ANSWER: It would be a matter of personal choice, but the St. Louis Post Dispatch has a bird's eye view and they made a pretty good selection.

The St. Louis Cardinals are busy with spring exhibition games, and the question arises: Can they turn in another banner season? The last two have been fantastic.

Forget about losing to Houston in last year's playoffs. Good teams -- even great teams -- are going to lose their share of playoffs. It's going to happen time and again. Modern day baseball has placed the long season secondary to being hot at just the right time. In the short series of playoffs a mediocre team with a couple of good pitchers can go all the way. It's almost a coin flip when you get there, but first you have to get there.

But what if you could take an All-Star Cardinal lineup into this year's season?

The St. Louis Post Dispatch has been around a long time. Back in the early nineties they made their selections for an all-time Cardinal team:

Catcher: Tim McCarver

1st Base: Jim Bottemley

2nd Base: Rogers Hornsby

3rd Base: Ken Boyer

Shortstop: Ozzie Smith

Left Field: Lou Brock

Center Field: Joe Medwick

Right Field: Stan Musial

Pitcher: Bob Gibson

Manager: Whitey Herzog

The only two players on this team who are not in the Baseball Hall of Fame are McCarver and Boyer.

You might question why Mark McGuire is not at first base, but it must be remembered that McGuire's tenure with the Cardinals was relatively short, compared to Bottemley's eleven years.

How can you have an All-Star team without Red Schoendiest? Well, the Redhead has a position problem at second base. Rogers Hornsby has some hitting statistics that dwarf most big league players. He is considered by many to be the greatest right hand hitter ever.

Forgetting personal preferences, it is difficult to fault the Post Dispatch selections.

Tony LaRussa could replace Whitey Herzog as manager, but he needs to win at least one World Series. Whitey won it all in 1982, and fell just one game short in 1985 & 1987. Cardinal fans hope Tony can do it -- and soon!

Providing he stays healthy -- and stays with the Cardinals -- Albert Pujols threatens not only to become the first baseman, but to replace Stan Musial as the greatest Cardinal of them all. Only time can tell. Pujols can do it all, and apparently from any position he is needed.

QUESTION: Do we support the troops in Iraq?

ANSWER: We support the troops wherever they are stationed.

There have been recent newspaper articles and television reports that people are protesting signs that say, "Support the Troops."

Some blockhead has even suggested that our troops in Iraq were traitors because they simply didn't cease and desist. This has to come out of Hollywood because it shows not only a Twilight Zone mentality, but a pathetic lack of knowledge about the military.

The military is not a country club, or a movie show, where you just walk out if things are not going to suit you. The Army is not going to provide safe passage for dissenters, deserters, or malcontents. Perhaps they are just supposed to melt into the friendly Iraq populace, where terrorists can find them and carve out their infidel hearts?

Our military services depend on volunteers. A young person whose primary purpose in life is to learn the computer, fly an airplane, or go to radio school, should never, never join the military in order to accomplish these things; not unless he or she is fully aware that they might be called into action. That's what the military is all about. It is not a university, or a trade school, but when they do volunteer, we should support them.

Whether you believe we should be in Iraq or not is not a matter for soldiers to decide. If pressures from home cause a retreat, it will be decided by the public and the politicians. The soldier will simply continue doing what he swore to do.

As Americans we have the right to differ on opinions, and protest any governmental decisions. But those options are surrendered when joining the military. Soldiers are bound to discipline and duty. And without the military we are just a great big bowl of Jello, ready to be gulped up by any pip-squeak that chooses to do so.

Curse the administration if you wish. Hate Bush. Burn the flag. But, for the love of mercy, support the troops.