Viva El Birdos dissects the Cardinals deadline deal:

There’s a handful of quotes from scribes and articles that Ludwick was a great clubhouse guy so I don’t think that this was a “chemistry” deal. But gosh that quote sounds like moving deck chairs on the Titanic so that you’ve done something. I don’t think that’s the case but to make a rational argument for this trade, you’ve got to throw two players on your team under the bus (Hawksworth and Suppan). Mozeliak can’t really do that, not should he. Fortunately, I’ve no such inhibitions.

I just don’t see where Westbrook is going to be that much of an improvement over Suppan. Jeff has posted a 4.14 ERA for the Cardinals. He hasn’t pitched well enough to deserve that ERA, but wins and losses aren’t based on how you get to a particular run level. I doubt Westbrook’s ERA is going to be much better, but he should last an extra inning per start, which helps the bullpen. The Cardinals score 4.46 runs per game. A 4.20 ERA by a starter isn’t going to put the team much over .500 in his starts.

The Cardinals traded a bat for a pitcher when they needed another bat. Unfortunately, the places they could use more production, second base, shortstop and catcher, are places where it’s difficult to find (and they’re not going to replace Molina). So they moved deck chairs, hoping Westbrook is a better candidate for improvement than Suppan.