Throwing some wood to heat things up
Cardinals� offseason plan hinges on pitching, extra bat

Part I of II

By SC

After going on a rather improbable post-season run and winning the World Series in five games, the St. Louis Cardinals have quite a few decisions to make heading into the offseason.

Hopefully, Walt Jocketty & Co. have shaken off the cobwebs from their championship and have put together a formidable plan in their attempt at repeating for the team�s 11th championship.

Jocketty�s plan for the Hot Stove League arguably needs little explanation, as they are staring down the barrel of trying to build a rotation around two parts � right-handed pitchers Chris Carpenter and phenom Anthony Reyes.

They�ll have to fend off likely suitors for playoff heroes Jeff Suppan and Jeff Weaver, as well as injured lefty Mark Mulder, who will be coming off shoulder surgery and depending on which side you agree with (Mulder�s agent, Gregg Clifton thinks Mulder should be good-to-go by spring training; Jocketty seems to think it�ll likely be June before he picks up a baseball) will pitch next season . Jason Marquis looks like he�ll be hitting the skids as his performance and clashes with pitching coach Dave Duncan and manager Tony LaRussa will apparently cause his departure from the Gateway City.

The relief corp for the Cardinals looks to be the lone stable element of the pitching staff after a fine post-season. They�ll be returning key righties Josh Kinney, Josh Hancock, Brad Thompson and Braden Looper. The left side of the pen is just as solid with the returns of Tyler Johnson, Randy Flores and a healthy Ricardo Rincon, returning from shoulder surgery that forced him to miss the 2006 campaign.

Adam Wainwright�s name was left out intentionally.

Why?

His fate is tied as a closer to Jason Isringhausen. Their names will be tightly tied together throughout the offseason and beyond. Currently. Wainwright, a former starter, will be the closer entering spring training due to Isringhausen�s hip surgery. Isringhausen had part of his hipbone shaved on September 16 to help ease his delivery. The operation was the second such surgery performed on his hip in the past three years and appears it will force him to miss half the season. The original hip surgery was performed after the team was swept in the 2004 World Series against the Boston Red Sox.

The position player side of things seems less murky. Returning are corner stalwarts Albert Pujols and Scott Rolen; shortstop David Eckstein; catcher Yadier Molina; and centerfielder Jim Edmonds, who re-signed with the ball club prior to hitting the open market. He agreed to a two-year extension totaling $19 million. Edmonds agreed to defer $3 million of his 2007 salary at no interest to boost the club�s efforts in signing players. It�s an annual tradition that the Cardinals will have a hole to fill at second base as that team will be looking to either re-sign or replace Ronnie Belliard, who is a free agent.

The corner outfield spots figure to be a bit cloudier than their centerfield teammate. The Cardinals have right fielder Juan Encarnacion signed through 2008, but his status appears to be in question after the player failed to appear at the team�s post-season celebratory festivities. The other question with Encarnacion is his injured wrist. According to Post-Dispatch writer Derrick Goold�s Birdhouse Blog, he�s checking with several doctors to see the severity of the injury and its potential impact for next season.

On the other side of the outfield grass is Chris Duncan, who put up some great offensive numbers in his second half in St. Louis. His .293/.363/.589 digits (coupled with 22 HRs and 43 RBI) suggest that he should strongly be considered to be the starting left or right fielder on April 1, 2007. There are some question marks regarding his fielding abilities and his propensity to swing and miss (69Ks in 280 ABs), but those could be overlooked due to his lack of impact on the team payroll for 2007. Viva El Birdos did an excellent analysis on Duncan in a recent blog post, which can be found here.

Part II will examine the salary breakdown for the 2007 Cardinals and should be up shortly.

� The Buried Lead