This would fire-up the Hot Stove League!

Talk of Cincinnati Reds GM Walt Jocketty heading to Chicago to take over the Cubs is expected.  Jocketty is regarded as one of the better general managers in the game.  He has a knack of taking teams with lower payrolls and fielding contenders (St. Louis, Cincinnati).

Just for a second image him in charge of rebuilding the big-market-deep-pocket Chicago Cubs. In a word...scary (if you are a fan of a team other than the Cubs).  It might not happen overnight but I don't think the wait for a perennial contender at Wrigley Field would be a long.

According to a Chicago Sun Times article a Cubs team run by Jocketty might entice the likes of manager Tony LaRussa and the games best hitter Albert Pujols.

I think the Cubs / Cardinals rivalry has flamed out a little the past couple of years, replaced by bitterness with Cincinnati & Milwaukee, but a Jocketty-LaRussa-Pujols move to the Windy City would blow the rivalry into an inferno.

www.suntimes.com

Tough road ahead for Cardinals

Life becomes much tougher for the St. Louis Cardinals and GM John Mozeliak with the news this week starter Adam Wainwright will under go season ending Tommy John surgery.

A season which seemed promising now sits on the brink of the unknown...before a single Grapefruit League pitch is tossed.

Where do the Cardinals look to find 30 starts, 16 wins, sub 3.00 era and 200 innings pitched (Wainwright's averaged the past four seasons as a starter).

Trade: Good luck finding the one thing every major league team is searching. If they go that route would Mozeliak deplete the big league roster or mortgage the future with the likes of  Shelby Miller, Carlos Martinez, Tyrell Jenkins, Seth Blair, Lance Lynn or Zack Cox?

In-house:  The first five guys mentioned above are (according to Baseball-Intellect) the top pitching prospects in the St. Louis farm system. By all accounts Shelby Miller is atop the list...Is he big-league ready?
Will they fill the rotation with the two from the veteran group of Kyle Lohse, Brian Tallet, Miguel Batista, Kyle McClellan, Ian Snell or P.J. Walters?

Free Agent: Sign a veteran and hope pitching coach Dave Duncan can work his magic?
Kevin Millwood, Jeremy Bonderman, Doug Davis, John Maine, Brian Moehler, Jamie Moyer, Ben Sheets

It will be a move(s) worth paying attention too because the outcome could directly affect the future of Albert Pujols as a St. Louis Cardinal.

What happens if the Cardinals are out of the race in the NL Central as the trade deadline approaches?
Do they gut the team (Pujols, Carpenter, Berkman, ets.) and go into rebuilding mode?

The 2011 St. Louis Cardinals are the equivalent to Must-See-TV.