The Cardinals have placed righty reliever/starter Brad Thompson on the 15-day disabled list with right elbow inflammation. Thompson has pitched in 6 games (2 starts) for the Cardinals this season and he is 1-1 with a 4.58 ERA and a 1.64 WHIP. Thompson will likely be in the bullpen for the Cardinals when he is ready to return to the team.

If the Cardinals relievers can all stay healthy they will have a very, very solid bullpen. 35-year old righty Jason Isringhausen is back as the closer for the Cardinals. He pitched in 63 games (0 starts) for the Cardinals last season and he was 4-0 with 32 saves, a 2.48 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP. Isringhausen will be solid again in 2008 for the Cardinals.

39-year old righty Russ Springer had a career year last season and the Cardinals need a repeat performance out of him. He pitched in 76 games (0 starts) for the Cardinals last season and he was 8-1 with a 2.18 ERA and a 0.91 WHIP. It will be interesting to see if Springer saved any magic for 2008.

35-year old righty Ryan Franklin also had a very solid year in 2007 for the Cardinals. He pitched in 69 games (0 starts) last season for the Cardinals and he was 4-4 with 1 save, a 3.04 ERA and a 1.01 WHIP.

32-year old lefty Randy Flores will likely do a lot of specialist work this season for the Cardinals. He pitched in 70 games (0 starts) last season and he was 3-0 with 1 save, a 4.25 ERA and a 1.56 WHIP.

38-year old lefty Ron Villone pitched in 37 games for the Yankees last season and he was 0-0 with a 4.25 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP. He will help because he can give the Cardinals more innings than Flores can.

27-year old lefty Tyler Johnson is starting the season on the D.L. He pitched in 55 games (0 starts) for the Cardinals last season and he was 1-1 with a 4.03 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP.

23-year old righty Kyle McClellan made the team as the final pitcher in the bullpen which means long relief work. He pitched in 40 games (1 start) in A+AA ball last season and he was 6-1 with a 1.83 ERA.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON: B

The Cardinals will have at least three converted relievers in the starting rotation when the 2008 season starts so the bullpen might get worked hard. 26-year old righty Adam Wainwright will be the #1 starter on the Cardinals this season and he is a very solid pitcher. He started 32 games for the Cardinals last season and he was 14-12 with a 3.70 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP. Look for Wainwright to be even better this season as long as he throws more stikes than he did last year.

29-year old righty Kyle Lohse will be the #2 starter until some of the injured pitchers return for the Cardinals. Lohse pitched in 34 games (32 starts) for the Reds & Phillies last season and he was 9-12 with a 4.62 ERA and a 1.37 WHIP. Lohse always had good stuff so maybe pitching coach Dave Duncan can make him into a good pitcher.

33-year old righty Braden Looper made a semi-successful conversion into a starting pitcher in 2007 for the Cardinals. He pitched in 31 games (30 starts) for the Cardinals last season and he was 12-12 with a 4.94 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP. He could wind up back in the bullpen later in the year when the reinforcements return to the rotation from the Disabled List.

29-year old righty Todd Wellemeyer might have found a home in St. Louis last season. He pitched in 20 games (11 starts) for the Cardinals last season and he was 3-2 with a 3.11 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP. His overall numbers last season weren’t that impressive however. He pitched in 32 games (11 starts) for the Cardinals & Royals last season and he was 3-3 with a 4.54 ERA and a 1.47 WHIP.

26-year old righty Brad Thompson will be the #5 starter when the season begins for the Cardinals. He pitched in 44 games (17 starts) for the Cardinals last season and he was 8-6 with a 4.73 ERA and a 1.52 WHIP. Thompson will likely return to the bullpen when reinforcements return for the rotation from the disabled list.

29-year old righty Joel Pineiro will likely be the first pitcher to come off of the D.L. for the Cardinals this season. He pitched in 42 games (11 starts) for the Cardinals & Red Sox last season and he was 7-5 with a 4.33 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP. Pineiro was much better with the Cardinals last season as he pitched in 11 games (all starts) for them last season and he was 6-4 with a 3.96 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP.

33-year old righty Matt Clement might be able to return before June for the Cardinals. He did not pitch last season as he was recovering from surgery. He has pitched in 238 games (236 starts) in his major league career and he is 87-86 with a 4.47 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP.

26-year old righty Anthony Reyes will pitch out of the bullpen at the start of the season but he could move into the rotation at some point. He pitched in 22 games (20 starts) for the Cardinals last season and he was 2-14 with a 6.04 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP. He has now pitched in 43 games (38 starts) in his major league career and he is 8-23 with a 5.42 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP.

The Cardinals hope that 30-year old lefty Mark Mulder will be ready to help them at some point before the All-Star Game. He only started 3 games for the Cardinals last season and he was 0-3 with a 12.27 ERA and a 2.64 WHIP. He has been a disappointment since coming to the Cardinals. In three seasons with the Cardinals, Mulder has a 22-18 record with a 5.00 ERA and a 1.52 WHIP.

The Cardinals are hoping that they have games that matter in August + September which is when they project to get 33-year old righty Chris Carpenter back. He only started 1 game for the Cardinals last season and he was 0-1 with a 7.50 ERA and a 1.67 WHIP. Carpenter has now pitched in 246 games (229 starts) in his major league career and he is 100-69 with a 4.10 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON: D