thanks to everybody who weighed in yesterday with opinions about the cards' trade strategy. excellent start to a discussion that will likely entertain card'l nation for a while. particularly strong opinions, pro and con, were voiced there about adam dunn; also a spotlight shone on kevin mench (for more on mench, see ryan at the diaspora today). for those so inclined, keep posting thoughts/ideas. the diaries section (rh sidebar) is perfect for shameless rumor-mongering and pot-stirring; i encourage y'all to use it. and then when jock makes a move(s), post another diary to applaud or rip the transaction as your conscience dictates.
couple add'l thoughts: buried in joe strauss's july 3 list of potential trade targets was a player i wouldn't mind having on our side: the phils' jason michaels. strauss sums him up thus: "Drafted but did not sign with Redbirds in '97. Poor contact hitter who becomes arbitration-eligible after this season." joe forgot to mention that michaels has a career .380 obp and .824 ops; 63 extra-base hits in 681 career at-bats. in other words, he gets on base and has some pop. and best of all, he reams left-handers --- career slugging against them is .500+, ops is ~.900. he would not solve the long-term outfield situation, but then he would not cost much either. to my mind he is just what the cardinals need --- a low-risk acquisition, can spot-start at all three outfield positions and add punch to the bench.
another player in the cheap low-risk category is rondell white, in his walk year with detroit. believe it or not he's still only 33 years old and hits the ball pretty hard; isolated power holding steady at .170 the last three years or so. he too punishes lefthanded pitchers. no comparison to adam dunn, obviously, but also not nearly as costly --- and a decided upgrade over taguchi/luna/seabol as a right-handed hitting bench player. i think the tigers would likely part with him in exchange for a signed albert pujols jersey.
not that the cardinals have anywhere they can play him, but placido polanco is hitting his ass off this season -- .329 in 246 at-bats (split betw philadelphia and detroit), .386 obp, .833 ops. the tigers don't really want him (god knows why they traded for him ) and the cards will have a 2b opening next season . . . . . winning player, has appeared in the outfield before.
i did not see in yesterday's thread any interest in randy winn, who sat atop strauss's list. again, not an impact player on the order of dunn, but he strikes me as an all-around contributor. strauss says he struggles against left-handers, which is true if you only look at this year --- 90 at-bats. over the last three seasons combined winn has a higher avg, obp, and slg versus lefthanders than vs righthanders. he has base-stealing ability, which the cards could really use if you ask me.