Yippy Skippy

Skip Schumaker is starting today in left field and hitting sixth. Bret Myers beware!

EDIT:Postgame-I'm going to continue to mock our slap-hitter scrubs because it seems to be working out so far.

what the hey

AL East Champ:Yanks

AL Central Champ:Indians

AL West Champ:A's

AL Wildcard:White Sox

NL East Champ:Braves

NL Central Champ:Cardinals

NL West Champ: Dodgers

NL Wild Card:Mets

Cy Youngs-I think Peavy and Santana are the best pitchers, but I'm pickin' guys on the playoff picks. My strange hunch-Pedro Martinez for NL. Not as strange-Mark Buehrle for AL

MVP's-Rerun-Sir Albert the Great and Alex Rodriguez

Rookies-It's anyone's guess, but if Ryan Zimmerman didn't get enough Ab's to qualify for last year, then I'll go with him for the NL and Justin Verlander for the AL.  

Comeback-JD Drew and Frank Thomas

Teams who wouldn't suprise to upset my picks-Red Sox, Angels, and for some weird and very illogical reason, I have a hunch the Padres could suprise people.  

I'm sure I'll look back upon this and laugh come September, but last but not least-

White Sox over A's, Indians over Yankees. White Sox over Indians

Braves over Dodgers, Cardinals over Mets. Cardinals over Braves. Forget the Series, I just don't have the heart. I agree with Leach, in order for the Cards to go deep, a trade must transpire.

Who is the Class of the NL?

Ben Jacobs at The Hardball Times has his annual offseason rankings up, and the Cardinals are around the bottom, 22nd to be exact.  Feel free to check it out, it’s well worth the read, but if you’re too lazy to do that, here’s the gist.

• Ponson isn’t going to be what Matt Morris was, but he’s cheaper and a better risk.
• Enc is no Larry Walker at the plate, but he will obviously give the Cardinals more playing time.
• Rolen back at full health will be great, but considering the overall turnover, we’ve taken a step backwards verses forward.
• We didn’t sign any terrible contracts, but Looper’s and Encarnacion’s contracts were “less then ideal.”

Yada, yada, not much we haven’t heard or said a million times this offseason. One thing that sorta bugs me is that he figures Ponson is Matty Mo’s replacement. That still hasn’t been determined, thought it’s already a starting to be a forgone conclusion. But Anthony Reyes could possibly represent an upgrade of Morris even in his rookie season if he does get that chance.

But the part that stuck out to me is that because of these moves Mr. Jacobs says we are the class of the NL Central, we are no longer the top contender in the NL. While I admit the pessimist inside me was inclined to agree with that statement, I had to ask myself, if not the Cardinals, then who?

Using the same sort judgment Jacobs used in order to take answer this question, I ask what did teams in the NL did enough this offseason to leap over us?

Scott Spiezio auditions for new gig

I was away from my computer this weekend, so I missed Scott Spiezio accepting an NRI. I’m not sure he’s here because his dad was a Cardinal or if David Eckstein vouched for his ex-Rally Monkey teammate, but I do hope Spiezio can bounce back and revive his career here in St. Louis. (On a side note, a little “did you know?” trivia. Did you know David Eckstein, Adam Kennedy, and Scott Spiezio made their acting debut on the TV series, She Spies? What! You never heard of She Spies?Granted, he was terrible in every sense in Seattle, but in his defense he was suffering through injuries, not to mention go through a mid-life crisis of sorts, divorcing his wife, quitting the hard rock band he was in, Sandfrog, and getting a tattoo of his new girfriend on his arm. (The tattoo opens a can of worms for me. First of all, what happens if it doesn’t work out? How do you explain that if you decide to marry someone else? Or if you do marry her and have kids, how will your kids feel about a picture of mom stripping on your arm? Plus, those muscles are going to fade away some day, along with the girlfriend’s sexiness.)But I digress. I for one am rooting for the guy. We’re hearing a lot about Rolen’s improving health, and thank God we are. But Spiezio is adds a little insurance for Rolen. He can also play second, first and both corner outfield positions. And he’s a switch-hitter. That kind of versatility is something La Russa loves to have around, and maybe having him in camp this spring will quell this talk of Aaron Miles making the team just because he’s a switch-hitter.In spite of his rock-star image and his horrific last 2 seasons in Seattle, I personally feel more comfortable with him then the likes of Brian Daubach, Deivi Cruz or Aaron Miles. My hunch is he’s over his injuries and other troubles, and he’s my pick to make the team out of the NRI group along with Jeff Nelson.