Edmonds Retires, Colts Drop Sanders

I have a special place in my heart for Jim "Jimmy Baseball" Edmonds. During his tenure as a Cardinal, he was one of my favorite players on the team. He is perhaps, one of the greatest centerfielders the Cardinals have ever had, and I can still remember going to games and watching his amazing ability on the field.

He also was an excellent power hitter in his prime, and I will always think fondly of the days when the Cardinals had the Power 3: Edmonds, Rolen and Pujols. They were on the team that made it to the World Series in 2004 and should have won. Yes, I'm still bitter about that one.

So, I was very excited to hear that the Cardinals organization had signed Edmonds back to the team in January, even if it was to the minors with odds of him actually playing being slim. Why? Edmonds wanted to stay in St. Louis and be a Cardinal. But the Cards released him and he still wanted to play, so he played for other teams. But I will always think of him as a Cardinal and am happy to hear that he has opted to retire and therefore will retire as a Cardinal. Thanks for the memories Jimmy. Wish you all of the best in retirement. Maybe you can come back to the Cards as a coach someday?

In other big news, Jim Isray, owner of the Indianapolis Colts announced that they have dropped safety Bob Sanders. Sanders is known for his hard hitting on defense (I saw him many times dive head first to get a tackle), but that hard hitting has left him to be injury-prone in recent years. So while some may be surprised by this move, I am not. The Colts have had a lot of new defensive players step up in Sanders absences due to injury, and if you look at the Colts season this year defense wasn't really their biggest problem. Injuries on offense and lack of a solid running game played more of a factor. Freeney and Bullitt were on fire many games this season. Sanders who?

I'm sure Sanders will find another team to sign with. The Colts have a lot to think about right now, and some of that is opening their payroll so that they can sign Peyton Manning into contract. No doubt this will happen. Unlike the Cardinals situation with Albert, Isray will do whatever it takes to keep Manning, and is prepared to pay top dollar.

The NFL Draft will be coming up shortly, and it will be interesting to see how it turns out. The Colts need a running game, that's for sure. The Rams need a wide receiver. I can see them drafting Julio Jones from Alabama, and most of the mock drafts seem to agree. Sam Bradford is the real deal, and the Rams need to focus on building a team around him by giving him strong receivers to throw to. If Donnie Avery is back and healthy, that will help a lot. But I think they will still draft a WR.

Will post more NFL draft thoughts as it gets closer.