First, the Cards returned Ben Jukich to the Reds.  For a Rule V guy, he didn't get a lot of looks in camp, only getting two innings in one game.  I'm slightly surprised that the Reds didn't work a trade for him, since to take him back they have to spend $25,000, and right now the Reds are pinching every penny they can.  Still, while it would have been nice to have him in Memphis as a potential backup, the Cards didn't look at him as a LOOGY type anyway, so there are probably other options.  Be interesting to see how Jukich does this year, though, especially if he makes it to Cincinnati.

Secondly and more importantly, there seemed to be an organizational shift in regards to Jaime Garcia.  Going into the spring, some of us wanted to see him as the fifth starter in St. Louis, but the injury issue seemed to be influencing those that make the decisions, inspiring the signing of Rich Hill.  Garcia was seen as an afterthought to Hill and Kyle McClellan going at it for that last slot.

As your bracket will likely attest to this morning, afterthoughts have their way of making their way to the foreground.  On Twitter yesterday, Derrick Goold reported that Tony La Russa had declared that Garcia would be a starter somewhere, or at least that the organization wasn't looking at him as a reliever.  As I said earlier this week, I expected him to take that long relief role that Adam Wainwright had a few years back.  That's not the case anymore.

Then, Rich Hill pitched yesterday and it was another ineffective outing.  Hill walked five in three innings and, for a guy that needed to work on his command to be successful, that's a step back.  So we wake up this morning to see in the paper a story that Garcia will be given a start Monday against the Astros.  As Darth Vader said, "The circle is now complete."  (Well, almost, but when you get a chance to toss Vader into a blog post, you have to take it.)

Tom from CardinalsGM mentioned on Twitter yesterday that it was the point where he started to take results seriously.  There is just over two weeks left.  A lot of the guys that never were going to make it have been weeded out and sent to minor league camp.  Starters are starting to go five, six, seven innings.  The regulars will be playing.  Things that happen from now on are going to have a huge impact on the decisions that are left to be made.

So if Garcia goes out and throws on Monday like he's been throwing the rest of the spring, that very well may put him in the lead in the fifth starter derby after being on the outside looking in for so long.  That's what spring is all about, right?  The unexpected making a run.  A young third baseman making it so that you can't leave him off the roster.  The hometown pitcher fighting his way onto the roster.  There is a reason spring training lasts this long!

Approval rating time!  Even though I didn't plan it this way, so far every day has been one new person and one person we rated last year, and today is no different.

If we'd have rated Mark McGwire last year, it would have been as the disgraced and retired icon.  You'd have to have factored in the uncertainty (well, at least proven uncertainty) of his steroid usage and how you felt about all of that.  It's a new year, however, and we aren't rating just the icon, but the hitting coach who has made his confession.  It was possibly the most interesting name on the approval ballot.

McGwire wound up higher than I thought, with 64 people giving him an average score of 73.2%.  There was an outlier of 5, but the next-lowest was 20, while his high was one 100.  A lot in the 70-80 range, it looks like.

On the other hand, we have Yadier Molina.  A lot of Molina love last year, as he piled up the second-highest rating at 93.4%.  Not a lot has changed with Yadi, and this year he drops just a bit to 92.0%.  That'll put him behind Carp this year as well (likely) behind Albert.

Cards play a split-squad schedule today.  The noon game features St. Louis playing against their complex partners, the Marlins.  Not sure who is going in that game, though it should be Chris Carpenter, I'd expect.  The game is also supposed to be on FSN, so if you are in the viewing area, you get a lunchtime treat.

Most of us would have probably rather they televised the other game, however.  This evening, 5 PM start, the Cards go over to Washington and face Stephen Strasburg again.  Not only that, but McClellan tries to hold off Garcia for that fifth slot with a strong start.  Should be a lot of interesting things out of that one!

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The Cards have another day off next Tuesday and have the Sunday before the season free as well.  Otherwise, it's all baseball all the time until the beginning of the season.

The day off meant things were pretty quiet in Cardinal camp.  Allen Craig has been a popular focus this off-season, with a story earlier this week by Matthew Leach and now a feature by Derrick Goold.  I don't think there's much doubt now that Craig makes this team as a backup, though I guess a slump here at the end of the spring could see him back in Memphis.  I just hope that he'll be able to keep hitting even with only semi-regular work, pinch-hitting and the like.  If he needs to be in there every day to keep his swing working, that's going to be a problem.

Not much time and not much to talk about today, so let's get to the Cardinal Approval Ratings.  Today, we look at the skipper and the number three starter.

Tony La Russa has always been a polarizing figure in St. Louis and there's no doubt people will register opinions on him.  Last year, he checked in with a 79.1% rating.  Then he led the Cardinals to another divisional title.  Would that be reflected in this year's mark?

Perhaps it was, as TLR moved up to an 80.6% level this year.  Interestingly, there were two of the 67 voters that didn't give him a rating, something that surprised me.  Two 100s and a 38 made up the range of the votes.

Kyle Lohse was just under TLR last year, with a 77.3% mark.  That was after a successful 2008, even.  So with an injury plagued and ineffective 2009 now in the books, where will Lohse stand?

Lohse tumbled almost 11 points to a 66.8% rating this year.  Three people didn't vote, his high-water mark was 85, and there was at least one zero in the mix.

Cards take on the Braves today with Rich Hill making another important start in his bid for the fifth starter slot.  Should be a fun game to listen to, if you can!

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Garcia struck out seven batters in three innings, allowing no runs and just one hit and a walk.  Of  course, you adjust that for competition, since the Nationals aren't known for a dominating offense and some of those that Garcia faced won't be in the big leagues to start the season, if ever, but seven out of nine is a pretty good ratio in any league.

On Twitter, Matthew Leach, Andrew from Pitchers Hit Eighth, and I discussed Garcia's role with the team.  Leach said that his preference was to have Garcia go down to Memphis, be the staff ace, and be ready in case anyone faltered or was injured.  Andrew was ready for him to take the fifth slot, something that I championed in the offseason.

I think I'd still like to see Garcia in the last slot in the rotation, but I can understand the concern that he won't be able to give enough innings that way.  I'm really expecting to see him go north with the team, but as the long man in the bullpen.  He won't get many innings behind Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright, but the rest of the rotation could use a solid long reliever behind them, I think.  I know Tony La Russa has mentioned possibly using him as they did Wainwright, letting him be the bullpen guy before transitioning into a starter role.  And, hey, that's the way the Cardinals do it, right?  Always taking from the pen to fill the rotation?

Apparently Washington figured out something.  After 11 walks on Sunday, they didn't issue a single pass in yesterday's game.

Bill DeWitt is happy with the team and feels that it is deep enough to be successful.  He's got a point, since Memphis did win the PCL last year.  Of course, any injury to Albert Pujols would be a major blow, but there's no way to get enough depth to offset something like that.  There seems to be enough in the middle infield, especially since Brendan Ryan really does look like he'll be back for Opening Day, and the back end of the rotation and the bullpen should have some spare parts hanging around in Memphis.

What was most welcome to hear out of that article was the fact that the Cards are planning to spend quite a bit of money on the draft.  I think they've really learned their lesson from the Rick Porcello/Pete Kozma decision and they've seen what spending on a top player can get for them in Shelby Miller, whose stay in his first Cardinal camp has been much more extended than expected.  So root for some talented players to slip through on signability issues!

Let's take our next two in the Cardinal Approval Ratings, Matt Holliday and Cardinal broadcaster Al Hrbrosky.  Obviously, Holliday wasn't asked about in the prior year, as he was sitting in Oakland (even thought St. Louis had pursued him).  I was interested to see how fans would balance his production and his return against his big money contract and his holding out for the same.

The contract, etc. may have had an impact, but Holliday still comes in with an adequte 84.5%.  For a guy that has yet to establish a huge connection with the best fans in baseball, that's not too shabby and it will probably go up next year.  A couple of 100s for the guy, with a low of 50 out of the 67 voters.

Hrbrosky did get a rating last year, a low mark of 53.9%.  That was actually the worst rating anyone got back in 2009.  So, another year of Al in the booth, and how did people take to it?  Not well, it would appear.

Hrbrosky dropped to a 46.2% level this year.  It looks like there are a lot of people that mute the TV when they are watching FSN.  Out of the 64 that registered an opinion, there were at least three zeros and only one 100.

Happy St. Patrick's Day to everyone.  I have to say, I am so glad that the Cards are off today.  I seriously hate those green jerseys and hats they break out for this day.  If you want a more reasonable way to get in the mood, check out Fungoes today!

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Look, no one took that "trade rumor" involving Albert Pujols and Ryan Howard the least bit seriously.  No one thought that it might happen, that the teams really had talked about it, etc.  I think most everyone realized that, at best, it was a trial balloon floated within the Philadelphia organization.

However, everyone had to comment about it, and especially Tony La Russa seemed to be a bit worked up about it.

I half expected everyone to just laugh it off and go about their business, but TLR really was disgusted and aggravated about the whole thing.  Perhaps he's getting an inkling about how the contract situation with AP could be a distraction during the year.  I don't think it will be--Albert's said he's not talking during the season and John Mozeliak said emphatically yesterday that he wouldn't be traded--but when you go through 162 games, things get brought up, rehashed, etc.

Of course, the easiest way for this whole thing to be resolved would be to have Albert instruct his agents to get something done before spring training is over.  That's about the only way he's not going to have to at least listen to numerous contract questions throughout this year and possibly next.  He's right, though, once the process gets going, it could only take a day or so to get it lined out.  I'm not completely ruling out a new deal before the start of the season, though if the Cards haven't tendered an official proposal yet, then it's a lot less likely.

Albert's staying and there's no news on the contract.  So what else happened yesterday?

Well, Brad Penny got hit hard and that's not a figure of speech.  Besides the fact that he got plunked a couple of times--hopefully this won't affect him, like it did with Kyle Lohse last year--he didn't have his best outing.  It was tolerable, of course, and the Cardinals were in line to win the game until a blown save in the bottom of the ninth, but hopefully he can improve on that in his next outing.  He should have three more starts in the spring, so this would be the time to see him build toward the season.

A few more players were sent over to the minor league camp, but Shelby Miller has stayed with the big leaguers.  The Cards must like what they see out of him right now.  Since he pitched Sunday, he'd be roughly in line to go again Friday in relief, so we'll see if he sticks around to get another appearance in a spring training game.  Being as Friday is a split-squad day, I'm sure that he will see some time in one of them, then be sent down.  This has to be much more than he expected this spring, since he wasn't even invited to big league camp until after it opened.

It is starting to sound like Allen Craig just might shake his John Gall status and get a legitimate shot at the big league bench this year.  The fact that he continues to hit at such a high level doesn't hurt him a bit.  Could we see a bench of Jason LaRue, Julio Lugo, Allen Craig, Joe Mather and Tyler Greene?  It'd be on the young side, but it'd be pretty intriguing and give Tony a lot to work with for his lineup manipulations.

Today's two members of the Cardinal Approval Ratings are Dave Duncan and Ryan Franklin.  Last year, Duncan wound up with an 84.2% mark and then went out and had two Cy Young candidates and a pitching staff that, on the whole, was very successful.  So this year, he moves on up to 87%. Looks like about four 100s and a low of 50 out of the 67 that cast an opinion.

Franklin wasn't on the list last year.  Why should he have been?  This time last year he looked like he'd be just another middle reliever.  Instead, he stepped in and had a strong year as a closer, at least until the last month.  Still, when the 66 votes were tallied, he managed a 69.7% mark as many people still don't trust him in that role (and I include myself in that category).  No 100s for the man with the funky beard, so his ranged from a high of 90 to a low of 6.

Cardinals get Washington again today, this time without Stephen Strasburg.  Hopefully they'll be able to have the same kind of success they had Sunday.  If nothing else, they may get plenty of taking practice.

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First off, the Olney report is probably accurate, because when you read it, all it says was that Philadelphia might have had some sort of internal conversation about this.  I completely believe that.  I figure a lot of teams talk about what they'd give for AP, especially now that he's in the latter part of his contract.  I doubt that it ever made it to the level of formal offer, though.

If you want a great rejection of this deal (from a Phillies fan, no less), look over at Crashburn Alley.  You can also check out Mike at Stan Musial's Stance.  To go along with what they've said, let me make just a couple more points.

One, the Cardinals are willing to commit crazy amounts of money to Albert Pujols and Albert Pujols only.  If, for some reason, Pujols was to walk, I don't think they'd spend 75% of that money on another player, which is probably what they'd have to do to keep Howard.  John Mozeliak would be much more likely to go for a team-wide upgrade, if possible, than to try to sink so much into one player.

Secondly, if the Cardinals were going to trade AP (and this also ties somewhat into number one), they'd more likely try to get 2-3 young, under team control top prospects from someone than a straight-up swap of first basemen.  The team would need the youth infusion and the way to manage payroll, since attendance would noticeably drop, I believe, with a Pujols trade.

The best thing about this rumor (and it's probably just the first in a long line) is that it gives both sides more momentum to get a deal done, if only to stop these crazy things.

Now to the on-the-field stuff.  I was able to catch portions of the Cardinals' win over Houston on Saturday, thanks to it being on KSDK.  It was hard to get a real good judge on things, since I was running in and out of the room and the wind looked like it was blowing quite strongly.  However, it was good to see Pujols get a couple of hits, Rich Hill do OK (though I did find Rick Horton's comment about him not repeating his delivery interesting) and Ryan Ludwick go yard.  Looking forward to watching a bit more this weekend.

Sunday was remarkable, of course, because of who was starting against St. Louis.  Stephen Strasburg drew raves from Tony La Russa, so you have to figure he was pretty darn good.  The Cards got a couple of singles off of him, but that was it.  Thankfully, the rest of the Washington squad was, shall we say, a little more...erratic.  I don't care what the conditions, 11 walks seems a bit excessive.

Shelby Miller got into the game as well, a little less hyped than the other first-round pick.  Still, that's two scoreless innings for Miller, though he's had to work out of trouble both times.  I can't imagine him starting at AA, but I wouldn't be surprised if his positive impression this spring would help him jump there with a good start at A ball.

The Cards have put together a little run and have started to look more like a real team again.  (Of course, the record has to look better than the Nationals' 0-10.)  They take on the Mets again today, so we'll see if they can keep the wins coming.

There was a really interesting article about Colby Rasmus in the Post-Dispatch.  The physical aspects of last season were fairly well documented and his overcoming of that was one reason I expected a big season from him this year.  However, to add in the family turmoil as well as the clubhouse that, for some reason, isn't quite welcoming for the rooks, and it's surprising he did as well as he did last year.

Even with the relative youth of some of that clubhouse, you have to figure it's dominated by La Russa and Pujols.  And while I don't think they go out of their way to harass first-year players or anything of that nature, and I'm sure they are willing to help when asked, you know that kind of atmosphere has to be pretty intimidating.  The expectations are high for anyone that wears Cardinal red, and if you aren't sure you can make them, it could cause some tension.

Rasmus makes a point to say that he thinks it has made him stronger and thankfully he and his dad are reconciled.  He may not be completely comfortable in a veteran clubhouse yet, but he's getting there.  Which is why, if you still haven't drafted yet, you just might want Colby Jack for your fantasy baseball team.

I promised I'd start releasing the Cardinal Approval Ratings today, so let's get the first couple out of the way.

Chris Carpenter wasn't on last year's ballot, but it's not surprising that Cardinal Nation is right fond of the guy.  67 ballots were turned in and everyone registered an opinion on the ace of the staff.  Carp registered at 93.6%, a unsurprising but strong showing.  A quick glance shows more than ten 100s and a low score of 75.

Bill DeWitt was on last year's ballot, because you always have to get a feel for what people think of ownership.  Before the '09 season, DeWitt rated a 80.2% mark.  So, after a season where he opened up to get Matt Holliday and others plus allowed John Mozeliak to sign Shelby Miller, where does he rank with the 64 people that expressed an opinion?  83.0%.  A couple of 100s for him and a low of 60 when you toss out the strange (in my mind, at least) outlier of 25.

We'll do a couple more tomorrow, so come back for them!

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Albert Pujols and Matt Holliday were both scratched from yesterday's game against the Nationals.  Pujols's back still isn't quite right and Holliday has a strained rib cage muscle.  A team that looks strong offensively drops quickly into mediocre without those guys.

Now, it's not time to start sounding alarms and looking for the nearest bridge, of course.  If they are still out a week before the season starts, then I think you get worried.  Still, it's a cause for concern.  Both of those guys need to be ready to answer the bell, so that the Cards don't wind up slipping behind early.

The game itself provided some good talking points as well.  First among them was the start of Brad Penny.  After his first outing, there were a few questions about just what the Cardinals had gotten themselves into.  Those were eased yesterday with four scoreless and effective innings.  I still think Penny is in line to have a big year for the squad and seeing results like yesterday's help reinforce that in my mind.

Allen Craig made his presence known as well.  If he's going to make this team, which is still a possibility, he's going to have to hit his way there.  Hitting a home run in his first spring at-bat probably didn't hurt at all.  Craig also wound up with a RBI double later in the game and with AP and Holliday out for a bit, he looks to get quite a few at-bats this week.

Then there was Shelby Miller.  Cardinal fans have been waiting to get a glimpse of the first-round draft pick and they, along with his family, got their chance yesterday.  (At least the ones that were in Jupiter--it figures this game would be one with no TV or radio.)  Tony La Russa seems impressed, at least.  Dave Duncan is passing along good things.  With all of this, could it be that Miller won't spend much time at A ball this year, getting a promotion to Springfield mid-season or so?  It'll be interesting to keep an eye on that as the summer goes along.

I expected that he'd be sent out after this outing, but not only is he staying in camp for a while, there's a chance he'll get another outing before going down.  I expect that Miller has made quite an impression during this camp!

Cardinals take on the Marlins again today, with Kyle Lohse going.  Remember there are only two days left to express your opinion in the Cardinal Approval Ratings!

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Albert Pujols didn't make the trip yesterday as scheduled due to back stiffness, instead seeing a chiropractor for an adjustment.  Now, anytime Pujols has so much as a hangnail, Cardinal Nation starts grabbing the paper bags, having hyperventilation of the non-prospect kind.  For good reason, of course--as Pujols goes, so go the Cardinals.  Even with the solid club that John Mozeliak has put together for 2010, the foundation is AP and without him, it's a much tougher climb.

If the reports coming out of the team are true, this is more precautionary than anything, that if it was the regular season he might play through it.  We'll see more when he takes the field on Wednesday and hopefully this will be the last report of such things.  It'd be a shame for him to finally have that elbow feeling good to be then sidelined by his back.

The game had some interesting facets as well.  Carpenter wasn't sharp, it sounds like, but he was still fairly effective.  It's always good to see Carp go out there and be the pitcher we know he can be.  After so many injuries, last year seemed like a mirage--if you looked too close, it would vanish and those promises would be empty.  It didn't happen last year, though, and as he said yesterday, you don't really worry about every start being his last.  Well, at least too much.

Brendan Ryan is coming along quicker than expected, according to reports.  Which is not the way Cardinal injuries usually go, but it's a welcome change.  I'm still not 100% that Ryan won't start the year on the DL, but at least now it looks like the chances of that happening are starting to decrease.

It's a big day in prospect circles.  There will be a lot of focus on the Nationals game, where Stephen Strasburg is to make his spring training debut, but closer to home, Shelby Miller is likely to get into today's game against the Twins.  Odds are it'll be his last appearance with the big squad, getting sent to the minor league camp afterwards, but still it'll be intriguing to see him on the mound, giving the team a glimpse of the future.

Adam Wainwright should get the start today against Minnesota, so looking forward to seeing the Wagonmaker back in the saddle.  And i you've not voted in the Cardinal Approval Ratings, best get to it!

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The Cards finally broke the seal on the win column this weekend.  After falling Saturday in extra innings to Florida, they were able to get a win against the Marlins on Sunday.  Kyle McClellan had a very solid start, but had to since his main competition, Rich Hill, was just about as good.  McClellan went three innings of one-hit ball, while Hill came in and struck out two in his two innings, though he did allow a wind-aided home run.

I don't know that this outing tells us a whole lot about McClellan, though probably a little bit.  He's not an unknown quantity.  We know that he can get batters out, especially in a short outing.  He's gone two or three innings before in the bigs.  (OK, three innings just once, but the point holds.)  The key is going to be when he starts lengthening out his starts and facing the bats two or three times.  Will he make adjustments?  Will the batters catch up to him?  Can he keep the focus and stamina through a longer time on the mound?  While there's no indication that these questions will be answered in a negative fashion, we still need to wait until his next start (and possibly the one after that) to get a good feel for him as a starter.

In Hill's case, it was good to see that the "dead arm" he had earlier in camp has apparently cleared up, at least somewhat.  Seeing if he can handle the longer outings will be something to keep an eye on as well.  His command apparently was fairly strong, though he did throw as many pitches in two innings as McClellan did in three, which is something to watch.  Both of these guys go again Friday, with Hill going first, and the most intriguing battle of the spring picks up again then.

The other news from the weekend was that the first cuts were made, as ten were sent to the minor league camp.  While some of these guys will still get a little filler time with the big club during the spring, they'll do most of their work with the minor leaguers.  Not really any surprises on there--Charlie Zink's blowup this week apparently cost him quickly--but I think the most surprising thing to me is that Shelby Miller wasn't on the list.  His batterymate, Robert Stock, was, so I was expecting to see his name, especially since players will still go back and forth.  Apparently they think there is still value in Miller hanging with the big kids.  I'm looking forward to him getting into a game, and wouldn't be surprised if that doesn't happen today or tomorrow.

The UCB roundtable is still going strong, with the transcript of this weekend's question up over at Stan Musial's Stance.  For the complete schedule and links to the transcripts that are up, check over here.

If you haven't already, be sure to put in your entry into the 2010 Cardinal Approval Ratings!  Already 46 entries in, so I'm looking forward to how they shake out.  The deadline is Friday, so head on over and get them in!

Today's an exciting matchup, even if it is spring training.  The Cardinals travel over to Boston's spring training camp for a game that will pit Chris Carpenter against Josh Beckett.  That one should be a lot of fun!

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OK, let's put in the usual disclaimers.  It was a spring training game.  Most of the regulars weren't in there, and you can't take a lot away from one game, especially the first of the year.  So I'm not drawing any conclusions from this game, just to make that perfectly clear.

About the only thing you might be able to take out of that contest is that Charlie Zink isn't going to be going north with the team, but we knew that already.  Francisco Samuel didn't look all that good either, though I believe command's been an issue with him in the past.  Nice to see Adam Ottovino have a decent game, though his command apparently wasn't all there either.

Out of those that actually are going to be on the 2010 Cardinals, Ryan Ludwick gave some positive signs, with a double and a home run.  It took a while last year for him to get going, so perhaps working with Mark McGwire (who noticed a mechanical issue early in camp) has had some results already.

It was surprising to see the defense be so shaky.  Again, there were a lot of people in that game that won't even sniff St. Louis and conditions in Florida are notoriously tough at times, but you still hate to see Colby Rasmus lose the first ball hit to him in the sun.

On the battle front, Joe Mather chipped in two hits, which has to help his standing somewhat.  He was charged with an error, though it doesn't sound like it was entirely his fault (couldn't catch a throw by Rasmus, which may have been him, Rasmus, or the wind).  It's early, but I think Tony LaRussa has Mather mentally penciled in for the bench, with the possibility of Mather playing his way out of it.  So far, that's not happening.

Today the Cards face the Mets again, this time at home, and start Brad Penny.  Many of us here in Cardinal Nation have been very interested to see Penny in a competitive game.  The big bats will be in the lineup for the Cardinals today, as Albert Pujols, Matt Holliday and Yadier Molina make their debuts.  With more of a regular look to the lineup, hopefully it will be a more professional game, at least until the subs come in.

Before I wrap this up, I wanted to comment on the GM rankings put out by Sports Illustrated. John Mozeliak was ranked 18th.  To which I say, really?

It seems to me that the rankings were a bit of a hodgepodge.  You've got Andrew Friedman of the Rays on top.  I can go with that.  Built up a young team, developed them into a contender.  Sure.

Then you've got Theo Epstein of the BoSox.  Again, solid pick.  Even though he's got a budget that can absorb a lot of things (and again, thanks for Julio Lugo and John Smoltz, guys!), they have done a good job of making the smart moves.

Third you have Brian Cashman.  Wow, the top three GMs just happen to be in the AL East.  Hmm, shocking.  Cashman is a fine GM, don't get me wrong, but he also presides over a payroll that is roughly $200 million.  How much of a true test is that?

Then you have the Marlins' GM, which makes some sense, I guess, in that they've also made a couple of trades, built a farm system, and have been competitive at least.

So, even if you disagree, it's about results with the top four.  Results would seem to be the best way to go about measuring something like this, so that's fine.  I think I'd have done a little differently, but sure, that's our measuring stick.

So at number five we have....Jack Zduriencik?  The Seattle GM was the darling of the offseason, it's true, but have we seen any results out of that yet?  It seems like he's getting ranked up here solely by reputation of his "baseball mind" instead of what he's been able to produce.  His offseason looked good, but this isn't a ranking of offseasons.

Jon Daniels at 8?  Yeah, Texas has some young guys coming up, but do you remember Adrian Gonzalez and Chris Young for Adam Eaton?  That trade alone has to knock you down into the latter half.  There's not necessarily been a lot of return from that Mark Teixeira trade either.

Then they put our old friend Walt Jocketty 14th, while saying it's tough to know how good of a GM he was since Albert Pujols, TLR and Dave Duncan were on the squad.  Seriously?  You are going there? Because it's darn tough to see how good Brian Cashman is when he's signed huge free agents and been able to put an All-Star at every position.

All that to say that I believe Mozeliak is woefully underrated on this list.  In less than three years on the job, he's moved a third baseman everyone knew he had to trade and got back quality in return, moved an outfielder and made a smart decision on which minor leaguer to get back, pulled the trade for the most coveted bat on the market and then played hardball to get him signed, gotten freebies from overstuffed payrolls (again, thanks Boston!) that have turned out extremely well.

There's not much that Mo's done in his tenure that has blown up in his face, which is more than a lot of guys ahead of him on that list can say.  Honestly, Mo has to be in the top 10, I think, and possibly knocking on the door of the top five.  If he can keep Albert in St. Louis, though, we'll all rank him #1 in our hearts!

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