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I liked it. Rasmus had a bad attitude here in St. Louis. Some say its because his dad was in his pocket and he wouldn't listen to the coaches. Others say he's just a punk kid with too high of an opinion of himself. Whatever the case may be, I've seen him pull up short on too many balls in the outfield and make too many base running mistakes on the infield to make his occasional power bat worth the lineup spot.

Jon Jay has proven himself an adequate, if not superior replacement the last couple of years and from what I remember of Edwin Jackson when he was pitching for the D-backs, I like him as a 5th starter. McClellan was faltering in that spot anyway and has always served us well in the bullpen, though I can't imagine he's too happy about going back.

Also, Cory Patterson didn't hurt himself in my eyes when he knocked in a run in his first at bat in a Cardinals uniform, and that Rzepcynkasdflkasdf guy did pitch a couple of solid innings in replacement last night.

So basically, yeah, I think it was a good thing. Toronto may have gotten the bigger name out of the deal, but I think we got the most benefit from it.

As a #1 or #2 starter, I wouldn't be, but he's got good enough stuff to hang out at the bottom of the rotation, I think. As far as what the Cardinals do, who the hell knows. LaRussa needs to go, IMO. He's too intent on micromanaging, which might be good on a team with less talent, but really, you need to let your stars do their thing.

Also, last night's game sucked balls. Sometimes, the whole damn team just comes out flat, more frequently than one might expect on a team featuring 3 of the top 10 hitters in the game and significant contributors like Molina, Freese, and even Descalso. There's just no reason they shouldn't be scoring an average of 5 runs per game or better.

I think it's a trade that we both like. It looks like Rasmus needed a change of scenery and Toronto is a very young team (overall). He had a couple of good defensive plays last night but his bat needs some work... and we were really hurting for a good center fielder.

Patterson is okay on the sticks and okay in the field, as long as he doesn't play center. The zepper is a very good lefty who (IMO) should really be a starter.

The only thing I didn't like giving up in the deal was Stewart to Chicago... good pitching prospect.

I think Natural Gas and Agrichar are a better long term bet.