Redbird Ramblings

theres an article up today on the post dipatch about the 21 players that the cardinals invited to spring training. most of them are minor league players, and some of those players are from the cardinals minor league system. the article points out those who are favorites to win spots on the 25-man roster (jeff nelson), and some veterans that have been around the block couple of times (dave berg, brian daubach).
the most interesting part is sometimes, these veterans that have the upper hand on the minor leaguers dont perform will enough and surprisingly dont make the ball club. they get replaced by minor leaguers with some potential. the last noted s.t. invitee to make the roster that was not the favorite was abraham nunez, a middle infielder who outperformed the competition (plus, he could bat left-handed, which tony really likes). by the way, the bo hart experiment from last year had me laughing so hard that i fell out of my chair. how could a career right-handed hitter learn to hit from the left side in 4-5 weeks? i think bo said that that was the first time that he ever tried batting left handed. now, i hear bo is a bartender in tennesse somewhere (he got non-tendered early this year by the cardinals, see the pun, lol). anyway, back to the story. the article also says that a couple of spots on the roster will be competed for (duh, isnt that the case every year?), most notably left field, 2nd base, and another right-handed reliever in the bullpen. also, a couple of spots on the bench. dont forget, the simo-man (Simontacchi) was a non-roster invitee that made the club and helped the cardinals win the division (he signed a non-roster deal with an invitation to s.t. with the cubs, see the irony). what about Pulse (bill pulsipher)? he made the team last year, for about a week (he got injuried, was sent down and never came back). you never know, there might be a couple of surprises, well see, thats what spring training is for. im pulling for Ankiel to be our left-handed power bat of the bench and the back up rightfielder(im not kidding, im serious). i like ankiel for some reason and i want him to do will and make the team, i dont know why. i think he can be a legitimate major-league power hitter, something like mabry, but hopfully with more contact. maybe even something more, in a couple of years, he can be a regular in the outfield (thats a great, wild and crazy dream isnt it?). i hope that happens!