Big Papi's struggles, the Dodgers' weak spots and more

Rick Ankiel's propensity for crashing into walls heightens the Cardinals' need for another quality outfielder. AP Ted Keith's Mailbag Ted Keith will answer select questions from SI.com users in his Baseball Mailbag. Name: Email: Hometown: Question: SEND Follow Ted Keith on Twitter

If you had to trade from the Cardinals' surplus of non-pitchers, which two would you give up to get some pitching help if need be within the next month?
--Jim Hoffman, St. Louis

For now there's not a whole lot of non-pitchers available, at least not on the big league roster. The Cardinals, like a lot of teams these days, are carrying 13 pitchers and only 12 position players (two catchers, six infielders and four outfielders). Nor is there really a great need for pitching help, at least not as long as the Cards continue to lead the NL Central. Even the one player whose name has probably popped up in trade rumors more than any other -- outfielder Colby Rasmus -- isn't likely to go anywhere. For one thing, he's already got 79 at-bats and has played in 22 of the team's 27 games, so he's more than just a bench-warmer. For another, Rick Ankiel's propensity to crash into walls, as he did this week, only heightens the need for another quality outfielder, especially one of Rasmus' potential. Just this year, Baseball America called him the third best prospect in all of baseball, which would increase the value he could bring in a trade, but also means he's a player worth hanging onto.

It happened again on Monday. Another triple play -- by the team that ends up losing. Am I right in believing that the team making a triple play loses the game far more often than it wins?
--Evan Jones, Roanoke, Va.

That's certainly held true in this decade. Of the 31 triple plays turned in the big leagues since the start of the 2000 season, the team that pulled it off has gone 12-19. Here's the record by season for teams pulling off a triple play:

2000: 2-3
2001: 0-2
2002: 2-3
2003: 1-1
2004: 1-2
2005: 0-1
2006: 2-3
2007: 3-1
2008: 1-1
2009: 0-2

This has been bugging me for a long time now. What is on the front of Manny Ramirez's helmet?
--Dearborn, Mich.

It's pine tar. Several hitters, including Vladimir Guerrero of the Angels, have helmets covered in pine tar. But while you could make the case that Guerrero needs the sticky stuff because he doesn't use batting gloves, Ramirez doesn't. It just seems to be more of a fashion choice for Manny, as evidenced by the fact that it took him barely a week to get his Dodgers helmet looking every bit as nasty as the Red Sox helmet he left behind when he was traded from Boston last summer. For the most part, pine tar is no longer that popular, and some players even use pine tar sticks that give them the same grip without the mess.

How long do you think it will be before the Reds win another World Series, based on how young their lineup is?
--Jason German, Three Oaks, Mich.

I think the Reds should focus first on having a winning record, which they haven't done since 2000, and then on reaching the playoffs, which they haven't done since 1995 (or in a non-strike-shortened year since 1990) before they worry about winning the World Series. Having spent a few days around this team during spring training, I can tell you this is a confident group but one that is not at all ready to win a World Series this year, or perhaps next. They do have a tremendous nucleus, both in the lineup and in the rotation, but need more depth top-to-bottom in both areas to be a legitimate Series contender.

Would Craig Biggio go in the Hall of Fame as a second basemen or as a catcher?
--David Grimes, Houston

Last week I wrote about the breakdown of Hall of Famers by position and mentioned that Biggio would go into the Hall as a second baseman, where he played 1,989 of his 2,850 games. He did start his career as a catcher, playing 428 games at that position and making two All-Star teams, but aside from a one-game, two-inning return engagement in his farewell season of 2007, Biggio never caught again after 1991.

What percentage of players have won the home run contest at the All-Star Game and then gone on to win the World Series? (If Albert Pujols enters he will win; I am a Cardinals fan born and raised in St Louis.)
--Donnie Smith, Albuquerque

Since the Home Run Derby was added to the All-Star Game in 1985, only one player has won the event outright and then gone on to win the World Series that fall: Luis Gonzalez of the Diamondbacks in 2001 (Darryl Strawberry of the champion Mets tied for the Derby crown in 1986). Pujols would certainly be the favorite in the event, and could become just the second player ever -- and first since Ryne Sandberg of the Cubs in 1990 -- to win the event in his home ballpark.