The second base job was originally slated to go to Adam Kennedy, but after his surprise release from the Cardinals, second base has become one position that will not be filled until Opening Day.

Brendan Ryan is front-runner heading into spring training as he played in 80 games while hitting .244 with no homeruns and only 10 RBIs. For the games that Ryan did play in, it was usually giving starters like Troy Glaus, Adam Kennedy, or any of the outfielders a day of rest as he was the backup for practically every position on the field.

However, this does show his versatility and that he can be an every day player. He is considerably one of the younger guys on the team, but has shown that he has good fielding ability to off-set his sometimes poor batting.

This season will probably be make or break for Ryan as he competes for the open second base job. If he does not get it, then he will probably play the same role as last season, which was only filling in for guys that were injured or needed rest. If that is the case, then Ryan could be trade bait come next offseason.

Skip Schumaker can’t seem to make enough headlines for the Cardinals this spring. Even though he is almost guaranteed a starting outfield job, he is listed second on the depth chart for second base.

Last year, Schumaker was one of the surprises as he worked his way into the lineup and played in 153 games while hitting .302 with only 8 homeruns and 46 RBIs. His numbers show that he doesn’t hit for power as much as he hits for average. Comparisons could be made to David Eckstein, as he’s able to put the bat on the ball wherever it is thrown.

As I said in the first base post a few days ago, Schumaker is very versatile and it is very rare that he will get injured. There are at least five positions on the diamond that he could potentially play which could be good news for La Russa if he doesn’t feel comfortable placing an unexperienced rookie into the lineup quickly.

Last but not least, there is Joe Thurston. Thurston played for the Boston Red Sox last season, but only played in 4 games with 8 at-bats. He didn’t record any hits, but his on-base percentage was .111, with only one strikeout. This shows that he can put the ball in play and if he has any speed, he might be able to beat out some slow rollers.

– John Thomas