Are the Cardinals possibly interested in Billy The Kid?

[The Philly Fanatic]

The Cardinals quietly are trolling for a lefthanded reliever and would love to get Billy Wagner from Philadelphia (obviously). Wagner will be a free agent after the season and has said many times that he'd like to pitch for the Cardinals. Many teams will be grappling to land Wagner before the trading deadline.

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/spo...6?OpenDocument

Wagner isn't what he once was. He's still is a tremendous pitcher, but the level of dominance he once had with the Astros just isn't quite there anymore in my opinion. If we could steal a prospect like Adam Wainwright for him, I am all for it. There's better ways we can spend that nine million anyways.

[realmofotalk]

Adam Wainwright would be an awfully steep price for the Cardinals to pay for Wagner, who would be the Cards' lefty setup man, unless Isringhausen lands on the DL. Plus, Wagner most likely will be a rent-a-vet for the Cards, since Wagner will want the money closers make in the free agent market. Trading Wagner would open the door for Madson to become the Phillies' closer. You better hope Ed Wade doesn't use that $9 million and spend it on more Terry Adams.

[The Philly Fanatic]

I realize that is a steep price. I sometimes dream that other GM's is as clueless as Wade is and that one day we'll get a steal. But I then wake up and remember that I am Philly fan.

Moving Wagner to the Cards just seems pointless though from their viewpoint. With Wagner you will pay a lot just for the name not to mention his contract. I imagine they can find a solid lefty reliever for a whole lot cheaper than Wagner. And the Phillies can probably deal him off to a contender needing a closer for something along of the lines of an upper tier prospect.

[awefullspellare]

That would be a solid acquistion for the Cards, but only at the right price.

[realmofotalk]

I sometimes dream that other GM's is as clueless as Wade is and that one day we'll get a steal. But I then wake up and remember that I am Philly fan.

Padilla looked like a steal when he made the All-Star Game in 2002. After that season, you know him as the inconsistent pitcher he is.

As the pessimism, I remember Phillies fans I chatted with were bragging before the 2003 season that the team was going to be unstoppable. I pointed out who their closer was but one fan said Mesa was going to be a non-factor with the offense blowing teams out.

[The Philly Fanatic]

Padilla is like that hot girlfriend you once had. Amazing to look at, you thank god with every glance. But she is one cruel mistress who makes you regret nearly everything you do. You always hope this beauty will grow a heart and be that sweet girl next-door type but hell will freeze over before that happens. Padilla can flash some impressive stuff occasionally and look like the real deal but other occasions.... yeesh.

Padilla got a lot of fans optimistic early on like you pointed out but he has shown his true colors. I believe you can attribute his initial success to having a first few month swoon with a new team. His control seems to be getting more and more off each season. I think he just needs a fresh start with someone else. Will he be that pitcher like he was in 2002? Probably not. But he is not this bad either.

As for the fans you mentioned, a lot were like that in 2003. I personally felt like we had a great chance but I wasn't over-confident either. A lot of people had crow to eat after that season.

[The Philly Fanatic]

At this point, Wagner should be traded for the best prospects we can get and then we groom Madson into the closers role. He can be inconsistent, but it's hard to argue with his stuff. And Wagner has looked really impressive his past few appearances. His ERA is down to near 2.10 and his K/9 is on the rise.