Cardinal's Trade Talk

If you have read some of my other post you probably have realized that I am a die hard St. Louis Cardinals fan. This is why I got excited when I heard a rumor about the Cardinals talking about trading for Colorado Rockies star Matt Holliday. I do however have mixed feelings about this news. This is because in order to acquire Holliday the Cardinals would probably have to give up Ryan Ludwick who is coming off of a break out season in 2008. I'm not saying that Ludwick is better than Holliday, I have just kind of taking a liking to Ludwick over the past year. Ludwick has expressed a desire to stay in St. Louis but understands that it may not work that way. This is what Ludwick had to say about the situation:

"I have heard about the rumors. However, I have not heard any details. They don't concern me--obviously. I can't control the situation. There is no place I'd rather be than St Louis, but I have been with five different organizations, and I know it's a business. St. Louis feels like home, I love my teammates and most importantly, I think we can win."

One thing I don't understand is why are the Cardinals trying to trade for another outfielder? They already have a surplus of talented players that can play in the outfield such as Ludwick, Rick Ankiel, Skip Schumaker, Colby Rasmus, Joe Mather, and Brian Barton. Tony La Russa, Cardinals Manager, has said that the reason for going after Holliday is he wants a clean up hitter to bat behind Albert Pujols, and while Ludwick certainly has the ability, he doesn't have the reputation that Holliday does. One of the worries of the field staff is that Pujols is pitched around too often, and having a star like Matt Holliday batting behind him would cause other teams to pitch to Pujols.

I guess all I can do is sit back and watch this one play out and see what happens. Whatever the outcome is I'm sure I'll be happy because both Ludwick and Holliday are very talented players who can help out on the Cardinal's roster.