Options for the Cards at third base and Stanley Cup Finals preview

The Cardinals made two important moves on Friday. The first was to activate Ryan Ludwick from the disabled list. After suffering a strained hamstring in Pittsburgh a couple of weeks ago, he was ready to go after about six or seven days. Putting him on the DL was the only move that the Cards could make though, since they were already going with a short bench and they can't afford to not have Ludwick long term, as Pujols already doesn't have enough protection in the lineup.

Rather than sending someone down, the Cards decided to finally put Khalil Greene on the DL with what they're calling social anxiety disorder. Greene contributed a pair of at-bats to drive in game-winning RBI on the last homestand as a pinch-hitter and while that was encouraging, it was still clear that he isn't himself. He hasn't really been himself since he arrived in St. Louis or even his last season with the Padres. He could be a huge weapon if he can get things together, so hopefully this little break will help him put the pieces back. The Cards haven't gotten much offensive production from left side of their infield this season and if the they're going to compete for the long haul, this will have to change. 

The other key component on this side of the infield is Troy Glaus. After he waited until January to have surgery on a shoulder that was bothering him near the end of last season, there haven't been many reasons to be optimistic about Glaus' return. At first, we were told that he could come back by mid-April. Then we were told he'd be back by the All-Star break. GM John Mozeliak hasn't been hiding his pessimism regarding Glaus lately, so fans don't have should expect the Cardinals to make a deal to acquire another third baseman that can contribute offensively. Bill DeWitt can't afford to have another season like 2008 where the team competes but doesn't make the post-season. The five-year honeymoon of ticket sales will come to an end after this year. They had the closing of old Busch, the opening of new Busch, the defending World Champions season, a competitive season that sputtered to a halt, and now the All-Star Game to propel ticket sales over the last five years. After this year, there's really no reason to continue buying season tickets for fans. The only incentive is to not miss out on playoff tickets, but if DeWitt doesn't start bringing in some talent other than "low-hanging fruit," there won't be any playoff tickets to miss out on.

Some options that the Cardinals could look at include Cleveland's Mark DeRosa, Seattle's Adrian Beltre, and Colorado's Garrett Atkins. None of those teams really seem to be going anywhere this year. The Rockies have been shopping Atkins since last year's trade deadline as they don't believe that they'll be able to re-sign him when he hits free agency after next year. If the Redbirds did trade for Atkins, that would give them a stopgap solution for next season since the Cards would be highly unlikely to bring back Glaus due to his injury problems. This would give top prospect Brett Wallace a little bit more time to mature as well which will be a fine long-term solution to the position as long as he isn't a defensive liability as some scouts have reported he could be. Atkins is currently making a little over $7 million and is arbitration eligible for next season, but he'll still be cheaper than Glaus' $12.1 million+ of this year. That all being said, Atkins' numbers currently look a lot like Greene's. He's currently batting just .191 with three home runs and 15 RBI. A change of scenery might help, but he's already struggling at in Colorado, so St. Louis probably won't change it. 

Beltre is a solid player, but he's never been able to replicate that magical 2004 season, which coincidentally, is when steroid testing picked up. He's only ninth in the AL in zone rating, which is a bit more accurate in showing how strong a player is defensively than just fielding percentage. He's also gotten off to a slow start with the Mariners this year, batting just .215 with three homers and 20 RBI and since he's making more money than Glaus, due to that huge 2004 season (his contract year), DeWitt definitely won't want to bring him in.

That brings us to perhaps the Cards best option. He's the cheapest option, making just $5.5 million this year compared to Glaus, Atkins, and Beltre. He also has the fifth highest zone rating in the AL and has better numbers in the triple crown categories than both Beltre and Atkins, including eight homers which is more than the other two players combined. The Cardinals have been frequent trade partners with the Indians over the years, so they also have that working for them. They sent Anthony Reyes to Cleveland at the trading deadline just last season. DeRosa doesn't look like a player that would have much pop, but he's currently on pace for 27 dingers with the Indians after hitting 21 for the Cubs a year ago, 22 if you include his shot in Game 1 of the NLDS against the Dodgers. He's also a Tony La Russa type player, as he can play second, third, and the corner spots in the outfield. So even if Glaus did come back, he would still get at-bats. The only thing working against the deal is what the Cards might have to give up, but we should find out more on the Indians demands in the coming weeks.

The coming weeks will also bring to an end the NHL season. The Red Wings and Penguins are set to meet in the finals for the second straight year after two boring Conference Finals. I say that after both teams went to seven games in their second round series and NHL fans only got to watch a total of nine games between the last two series. Last year's series went six games, but it didn't feel that close. The Red Wings won the first two games by a combined score of 7-0 and it just felt done after that. Pittsburgh rallied for a couple of wins, but it was already too late after they laid a pair of eggs to begin the series. This year, even though Detroit has home ice again, the schedule could be an ally to the Penguins. The Red Wings are banged up and were missing many key players for Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals. They only get two days to rest before the series starts on Saturday at Joe Louis Arena and then the teams will have back-to-back games to start the series. This is not good if your club is as banged up as Detroit's is, which is why I'm going to go ahead and take the Penguins in six. This would also make them the first team to clinch the Cup at home in what seems like forever. I plan to wear my Steelers cap during the series, as it already has some Pittsburgh title good luck on it from this year. Anything I can do to hurt Detoit seems like a measure I should take.

I've been watching the Cards and Giants while writing this post. I don't expect the Cards to win every game, but like Tony, I want to see effort every game. Colby Rasmus is starting to look like Alfonso Soriano with the way he just jogged after a deep fly ball by Fred Lewis tonight. I didn't expect him to catch it, but he should've sprinted, not jogged, after it and could've held the speedy Lewis to a double. The same lack of hustle cost the Cards the winning run in Sunday's game against the Royals as he let a single become a double. I know he's supposed to be the next Jim Edmonds, possibly better and he's not fully mature yet, but stupid mistakes like that shouldn't happen. If he continues his 85%, I'm already an amazing major leaguer and I don't need to hustle play, he good be back in Memphis before the season is out. Get the lead out, Colby.

Lastly, if you haven't seen Carlos Zambrano's tirade from the other day, treat yourself and watch it. It earned him a six-game suspension, so you know it has to be good.