes, Braden Looper (1.91 ERA over five April starts before falling apart), and whomever else they sign in free agency. You bring back Carp late in '08, really just to get him ready to hit the ground running in '09.

I'll say it again: they have to spend.

Jason Isringhausen stays. He's been fantastic this year. There's no way Jocketty gets enough back to make the loss of Izzy worthwhile. The rest of the 'pen will be solid again, especially with the healthy return of Josh Kinney and Tyler Johnson.

I honestly hope La Russa comes back. I've disagreed with him more times than I can count, but, for all the stuff that's happened to this team, they haven't packed it in. There's some frustration that bubbles to the surface now and then (especially with the media), but that's completely normal for a team suffering through this kind of cursed season. In true St. Louis fashion, they still play hard. They still care. Credit La Russa. (Also, I know he can win. That counts for a lot.)

I'm no longer praying for the impossible. The past two nights against the Cubs have proved what most other people already knew: the Cardinals just aren't a good enough baseball team. There's no miracle run, no "everybody gave up on us but us" rally. When the playoffs start, the Cardinals will not be participants. These are the facts we must face.

Next year, though. Next year we've got a chance.

Seth Doria is a freelance writer in St. Louis. For daily news and notes on sports and entertainment, check out The Left Calf.