What will the Cardinals do?

The winter meetings have taken their toll on me. I sit at work and continue to refresh ESPN, Fox Sports, MLB, & even Cards Talk to see whose name is being mentioned in the latest batch of rumors. It seems every name I want to see in the birds on the bat jersey ends up going somewhere else.
Having said that, here's my take on where the Cards have been and need to go...

Let's start on the infield. The club has watched Abe Nunez leave for Philly, John Mabry is Wrigley-bound, and Mark Grudzielanek is most likely going to the Big Apple-evidently ownership didn't sell enough pissers for two grand in the Busch auction to cover the extra million it woulda taken to keep Grudz around-but that's neither here nor there. We've traded Burger King for a couple of Rockies-one of them being Aaron Miles and we've signed Deivi Cruz. While I may not be sleeping better at night since we acquired Miles, Cruz could very well be another Nunez. I'd like to see either Toronto's Orlando Hudson or Washington's Junior Spivey brought in via trade. Hudson, who turns 28 on Monday, won the Gold Glove this past season and is a decent bat in the lineup. Spivey has been prone to injury since his rookie year (2001), but when healthy has shown his ability to produce offensively and in the field.
Prediction: Spivey-he's cheaper.

In the outfield things are ugly. We've lost Reggie Sanders (big mistake not offering him arbitration) and Larry Walker (who's retiring). Right now we have Jimmy in center and then a bunch of question marks. Larry Bigbie was acquired with Aaron Miles in the King deal and will have the chance to be the starter in left. He could be a great pickup if his work ethic catches up to his ability. The other outfielders at this point are John Rodriguez, John Gall, and So Taguchi. I may be the only guy I know that could live with a platoon of Rodriguez/Taguchi in left, but if that's the case we need a thumper in right. Jacque Jones? I say no. Brian Giles would've been nice, but $30 million for 3 years was a stretch (unless we got Marcus with him). I'm thinking an incentive-laden deal for Preston Wilson could be what the doctor ordered. Don't rule out Matt Lawton (I know-the steroids), but do rule out Sammy Sosa.
Prediction: Wilson (RF). Maybe I'm crazy, but he plays hard and when healthy he can produce. Plus, ownership needs to shell out a few greenbacks to keep the die-hards from going crazy following the winter meetings. And in left it'll be Bigbie. The former first-rounder will be in Memphis if he doesn't want to do things the Cardinal way. TLR has a way of getting guys to buy into what he's selling and I believe Bigbie will. Hopefully, by July we will be laughing at Colorado for giving him to us. While I said I could live with the platoon, those guys are most effective playing sparingly.

Pitching. Carp, Mulder, Suppan, and young Anthony Reyes appear set in the rotation. Matty Mo is gone-I predict San Fran. Marquis is the wildcard at this point. He could be traded, but at this point, it looks more like he'll be back. There's been talk of adding Javy Vazquez and I would welcome that. Dunc could do a lot for him, but only if the D-Backs pick up some of the tab. The bullpen is where we have some serious holes. King (traded), Julian Tavarez (free agent-not offered arb.), Cal Eldred (retired), and Al Reyes (blown elbow) will not be around next season. That means we need one lefty and three righties.
Prediction (starters): Carp, Mulder, Sup, Anthony Reyes, & Dontrelle Willis. God, I wish. I'll go out on a limb and say Sidney Ponson.
Prediction (bullpen): LHP Carmen Cali will be given a spot, as will Mike Lincoln (finally healthy?), and free agent signees Braden Looper and Octavio Dotel. Hey, a guy can hope can't he?

There are some other free agents to keep tabs on as they may be had rather cheap. That's the way our owners are operating now, so don't be surprised to see them in Jupiter in two months. Here they are: OF Richard Hidalgo, P Tony Armas, P Billy Koch, and MI Rich Aurilia. The one guy I didn't mention that I'd love to see the Cards bring in and give a shot at 2B? Nomar. Yes, Nomar Garciaparra. I think he's still got something left and a Grudzielanek-type of deal could help both parties.

I've told Santa that all I want for Christmas is a big trade or two, so we'll see what happens!