Carpenter to Close?

The Cardinals are considering the idea of making Chris Carpenter a closer, mostly because he cannot get his arm back to the strength of a starter. The situation is similar to Kerry Wood - even the way they pitch is similar. They mix a hard fastball with fast breaking pitches all across the plate. Carpenter will make for a good closer if he can stay healthy, but is it worth pushing Chris Perez back?

At this point, it is too early to prepare for 2009. However, the Cardinals have decision to make: Make Carpenter their closer and push Perez to middle relief, or waste Carpenter (mostly because of salary) in middle relief and give the job to the rookie pitcher.

Cardinals Prospect Rasmus Upset: According to a source, Cardinals outfield prospect Colby Rasmus is "wishen [he] was in the bigs." The Cardinals chose not to call up prospect Colby Rasmus, despite hitting .251 with 11 HR at Triple-A. While this seems like a good move from a Cardinals front office perspective, this could hurt them down the road during arbitration or when he is eligible for free agency.