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Yes, I think it's fair to be very excited about the future. The Cardinals are as energized about their farm system as they have been in a very long time. An impressive and still-growing group of up-and-coming position players with bats that can do damage is helping that feeling. Some of these guys are helping this team now, ahead of schedule. Others are churning through the minors at a fast rate. Just remember that time works both ways. Molina and Pujols are gone after this season. Wainwright could be. While Goldschmidt appears to be getting younger, he's 34. Arenado is 31. The Cardinals are going to need some helpful in-season tweaks to have a decent chance at a deep run this season. We'll see what, if anything, the Cardinals are willing to give up -- perhaps some of that future talent - to improve this season's chances. History tells us not much at the deadline. I'd adjust expectations accordingly.

I think Graceffo's stuff can play at this level right now out of the bullpen, and no, that would not surprise me if that's the route they go at some point.

Flaherty and Mozeliak didn't agree on how they looked back at the altering of his initial rehab plan yesterday, but they both did agree that Flaherty should be back at some point this season. As for his long-term future after he reaches free agency, I think it's safe to say there will have to be some sort of a breakthrough in the pitcher's relationship with the front office for that to be realistic Yesterday felt like that spring training day all over again, when Flaherty and Mozeliak bumped heads over how his injury was described and the SLAP tear information being shared. There's a pretty trackable history of what happens to players who seem to get sideways with the front office for various reasons -- a common one being how injuries are treated and/or rehabbed from -- and those can be signs of two sides going their different ways down the line. Yesterday was just unnecessary, more than anything. It's clear there is not a lot of solid communication going on between Flaherty and Mozeliak, and it probably took the contrasting quotes to make that happen. That's not how it should work. Also, I thought Flaherty should have taken some more ownership of the situation. He did push to return sooner than the initial plan presented. The team made that happen. He then had two bad starts and left his teammates stranded after two innings of a big game that turned into probably the worst lost of the season. I'm not suggesting he should have pitched through the dead arm, but acknowledging that the plan he pushed for did not work very well might have been good. In his defense, though, there was no way of guaranteeing this same thing would not have happened in a big spot if he stuck with the original rehab plan. Marmol pointed that out in addition to Flaherty. Marmol often comes across like the middle man here, trying to be the neutral voice between the pitcher and the pres.

He hasn't disclosed the personal reasons that were attributed to his late arrival in camp but it was clear when he got there that he was not in his usual physical shape, and he was pretty candid about that. He was going to have to play himself into shape, he said, and he was also not going to play nearly as much as he had in the past. That was the news straight from Yadi at spring training. I didn't take it lightly then. He was saying a lot with a little. I think he is frustrated with how he feels, how he hurts and how he is performing after an offseason that was not normal for him. He's had treatment to address knee pain and is taking some more time now to attempt to come back stronger and in improved shape. The team is in contact with him and is up to date on where things stand. The end of careers are not always very pretty. Rarely are they pretty, actually. I don't think he has bailed. I do think he'll be back. Then we will see if the time at home helped.

Winning is fun. I don't think it's more fun one season than any other, to the guys on the field. The young guys have a vibe on this team. That's noticeable.

Perhaps. Impossible to know.

Hey now, we don't yet know if they're good enough to beat the Brewers, do we? They are 6-6 against them this season with a combined score of 48-44, and the Brewers not the Cards are the defending division champs.

He has to get healthy, get back and pitch. Pitch well. Stay healthy. That's the only path forward for him now, whether his future is here or somewhere else. His body language on the mound after his return was not good, but I wouldn't interpret it as him not wanting to be there. High frustration in the first two. Physically not feeling right in the last one. Not excusing it, just trying to explain it. I do think that kind of energy can bring down a team -- just as an effective and quick-working pitcher can keep a defense on its toes, for example. That's something Flaherty has to improve on, I think. Only he can know the fine line between pitching through some discomfort -- something all pitchers must do in order to succeed -- and not making a bad situation worse, which is what he wrestled with Sunday. He and the team decided it was best to lift him after two innings. He doesn't seem to think it's a massive setback, which is good news, but a return before the All-Star break seems impossible now, and there are only 65 games left after that point this season because of the lockout-affected schedule. So, it is big.

If Mozeliak had two do-overs, I think he would undo the Matt Carpenter extension and not trade away Sandy Alcantara for anybody. If he had one, I think he would use it on keeping Alcantara. Hindsight is 20/20. The Cardinals desperately needed a power bat for their lineup, because back then they didn't have all of this rising hitter talent in their farm system. The Cardinals didn't think Alcantara was going to be this good -- clearly. But who did? He had a pretty high walk rate. He was not as physically strong and well constructed as he is now. You have to give the young man and the Marlins some credit for what he did and what they did for him after the trade was made. But, yes, dealing Arozarena and Zac Gallen in the deal that led to a short-time outfielder who was hurt upon arrival turned into a regret. If Mozeliak was as bad of a talent evaluator as you suggested at the end, there would be many examples of these kinds of trades. The Cardinals avoided regrettable trades for a long time and have made some really good ones -- Goldschmidt, Arenado -- at the same time as making a few ones (and some free-agent signings) they would take back.

Sure seems like it. He would be owed $144 million through 2027 and sure seems to like it here.

The Blues don't have to worry about how other teams played Colorado. They have to feel pretty good, I imagine, based on the full results of the postseason, about how they held up when they had their number-one goalie. They are on the right track. They don't need massive changes. That's what this postseason suggested to me.

The anti-Woodford stance is really strange. His performance should present him more chances to continue to prove the numbers wrong. VerHagen's "stuff" is great on paper but he can rarely get the job done on the mound. That's why you play the game.

The Cardinals should not have a hard time making the playoffs. They have expanded. I would be hesitant to assume the Cardinals can count on another MVP season from Paul Goldschmidt, and another season like this from Adam Wainwright on the mound. The Cardinals under this regime will never put all of their chips on the table, but I do think they can manage a more aggressive trade deadline approach this time around without ruining the future. Effective trades can be made for non-elite prospects. They happen all the time.

I like Wittgren's chances more than McFarland's.

They don't seem to trust Woodford to handle that kind of assignment. I don't agree with that read on him, but it's their view for now.

In some ways, maybe. But probably more so in terms of public perception than anything else. The Shildt firing caused a lot of conversation about how the Cardinals view the role of manager these days, and how the job is more of an intermediary between the front office and the clubhouse than a silo. Fans who maybe used to think something was a manager's call perhaps now have a better idea of how information flows and how decisions are made -- ultimately by the manager but informed by the various departments working for the team. If the a scenario presented itself where the front office felt it needed to make another change, I don't think the turnover and past changes would stop that from happening, though, if that's what you're asking. I think the Cardinals are pretty happy with Marmol and plan on him being around a long while based on the results they have had to observe so far this season. He's kept his star players healthy. He's adapted to injuries to pitchers. He's sharpened up accountability and has done a good job welcoming newcomers to the fold, not as rookies but as contributors. On top of that his bluntness is pretty refreshing, though the media might appreciate that more than the front office at times.

I think they could be pretty good, but not good enough to run away with a division when they are not fully healthy and have to work around pretty important pitching absences. If Matz can hold up and pitch decently, if Tyler O'Neill can get back and hit like he did before his second injury, if some pitching help is acquired  or emerges. I know what you're thinking. A pretty good team if . . . and there are a lot of ifs. This is what the Cardinals do.