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When even the most adherent fan scans over the list of this year’s National Baseball Hall of Fame candidates, they will see the usual big names: Roberto Alomar, a surefire candidate who missed induction by one vote last year; Bert Blyleven, fifth all-time in strikeouts, who finished five votes away from Cooperstown last year; Jeff Bagwell, a surefire eventual candidate trying to get in on his first year on the ballot.

Yet no name on the ballot may have more significance or wonder connected to it than Rafael Palmeiro.

On the surface, Palmeiro, with 569 homers, 1,839 runs batted in, and 3,020 hits, is the type of player who should coast into the Hall.

But this year, with the addition of Palmeiro to the ballot, what has been speculated and debated for nearly six years will finally bubble to the surface, and baseball will finally stare its demons in the face.

For those who do not know, on March 17, 2005, an adamant Palmeiro famously appeared in front of Congress, stabbed his finger in the air, and defiantly stated, with the trademark confidence that he showed at the plate throughout his career, “Let me start by telling you this: I have never used steroids, period. I don’t know how to say it any more clearly than that. Never.”

Less than three months later, Palmeiro was handed a ten-game suspension for testing positive for what the Washington Post called a “serious” performance-enhancing drug. To this day, Palmeiro remains dumbfounded as to how he became the highest-profile player ever to be suspended for PEDs.

Now, Palmeiro will again be the dubious groundbreaker, as he becomes the first steroid user to take the ballot with what are viewed as sure-fire numbers.

Now, many will say that the voters have expressed their views towards steroids by keeping Mark McGwire, the Cardinals hitting coach and former slugger who hit over 500 long balls and once held the single-season record, far from induction to baseball’s most hallowed hall.

Since being admitted to the ballot in 2005, McGwire has fallen well short of the 75 percent needed for induction, with 23.5, 23.6, 21.9 and 23.7 percent.

However, there’s no guarantee that McGwire has the numbers for induction anyway. His 1,626 hits would be the third fewest among Hall of Famers.

Palmeiro, on the other hand, is a member of the elusive 500-3,000 club, whose other three members, Willie Mays (94.7), Hank Aaron (97.8), and Eddie Murray (85.3), all soared over the competition in their first year on the ballot.

Interestingly, Palmeiro never really held the characteristics of steroid user. He was consistent, piling up 11 seasons with 37-plus homers, 10 seasons with 100-plus RBI, and 11 seasons with 30-plus doubles. He showed a characteristic level-headedness, on and off the field, and he never had the ballooned physique associated with steroids.

So when he, perhaps the least juicer-like juicer ever, stands in front of the Hall of Fame selection committee, he will be poked, prodded, and poked again. His candidacy will be viewed and reviewed more times than any other in history, because it will not only decide whether or not Palmeiro gets in, but also the fates of several other men.

Because if Palmeiro gets in, how can we keep Barry Bonds out? How can we keep out Roger Clemens? Manny Ramirez?

Or, conversely, if we keep Palmeiro out, who has all the statistics of an all-time great, how can we let these other convicted rule-breakers in?

With Rafael Palmeiro, the problems that baseball has pushed aside will finally reach the surface. Here and now, the floodgates to the Hall of Fame may either be opened wide for a rush of players in the future, or locked for good, shut tight.

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The St. Louis Cardinals officially kicked off their hot stove season with their first major move of the off-season, inking mid-season acquisition Jake Westbrook to a two-year deal worth $16.5 million. The deal includes a full no-trade clause and a mutual option for 2013.

The deal takes care of one of the items on this offseason’s agenda: finding a fourth starter. If Westbrook can replicate his second half numbers from 2010, the deal could pay off big for the Cardinals in the future.

After coming over in a three-team deal that sent All-Star right fielder Ryan Ludwick to the San Diego Padres, Westbrook dominated the National League. His 4-4 record was not indicative of how well he pitched. He posted an ERA of 3.48 and far outpaced his career strikeout rates. What he really excelled at was getting groundballs. Had he mustered enough innings to qualify, his stellar groundball rate would have only been equaled by Braves ace Tim Hudson.

With the free agent market for pitchers very thin beyond  Cliff Lee, who the Cardinals had virtually no chance of signing. With that in perspective, this deal looks like a bit of a steal for St. Louis. Perhaps, because of his much-improved performance after moving into the National League and under the tutelage of masterful pitching coach Dave Duncan, Westbrook felt he needed the Cardinals as much as, if not more than, they need him.

“I didn’t want it to get to the point where I had the [possibility] of the Cardinals maybe finding somebody else and thinking that I didn’t really want to be there,” Westbrook said. “I knew I wanted to be a part of this team, and I was glad to get something done now. Now I can just not worry about it. I’m looking forward to a full season with the Cardinals.”

Now that Westbrook has been inserted into an already strong rotation that consists of former Cy Young winner Chris Carpenter, this year’s runner-up Adam Wainwright, dazzling prospect Jaime Garcia, and former 16-game winner Kyle Lohse, the Cardinals seem to be ready to sit pat on the starting rotation.

“We’re all thrilled,” General Manager John Mozeliak said. “We really think it sets up our rotation to be very strong in 2011.”

However, Mozeliak hints that the Redbirds may be in the market for a sixth starter, to provide extra depth for a rotation that has experienced some injury issues in the past, although not enough to make adding another starter a necessity.

The Cardinals’ first order of business, however, remains signing an extension with star first baseman and three-time Most Valuable Player Albert Pujols.

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After Albert Pujols won a Gold Glove quite handily, some might have thought he’d be done collecting awards this offseason.

Not so for Pujols, who, along with teammate Matt Holliday, claimed a Silver Slugger on Thursday.

Pujols claimed the first baseman’s award after leading the league with 42 homers and 118 RBI. His .312 batting average was good for sixth in the league. Holliday was one double shy of league-leader Jayson Werth.

For Holliday, the award does mean something. It’s his fourth, and if he wants to improve on his borderline Hall of Fame chances, piling up these awards will look good in the eyes of the voters. He missed out on the 2007 MVP award to Jimmy Rollins, so he’ll need to stack up as many accolades as he can.

But for Albert, the award may have a much more immediate impact.

The one thing that Pujols’s award does is gives us a clearer image of the MVP race. Pujols’s main competitors for his third straight MVP are Rockies outfielder Carlos Gonzalez, who also took home a Silver Slugger of his own, and Reds first baseman Joey Votto, who Pujols beat out for the Silver Slugger.

While these awards don’t guarantee Pujols the Most Valuable Player crown, or even make him the favorite, it stills shows that he is a force to be reckoned with. Prior to the Silver Slugger announcement, most people had anointed Votto as the favorite for the MVP.

Now, after sweeping the Gold Glove and Silver Slugger at first base, the coaches and managers who vote on the awards have shown that they believe Albert is unequivocally the best first baseman in the league.

Don’t get me wrong. I know that the votes are locked in, and I know that Albert’s still not the favorite. But for those who banked on Votto (myself included), this has to paint a different picture. Albert’s been anointed as the best all-around first baseman in the game once again, and I don’t know how you can be the best player in the league if there’s a decidedly superior player, offensively and defensively, at the same position.

The winners were Brewers pitcher Yovani Gallardo, Braves catcher Brian McCann, Pujols, Marlins second baseman Dan Uggla, Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, Nationals third baseman Ryan Zimmerman, and Holliday, Gonzalez, and the Brewers’ Ryan Braun in the outfield.

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For the tenth time since 2000, the Cardinals have Gold Glovers in their clubhouse.

This time, Yadier Molina and Albert Pujols paired up to make a defensive duo for the Redbirds.

For Molina, this award comes as no surprise. It’s his third straight, placing him on the verge of joining an exclusive club composed of Johnny Bench, Del Crandall, Charles Johnson, and former Cardinal Mike Matheny—the only National Leaguers to win the award more than three times.

“Winning the award for a third year means a lot to me,” said Molina. “It’s why I work hard every day to be one of the best at my position. I’ll continue to work hard to be the first to win four.”

With his most recent victory, the question has become not whether Molina is the premier defensive backstop in baseball, but by how much he outpaces his peers. This season, Molina’s 17 Zone Runs led all catchers, and was nearly double the total of runner-up Humberto Quintero. His 1.6 Defensive WAR also led all catchers by a wide margin, and Molina was fourth in the league in both categories.

Teammates have nothing but good things to say about the backstop.

“He’s unbelievable,” staff ace Chris Carpenter said of Molina, who has been his catcher since he won the Cy Young Award in 2005. “He’s like the guy in the book ‘The Blind Side.’ Everybody talks about the wide receivers and quarterbacks and running backs that make those great plays, but none of that happens if the lineman does not do his job. … Yadi is the unsung hero. He does so many things behind the scenes like calling pitches and blocking balls. It’s not just about throwing guys out. He’s an amazingly smart catcher, and it definitely gives me an advantage having him back there.”

What he really excels at, though, is shutting down the opponent’s running game. He led the league in caught stealing percentage once again this season, with 48.5% of runners caught.

Cubs fans will not soon forget the play Molina made against them last year. With a left-handed batter at the plate and a man on first, Molina deftly picked a breaking ball out of the dirt, wheeled around, and threw around the batter, picking the runner off at first.

Molina currently has 33 pick-offs through his first six full seasons. At that pace, he’ll shatter the record of 81 set by Ivan Rodriguez, and will challenge the major league record of 94, held by pitchers Andy Pettitte and Kenny Rogers.

This should come as no surprise to anyone who has watched Molina play. His laser-cannon arm, plus nearly telepathic connection with first baseman Albert Pujols, are reminiscent of Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning, who, like Molina, is the most cerebral player in his sport.

Speaking of Pujols, this was his his second such award, and although he isn’t the revolutionary defensive wizard Molina is, he was still clearly the best player at his position. Albert led the league in putouts, double plays, fielding percentage, and range factor, and led all first basemen in assists.

He becomes the third Cardinal first baseman to win the award twice, joining defensive wizards Bill White and Keith Hernandez.

Pitcher Adam Wainwright and shortstop Brendan Ryan were also in contention for the award, but missed out to Bronson Arroyo and Troy Tulowitzki, respectively.

The winners were Arroyo, Molina, Pujols, Reds second baseman Brandon Phillips, Tulowitzki, Reds third baseman and former Cardinal Scott Rolen, and outfielders Shane Victorino, Michael Bourn, and Carlos Gonzalez.

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Now that the World Series has been wrapped up (congratulations to the San Francisco Giants), the St. Louis Cardinals can look ahead to a pivotal offseason.

In St. Louis, winter isn’t just a season. It’s the time between the end of one journey and the beginning of another. For a city that lives and breathes with the Cardinals, the offseason is usually a time to catch up.

Hold on, Cardinals fans. What happens this offseason may change the face of the Cardinals franchise for years to come.

For once, baseball’s Hot Stove may revolve around the Cardinals, and around a player who is still under contract for 2011. I’m speaking, of course, about Albert Pujols, the best player in the majors today, and possibly the greatest right-handed hitter ever.

As everyone in the 314 area code knows, Pujols’s 7-year/$100 million contract extension will come to an end after the final game of the 2011 World Series, and it stands to reason that he is in line for a large raise. Pujols has made it known that he will not negotiate during the season, so St. Louis has until Opening Day to lock up their star player to a multi-year deal.

However, when, or if, this deal gets done is up in the air. Pujols could certainly get more money on the open market, and he knows it, but he’s repeatedly said he wants to stay in St. Louis.

The situation is still pretty muddled. Pujols hasn’t made his demands clear. He certainly deserves to be the top-payed player in baseball, but unfortunately, the two highest-played players in baseball are grossly overpayed. So, while Alex Rodriguez money may be out of the question, something in the range of Joe Mauer’s contract ($23 million per), would be suitable for both parties.

Also in question would be the length of said contract. Certainly the Cardinals would like to have Pujols locked up for his entire career. While a lifetime contract would be great, look for a ten-or-eleven-year deal. That would take Pujols through his age 40 season.

But that’s looking at things optimistically, from the Cardinals’ point of view.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch sportswriter Joe Strauss, who initially placed St. Louis’s chances of resigning Pujols at 75/25, Strauss now says that the chances of reaching an extension are dwindling by the day, now may be “less than 50/50”.

Some reports are saying that Albert may in fact want Alex Rodriguez money, which is nearly out of the question for the Cardinals. That sort of contract would take up nearly one third of their salary, assuming they don’t open their wallets in a major way. So nothing’s certain.

That begs the question: How much should the Cardinals pay Albert Pujols?

Pujols has clearly been the best player in baseball. He’s already won three MVPs, and is in high contention for his fourth, and third straight. He may be one of the greatest players we’ve ever seen.

So right now, Pujols deserves as much as the Cardinals can give him. But in future years, when Pujols’ production declines, and the home runs slow down, would the contract still be worth it? Yankees fans are already upset about Alex Rodriguez’s “poor” production (.270/.341/.506), which would be welcomed, if not for the fact that he earned nearly $1 million per home run in 2010.

If the Cardinals are paying Pujols in the neighborhood of $27 million when he’s 40, that’s a large chunk of their payroll invested in a guy who may not even be fit to play the field anymore. Unless the National League institutes a designated hitter in the next ten years, such a deal could get ugly fast.

Still, in my opinion, every dollar would be worth it.

In baseball, unlike football or hockey, we don’t remember great teams, but rather great players. This holds exceptionally true in St. Louis, where Ozzie Smith, Lou Brock, Stan Musial, and Bob Gibson all outshone the teams they played on. The Cardinals have always been good about giving their star players the deals they deserve.

Even on the best teams in history, like the famed 1927 Yankees, players like Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig held the teams on their shoulders. One or two future Hall-of-Famers can lift a team to a championship. With Pujols, the Cardinals would have their keystone, and would have the next decade to win that championship.

This can be remembered as a golden age in Cardinals history, similar to the Stan Musial era of the 1940’s and 50’s. Or it could be a return to the 70’s and 90’s, when one or two good, but not great players struggled to lead the Cardinals out of the cellar.

The alternative to resigning Albert is one of the ugliest things to cross the mind of the usually content Cardinals nation in many years:

Pujols will play this season with free agency impending, and most likely put up his usual MVP-type numbers. He heads into the free market, and the Cardinals make a vain attempt to resign him. He ends up signing a record deal with the boisterous, loaded Yankees or Red Sox, the worst case scenario for the humble Cardinals Nation. Despite Pujols being one of the best fielders in baseball, his new team decides to play him at DH, because, with their money, they can afford to.

What happens next is up to the Cardinals. Pujols wants to come back, and I say give him the money. Yes, baseball is a team sport, but I’m willing to admit what many Cardinals fans aren’t willing to say or believe.

I’d rather have ten years of Pujols, the greatest player I will ever watch, play on a mediocre Cardinals team, one that’s likely to make the playoffs, than have the current group of players win a World Series while Pujols wins several with some large-market team.

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You don’t have to be a fan of the Seattle Mariners to be a fan of Ichiro Suzuki. After all, Ichiro is approaching his record tenth 200-hit season, and also his 10th season leading the league in singles. No one else has more than four.

He’s even been known to toss out the occasional funny quote.

“Chicks who dig home runs aren’t the ones who appeal to me,” he said. “I think there’s sexiness in infield hits because they require technique. I’d rather impress the chicks with my technique than with my brute strength. Then, every now and then, just to show I can do that, too, I might flirt a little by hitting one out.”

However, the appeal of Ichiro, and of the infield hit, has not been universally felt. Some, including former teammates, have called Ichiro “selfish.” After all, he’s been known to reach out of the zone for plenty of pitches, slapping them the other way for infield singles.

So, is Ichiro’s slap-and-dash style really a matter of selfishness, or has he simply found a new way to fuel an offense?

First, the basic stats.

Ichiro has done some pretty unorthodox stuff. Just look at his BABIP on different types of batted balls:

Ground Balls: .305 (League Average: .242)

Fly Balls: .119 (.139)

Line Drives: .705 (.720)

Bunts: .663 (.441)

By beating out an extreme number of base hits and bunts, Ichiro more than makes up for his average on line drives (probably a slight aberration) and fly balls (due to his aversion from power).

He also bucks the set in stone trend of looking for a pitch right down the heart of the plate. Instead, he waits for a pitch that may be a good foot out of the zone, and slaps it down the third base line. By the time the third baseman reaches the ball, the speedy Ichiro is already two-thirds of the way to first.

So, it’s obvious that Ichiro has been successful at something very few, if any, have ever really succeeded at before.

But the question remains, is his style of play selfish?

It’s not a stupid question.

When he was chasing George Sisler’s single-season hit record in 2004, he laid down a bunt with man on second and two out, with the Mariners trailing late. He was credited with a single, but the runner did not score. With Ichiro being the best contact hitter on the team (and arguably the best in baseball), the team needed him to drive in the run.

Apparently, there are also complaints that Ichiro doesn’t reach for balls out of his defensive zone for fear that he will get injured and prevent him from piling up hits.

Poppycock, I say.

After all, any notion of Ichiro’s defense being anything other than amazing is simply preposterous.

For instance, Ichiro is 12th in Zone Runs among right fielders, and in the top 30 all time. So that claim can be dismissed.

As for Ichiro’s play to finish the 2004 season, when he was laying down every sort of bunt and infield hit to reach the all-time record, can anyone tell me they wouldn’t do the same thing?

Playing for a last-place team that had no shot at the playoffs, going for one of baseball’s most famous records is much more historically relevant than trying for a few more wins down the stretch.

In fact, Ichiro’s “selfishness” probably helped the Mariners, as it gave fans a reason to come to the ballpark. Despite losing 99 games, the Mariners drew 2,940,731 fans in ’04, third in the league. Without Ichiro’s chase at the record, less fans turn out for Seattle games, which in turn means less profit for the Mariners.

There’s a pretty good possibility that Mariners management encouraged Ichiro to sacrifice wins for the record’s sake.

So, to the critics who question Ichiro’s ethic, take a step back and look at the facts. Ichiro is a revolutionary. Like most revolutionaries, he will not be fully appreciated until his war on slugging is won.

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Chances are that if you were around, you remember the 1986 baseball season.

A season capped by an exciting World Series that was best known for being the launching pad for several successful major league careers, including those of Barry Bonds, Greg Maddux, Mark McGwire, Fred McGriff, Barry Larkin, David Cone, Bo Jackson, Jamie Moyer, Steve Finley, Will Clark, and Rafael Palmeiro.

There were some impressive debuts that year, too. Will Clark hit a home run in his first at-bat, off of Nolan Ryan. Jimmy Jones pitched a one-hitter in his first major league appearance for San Diego. Greg Maddux had a shutout in his second career appearance.

Much like 1986, this season has been big on rookies.

You may be getting tired of reading the stories about how the likes of Jaime Garica, Jason Heyward, Neftali Feliz, Buster Posey, Aroldis Chapman, Starlin Castro, Adalberto Mendez, Logan Morrison, Mike Leake, Travis Wood, Danny Valencia, Danny Espinosa, Daniel Nava, Mike Stanton, and Chris Sale are forming the best rookie class since that magical ’86 season.

You may be tired of the stories of the amazing debuts of Starlin Castro, Aroldis Chapman, Daniel Nava, and recently, Adalberto Melendez.

Hold on one second longer, because one rookie still doesn’t get his due when this amazing season is spoken about.

That man is Barry Enright.

Don’t be surprised if this is the first you’ve heard of Enright, who, at the tender age of 24, has been the Diamondbacks’ most consistent starter this year.

A quick sweep of Google will give you about 448,000 results for the phrase “Barry Enright”, but over 1.8 million for “Stephen Strasburg”.

He’s flown largely under the radar, despite one of the best rookie seasons in Arizona’s relatively short history.

All season, Enright has mowed down hitters with quiet precision, posting an ERA of 2.45, second among rookies to only Jaime Garcia. He has shown remarkable success in pitching to contact. Despite only averaging only five strikeouts per nine innings, Enright’s WHIP is lower than that of Garcia’s, and several major league stalwarts, like CC Sabathia and Danny Haren.

He’s done all of this despite pitching in an extreme hitters’ park, where a lack of strikeouts usually points to a tendency for the long ball.

And you’d be right. Enright has given up one homer per nine innings, but has been able to minimize mistakes otherwise. He holds opponents to a .191 average and posting a 5.5 K/BB ratio in 51 plate appearances with runners in scoring position.

Enright seems to know what’s going on, saying, “The tough times are the ones that truly show you who you are.”

By buckling down with runners on, he has shown tenacity and mental ability usually reserved for veterans.

Am I saying Barry Enright is my choice for Rookie of the Year? Not quite. His BAbip of .259 and xFIP of 4.84 show that his numbers can’t be held up for much longer. But with just one month left on the schedule, do they really need to?

For now, let’s just sit back and watch one of the most under-reported rookie seasons in years.

When people look back and talk about the stunning rookies that debuted this season, don’t be surprised if Enright’s name comes to the forefront of the discussion. Smart young pitchers are hard to find in this league.

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Coming into the 2010 baseball season, there was no clearer choice than the St. Louis Cardinals as National League Central Division champs.

They had Albert Pujols, the best player in baseball, and possibly the best 3-4 combination in Pujols and Matt Holliday.

Their starting rotation, led by co-aces Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright, was thought to be one of the best in baseball.

However, even after a win against Cincinnati on Friday night, the Cardinals trail the division leading Reds by seven games, and are looking more and more like a team struggling to stay in the Wild Card race, where they trail the Phillies by five games.

So how did such a promising season get to this point? Here are 10 reasons it’s gotten this way.

Begin Slideshow

St. Louis Cardinals fans, dust off your sirens, prepare your white flags, and clutch your shiny red buttons.

For the first time since 2003, it’s panic time.

After sweeping the Reds in Cincinnati to take a one game lead in the division and looking like prime pennant contenders in the National League, the Cardinals have been, well, terrible.

Against mediocre competition (their opponents over that span are a combined 355-443), St. Louis has gone 5-12, getting swept by Houston, and losing series to last place Washington and Pittsburgh, as well as the Cubs and Milwaukee Brewers.

Meanwhile, the Reds have beaten down on a weak schedule of their own, going 13-4 and taking a commanding eight game lead in the National League Central. St. Louis also trails Philadelphia by five games in the Wild Card race.

So how did it get this way, and who’s to blame?

The biggest blame can be placed on the offense. Since the Reds series, the Cardinals have averaged 4.2 runs, gone deep 0.9 times, and struck out 6.4 times per game. They have scored three runs or less in 10 of their 12 losses. They’ve made fourth and fifth starters look like aces. In fact, two of their wins came against former Cy Young winners Barry Zito and Tim Lincecum. However, they’ve been handled by John Lannan, J.A. Happ, Madison Bumgarner, and Dave Bush, among others.

The pitching, which has been shouldering the team most of the season, has snapped under all that weight. Staff ace Adam Wainwright has lost three straight starts for the first time in his career. Co-ace Chris Carpenter has been roughed up as well, losing his past two starts. The only bright spot on the staff has been Jaime Garcia, who has gone given up just five runs in his three starts since Cincinnati, going 2-1 over that span.

Maybe some of the blame can be placed on the front office. After all, they traded Ryan Ludwick in an effort to acquire Jake Westbrook, basically swapping a slugging outfielder for a starting pitcher, something they already have a plethora of. They traded a need for a luxury. In fact, this trade may be the root of the problem. Granted, Ludwick has cooled off considerably since moving to PetCo Park, a notorious pitchers’ haven. His average has dropped to .221, and he his OPS has dropped to .649, well below his .280/.350/.512 line from 2007-09 with the Cardinals. Conversely, Westbrook is 1-3 with a 4.03 ERA. However, his WHIP, H/9, BB/9, and HR/9 are all lower than they’ve ever been, while his strikeout rates are also career bests. While Westbrook has been good, he just hasn’t helped the Cardinals win.

The final piece to this trade is not a player who departed or arrived, but Jon Jay, who took over for Ludwick in right field. Since the trade, Jay has batted .266, with just one home run. Now that his abnormal .440+ BAbip has mellowed to .308 for the month, we have a truer sense of what type of player Jay is: a backup outfielder, one that the organization placed too much faith in by trading their regular starter because they though Jay could handle the job.

However, here’s the real kicker. In their 17 game slump, St. Louis has won games by three, four, nine, eight, and two runs. However, only one of their losses has been by more than three runs. That gives them a Pythagorean Win-Loss Record of 9-8 over that span, a far cry from their actual 5-12 record. All this shows us is that they’ve lost several close games.

In fact, they’ve left 7.6 runners on base each game, as opposed to a 7.1 number for the rest of the season (which includes the 20-inning game in which the Cardinals left 22 runners on). Here’s where it gets bad. Ryan Ludwick bats .389 with runners in scoring position, and .308 with two outs, and an amazing .429 with two outs and RISP. Jon Jay, by comparison, bats .356 with runners in scoring position. Jay also bats .189 with two strikes. The difference was never more visible than today, when Jay grounded out to the pitcher with the bases loaded to end the Cardinals’ scoring threat.

Can we say that Ludwick would’ve gotten a hit there? Not for sure. But with Ryan Ludwick, the Cardinals would not be leaving 7.6 men on base each game. Whether you blame the front office, the offense, Jay in particular, or Tony LaRussa, whose lack of a consistent lineup card and insistence to keep Colby Rasmus out of the lineup has infuriated Cardinals fans and writers, one thing is clear: if they don’t turn this around soon, they’ll be watching the playoffs from their couches.

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Through history, many players have entered baseball’s most hallowed hall. The list of players is numerous: 54 starting pitchers, 16 catchers, 18 first basemen, 17 second basemen, 10 third basemen, 21 shortstops, and 60 outfielders have plaques in the Hall of Fame. Even nine umpires have gained entrance to Cooperstown.

Some claim third base, or even catcher, is the most underrepresented position in the Hall of Fame.

However, only five relief pitchers have ever been elected: Hoyt Wilhelm, Rollie Fingers, Bruce Sutter, Dennis Eckersley, and Goose Gossage.

With reliance on the bullpen growing in modern times, that number appears set to rise in the next 15 years.

But by how much? And who is deserving of mention among the all-time greats?

After all, there’s a reason only four such players have been elected.

IN

Mariano Rivera

The first reliever who deserves mention is the only one who seems to be an absolute lock for Cooperstown.

Since becoming the full-time closer in 1996, the Panamanian righty has dominated hitters consistently. His 206 ERA+ is the all-time record, and his 2.21 ERA and 1.002 WHIP are tops among active pitchers. Mariano is an 11-time All-Star, five-time World Series champ, and has placed in the top three of Cy Young Award voting three times.

By throwing his cutter almost exclusively, Mariano has blown away hitters to the tune of 553 saves, good for second all time.

In conclusion, Mariano Rivera has all the qualifications for a Hall of Fame reliever: a devastating pitch, an extended period of dominance, and solid playoff performance.

He has a very strong case for greatest reliever of all time, and he has a spot in Cooperstown already waiting for him.

Trevor Hoffman

The other relief pitcher who has a good chance at the hall is Trevor Hoffman. Being the all-time leader in saves and games finished helps.

However, Hoffman isn’t the lock for Cooperstown that Mariano is. Despite sitting on the precipice of 600 saves, Hoffman has Rivera breathing down his neck. By the time he is eligible for Cooperstown, Hoffman could have very well fallen to second on the all-time list.

Unlike Rivera, Hoffman does not have a career long record of dominance – rather, he has two shorter stretches, from 1994-02, and from 2004-09. And Hoffman has never been as dominant as Rivera. He’s only posted an ERA under 2.00 once, while Rivera is on his way to his tenth such season. Hoffman has also only posted a WHIP under 1.000 six times, while Rivera is on his way to an eighth.

I’m not saying Hoffman will be kept out of the Hall, but Lee Smith, known for having been the all-time saves leader before Hoffman, has been kept out.

Hoffman also doesn’t have the playoff success of Rivera. In 12 postseason games, Hoffman has an ERA of 3.46, and a WHIP of 1.231.

Billy Wagner

When talking about active closers, the conversation often ends at Rivera and Hoffman.

However, Billy Wagner, who may be the greatest left-handed reliever of all time, doesn’t get the credit he deserves.

Wagner has two of the three qualifications: a long dominant stretch, from 1999-05, and has a sizzling fastball that has reached 100 mph.

Perhaps the reason Wagner is so underrated is because he is so humble. Recently, after breaking Jesse Orosco’s record for strikeouts by a left-handed reliever, Wagner called the record “stupid”.

“I said ‘We’re getting our (butts) kicked, it’s raining, let’s go,’ ” Wagner said . “It’s stupid. Who in their right mind makes a big deal out of doing something they’re supposed to do in the first place? I’m out there pitching in a (bad) game; we’re getting our butt kicked. It’s not worth it to make a big deal out of that. That’s embarrassing.”

Perhaps it’s his small stature. Despite being listed as 5’11”, Wagner still intimidates opposing hitters when he comes out to the tune of Metallica’s “Enter Sandman”.

During his most dominant stretch from 1999-05, Wagner had just one full season with a WHIP higher than 1.000, and he led the league in games finished twice. Over that span, he had an ERA+ of 196, culminating in a 293 ERA+ in 2005.

OUT (for now)

Joe Nathan

Just six months ago, I would have told you that Joe Nathan was paving his way to a spot in Cooperstown.

Since then, he’s gone down for the season, and has gone from possibly the best closer in baseball to someone who started too late. After starting his career as a starter for the Giants, Nathan came to Minnesota by trade and started his career as a closer at age 29, far later than any closer in Cooperstown.

Since then, Nathan has been a rock, being as lights out as anyone in the game. His 2008 season is one of the best ever, as evidenced by his 316 ERA+, and WHIP of .901. If he had enough innings to qualify, Nathan would be second in ERA, ERA+, and third in WHIP, behind only Rivera and Hoffman.

However, after his season-ending injury, we have to wonder if Nathan will get those innings, or if he will come back as good as before. At his best, Nathan is one of the top closers of the last 15 years. If he can come back from injury like Trevor Hoffman did in 2004, his outlook looks good.

Jonathan Papelbon

At the young age of 29, Jonathan Papelbon has put together what may be one of the greatest five year stretches in baseball history.

It started with what may be the most underrated rookie season ever. In 2006, Papelbon blew away hitters, to the tune of a 0.92 ERA and .776 WHIP, giving him a simply unreal 517 ERA+. He gave up 0.4 HR/9. Despite this, he finished second in AL Rookie of the Year voting, behind Justin Verlander.

The next year, although his ERA doubled to 1.85, Papelbon managed to lower his WHIP, to 0.771. Since then, Papelbon has been lights out. In 2010, he’s posting his highest ERA, at just 2.91, but that doesn’t diminish a career WHIP under 1.000, an ERA of 2.01, and an ERA+ higher than Mariano Rivera’s.

Francisco Rodriguez

Despite being known mainly for breaking the single-season saves record in 2008, Francisco Rodriguez is also one of baseball’s premier closers. 

Although he is just shy of dominant, Rodriguez is very consistent. From 2004-08, his ERA fluctuated around 2.20, and his WHIP hovered near 1.100. Although some people see Rodriguez as overrated for his 2008 season, he should be looked at as a strong, solid closer, who has an outside shot at Cooperstown, especially if he experiences further playoff success. 

Keep An Eye On: Heath Bell, Brian Wilson, Huston Street, Carlos Marmol, Jonathan Broxton

Too Early to Tell: Joakim Soria, Andrew Bailey, Neftali Feliz

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