Reader Cody asks:

Is there any rumors going around having to do with the cardinals aquiring a Starting pitcher such as A.J. Burnett or Roy Halladay? Or Is it true that the cardinals are increasing pursuit of Fuentes? Also one last question, is it in any way possible the cardinals will work out a deal for Matt Holiday, or someone like Manny?

Cody, while I'm obviously no GM, I think it's very unlikely that any of these moves you mention will happen. In terms of starting pitching, Toronto has stated that neither Burnett nor Halladay will be traded. Now obviously things can always change, but with Colby Rasmus on the shelf with an injury, I would be VERY surprised to see either of those two pitchers wearing the birds on the bat.

It's blatantly obvious to me that the team needs bullpen help but I don't think Cardinals GM John Mozeliak will pay the price the Rockies are said to be demanding for Fuentes. Remember, the Rockies aren't exactly out of the playoff picture either so they'd probably need to be blown away by an offer to ship their closer out of town.

As for the two "impact" bats you mention, I'd ask which current Cardinal outfielder you'd want to replace with Holliday or Ramirez? Neither Ludwick nor Ankiel are hitting for great average but their power numbers are fantastic and they cost about a billion dollars less than the high priced options you gave.

So, after shooting all those options down, what do I think the Cardinals will do?

Barring a team putting up an offer the team can't refuse for rental Kyle Lohse, I'd expect to see St. Louis pick up a solid veteran reliever. I think a lot depends on how Chris Carpenter performs tonight and the report they get back on injured pitcher Adam Wainwright. If Carpenter pitches well and the rotation can give the bullpen a bit of a rest, the Cards might be able to hold on until Wainwright returns and use him as the lights out closer they've needed so badly over the past two weeks.

Basically this team was built for 2009 and the results they've seen so far this year are just a bonus.

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