I for one must say that I am a bit surprised the Cardinals did not offer to Russ Springer. I get the fact his career is about over and I also get the fact that he has had just as many bad years as he has good. But I have to look back on his performance in St. Louis and say thanks Russ! There’s no denying the fact that Springer stabilized a shaky bullpen in 2008. Was he perfect every time out? Well no; but who is?

The 2008 version of the Cardinals pen was made up with a lot of youth and I have to believe that Springer’s presence and mentoring helped some of these young guys with the mental aspects of the game. There is no one better to bring along young pitchers than experienced, battle-tested players that have a great attitude and work ethic. Not to mention the fact that Russ Springer was very steady coming out of the pen this past year and could be counted on more times than not to get the Cards out of a jam.

Now, I get the fact that he could still be in a Cards uniform next year and personally hope that’s the case. We all know he wants to play in St. Louis next year. I guess the question is, what are the Cards really planning to do?

coop92 is a contributing author to Midwest Sports Fans, as well as the editor at Midwest Sports Junkies.  Check out his site for additional analysis of the Cardinals, the BCS, and Missouri Tigers football.