Galaxy Changing News

OK, well, just the solar system. Pluto is no longer a planet. Apparently the big astronomers group decided Pluto just didn't fit in and has stripped it of that title. Pluto now gets to be part of the groupies they are calling "dwarf planets." Disney is apparently considering a lawsuit.

In other news, Major League Baseball has stripped Mark Mulder of the title "pitcher" and has relegated him to the groupie-status of "belly itcher". Last night's pasting by the Mets (Mulder was pasted, though the Cards rallied to make it close) may have been the final straw. If it wasn't for Roy Oswalt being Roy Oswalt and the Astros actually rallying against the Reds, the NL Central would be tied up this morning.

What to do? Well, from the Cardinals perspective, there is nothing TO do. Anthony Reyes is better than Mulder is right now, no doubt, but he won't be back up until September 1 and, frankly, he has some work to do as well. He's got a lot of potential and even now is probably the #2 starter, but that just tells you how bad the rest of the rotation is.

Thankfully, it's the free agent year for all Cardinal regular starters not named Carpenter. Marquis, Mulder, Suppan and Weaver are all free to pack up and go after the season ends, and most of them will. I could see the Cards trying to resign Suppan to a cheap deal to keep some experience around, but that's it. Reyes and Adam Wainwright should be in the rotation next year. (Many would argue they should be in it this year.) I'm OK with Reyes, but I'm a little concerned about Wainwright. Sure, he's been very effective in the pen (though that's slipped lately as well), but I'm not sure how well he is going to do when people start seeing him 2-3 times a game.

The Cards are going to have to go hard after a top pitcher in the offseason, I think. If they could get a Jason Schmidt, teamed with Carpenter, the two youngsters, and a middling pitcher (Suppan or someone else), that'd be an OK rotation. You have to figure out what to do with Izzy, but with his contract you are pretty much stuck with him in the closer role in 2007.

The offense is OK, though if Edmonds leaves that's a hole to replace. And the second base position could be shored up. Still, with a top starter added to the squad and the weakness in the NL Central in specific and the league as a whole, the Cards could be right back to dominant next year, most likely.

There are people that want this team to lose, so they can "know what it's like not to be in first" and to "force management to do something." I think that's darn naive. First off, if a team of professional athletes, who have had someone breathing down their neck all year and are looking toward the playoffs, can't get motivated to play their best baseball, slipping into second isn't going to give them that miraculous focus. Face it, folks, the Cards are playing as well as they can. It just doesn't seem to be very good.

As for management, I've always leaned toward the owners' side, basically because I think they've done a number of things that the Brewery wouldn't have when they owned it, and they've tried to do some other things. Remember, they were in the running for A.J. Burnett. They'd have way overpaid to get him (and, of course, be criticized by some of these same people for "throwing money around") but they were trying. Who knows how differently the offseason would have progressed if they had gotten him.

But, if you are already of the opinion that management is pinny-pinching and doesn't care about the product on the field, why would coming in second matter? The park is still sold out and will be next year. You can easily say, "This team was in first most of the year. No need for any major changes, we can just get back to par and run away with the division." So why would you root for your team to lose just to get that?

Your 2006 Cardinals. You may love them, you may hate them, but they'll give you plenty to write about.