Time to Talk Some Baseball

Bernie Miklasz is one of my favorite sports commentators in St. Louis.  I appreciate his opinions, whether in print or on the airwaves...probably because I often agree with him.  Funny how that works.  It's easy to like people with whom we agree, isn't it?

In Saturday's Post-Dispatch, Miklasz set forth his "All Decade Teams" for STL sports.   Here are his picks for the Cardinals:

C:  Yadier Molina - I would have been OK if he had picked Mike Matheny, but it's hard to argue about Molina...I'm a big fan.

1B:  Albert Pujols - well, duh.

2B:  Fernando Vina - this one caught me completely off-guard, but #4 is exactly who I would have chosen!  Skip Schumaker hasn't been around long enough to prove himself and Aaron Miles never really got to be the everyday guy here...they're the only other two I would have considered.

SS:  Edgar Renteria - again, hard to argue with and, of course, the only other candidate would have been David Eckstein, but Renteria gave us 6 great years to Eckstein's 3.
 

3B:  Scott Rolen - easy choice, really.  We had him in his prime and he was just solid all the way around.

LF:  Reggie Sanders - yep, I agree.

CF:  Jimmy Edmonds - another duh.

RF:  Ryan Ludwick - I was mildly surprised by this choice...not sure why, except maybe that he is relatively new to the Cardinals.  But come to think of it, no one has really dominated this position for the Cards this decade.  Larry Walker would have been a suitable choice as well.

Backup OF:  JD Drew - OK...this is the one choice with which I am in 100% disagreement.  If you've been around me for long, you know that my nickname for him is "NANCY Drew."  The guy was a real nancy during his STL years...couldn't walk down the dugout stairs without spraining his ankle, for crying out loud!  I'd take most anyone in place of him:  Rick Ankiel comes to mind...as does So Taguchi...or even Miguel Cairo.  Shoot!  I'd take Chris Duncan before JD Drew...and that's sayin' somethin'!  Hey, Bernie's allowed to make one mistake.

Backup INF:  Placido Polanco - perfect selection, actually.  Great flexibility and range and consistent as could be.

Starting Rotation:  Chris Carpenter, Matt Morris, Adam Wainwright (no surprises with those three!), Woody Williams (a huge and very pleasant surprise for me...I remain a devoted fan of Woody...the guy was an intelligent workhorse on the mound and I never thought he got the attention he deserved!), Jeff Suppan (big Sup fan...love the choice!)

RH Reliever:  Ryan Franklin - fine

LH Reliever:  Steve Kline - absolutely!  Lovable psycho who always came through.

Closer:  Jason Isrinhausen - as frustrating as his last couple of years with STL were, I cannot disagree.  During his early years here, he was phenomenal.

Manager:  Tony LaRussa - of course!  Although I'm surprised Bernie didn't find a way to pick someone else at this position...even though LaRussa held it the entire decade!

What changes would YOU make to Miklasz's roster?