Are We Sure the Trade Deadline Was Thursday?

Really? Nothing?

Nothing at all?

I'll get three things in the open to begin: 1) I'm all about stockpiling the farm system with talent. 2) I don't have any inside info on what the proposed deals were, or who was asking for what. 3) I'm all about not trading said Minor League talent for overvalued crap.

But no relief help was brought in? None?

The Cardinals' bullpen leads the universe in blown saves and have been getting torched lately. Despite the three things I said above, when you're tied for the Wild Card race, and within reach of the Division lead on July 31st...you've got to at least address your weaknesses.

According to the Post Dispatch, the Cardinals were going after Brian Fuentes hard Wednesday and Thursday, even though all we've heard the past two weeks is that Colorado's asking price was too high. Then when it looked like nothing would pan out, it was too late to strike a deal for someone else (George Sherrill, Ron Mahay, Will Ohhh-mannn, etc).

I really hope that didn't come out of Mozeliak's mouth, and was just the Post's description of what happened. Either way, if that's the reason no move was made, that's bullshit.

Technically I'm glad the Cardinals did not overpay for these guys (and none of them were actually dealt), but I'd really like to know where the Cardinals were when Jon Rauch was traded by the Nationals last week? I prefer to focus on "goodness" instead of "specialty guy," and I'd rather have Rauch than anyone listed above.

The Brewers and Cubs were quiet on deadline day as well, but they made their moves already. And the Cardinals stood pat; this has been a confusing year to say the least.

The fact that this team is still winning ballgames continues to boggle my mind. Besides the mean-looking dude at the top of this webpage, the Cardinals are a random assortment of cast-offs and alleged has-beens. And they have 61 wins with 1/3 of the season left. All along, players and management have said they have faith that this will be a winning team. So, taking my useless thoughts out of the equation, since the Cardinals were convinced they were contenders all along, why didn't they address the bullpen?

It's too far into the season to think this will be only be a 75 win team, so a fire sale wouldn't have made sense either. But standing pat, I don't get it. I can't imagine something couldn't have been done without putting a dent in the '09/'010 plans, which is secretly what the entire offseason was about. Maybe the asking prices were just that bad, I don't know.

This is mostly bugging me because I hate when the Cardinals rely on August garbage pickups like Jeff Weaver, so maybe lightning will strike twice - for about the 100th time.

This isn't pissing me off like the passing on Rick Porcello incident of '07, it's just disappointing.