byrd	wang
15-8, 4.59	19-7, 3.70

a couple of off-seasons ago, the cardinals were linked to both of these players. byrd, a pitch-to-contacter par excellence, was a free agent for the 4th time in 6 years, and the cards were said to be interested --- but he came to terms with the indians while walter & co were still chasing a.j. burnett. as for wang, two novembers ago bernie miklasz heard a rumor about an edmonds-for-wang-and-cano trade. no doubt cardinal fans would have denounced the deal at that time, but it would have turned out to be a windfall for st louis. from what i've been able to piece together, this rumor had substance behind it --- the cardinals made the offer, and the yankees declined it. until very recently, the yankees regularly used to fall for that type of bait . . . . jocketty never really lost his touch; the other teams wised up, that's all.