My Take

My take on sports for the week:

-Devastating news out of Cardinals camp today, perennial Cy Young contender Adam Wainwright has a serious arm injury. John Mozeliak, or any GM in MLB do not go out of their way to speculate on a serious injury, so this has all the makings of being terrible. So, who steps up? Lance Lynn, Kyle McClellan, and journeyman like Miguel Batista and Ian Snell will battle it out. My guess? Tony and Dunc like their bullpen depth and start with McClellan. He is given a starter's workload every spring anyway, so why not try? Lance Lynn is the emergency 6th starting in AAA, and he is coming off an impressive playoff run last year with Memphis, striking out 16 in his final start. It's definitely bad, but it could always be worse (please stay healthy Albert and Matt).

-Don't overlook the loss of Nick Punto as well. Punto signed for $750,000 and would be LaRussa's ideal super-utility guy (a la Aaron Miles). With his return date not expected for 2-3 months, Daniel Descalso could be the lucky recipient of a roster spot. Earlier this spring I guessed that with the rotation healthy, the Cards would break camp with 13 position players and 12 pitchers; with this news, I think it flip flops. My roster, as it sits today, expecting Wainwright to miss opening day (if not the entire season):

12 Position Players: Molina, Pujols, Schumaker, Freese, Theriot, Holliday, Rasmus, Berkman, Laird, Greene, Craig, Jay. (Still no Descalso, but could be an early call-up).

13 Pitchers: Carpenter, Garcia, Westbrook, Lohse, McClellan, Boggs, Motte, Franklin, Miller, Tallet, Salas, Walters, and Batista as a long reliever.

-In college basketball, crazy weekend. This season has a ton of parity, which I don't think is necessarily good or bad for the sport. When the NBA put in the 1-year post high school graduation rule, what we are seeing today was bound to happen. With young players with tons of potential leaving school early (7 of the top 18 picks in the 2010 NBA draft were college freshman) and even more scheduled to do so this year (6 of the projected top 10 picks are college freshman), the game was bound to slip. There are few teams that are truly senior laden in college basketball (Duke) and therefore talent is more spread across the board, and anyone can truly beat anyone. My number 1 seeds as of today: Duke, Pittsburgh, Ohio State, Texas.

-Two weeks ago I listed my NCAA All-American Team, I will update that now:

Jimmer Fredette, G, BYU
Nolan Smith, G, Duke
Derrick Williams, F, Arizona
Jared Sullinger, F, Ohio State
Marcus Morris, F, Kansas

-Like the trades the St. Louis Blues have made. Eric Brewer seemed to be an expendable piece, but they should have gotten more for him than what they did. A 3rd round pick and a project prospect seems a little cheap for a proven defender and captain, but I still call the trade a wash. The Erik Johnson trade shocked many, including myself. The Blues followed the old rule that "you have to give to get" and definitely hit it big with Stewart and Shattenkirk. If Stewart can return to the form of last year, this deal would have been a good one straight up for EJ. Shattenkirk is a prospect and definitely has skill as an offensive D-man. Overall, big win for the Blues.

-Mizzou has a big test tonight with a talented Baylor Bears squad. Perry Jones is a freak, Lace Dunn can really score, and their height is something that Mizzou will definitely struggle with. The point guard spot is something Mizzou should take advantage of, as Pressey and Dixon are much better than what Baylor has to offer. Calling Kim English... please show up!