Just thought I'd pop in before the baron to mention that the parade of mediocre veteran targets has begun: The Oakland Athletics have released erstwhile trade target Brian Fuentes, giving us as Cardinals fans the chance to see whether all those rumors add up to John Mozeliak being interested in acquiring him for zero prospects.
Fuentes might have something left, but I think they'll probably wait until Barret Browning allows a baserunner to pull that trigger. He's more interesting as a symbol, anyway, than a baseball player--this is the start of the mediocre reclamation project second season. In January all the disgraced veterans find Spring Training homes, and some of them make big league teams; the ones who didn't then, or who wiped out in their big comeback tours, show up in July, ready to fix some team's bullpen by way of having once had a memorable name.
For the 2012 Cardinals--unless they trade for Huston Street--that phenomenon's going to begin and possibly end in the bullpen. Fuentes is a four-time All-Star with 200-plus saves! What could go wrong?