Freinds and Enemies,
I pulled a selection of Cardinals questions from Gordo’s weekly chat on the St. Louis Post Dispatch web site. Gives us a good idea of what the columnists are saying about trade possibilites, free agent signings, draft picks etc., all in a nutshell.
Remeber these are Verbatum, so spelling could be an issue. I don’t want any emails regarding punctuation 
Andrew G: Gordo, Long time reader, first time writer. Just wanted to first off thank you for the in-depth columns your write and for taking the time to do Gordo Live. I appreciate it and I know many St. Louisans appreciate it. My questions is about the Cards. I understand that the free agent market is VERY thin or VERY old and that the best option to get a quality starter (i.e. #1/#2) at this point is a trade. I have heard the names of D-Train and Jon Garland tossed about. If you were the Cards GM and the price (in terms of players) was the same for both guys (let’s say Reyes, Duncan, the power hitting catcher in the minors) who do you think would be the better trade for on a purely performance basis (forgetting about contract demands). Both short-term and long term. Both are accomplished pitchers. I am more concerned about how they will jell w/Dave Duncan. As I understand it he is more a “pitching to contact” guy and to my knowledge D-Train and Garland are more strikeout pitchers (like Danny Haren and we traded him) than contact guys. Which of the 2 would be better in your opinion?
Jeff Gordon: Again, Willis is the sort of pitcher that could settle onto a staff for years. He would cost big money, but the Cards would rather pay to a young pitcher than a Suppan or Weaver.
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Andy Doehring: Gordo, Wondering why there has been no talk about the Cardinals looking at Kerry Wood as a free agent aquisition. He is 31 and pitched well out of the bullpen for the Cubs last year. He is a good option to be a starter again even if not a No. 1 he could be pretty good 2 or 3. If starting doesn’t work the Cards could put him back in the bullpen. What do you thinnk?
Jeff Gordon: He IS better suited for the bullpen after all he’s been through — and the Cards are loaded there. Josh Kinney’s return from elbow surgery creates an overload of late-inning right-handers. Earlier, we mentioned Perez’s potential there.
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tim: Who would you rather have, Garland or Willis? Who will be easier to get?
Jeff Gordon: You would want Willis, of course, because he would seem to have lots of miles left on the odometer.If Florida moves Miguel Cabrera to the Yankees for outstanding young pitching (Phil Hughes!), then the Marlins may shop Willis for offensive help. It could certainly happen — and that could be a fit for the Cards.
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tim: How much of a push will the Cards make for Jose Guillen? I think he would be a perfect fit for the Cards?
Jeff Gordon: He WOULD be perfect, but it appears his first choice is to stay in Seattle if he can get a multi-year deal with the Mariners. He actually became a team leader there — instead of a detriment — and M’s rave about him. Guillen says he considers Seattle his second home now, so I’m guessing that the M’s will do everything possible to keep him off the market.
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Patraic: I’ve read that the A’s have made Dan Haren available for trade. Any possibility the Cardinals might try to make amends for one of the worst trades in their history and make an offer? Is there a possibility that the A’s (who need an outfielder) might be interested in Reyes and Duncan? I’ve read the Giants have made Tim Lincecum available for outfield help as well, he has amazing talent any chance of swinging a trade to San Fran?
Jeff Gordon: La Russa and Duncan loved Haren, so, sure, the Cards would make a pitch. I’m guessing Oakland would want Rasmus for him, so that conversation wouldn’t last long. If Frisco put that pitcher up for bidding, the Cards would get outbid in a hurry.0
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Paul: Any rumors for what pitchers the Cards are looking at to trade for?
Jeff Gordon: They put out a feeler to free-agent Curt Schilling, to see if his stated interest in St. Louis is legit. I’m sure they did the same to Tom Glavine, given his interest in the Cards. As for potential trade targets, we’ll have a better idea of which pitchers could be had after the GM meetings.
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Paul: What is the Cards’ level of interest in Livian Hernandez?
Jeff Gordon: He fits the profile on one hand, but I can’t speak to what their scouts really think of him.
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Paul: Is Matt Clement a possibility as a classic Duncan reclamation project?
Jeff Gordon: I’d rather see the team go get Jason Jennings, who could recover from arm surgery by May. But he appears headed back to Colorado.
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Glenn: Hi Gordo,
I would say the odds of the Cardinals signing Curt Schlling would have to be slim at best. The Cardinals will put forth a good offer, but it won’t be “the top offer”. Thus, CS will have to want to come here if he signs, and I just don’t think that will happen. Mo is going to have to orchastrate a trade for a SP. I know management is committed to hanging on to it’s young talent, but would you not think catching prospect Brian Anderson would be used as a chip if the right deal came along? Anderson will not catch a game in St. Louis as long as Molina is behind the plate. \
Jeff Gordon: Bryan Anderson is a nice trade chip, the way Daric Barton was. And like you say, he plays the wrong position to advance here. Now if he could shift to 3B or a corner outfielder spot . . . Schilling will go back to Boston, right? The Red Sox just won it all and he was part of that chemistry. As long as that club offers him decent dough, I would see him sticking there. And if Boston is sick up him, a team like the Mets might go higher and offer the profile he wants. His list of 13 preferred destinations can be edited on the fly, I presume.
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Justin Scully: Do we head into next season assuming Rick Ankiel will be an everyday player?
any chance we kick the tires on A-ROD?
Jeff Gordon: A-Rod wanted $350 million from the Yankees, so, no, there will be no tire kicking there, Ankiel’s ability to hit LH pitching makes himi a strong candidate for 500 at bats next season.
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Jordon W.: I keep looking over the list of free agents this winter and none of them strikes me as having realistic chances of being signed by the Cards. We heard rumblings last week about Schilling, but what are the chances of that? Is there any realistic chance of signing any top or mid-tier free agent or should we be preparing our goodbye cards to Anderson, Thompson, Duncan, et. al in light of a trade?
Jeff Gordon: The Cards would be silly to bid on most of these free agents, given all the over-spending about to occur. Some bad teams will save face by signing guys just to sign them. Some big-market teams will spend without regard to their budget. If the Cards made a big mistake or two in this atmosphere, that would hurt the team for years. There IS a difference between behind cheap and being smart. DeWitt has been pretty smart, which is why the Cards won two pennants and a World Championship. That success makes it easy for him to remain patient.
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Bryan: What is a reasonable guess for what the Cardinals could get for trading Reyes?
Jeff Gordon: By himself? Not much. Put a propect with him and you might get a sub -500 fringe pitcher needing a makeover.
Special Thanks: Jeff Gordon, STL TODAY SPORTS
