P.6 Ludwick to SD; Westbrook and Pads prospect to STL

[wart57]

Unless there is another deal for a middle infielder who can hit better than I do, I don't like the deal.

Our crappy offence just got crappier.

[Vidor]

It also seems like nobody is noticing how our rotation in October could be really terrific. Like, the best we've ever had in the TLR era.

[InvincibleCakeEater]

Someone mentioned the FO advertising payroll flexibility, isn't this a good reason to think we can still hope for a MI upgrade?

Well, Mo has about an hour. I was thinking the same thing, but I don't really know what waiver guys would make it through that Cards would actually want.

[wart57]

It also seems like nobody is noticing how our rotation in October could be really terrific. Like, the best we've ever had in the TLR era.

If they keep getting shut down by the likes of Bud Norris, this great pitching staff will be wasted.

[KyCardinalFan]

I'll say it, I'm really going to miss Ludwick's bus.

[Richie Allen]

Strauss just tweeted that this makes the Cardinals the first contending team in MLB history to lower payroll in the middle of a tough pennant race.

I've always argued that LaRussa prefers to manage a team that is not the clear cut favorite. How will he be mentioned among the year's best managers if he didn't have an outfielder at second base, a long-shot rookie in RF, etc? This deal should help cement his "doing a marvelous job with what he was given."

That said, our nuts were in a drawer with the starting pitching situation. We had to make a move and I'm thinking the loss of talent would have been even more depressing if we'd worked out a deal for Oswalt. Losing Ludwick doesn't bother me in the least. And I like the idea of Westbrook in our rotation. As much as this board screams for giving our young players a chance to play, I'm a little surprised at the reaction to this deal.

The reason I hate the trade is because we downgraded offense for pitching, when if anything, our problem is lack of good offense. And while Westbrook is a major upgrade over Suppan, Ludwick's value is much better used trying to improve the infield.

In other words, if we can still get a m.i. with what we have, I wont hate this deal as much. But Ludwick being one of our best assets, I don't like the fact he was traded for something we have as a strength, which is our rotation.

But you could also argue that Ludwick vs Jay/Winn is somewhat of a wash this year. Westbrook, however, could help a lot over who he's replacing.

[JL21]

It also seems like nobody is noticing how our rotation in October could be really terrific. Like, the best we've ever had in the TLR era.

Yeah but that's no different today than it was yesterday.

[Cronos]

The new "Elias" weighs in on his thoughts about the trade:

(NSFW, some language)

[/youtube]

[InvincibleCakeEater]

STL will explode when Ludwick comes to bat at Busch in the NLDS.

[KyCardinalFan]

STL will explode when Ludwick comes to bat at Busch in the NLDS.

Funny, I was thinking about that possibility, too. However, I was thinking more along the lines of Luddy playing a role like last night - where he's getting XBH to win against the Cards.