We Know Who's on First...Now What's on Second?

Our conversation today will stick with our theme or sorting out the 2009 infield starters. So to answer the question from Abbott and Costello, we know Albert's on first, but as far as 'What's on Second?' : I don't know...third base?

Obviously Kennedy is the leading candidate for the job. After an abysmal 2007 with the Redbirds, he bounced back to put together a decent season in 2008. I honestly believe (or pray) that if Adam is given a true starting job (and not have Tony throwing him out in right field), he will be able to get into a rhythm and his numbers and quality of play will correspond directly with his steady play time. I sometimes feel as if I'm the only Cards fan that believes in Kennedy. It seems as if everybody else has thrown in the towel; they'd rather see anybody else at second. I'm not so closed-minded to not see that there might be better free agents on the market, but we could do much worse than AK, and frankly I've conceded the fact that Mozeliak must be incapable of signing an impact player. Many have also noted that we have better options within the organization. The other possible names mentioned were Schumaker, Ryan, Thurston, and even Mather again. If you remember from yesterday's discussion, both Mather and Thurston are both also being considered for filling the empty hole at third to begin the season. But what are their credentials for taking away Kennedy's starting gig?

We'll start with Brendan Ryan. He had an OK 2008 season. Not good, not bad...just OK. I'll be the first to tell you that I can see potential in Brendan, but I still think he some maturing to do in the minors before he could be seriously considered for an everyday starter at second. I wouldn't mind seeing him in a backup role at all. Especially with Miles and Felipe Lopez gone, the door for a utility man is wide open. He's just not ready to be in the starting lineup 162 times a season. Thurtson and Mather, are in the same boat as Ryan. They have some major league experience, and both were drafted as infielders, but they're not prepared for the task at hand. I don't think too many would disagree with me about these three long shots for the job.

Now for Schumaker. It is true he did much more than anyone could have anticipated last season. It is also true that offensively speaking he blew way past Kennedy. But we sometimes forget that defense is a part of the game too. Many of us see that Pujols hit the 2 run homer to win the game, but don't give any credit to the diving play Ankiel made to save 3 runs that gave Pujols' game winner relevance. And defensively at second Schumaker's not even in the same league as Kennedy. Sure Skipper played some infield in the early stages of his career, and he has all of spring training to prepare, but Kennedy has ten years of experience under his belt at the position. We also forget that there had to be some reason that Skip got moved to the outfield in the first place. It's not as if the Cards have so many second basemen they don't know what to do with all of them. The more logical plan seems to be getting Skip some practice in at second during the spring. If he does well, let him play second on Adam's off days during the season and gauge how comfortable he is and how well he progresses. If all goes well and we let Kennedy walk after his contract expires at the end of this season, then we would have Schumaker ready for second in 2010.

That's my take. And now I'm off to bed to dream of Greene and Kennedy turning the double play. I'll post after I wake up from that nightmare in a cold sweat. Goodnight.