It all started heading south when Lopez got picked off 2nd base when he wasn't paying attention.

The Lopez throws Dunn a fastball for some inexplicable reason. He hasn't got a hit for weeks off a breaking ball. :#

this team doesn't have the killer instinct...but, it does have it in them, we saw it in Cincy, They had better find it more often soon.

Something is going on in that locker room. Rasmus and Larussa? Pissed off at the Ludwick trade? Who knows....but something is up....

Pujols calls his first players only meeting evah today....

Yeah, his effort has never been in question. He is going to kill you in clutch situations that wil make you lose your love of his hustle.

Well, they must have talked about something other than SCORING ****ING RUNS, because they're about to get shut out by the goddamn Asstros. :shake:

If Pujols can't sway them, maybe we are dead....but, who knows whats going on.....maybe he had to ecplain himself why he went to the Beck/Palin rally in the middle of the team imploding and seemingly unfocused?

St. Louis still has a team?

The team needs to completely clean house. That means firing Tony LaRussa, John Mozeliak, and all of their sycophants. Shit can Luhnow if you have to.

I think it's pretty obvious that LaRussa has created a poisonous atmosphere in that clubhouse and it's about ****ing time someone threw him out on his ass.

Dave Duncan is a great pitching coach, but I don't think he's worth keeping TLR. The one who sucks the penis absolutely must go.

Build around Pujols, Wainwright, Rasmus, Molina, and Holliday.

We need to find a way to flip some assets for a legitimate 2B or 3B in the offseason. Personally, I'd hope that our team does the following for 2011:

1B: Pujols
2B: Tyler Greene or Freese. Freese has good range, but his bat isn't good enough to play a CI spot. That said, I worry if his ankle is good enough to hold up to a position that requires more range.
SS: Ryan or Greene. Platoon them.
3B: Outside the organization. Allen Craig can't play 3rd, and no one in our system is close to ready
LF: Holliday
CF: Rasmus
RF: Craig
4th OF: Jay
C: Molina

SP: Waino
SP: Carpenter
SP: Garcia
SP: Westbrook
SP: Boggs

We need to give Boggs, Lynn, Ottavino, Walters, or Hawksworth a chance to hold down that fifth spot. Have them train as starters for the entire offseason, and see if they can't give you 180 innings of 4.20 ERA ball. I think Boggs can do that.

Westbrook's option should not be picked up, but they should try to retain him at a discounted clip, given that he has almost no production the last two years. Even a one year deal would make sense.

DFA or non-tender the following:

Skip, Miles, Lohse, Feliz

Another idea:

Brandon Webb hasn't pitched in two years. Shoulder surgeries are far more dangerous than TJ. That said, he has elite stuff, and fits the mold of Cardinal SP. You could make him a two year incentive-laden deal hoping that he can bounce back. But given how we've been ****ed by the Brad Pennys of the world, this is a dangerous proposition.

I also think that we could fill the hole at 3rd by trading Daryl Jones/Jon Jay and one of our projectable 5th starters to a team looking to dump a guy coming up on an arb increase.

No friggin way Oquendo doesn't get the job if Larussa leaves after this year. We have a 2 year window left in this era for sure. No major upheaval and they want Pujols to sign long term and what better way to curry favor than to pick Oquendo?

So what makes you think Oquendo can do a better job?

Molina still rocks. He was not hitting the ball very well but after the all star break he;s back to hitting .300 and he's still a gold glove.

Too bad Skip and Lohse are still under contract. I don't see us going Tino/Kennedy on their asses, although I hope so.