Well, Charlie In The Trees was right (not something he hears from me in other threads) in his pre-season analysis on my beloved Cardinals. They have the best offense and defense in the National League, but their pitching woes are costing them big time. Still only 2 games out of first, but in a very mediocre Central Division.

Brett Tomko has failed to materialize as a consistent force on the mound. Garrett Stephenson was 5-10 until two nights ago when he threw his best game of the season. Matt Morris is out several weeks with a broken hand.

Only Woody Williams 14-3 has performed up to expectations for the season.

Which means the Cards will need to trade a premier position player to get some real pitching help. JD Drew is being talked about in most every corner. The Cards are talking about getting rid of a position player, but it will probably not be until in the off-season, and looks like it might be Fernando Vina.

It would be nice to see the team reward their fans (more than 3 million every year) with a shot at the Central Division championship.

The problem is that there isn't alot of great starting pitching available. From all the rumors, the most sought after pitcher is Jeff Suppan of the Pirates. Sidney Ponson of the Orioles, Kelvim Escobar of the Blue Jays, Freddie Garcia of the Mariners, Livan Hernandez and Javier Vasquez of the Expos are among the others being mentioned in trade rumors, but none of these guys are A list pitchers that automatically make the Cards or any other contender a shoe in for the playoffs.

Pitching is a real issue with my Twins as well. Going into the season, pitching seemed to be of little concern with Radke, Reed, Rogers, Milton, Lohse, Santana and Mays. Milton's been injured all year, but the rest of the staff has been a major disappointment.