you didn't see anything...

I've decided I'm not going to get my hopes up anymore this off-season. I'm not going to jump at every rumored trade or implied offer. I'm not going to let my heart skip a beat every time I hear that a certain zurdo still hasn't signed a contract for next year. I'm not going to get all excited about the possibilities of players coming to St Louis (or others leaving St Louis), at least until such time as something actually happens. Therefore, I am not going to re-publish what Matthew Leach wrote about the free agent pitching market and its appeal to the Cardinals, specifically concerning that certain zurdo and his impressive inning counts throughout his impressive career....

Andy Pettitte: In some ways, he's a perfect fit. A left-hander would add some balance to the St. Louis rotation, and Pettitte reconsiders his desire to keep pitching each winter -- so he could likely be had on a one-year deal. He's the only remaining free agent who reached 200 innings in 2008. In fact, he's hit that milestone four years running. Pettitte would likely cost quite a bit -- he reportedly turned down $10 million from the Yankees -- but also might well be worth it.

Of course, I'm also not going to mention the other starters whose attributes he breaks down, because I'm just not going there anymore.

Garland: not really a ground ball pitcher

I don't know much about this guy. He did recently turn down an offer from Arizona (maybe in the one-year/$4 million range), but with the pitching that the D'backs have, I'm sure they weren't offering the moon. He apparently made $12 million in 2008, then rejected an arbitration offer from the Angels. Either he's looking for a long-term deal that he anticipated LA (Anaheim?) wasn't willing to give, or he's completely off his rocker.

Looper: dependable

We all know what Looper can and can't do. I wouldn't be averse to bringing him back, but again, could you really call that improvement?

Wolf: coming off his first season of more than 23 starts or 136 2/3 innings since 2003

Honestly, maybe we could turn him into a reliever. Other than that, I'm not interested.

Sheets: elbow trouble... probably won't be cheap

Ha! Probably? Sounds like the Mets are sniffing him, and with the injury history, he won't be worth whatever he ends up signing for.

Odalis Perez: Albert Pujols' personal punching bag

The only benefit I can see is that we could probably get him cheaper than any of the others.

Oliver Perez: in line for one of the bigger pitching deals this winter

Busch Birds pretty well summed up the importance of limiting any deal to one year in order to provide some flexibility in the rotation in seasons to come. If we give Wellemeyer a three-year contract, it would be nice to have a place for some of our pitching prospects (yes, I said prospects) to spread their wings.

But you didn't hear that from me.