I decided to combine Travis and Jeff’s ideas, just to add to the fun.

Since current Cardinals GM John Mozeliak has not been the team’s GM for very long, I will be having a bit of both Mo and former GM Walt Jocketty. Today…

Best # 5: Adam Kennedy and Kent Bottenfield traded for Jim Edmonds (2000)

One of the best center fielders the Cards have ever had

At the time Jim Edmonds was traded to the Cardinals in 2000, he was a great center fielder. By the time he was done being a Cardinal in 2008, Jim accomplished a lot. In 8 seasons with the team, he played 1,105 games, had 3,968 at bats, and hit 241 home runs. Jim had his best season with the Redbirds in 2004, in which he hit .301, had 42 home runs and knocked in 111. Jimmy Baseball also made one of his most memorable catches that season, in which he robbed Jason LaRue of a home run in center (I was at that game and had a great view of that catch, and it is still the best I’ve seen to this day).

Worst # 5: Signing Adam Kennedy and his second stint with the team (2007)

Not so good the 2nd time around.

Adam Kennedy had once been a good prospect for the Cardinals when they traded him for Jim Edmonds in 2000.  Adam spent 6 years in Anaheim, winning a World Series with the team in 2002. When Kennedy returned to St. Louis in 2007, fans were hoping that he would be what he had been in prior years. And oh boy, were they wrong! Kennedy had a miserable year in 2007, batting just .219 (hitting 61 times in 279 at bats) while hitting only 3 home runs and knocking in 18 (all in 87 games). It was arguably the worst year of his career. He was slightly better in 2008, hitting .280, hitting 2 long balls and 36 RBIs. Kennedy was good defensively, but he is arguably coming off the worst offensive years in his career. The Cardinals cut him just a short while ago, and he recently signed with Tampa Bay on a minor league deal.

Shortly after telling Cardinals 3rd base coach (and Puerto Rico manager) Jose Oquendo that he would not play for Puerto Rico in the WBC, Joel Pineiro has been told that he has secured the # 5 spot in St. Louis’ starting rotation. TLR (manager Tony La Russa) announced today that Pineiro won the battle after being the favorite for that spot. He joins Chris Carpenter, Adam Wainwright, Todd Wellemeyer and Kyle Lohse.

Hey, there could be a worse # 5 starter for the Redbirds...

Also, Skip Schumaker is still vying for the team’s starting 2nd base job. The team is committed to making him their starting 2nd baseman, and even he is up for the idea.

“That’s the No. 1 thing. I wouldn’t be doing this, putting all this work in if I didn’t feel like there was a chance to do it every day and to win a spot. I know it’s going to take a lot of time. I’m working the kinks out every single day. It’s not an easy thing to do. If I take every day as a working day to move forward, then I’m going in the right direction. But I wouldn’t be doing all this if I didn’t think I had a shot.”

From the outfield to 2nd? It could happen.

Ever since the offseason began, St. Louis began telling the faithful that Adam Kennedy would be the starting second baseman. No Orlando Hudson, no re-uniting with Mark Grudzielanek, nothing. Then, a couple weeks ago, Kennedy was released. Now the spot remains unfilled, and the Cards are looking at outfielders Skip Schumaker and Joe Mather as the starting 2B. That’s right, I said outfielders. Oh, the tragedy.

Who everyone thought would be the starting 2nd baseman for the Cardinals is now with Tampa Bay on a minor league deal.

Up until this point, I had been rather patient with GM John Mozeliak. The ever-strange 2nd base situation, however, got me pretty ticked off. What befuddles me is why St. Louis repeatedly said Kennedy was the man, and a short while later, release him while going after no replacement. What makes this even stranger is the fact that the Cards are looking toward a guy who hasn’t played the infield since college (Skip Schumaker, who didn’t even play 2nd in college) and another outfielder. Now Adam’s gone, and there’s no 2nd baseman that you can go after? Not Mark Grudzielanek, who did a great job with the Cardinals in 2005? Not Orlando Hudson, who’s the best that free agency has to offer? C’mon, Mo! Spend some money!

What I’ve seen out of the Cardinals’ front office this offseason is the fact that they don’t want to spend money, despite having a good payroll and addressing team needs earlier in the offseason. Had Walt Jocketty still been around, he would’ve taken care of 2nd base already. These are the kinds of days when I miss Walt. It seems he actually cared about winning, while Mo and Co. care about nothing more than making money. I was actually quite surprised to see this story from ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick on how Cardinals fans are angry at what’s transpired this offseason. I’m glad that Jerry wrote that, and I hope Mo is reading it.

St. Louis has signed some players as contenders for the starting 2B job, but there’s no big name in contention. According to ESPN.com’s depth chart, Joe Thurston (a former minor league star) is the Cards’ starter at 2nd. After that… Brendan Ryan, Schumaker, and Brian Barden. Only one of those players (Ryan) has had any 2B experience in the majors. He played well last year (at least, in the first half) and I’m very disappointed that St. Louis has not given him a chance.

Sorry if this is more of a rant, but I’m not happy. The Cards’ 2006 World Series title feels like so long ago.

It's only been 3 years? Feels like an eternity.

They’ve let many of their best players leave – Jeff Suppan, David Eckstein, Russ Springer, and many more – to rebuild the minors. Don’t get me wrong, that’s a good thing. But when your team’s fans expect to win, and win a lot, doing what the Cardinals have this offseason is not acceptable. It better turn out as the front office is hoping it to be, because otherwise things may not be pretty in STL next season.

Hi. I’m Joel, your new Cardinals blogger. I’ll tell you a little bit about myself, but I’m going to keep it brief.

I’m 17 and a junior in high school. I live in Michigan, but I’ve been a Cardinals fan all my life, and a die-hard one at that. How did I become a Cardinals fan? It’s rather simple, really. My dad is a die-hard Cards fan himself, and I was a McGwire fan during the 1998 home run chase. Since then, I’ve bled Cardinal red.

The reason I joined MLBlogging was because I like baseball, and I hope to be a sports journalist someday. I’ve had the dream of being a journalist for as long as I can remember – longer than most people have known what they want to do for a living.  Okay, to put a number on it, since around the age of 7.

Enough about me, and now to the real Cardinals – of which, there’s not much to talk about.

The Cardinals are going to wait and see who will close for the team in ‘09,  and the most likely candidates are Chris Perez, Jason Motte, Josh Kinney and Ryan Franklin. Given that Motte is an unknown (who, as of last year, could only throw a fastball), Kinney has an injury history, and Franklin is shaky, I’d give the edge to Perez – but that’s just my own feeling.

Troy Glaus reported to camp, but he’ll still be out until late April, maybe even the first week of May. Things are looking good for him, so it sounds like everything is going to plan. Look for David Freese (who the Cards acquired in the Jim Edmonds trade to San Diego last season) to be the Opening Day starter at 3rd base.

Ryan Ludwick avoided arbitration and recently signed a 1 year deal for about $3.7 million. Here’s an interesting fact – the Cards have not gone to arbitration since 1999, when they last won their case with former Redbirds pitcher Darren Oliver.

Finally, Albert Pujols and Joel Pineiro will not play in the World Baseball Classic. Pujols will not play for the DR because of insurance reasons, while Pineiro withdrew his name from the Puerto Rican roster because he felt disrespected after being told that he would not be in their starting rotation.

That’s all the news for today. Goodnight, and Go Cardinals!