It's Put-Up or Shut-Up time for Cards' as deadline nears

Shane Victorino, who is currently a hot comodity for many
teams on the market heading into tomorrow's MLB trading
deadline--seemingly feels like its a dream scenario at the moment.

When you ask just about any individual athlete that is involved in Major League Baseball what one of the most anticipiating—yet scariest dates surrounding the sport is, nine out of every ten will likely give you the same exact answer—the July 31^st MLB trading’ deadline.

Well, here midway through the 2012 regular season, we are now just over fourteen hours away from this particular event passing through us—and with that being said, quite a few of individuals are quietly, yet nervously sweating it out.

While some teams have already made pre-deadline deals—or still in the neogiations’ process—or just infact standing pat with the current teams and rosters’ that they have, general manager John Mozeliak and the defending World-Champion Cardinals’ front office has quite a big weight on there shoulder, which by tomorrow afternoon at 2 pm Central Time, will basically know the exact lineup and roster that they will own and try to win back-to-back champions with.

Although the deadline is tomorrow afternoon though, there are certain players that can clear the waiver-wire in early August and still be traded or sign with another ballclub—so tomorrow isn’t exactly the “official” deadline day, but it is in fact a pretty important event.

Many people, including myself, know that the Cardinals’ main line of need as of right now—beside just getting the team healthy and out on the field—is that they need to either bolster the bullpen up, or trade for another starting pitcher—especially following the news of team-ace Chris Carpenter, who is now out for the remainder of the season due to shoulder surgery—which has caused him to miss all of this current 2012 campaign.

While the offense is already pretty potent—which seems to be a big surprise to many Cardinal Nation outsiders’ following the departure of Albert Pujols—is the least of this teams worries. Now that Lance Berkman is back in the lineup and playing everyday, as well as Allen Craig—them two alone give this team a lot of fire-power alone. Add in last season’s hero from October, David Freese, the acquastion of Carlos Beltran—and the improving emergence of Yadier Molina with the bat—and this season’s offense may just be better than they were during that 2011 World Championship season.

As for the pitching, that is what in a lot of peoples minds’, myself included, could hold this team back from another title shot. Sure, don’t get me wrong, we have a pretty balanced group with a lot of potential from a lot of the starters—as well as the bullpen guys—but still, it seems that we are missing something, firepower included.

While every starter that the team has in rotation has been pretty good—even with the absence of Chris Carpenter. Four starters have all started atleast twenty games (Kyle Lohse-21, Adam Wainwright-21, Lance Lynn-20, Jake Westbrook-20), Jaime Garcia started eleven games before his injury—and Joe Kelly, who was just brought up to fill in for Garcia, has surprisingly impressed everybody despite his 1-4 record in nine starts—and has a possible chance to stay in the rotation, or at the very least, be a very valuable bullpen man come time for the post-season.

Impressively, in his nine outings since Garcia’s injury, Kelly has posted an earned-run average of 2.96—and not only that—he has allowed just twenty-two runs in 66-1/3 innings of work. In my opinion, once we get Garcia back into the rotation, Kelly is as much as a pick up as anybody that I have heard the team is after—although, the innings in his first season at this level could play somewhat of an issue.

Jason Motte obviously has the closer-role on lock at this point barring an injury—but the other guys need to step it up—including an addition if in fact the team does get someone before tomorrow’s deadline.

Entering the MLB Trading Deadline on Tuesday afternoon
at 2pm Central Time, Shelby Miller is without a doubt the
organizations' number one prospect and a valuable asset.

Mitchell Boggs, Fernando Salas, Marc Rzepcynski, and Viktor Marte have been the main members from the bullpen up to this point—at least up until since the team brought up the likes of Barrett Browning, Trevor Rosenthal, and Sam Freeman. The unit of the bullpen doesn’t have a bad mix—considering it own’s veterans, newcomers, and in what I myself call over-the-hump guys, they really aren’t as bad as some of the moments and stretches’ that they have had—but if they can acquire someone else that could help Motte light a fire into these guys, they could indeed be very, very scary.

While it is nearing midnight onto the Central Time zone in which I live in in the United States, the clock continues to tick down closer and closer—and at this moment and time, it certainly seems that the Cardinals front office is standing pat—and while it could possibly changes—from earlier reports from certain inside sources, it probably will not change.

As I don’t see the greatest talent available for a trade deadline deal, at least from positions that the team is need in—and most of the guys that I would have loved to see in a Cardinals’ uniform (such as Zack Grenkie, Francisco Loriano, Huston Street, Cole Hamels, Hanley Ramirez, or Roy Oswalt-when he was on the market in free agency)—and the certain players that do intrigue me at the moment—are players that this team has no need for on the roster (such as Shane Vitcorino, Upton, some of the upper-tier players that are on the market).

This current event is a tradition for ball players every season—and has front office and managements phones ringing off the hook all the way up until it is too late—and this season, as in tomorrow is no different. The defending-champion Cardinals are currently in contention for both the Central division crown and the Wild Card—and with the deadline almost here, it’s put up or shut up time for John Mozeliak and the front office of the Saint Louis Cardinals.