The Cardinals are vowing changes during the offseason. In a story by Joe Strauss in Sunday's Post-Dispatch, Cardinals GM John Mozeliak said, "Last year, I thought the only way we could improve was through addition by subtraction. This year is different. I think we will identify holes and aggressively pursue closing them in a number of ways."

Interesting. I don't know if I buy it, but it's interesting. Strauss identifies left-handed relief, starting pitching and a big-time hitter as three areas where the Cardinals will look to improve. Forget the bat and concentrate on the pitching. The Cardinals need to identify a closer. As Strauss points out, Jason Isringhausen's days as a Cardinal likely are over. Ryan Franklin, Chris Perez and everyone else who tried to close struggled. So who is going to close next season?

After we're done figuring out a closer, what about some starters? The Cardinals can't get caught in the Cubs syndrome of a few years ago where the Cubs kept clinging to the hope that Kerry Wood and Mark Prior would return to health. It's time for the Cardinals to forget about Mark Mulder. Chances are Chris Carpenter will return, but I'd get a mid-level starter just in case to fill that possible void.

When it comes to adding a hitter, you've got to look at positions that could be available. I don't see a spot in the outfield, unless I'm missing something. It would seem that bringing Rick Ankiel, Skip Schumaker and Ryan Ludwick back would make sense, since the three put up decent numbers. The corner spots in the infield seem manned by reputable hitters, as long as Troy Glaus comes back. You're good at catcher. That leaves second base and shortstop, and there aren't a lot of high-end hitters who play either of those positions. So I'm curious to see where the Cardinals figure to find a big bopper. Am I missing something?

Throne of Honor

We've still got a question that needs an answer, so the Throne will go unused today. The math wizard -- 6+4+3+2 -- came up with No. 2 on the Rams' career passing list (based on yards). Unfortunately we were looking for No. 1. By the way, I loved the Tony Banks guess. He's actually No. 9, which surprised me that he's that high.

Reserved Parking

Clear room for a bus, the Perryville boys soccer team is pulling in. The Pirates, in their first year of existence, are off to a 4-0 start after knocking off Sikeston on Monday. The bus gets to pull up front after another winning effort.

Triple Crown watch

Al Pujols took a much-deserved night off Monday, so let's check in on where he stands. Batting -- .360 (five points behind Chipper Jones); RBIs -- 101 (32 behind Ryan Howard); Homers -- 33 (11 behind Ryan Howard)

Cards/Cubs update

As I mentioned earlier, the Cardinals enjoyed the day off. They take to the field tonight against Bronson Arroyo and the Cincinnati Reds. The Cards send Braden Looper to the bump. He's 12-12 with a 4.02 ERA. He gave up one earned run in five innings last time out. He's posted a 2.97 ERA in his last 10 games. Arroyo, meanwhile, has a 4.65 ERA. He's given up two or fewer runs in his last five starts.

The Cubs pushed their NL Central lead to eight games after another impressive outing by their starting pitcher. Ted Lilly went seven innings and allowed one hit. Derrek Lee knocked in a pair and Geovany Soto did the same. The Cubs host the Milwaukee Brewers for a three-game series starting tonight. The Cubs send Ryan Dempster to the mound while the Brewers counter with CC Sabathia. Sabathia is 6-0 with a 1.50 ERA in his last 10 starts. He's been unbelievable since joining the Brewers in July. Dempster is 5-2 with a 2.59 ERA in his last 10 starts, so this should be a whale of a game.

Today's Can't Miss

I love Discovery Channel's show "Dirty Jobs." There's a good one on at 7 p.m. -- Parade Float Dismantler. It sounds good to me. It's on channel 16 in Cape.