Word out of St. Louis from Post Dispatch writer Joe Strauss is that the Cardinals are going after Orioles ace Erik Bedard. The catch is that in order to get the lefty they would have to literally give up the farm for him. This means giving up Colby Rasmus their center fielder of the future. If you havent heard anything about Colby he is a 20 year old stud. He has 5 tool talent, but that isn't even the best part. The guy is a true gym rat that loves to play his heart out each and every day. He is a coaches dream to be able to coach and he will be a fan favorite instantly. Especially in a city like St. Louis. Chances are real good that he will make it to the big leagues before he is able to legally throw back some Budweisers. On a team where you have most of your salary locked up into Phat Albert you have to keep your young studs who will be cheap for a good 5 years.

Rasmus won't be the only guy they have to give up. When I talked about giving up the farm I meant it. The Cardinals are known for having a weak farm system and the Orioles are asking for every top prospect that they have in return for their Canadian hurler. This includes future closer Chris Perez. This guy, who I feel is major league ready right now, is a natural closer which is tough to find nowadays. Then there is a young power hitting catcher and their best lefty starter Jaime Garcia.
That is quite a large bounty for power arm lefty who is injury prone.

My plea to John Mozeliak is to hold on to the youngsters that you have. Don't build for one or two good years. Build for a dynasty.

Go Cards