Which seems odd, until you read LaRussa’s follow up response:

“Kyle, Why can’t I quit you”.

Anyways, Thompson will go from starting rotation to AAA. That’s a far drop. It really should be Villone that goes.

Sending down Brad Thompson seems very unjust. He held down his spot in the rotation (and quite nicely I might add) while waiting for Pineiro to return.

This is a guy who’s been up and down from The Show to AAA, and from the bullpen to the rotation and back again. That being said, it appears as if Brad has “tough skin” and won’t let a move like this get into his head like Reyes might.

I’d personally like to see Villone sent down. He isn’t used much and he doubt he has a future with this team beyond this year unlike Brad. However, we all know how much TLR likes having two leftys in the pen.

We have some more tough decisions like this to ponder over the next month or so with Mulder and TJ on their way back.

dispatch Mr. Villone to the hinterlands… Bradley has earned his spot over and over again. Or trade Brad… but I think we are going to need him later this season. I am enjoying the success we’ve had so far this season, but is it real and sustainable? I am afraid it might not be… so keep a reliable arm in the pen…

then there’s not telling what i’ll do.

Villone should be the one to high tail it to Memphis.

every time i think Tony’s turned the corner when it comes to the Cards getting younger & better, he reminds me he’s never going to change by dropping clues like this.

someone’s got to go down, it’s a shame it has to be thompson but he’s the most obvious choice right now.

mcclellan: has been given tlr support

reyes: obviously found his home for now. they’d be stupid to send him down.

villone: lefty specialist. can’t really mess with him until TJ comes back.

that leaves thompson. he’s just the odd man out.

FSN Midwest and FSN Pittsburgh as to who has the most ‘local access’ field to their sports network.

it’s not like he’s got a regular job, anyways.

Villone, Wellemeyer, Lohse, and Pineiro. Unfortunately, I don’t think we can send any of them down to AAA (maybe Villone, he’d probably clear waivers anyway), so it will have to be Thompson. Lohse is going to regress, probably sooner rather than later, and Wellemeyer has given up 5 (!) homeruns this season, and has never shown he can keep his walk rate down. None of them have ever shown they can be anything more than a league average pitcher. I haven’t researched it to thoroughly, but not one of them gets ground balls at the rates that Thompson does, and no one gives up homeruns at a lower rate than Thompson (Lohse is the only one with a lower HR/FB ratio, but he’s the only one, and as was mentioned, they all give up more flies than Thompson). If Brad can keep up this strikeout rate, he would be a very, very good starter. Yes, his increased K rate (8.6) comes with an inflated walk rate as well (5.0), but even if both of those come down by 2 or so, he would still be a better option than either Lohse, Pineiro, or Wellemeyer. Oh, and Villone, well, he’ll stick around cuz of LaRussa’s bullpen fetishes, but he should probably be gone before anyone. No explanation should be necessary.

ok, ya got me. I just hope pin will pick up where he left off last year. Before that, he wasn’t that great right?

Wainwright’s popping the glove tonight!

Wainer is bringing it 92-94 so far

I remember he always had a slow start last year.