It's hello Larry, and goodbye David

Editor's note: The following is the final column from David Wilson. His column, The Week Ahead, has appeared for two years.

This is it.

I'm trading in my press pass for a student ID card at the University of Missouri.

I'm not going to go all mushy on you. In fact I'm saving my thank-yous until the end. Rather than talk about my subtraction, I'd rather discuss the Cardinals' latest addition.

The acquisition of Larry Walker was yet another "wow" trade from Walt Jocketty. I told you a few weeks ago, if an outfielder was available that he would go get one and he did.

Walker will make an immediate impact for the Cards, even if he doesn't produce the way we expect. He adds another left-handed power bat to an already dominant but mostly right-handed lineup. This gives Tony LaRussa some flexibility at the top and bottom of the lineup card:

1. Tony Womack (lefty) is the Cardinals everyday leadoff hitter, with Marlon Anderson filling in here and there.

2. Edgar Renteria (righty) always hits better in the No. 2 spot, rather than in the bottom of the order.

3. Albert Pujols (righty), last year's MVP runner-up in the National League, has hit in the No. 3 spot all year and he's not moving.

4. Here's where it gets tricky. Scott Rolen has been batting clean-up all year and has 96 RBIs to show for it, but the addition of Walker forces Jim Edmonds (lefty) to bat in the 4 hole.

5. Rolen (righty) will still see plenty of pitches in the 5 spot and still get plenty of RBI opportunities.

6. Walker (lefty) may not have much left in him, but his presence alone will be enough to protect this year's NL MVP, Rolen.

7. Reggie Sanders (righty) likely will move to left field to allow Walker to play his natural position.

8. Mike Matheny (righty) quietly has had one of his best seasons of his career at the plate. He has the most hits out of any other player outside of the big five (Pujols, Rolen, Edmonds, Renteria and Sanders), and he's hitting .255; his career best is .261.

If you've been following along, you'll see that the addition of Walker allows the Cardinals to go left, right, right, left, right, left, right, right. That is nearly impossible for any bullpen to face, which is why Walker is so valuable.

And now for the grand finale.

Thank you to Marty, Jeff, Jeremy and Toby for letting me sit at your desks when you weren't there and pretend I'm a big-time sports writer with my own desk. Thanks to Marty for shooting me straight all the time. Thank you Toby and Jeff for giving me opportunities to continue writing and allowing me to write, for the most part, whatever I wanted every week. Thank you Jeremy for the conversation over the past few years and inspiring ideas for my columns.

Thanks to the readers for calling in and leaving hateful messages when we get information wrong. We need somebody to keep us in line. But no matter what you say, no one can do this job better than this group. It was an honor to be a part of this team.

Thanks to the Rusts for listening to Jamie Hall's quirky reasoning as to why they needed to hire me. I couldn't ask for a better job.

Finally, thank you to Jamie. If you're reading this, thank you for taking a chance on a bright-eyed youngster with a passion for sports writing those years ago. Thank you for being my mentor and showing me the ropes of sports writing. Without you I'd just be another handle on a message board.