This is what the offense needed.

This is a really short bench.  I would assume we will see Spivey?

With the right amount of luck, Walt Jocketty put together a Cardinals team for the final 3 months of the season that can win games.  Sure, he didn't get the players he wanted or pulled off the big trade he was hoping for, but he saw the market he had in front of him and made the best moves possible.

We weren't getting anything out of the 2B position.  Miles was the bane of many bloggers existence and Hector Luna just wasn't progressing fast enough in his minimal playing time to warrant TLR's confidence.  So he goes out and makes a small trade that seemingly was a lateral move.  What does it turn out to be?  An everyday 2B with a little bit of pop, a head for driving in runs on occasion, with still a bit of tendancy to ground into a DP or two, but likewise is better defensively than anything we've had at the position in a long time.

The bench was seemingly depleted because of our bare outfield.  We had a bunch of 4A players that were being thrown into everyday situations and asked to perform.  Meanwhile, the one seemingly rocksteady position in CF was oft-injured in 2006.  By necessity, they bring up Duncan.  This is were the amazing amount of luck comes in.  Chris Duncan finally blossomed and became a true big league ballplayer.  Scott Speizo could return to his role of utility player

Then comes the John Rodriguez injury.  Coupled with JED's injury, we are forced to run So Taguchi out there in CF every night.  Not good.  So Walt takes a flyer on someone else's failed project.  Preston Wilson.  He gave us something we have seriously lacked: Speed.  No more pitcher pinch-runners.  In Game 6 of the NLCS with Chris Duncan standing on 2B, Pujols on 1st and Rolen ripping a single into CF, Preston Wilson as a pinchrunner can be the differnce between basesloaded for JED or the Cardinals celebrating a World Series berth.  In the meantime, he's a seemingly easy going guy who just wants an opportunity to play.  And with our oft-injured OF, that's what he'll get.

So, now...suddenly we have a MLB caliber OF (JED, Duncan, Juan and Preston) with a good, core bench (Taguchi, Rodriguez, Bennett, Miles, Speizo) should we carry only the minimum pitchers.

Ah, on to the pitchers.

Well, Mark Mulder still isn't back.  In fact, who knows if he'll ever pitch again.  Walt saw that we had a scrap heap 5th starter and decided that he saw something else in the can that might just work if Duncan could work his philsophy of moving the ball around as he did with Carp.  And, so far, it seems to be catching hold.  Jeff Weaver will never be the level of pitcher Chris Carpenter is.  NEVER.  However, I'll be damned if he didn't look like Carp out there on the mound.  Sure, he wasn't as sharp and a few flyballs were a tad deeper than Carp would give up, but he was moving the ball up, down, in and out over the plate the way only Carpenter seems to do in the rotation.

Then, the steal of all steals is Jorge Sosa.  Other teams doghouses are a treasure trove.  Sosa has the love for giving up the longball as well as any other Cardinals pitcher.  What he does have that they DON'T is a live arm.  A real fireballer that just gets the ball and throw.  He can come in an a pinch or he can give you 3 innings of 'mop up' or 'get to XXXX' work.  Suddenly, Sosa, Wainwright, Looper and Izzy in a postseason game looks pretty nasty.  

Now, I'm not saying Walt Jocketty cured the Cardinals of their ailments or even has made this into a great team.  However, when we seemed DEAD in the water and down to the last bit of rations, he plugged a few holes, patched the rutter and raised the sail.  We are back out at sea when even the captain of the ship was seemingly look for a life boat.

And that's why Walt Jocketty is Walt Jocketty.

A lot of you who are complaining, blasting and dooming the ownership are people I have tons of respect for on most baseball issues.

But, I just don't get it.  I'm no homer fan.  I'm a saberhead and consider myself a baseball realist.  

What better could we have done with the money that wouldn't tank us for the next two years?  

If DeWittt and Co leave, how many ownerships are out there who would expand our payroll?  It's near the top as it is.  Second highest in the NL.  You guys think the glorified Busch's would have us nearing a $100 mill?  Look at the newest ownership groups...Washington, Milwaukee, etc.  Anyone see them skyrocketing up the payroll heirarchy?  Be careful what you wish for.  I seriously doubt we would have the $120 million dollar payroll everyone thinks we deserve if Bill sold.

I guess I would like to challange all of you who keep rolling your eyes at every move to put your type where your mouth is.  I don't think it's possible.  Even in hindsight, I don't believe you can build a much better team than we have now within 5 or 6 million of our current budget using players who have been available.  

I actually wish they had done less than they have.  I think all your complaining has brought us Belliard and JEnc.  Two guys replaceable with guys who make the minimum.  

I also surprised at all the talk about how this isn't a playoff dominant team.  I thought there were a lot of statheads here?  How about acknowledging the folly of putting all your eggs in a basket and going for it all?  Grab an Abreu or a Soriano at the asking price and see just how much it would increase our chances in the playoffs.  Then look at what it would do to our future.  Statistically, the playoffs are nothing but a crapshoot.  The best overall team has only won one time since the inception of the Wild Card format.  Yet, we are doomed before the playoffs even get here?  Pffft.

I'll be waiting to see what you guys think you could have done with the money.  

http://www.baseballthinkfactory.org/files/dialed_in/discussion/defense_over_the_last_twenty_years/

and Dial is a renowned StL hater.

http://baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=5436&PHPSESSID=cc292660205e2c9df3ffd89a8d383 f2e