September slumber has Cards packing, watching

St. Louis will make numerous changes with 16 potential free agents in the ranks.

By R.B. Fallstrom ~ The Associated Press

ST. LOUIS -- On Sept. 1, the St. Louis Cardinals had the rest of the NL Central chasing them.

Then it all fell apart. Seven losses in eight games to the contending Cubs and Astros knocked them to the fringes of the race, and going 3-3 against the lowly Rockies and Reds compounded their predicament.

A final surge came too late, and now the franchise, out of the postseason for the first time in four years, is braced for changes.

The team almost certainly will not pick up the $4.5 million option on second baseman Fernando Vina, who missed much of the year with a hamstring injury and again struggled in the leadoff slot. They'll either shop Jim Edmonds or not offer a contract to J.D. Drew, who's eligible for arbitration, sacrificing an outfielder to help pay for Albert Pujols' big raise in arbitration. They'll also try to find a new home for first baseman Tino Martinez, a $7 million disappointment his first two years in St. Louis.

In all, the team has 16 players who can become free agents. And considering their mediocre 85-77 record and upper-echelon $84 million payroll, many of them will be allowed to walk.

It was an underachieving season for several reasons. A bullpen minus closer Jason Isringhausen the first half of the season, leading to 30 blown saves, generally takes the brunt of the blame.

Pujols was the major exception, winning his first batting title with a .359 average and flirting with Triple Crown numbers most of the year, adding 43 home runs and 124 RBIs. He's the first player in major league history to have 30 homers, 100 RBIs and 100 runs scored in his first three seasons, and his 114 homers during that time is tied for the most in history.

Scott Rolen and Edgar Renteria also drove in 100 runs. Renteria is the first NL shortstop to do it since Hubie Brooks of the Expos in 1985.

But for all of its firepower, a lineup considered to be perhaps the NL's best had far too many quiet nights.

The rotation also had its ups and downs. Woody Williams won a career-best 18 games, but struggled when the team needed him most in Houston in early September. Matt Morris won only 11 games after totaling 39 the previous two years.

"The games we really don't need it, we score a ton, and the games we do need it we don't score that many," Williams said. "I guess that's why we haven't had many streaks."

On April 27, the Cardinals began a season-best seven-game winning streak. Since June 4, they never won more than four in a row, and were never better than eight games above .500.

Manager Tony La Russa has endured worse seasons, but not with this much talent.

"Sometimes the lineup hasn't produced, sometimes we've given up runs, sometimes the manager has been clueless. That's what we are," La Russa said.

La Russa will be back for his ninth season. Those still under the microscope the final weeks of their lost season were doing their best to ignore the rumors.

"That's the power of the media," Edmonds said. "If Walt Jocketty comes out and says so and so is on the trading block in quotations then I think you should worry.

"But as far as my name coming up in the paper or on the news just because they want to stir it up, I don't really see any need to worry."

Two of the question marks involve members of the rotation, Brett Tomko and Garrett Stephenson. Stephenson, who was demoted to the bullpen in August, doesn't want to be back if he has to compete for a spot in the rotation.

"It's been like that for a number of years," Stephenson said. "And it just gets old."

Tomko closed strong to finish second on the team with 13 victories, although with an unsightly 5.28 ERA. He'd like to return.

"I'm not looking to break the bank," said Tomko, who made $3.3 million this year.

One potential addition to the rotation is Chris Carpenter, who missed the entire season after being slow to recover from shoulder surgery, although the club option for next year is $2 million. Cal Eldred, who had eight saves and worked mostly as a setup man this year as he came back from elbow surgery that sidelined him for two years, also could figure in the starting five.