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Lately, one of the hot topics around the various Internet message boards, talk radio and, I'm sure, the good old-fashioned water cooler, is Skip Schumaker.

More specifically, the fact that Schumaker played shortstop in school. Given the Cardinals' weakness in the middle infield, why not just move Skip on in there? Stick him at short or second base, and watch the offense just take off. Seems like a good idea, right?

Well, I'm here to rain on everybody's parade. There's very, very little chance (and by that I mean pretty much zero) that's ever going to happen.

SS won't be at SS.

Last night was Todd Wellemeyer's best start of the year. That's right, you heard me. Four runs, high pitch counts, getting knocked around all over the park. Best start of the year.

Let me explain. Up to this point in the season, Wellemeyer has had excellent command of his full arsenal of pitches. Each time he's taken the mound, we've all been impressed with how much better his control is this year than in the past. He's been able to spot his pitches for strikes, and he's had the movement and velocity to get plenty of swings and misses, even with just his fastball.

Last night, he didn't have any of that.

You know, the Cards-Cubs rivalry tends to get all of the press around these here parts, but I much prefer the rivalry with the Astros.

Over the weekend, we saw again a prime example of why this is one of the truly great, and truly underappreciated, rivalries in all of baseball. You put Houston and St. Louis on the field, and no matter what time of the year it is, no matter where the teams stand relative to each other and the division, you have Instant October. I suppose the rivalry between the Cubs and Cardinals may very well get back to being a truly great one, if the little bears' success proves to be less fleeting than that of 2003, but for now, I'll take Cards-'Stros any day.

Here is the second installment of our 2008 Major League Baseball mock draft by sports blogger Aaron Schafer. He's running down the who the top fifteen teams could pick in the first round. The following are picks six through ten. Look for picks eleven through fifteen in the coming days. For the top five picks, click here. The draft will be held June 5 and 6.

6. Florida Marlins: Yonder Alonso, First Base, University of Miami The Marlins are a tough one. At this point, all of the biggest bats are still on the board, and the Marlins look to be in a position to take advantage. Florida usually does a nice job drafting, but they're always on a budget. It's not as severe in the draft as at the major league level, but they're still always looking to save money. They don't have much of a history of dealing with Boras draftees, so I doubt they would take an Eric Hosmer, the biggest high school bat, and Kyle Skipworth, the high school catcher, apparently has huge bonus demands as well, so I don't really see that as a great fit.

I think Florida goes with a bat here, and takes a local guy who's a bit less expensive than some of the other high profile offensive players. Yonder Alonso still offers an advanced, polished bat, with a stroke that has a bit of Will Clark in it, and may be versatile enough to play a little outfield if necessary. More likely, though, he stays at first and moves quickly through a system that's a little light on offensive talent and arrives in the big leagues as soon as September of '09.

With the NFL Draft coming up this weekend, and all the surprises seemingly gone from the top teams, let's look ahead to baseball.

But first, on the Cardinals game last night: I'll sum up last night's game very succinctly. The offense jumped on Ian Snell early, and then went to sleep. Anthony Reyes didn't pitch very well, and his defense let him down. That's about it. When you lose to the Pirates, there's not a whole lot productive to say. So I won't.

It's almost May, and all of the baseball sites are putting up their mock drafts for June. A couple of good ones to check out:

Future Redbirds- Cardinal-centric.

Saber Scouting- one of the best new scouting sites on the web; check it out.

Both have gone up in just the last couple of days, and are great reads.

So, I thought I would throw my hat into the ring. I'm actually a draft junkie, and not just in baseball. I'm only a casual football fan; if the Rams aren't good, I don't particularly follow the sport that closely. However, I can tell you damn near everything about the draft and what each team's needs are, even when I haven't exactly, you know, ''heard'' of the team in question. It's very strange.

Here are my first fifteen picks in June. I'm only doing the first fifteen because it becomes incredibly complex the further you go, and is almost never at all accurate at that point. Also, that's far enough to get to the Cardinals, and that's what I most care about. I'm going to do five picks at a time; otherwise the column would quickly become completely unwieldy. It probably will be anyway; let's not shit ourselves here.

I've tried to take into account things like the team in question's drafting patterns and history; I also look at their system to see where they may be strong or unusually thin. It's as thorough as I am with anything in life; sad but true.

Anyway, on to the crystal ball…

On Tuesday morning, Gabe Gross was traded from the Milwaukee Brewers to the Tampa Bay Rays.

He then went out and scored the winning run in the Brewers twelve-inning, nine to eight victory over the Cardinals.

There's a problem with that.

I've yet to come across a hard-and-fast rule that determines when a player is eligible, and when he is not. According to most sources, Gross was thought to be unavailable for the game yesterday, because he was technically no longer a member of the Brewers. If that is the case, then the Brewers may very well find themselves in the position of facing a possible forfeit.

Again, the rules seem very vague on all of this, but as far as I can tell, if a team uses a player who is not eligible to player in a game, then they should be forced to forfeit the game. A team forfeiting a game because of a player's eligibility is rare, but it happens. It happened last year in the Cardinals organization.

There are a bunch of other issues here, of course, chief among them exactly when the deal for Gross was finalized; there's definitely a chance that it wasn't completely done until after the game began. However, given that the media seemed to know that Gross had been dealt before yesterday's contest, that argument seems to be on a little shaky ground, to say the least.

Got Worms?

Ballpark Village may be a big, wet hole, but that doesn't mean it's closed for business.

Hey there, Cardinals. In watching the games this year, as well as recently attending one, I can't help but notice that attendance, while still quite strong, isn't up to the standards we've seen the last couple of seasons. Of course, it's understandable; the new ballpark novelty has worn off, we aren't watching a title defense this season, several fan favorites left this past off-season, etc.

Even with all of those things going against this team, I wanted to do my part to help you owners put butts back in the seats. So I came up with a few suggestions. In no particular order, here they are:

1. The middle infield the Cards are running out this year is, to put it lightly, less than impressive. People don't buy tickets to watch Cesar Izturis fight to reach the Mendoza line and Adam Kennedy fight against the AARP recruiter in the bleachers. Face it, Cardinals, this isn't a strong point of the team. Knowing that, though, I think we can turn a negative into a positive. We live in a reality television culture; people prefer to see amateurs make asses of themselves in public rather than professionals.

Each home game, choose two random individuals from the crowd to play shortstop and second base for the night. Give 'em gloves, give 'em uniforms, and send 'em out there. I don't care if they aren't in great shape, or they're too old, or they're severely handicapped. That's the fun of the thing! We'll all feel better watching them suffer humiliation for our entertainment. And you know what, once they finish, I'll bet they feel better too. It's a win-win situation.

Try to see if you can create interesting pairings, too. This probably will require some manipulation of the selection process on your part, but that's the beauty of reality programming. It's the least realistic scenarios imaginable, and we still eat it up! Try pairing up Klan members and minorities. Always controversial. Find a man who's having an affair with a woman, and put him at short. Then, for a second baseman, find her husband! Now that's a double play combination I'll pay to see!

Just keep in mind whatever Maury Povich or Springer would do, and you'll be fine. I'm telling you, it'll work.

2. You guys had pretty good success selling off urinals and other things from the old ballpark; apply the lessons learned there. Auction off a toilet at every home game. People love memorabilia, and you've got a perfectly good supply. Why not take advantage of it?

3. The giveaways at the ballpark are pretty lame. I'm sorry, but nobody really needs another Bud Light hat. Seriously. You need to consider your marketplace, and come up with better products. Look for interesting products on which the average Missourian resident spends his or her money. For instance, a large portion of your constituency loves guns, and yet, how often do we see a weapon-themed night at the ballpark? How about, instead of yet another ''autograph ball giveaway,'' we have ''commemorative shotgun shell night,'' with each shell bearing the embossed signature of Charlton Heston? He's on everyone's mind right now; strike while the iron's hot! I hear Crystal Meth is popular, too. Maybe you can work up something sponsored by the good people at Sudafed?

Hell of a game last night, fellows. Great job bouncing back after a rough go of it against the Giants.

I realize that wins and losses for pitchers are really kind of a meaningless stat, but I also happen to be in the minority who thinks it sucks. Last night, Adam Wainwright pitched a fantastic game, going seven innings, giving up only two runs, and, despite not having his best stuff, keeping the powerful Milwaukee offense down long enough for his offense to put just enough runs on the board to win. And for all of that, he received…

On Thursday afternoon, the Cardinals played the finale of a three game series against the Brewers. I was lucky enough to score some free tickets, and, being the intrepid reporter that I am, I'm taking it upon myself to record my thoughts on the game. Come along with me, your eyes and ears to the world of Cardinal baseball.

Bottom 1st - Well, I missed the top of the first, but it must have been OK, because there are still all zeroes on the scoreboard. Two men on. Need to get at least one of them home. Troy Glaus sucks.

Top 2nd - So far, so good. Lohse is looking solid. Also, I'm not sure what kind of vegetarian Prince Fielder became, but I would lay money it's the type that still eats lots and lots of bacon. I've seen shut-ins in better shape than this guy.

Bottom 2nd - Ryan Ludwick is a beast. This team has got to try and move Chris ''The Humpty Dance'' Duncan for some pitching prospects or a real shortstop or something. We have way too many good outfielders. Duncan's a nice hitter, but I'm tired of watching Baby Huey lumbering around out there.

Also, I wish they would fix the scoreboard. It's been two balls and two strikes, no outs, since I got here. We don't have any ball/strike data, batting average, or hitters' most romantic evening stories. Baseball just isn't the same without the dumbing down.

Top 4th - I know he has the devil as his agent and all, but seriously, how in the hell was Kyle Lohse still available in the middle of March? I just don't understand how that happens.

Bottom 4th - He's a one man wrecking machine! Kyle has no intentions of losing this game. ''Fine. If you guys can't score some Goddamned runs, I'll do it myself.''

Bottom 5th - Cards are leaving an awful lot of runners on base today. I don't like this at all. It feels like one of those games where you just let the opponent hang on and never quite put them away.

Finish them! For the love of God, do it now!

Also, apparently this salty pretzel and no beverage wasn't the best idea here in this sun drenched hell where I'm currently sitting. Who would have thought that bread and salt wouldn't quench my thirst?

Top 7th - Astros lose. Very nice. The Cubs are getting their asses handed to them. Even better. I fear the Reds, though. They're finally starting to put together some really solid pitching. No es bueno.

I don't get it. Why does LaRussa insist on substituting Skip Schumaker for Crab Man (Barton) late in the game? Repeat after me, Tony: ''Brian Barton is a good fielder. He really is. He can even throw a little bit. Promise. For serious.''

Bottom 7th - Come on! Jesus, score some more runs!

Is it weird that I never sing ''Take Me Out To the Ballgame'' because I feel like my voice always stands out above the people around me, but I also feel really guilty for not singing? I'm not sure why I feel as if I've done something wrong, but I always secretly think I'm letting the team down by not singing.

Top 8th - Well, this certainly does suck. Shutout gone, man on second, nobody out, Franklin into the game.

Franklin hits Weeks. Really Frankie? Dude, if you're going to hit the guy, at least make it worth your while. Inflict some pain, man. Double switch for Glaus, also? Look, I love Uncle Rico as much as the next guy, but you lost me somewhere, Tony.

Joel Pineiro made his 2008 season debut on Sunday afternoon, and it did not go very well. He exited the game before the end of the fourth inning, having given up six earned runs (although three of those could have easily been unearned, as third baseman Rico Washington misplayed a line drive into a double that kept the inning alive) while striking out zero batters.

The strikeouts, or lack thereof, are particularly revealing to me. What I saw yesterday was a pitcher who did a nice job of locating his fastball, and had plenty of zip on the pitch, but who also struggled mightily with his complementary pitches. His off-speed stuff, on the whole, wasn't all that sharp, and he had a very tough time putting away hitters.

That same inability to finish off the batter was a large part of what caught up with Joel in the fourth. Of course, one can't be entirely sure, but I think a sharp, at-his-best Joel Pineiro wriggles out of that inning, even after the bad play by Washington, with minimal damage. With the Pineiro we saw yesterday, the inning continued until the game was out of reach.

Worse, Pineiro's start could easily have been taken by the pitcher who relieved him, Brad Thompson. And if you hold Thompson's last start against him, you always have Anthony Reyes, who, as we all know, has a bit of starting experience on his résumé. And what's the harm in keeping Kelvin Jimenez -- sent down to AAA to make room for Pineiro on the roster -- with the big club for a couple more days and letting him soak up some innings?

Just the type of loss that the Cardinals need to avoid, and just the kind I'm afraid we may see more of.


With the fortunes of the National League Central looking stronger so far this year, if the Cardinals have any chance of seriously contending this season, they need to take advantage of their weak April schedule to build up a bit of a buffer against par. That includes beating bad teams, particularly when said team's weaker pitchers are on the mound.

Thursday night, not such a good start.

The Giants' fifth starter, Kevin Correia, was on the mound. Not to take anything away from Correia, who pitched very well, but considering the quality of pitching the Cards are going to have to face the rest of this series, they really needed to win the game last night. Now they find themselves facing a lefty of the soft tossing variety in Barry Zito tonight, and San Francisco's Young Turks, Cain and Lincecum. This isn't working out well so far at all.

The San Francisco Giants present a cautionary tale for the Cardinals. What you see in San Fran this season is exactly what happens when a team puts all of its fortunes on the shoulders of one player for far too long.

For the last decade and a half, San Francisco Giants baseball has been the Barry Bonds Show. The entire team has been built around him; around his presence in the middle of the lineup. The organization has routinely traded away young, talented players to field a veteran team ready to win in the present to surround him.

Now, with Bonds gone and the cupboard bare, the Giants find themselves in dire straits, with an over-the-hill lineup and little help in the near future. The Cardinals would do well to take notice; Albert Pujols is an amazing player, but you can't build a team solely around one player, no matter how transcendent. Personally, I'm glad that Bonds is finally gone, as I've been a fan of the Giants since the Will Clark days, and I can go back to rooting for them now that Barry, his giant melon, and his leather recliner have skipped town.

For now, the Giants have one area of real strength: the starting rotation.

At the top of the rotation, they have two dynamic young starters who should anchor the pitching staff for years to come. Matt Cain is the ace of the staff, a young, powerful right hander with unbelievable stuff and excellent command. Cain was the victim of atrocious run support last season, going 7-13 despite an ERA under 4.00 in only his second Major League season. Cain is a huge part of the Giants' future, a true ace pitcher just entering the best years of his career.

An enraged Albert Pujols gathers himself before an at bat in the 7th inning in Wednesday night's game.

Yesterday afternoon, as the Cardinals were leaving batting practice, Brandon Backe got into a rather, shall we say, heated discussion with Albert Pujols.

Thank you very much, Mr. Backe.

During last night’s game, I was forcibly reminded of just why I love the game of baseball so much. Everything great about the game was right there, on the field. You had a surprise hero, in the person of Anthony Reyes, the orphan child of the rotation. You had a timely hitting performance from the Cardinals’ new third baseman, Troy Glaus. You had solid, sometimes spectacular defense from both sides. Most of all, though, you had the beauty of two great rivals, St. Louis and Houston, neither of whom may be at their best at this moment, battling each other as if everything hung in the balance.

The same game, though, also reminded me of a tough lesson that I have yet to properly learn.

It’s a long season. One game is not everything.

When that last Jason Isringhausen curveball popped into the mitt of Jason LaRue, I celebrated. I jumped up and down and laughed like a madman. Then I realized, much to my dismay, that the Cardinals are 6-2.

Now, don’t get me wrong. The fact that they’re 6-2 is fantastic. Nothing could make me happier than to see this flawed squad of players, whom I didn’t give much of a chance at the season’s outset, off to a winning start. It’s obviously better than the alternative. But they’ve played only 8 games. That’s almost exactly one twentieth of the season. My celebrations seem awfully premature when put in that context.