DALLAS -- The Cardinals and second baseman Mark Grudzielanek will part ways after they were unable to agree to terms on a new contract Wednesday. St. Louis will not offer Grudzielanek arbitration, preventing them from negotiating with him until May of next season.

A late-winter signing, Grudzielanek turned in a fine year with the Redbirds, putting up a .294/.334/.407 (batting average/on-base/slugging) line in the field and helping the team set a franchise record for double plays. Manager Tony La Russa touted him for a Gold Glove Award, though he finished behind three-time winner Luis Castillo in the annual voting.

Grudzielanek expressed a desire to come back to St. Louis. However, the Cardinals had an amount slotted to sign a second baseman -- believed to be approximately $2 million -- and Grudzielanek is expected to command more than that on the open market.

"He's earned a good payday," said La Russa. "Can we afford that payday? Maybe two weeks from now, a month from now. But it's dangerous to make a decision like that and take money out of the pot and then find out that we don't have enough for the pitching. Unfortunately, it's just the reality. If we don't pitch, Mark could have an MVP season and we might not be good enough. So we take care of the pitching first and a lot of guys may have to wait."

Unfortunately, there was no time to wait. The deadline for teams to offer arbitration to their free agents is Wednesday at 11 p.m. CT, and players not offered arbitration cannot re-sign until May 1. Grudzielanek had a clause in his contract that prevented the Cardinals from offering him arbitration.

"Grud loved the fans, the team, the manager and the city and wishes everyone well," said his agent, Seth Levinson. "It is shameful that he won't be back. It is unfortunate that the Cardinals allocated a hard cap to a position instead of taking character and performance into consideration.

"It is a testament to [general manager Walt Jocketty] and Tony to be so hugely successful despite the radical roster turnover every year."

 

Unlike most teams, the Cardinals don't have to remake their rotation although they need one or two regular outfielders and at least one right-handed reliever and one left-handed reliever. Second base could be an issue, too, if they lose Mark Grudzielanek to free agency after losing Abraham Nunez to Philadelphia.

ARRIVALS
C Gary Bennett (free agent from Washington), INF Deivi Cruz (free agent from Washington), RHP Dennis Tankersley (minor league free agent from Kansas City).

DEPARTURES
RF Larry Walker (retired), RHP Cal Eldred (retired), INF Abraham Nunez (free agent, signed with Philadelphia), OF-INF John Mabry (free agent, signed with Chicago Cubs).

BIGGEST NEEDS
They need to get younger in the outfield. For sure, a regular right fielder is required with the retirement of Larry Walker, and there is no guarantee that they can afford LF Reggie Sanders if the 37-year-old gets a good multiyear offer. The bullpen, the deepest in the league, needs to be retooled because of free agent and injury defections.

FREE AGENTS
RHP Matt Morris, 2B Mark Grudzielanek, RHP Julian Tavarez, LF Reggie Sanders.

Morris probably is gone with the Cardinals picking up the $4 million option on the contract of RHP Jeff Suppan, who could have been a free agent.

ARBITRATION ELIGIBLE
RHP Jason Marquis is the only likely arbitration candidate. If the club fears he might get $5 million, it could trade him.

IN LIMBO
Marquis probably would bring the most value in the trading market. The Cardinals might not want to pay him $4-5 million as an arbitration-eligible player, and he might be the one player who could bring a regular outfielder in return.

MEDICAL WATCH
LHP Randy Flores (left elbow surgery) will be out six eight to weeks but should be ready for spring training. 3B Scott Rolen is rehabilitating after a second shoulder surgery and should be ready for spring training. RHP Al Reyes, who probably will be re-signed as a free agent even though he isn't able to pitch, might be back by August after offseason Tommy John surgery.

 

The Rams called only five running plays in the second half of last week's loss to Washington, and the critics once again emerged crying for running back Steven Jackson to get the ball more.

Of course, overlooked in the analysis of the second half was that the Rams called only 15 plays prior to their last possession, when they were down by 15 points. In addition to the five runs, there was also one short pass to Jackson.

Most notably, the running game wasn't working, and the offense generally struggled with rookie quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick under center and an offensive line that also has some injury issues.

Still, interim coach Joe Vitt knows the offense has to find a way to run the ball better to win games.

"We've got to balance our attack," Vitt said. "We've got to play it a special way right now because of the personnel we have, or we're not going to have a chance. We can't go into a football game asking Fitz to throw the ball 50 times a game and let him win it for us."

Right guard Adam Timmerman said of the running game, "You've got to stick with it. You've got to be committed to it, and you should pop one. I know there were a couple plays (against Washington), I think it was to the left side, where Steven (Jackson) almost had a breakout. Somebody made a good tackle and we didn't get the breakout.

"But you have to be committed to it, stick with it in blitz situations, and you're going to pop one. Unfortunately we didn't break a big one."

Exactly. Of Jackson's 11 running attempts, his longest gain was 9 yards. He was stuffed often, leading to passing downs, and when first downs aren't made, there are no opportunities for more plays.

Timmerman also acknowledged that the blocking has to be better.

"We should've executed what (was) called better," Timmerman said. "I think everybody's got to be character guys and look at themselves and say, 'Hey, I could've played better. I could've done this better.' And assume their percentage of the responsibility."

Looking back at the game, Fitzpatrick said, "The things we were doing in the run game weren't working, and we felt like throwing the ball was going to be the best way to succeed last week. Unfortunately things didn't go our way. But I think we're going to try to establish a little bit more of a run game this week and we'll see what happens. But we're going to do whatever we can to move the ball downfield whether it be running or passing."

Added Vitt, "We wanted to run the ball. But I tell you what, every time we tried to run the ball, they were in the backfield. And that's just the truth. Pretty soon, you're just wasting plays. Minus 1. Minus 1. Plus 1."

But the interim coach concluded, "We've got to take a hard look at what we're doing schematically."

Part of that could be to do more formations and having players in motion, an aspect of the Mike Martz offense that hasn't been seen as much since he went on medical leave.

SERIES HISTORY
32nd regular-season meeting. The Vikings lead, 16-13-2, but the Rams have won the last three games in the series by a combined score of 137-83. That includes a 1999 playoff game, and all three of the games were in St. Louis. Prior to the three games, the Vikings had won six straight, including a 1988 playoff game. The last game played in Minnesota was a 1991 Vikings victory, 20-14.

 

ST. LOUIS -- Ryan Fitzpatrick will get his second start for the St. Louis Rams, even though the rookie quarterback from Harvard struggled in his first one.

Ryan Fitzpatrick

Quarterback St. Louis Rams Profile

2005 SEASON STATISTICS Att Comp Yds TD Int Rat 66 40 430 3 2 85.0

Interim coach Joe Vitt said Monday he'd stick with Fitzpatrick, who was held without a touchdown pass in Sunday's 24-9 loss to the Washington Redskins, until Marc Bulger is ready to return from a shoulder injury that has already sidelined him for two games.

Vitt said the rest of the team didn't do enough to help Fitzpatrick and said the attack will have to be more balanced this week at Minnesota to have a chance. The team called almost four times as many pass plays as runs, putting the game in the rookie's hands.

That scenario would have made it difficult, Vitt said, for the "second coming" of Joe Montana or Johnny Unitas to succeed.

"We've got to help Fitz out," Vitt said. "We did nothing to help that kid yesterday."

Steven Jackson had 24 yards on 11 carries and Marshall Faulk had the only other carry, a 3-yarder. Vitt said it wouldn't help to give the aging Faulk more touches.

"Not unless he has wings and can fly," Vitt said. "There has to be a running lane, there has to be somewhere to run the football, and if there is, Steven will find it.

"There was no running lane yesterday, none."

There's another reason to stick with the rookie: for only the second time in seven years the Rams (5-7) are essentially out of the playoff hunt. The last four games can be used to assess the future, even if Vitt and head coach Mike Martz, who's out for the season with a heart ailment, aren't back.

But Vitt said his No. 1 concern remained winning.

"What we're going to do, we're going to do everything we can and we're going to put the best players on the field available to us," Vitt said. "We're here to win games."

A defense that surrendered 257 yards rushing, the most since the Rams moved to St. Louis in 1995, is just as big of a concern. Clinton Portis and unheralded Rock Cartwright both topped 100 yards, the first time that's happened against the Rams since 1980, and Vitt railed against missed tackles -- a recurring theme in recent weeks.

He said coaching is not the reason.

The Rams were missing two starters, safety Adam Archuleta and cornerback Travis Fisher, with rookies serving as replacements. Both could be back this week.

"We've got a lot of young players and these things are going to happen," defensive lineman Tyoka Jackson said. "We got really good plays and then we had a couple of really bad plays."

Vitt, who also coaches linebackers, wasn't interested in using youth as an excuse.

The loss dropped the Rams to 3-3 this year at home, where they've typically dominated. They're 42-12 since 1999, the best in the NFL, but home field advantage isn't what it used to be.

"We're all being evaluated, and I think your true character is going to be exposed in tough times, and they are tough right now," Vitt said. "So it's time to put up or shut up.

"What you do speaks so well, there's no need to hear what you have to say."