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The St. Louis Cardinals have made moves this offseason, but nothing to compare with those of their National League Central rivals in Chicago and Houston.

The Cardinals see that the Cubs, who won the National League Central last year, appear to have gotten even better with the acquisitions of first baseman Derrek Lee and reliever LaTroy Hawkins.

They look at the Astros, who finished a game behind the Cubs in 2003, and see they have added Andy Pettitte and Roger Clemens to their starting rotation.

Meanwhile in St. Louis, the Cardinals have done little to improve a team that went 85-77 and finished three games behind the Cubs.

The Cardinals basically have added a bunch of spare parts. The list includes well-traveled newcomers in outfielders Reggie Sanders and Ray Lankford, second baseman Marlon Anderson, and pitchers Jeff Suppan, Julian Tavarez and Jason Marquis.

As it stands right now, the Cardinals' starting rotation will be Matt Morris, Woody Williams, Chris Carpenter, Suppan and Marquis.

Morris and Williams are winners, but on the whole, the Cards' rotation doesn't stack up to the one in Wrigleyville (Mark Prior, Kerry Wood, Matt Clement, Carlos Zambrano and maybe Greg Maddux) or the one in Houston (Pettitte, Clemens, Wade Miller, Roy Oswalt and Tim Redding).

The Cardinals, who once could be counted on to spend the money needed to fill their holes with top talent, are acting a lot like a mid-market team with financial concerns these days.

TWINS TROUBLES? They are one of four teams that enter 2004 having won at least back-to-back division championships. They finished last season as the hottest team in the American League. Yet they lament that only five of their 189 victories over the last two years have come in the playoffs.

The Minnesota Twins lament that their day in the sun is passing, if it has not passed already.

Citing the ongoing financial casualties, first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz uses past tense to discuss the Twins' success.

"We had a chance to do something special together here," Mientkiewicz says. "And I'll always wonder what might have been."

Operating with a $56 million payroll, general manager Terry Ryan was able to re-sign leadoff man Shannon Stewart but lost closer Eddie Guardado, setup man Hawkins and utility man Denny Hocking to free agency while trading catcher A.J. Pierzynski and Eric Milton, who had been a staple in the Minnesota rotation since 1998.

Mientkiewicz doesn't believe the Twins should be favored to win a third straight AL Central title.

"Not without Eddie and LaTroy," he told the Minneapolis Star Tribune. "Our bullpen was our biggest strength, and now it's our biggest question mark. And those guys were our leaders. I'm not saying we can't win. I am saying it won't be the same."

STARS SEARCH: There are no guarantees, but this finally could be the week Maddux and Ivan Rodriguez find new homes.

Whether Maddux and Rodriguez wind up with the Cubs and Detroit Tigers, respectively, could depend on developments in Los Angeles and Seattle.

With a limited market for two free agents who have combined for 14 All-Star appearances, agent Scott Boras has kept the Cubs and Tigers waiting almost two weeks since their initial offers. Major-league sources believe Boras is attempting to lure the Dodgers and Mariners to enter the bidding.

While the Dodgers desperately need to add productive hitters, they have been able to make only cosmetic changes while awaiting approval of the proposed sale to Boston developer Frank McCourt. That could come via conference call early this week, allowing McCourt a small window to authorize general manager Dan Evans to land the best players available.

Though pitching isn't the Dodgers' need, Maddux could be a good fit. His signing could make it easier for Evans to trade a package of pitchers, including Odalis Perez and highly sought prospects Edwin Jackson and Greg Miller. Rodriguez would be a better fit, but the Dodgers have $10.4 million committed to catchers Paul Lo Duca and Todd Hundley.

Seattle could enter the bidding for Rodriguez once it is assured it no longer is obligated to pay Kazuhiro Sasaki, who was due $9.5 million but plans to remain in Japan.

That contract could be resolved early this week. The Mariners, like the Dodgers, already have two catchers but believe they could trade Dan Wilson or Ben Davis.

"We won't operate in hypotheticals," Seattle GM Bill Bavasi said. "We don't deal with players that way. We're not in a position to do anything yet, and to intimate otherwise is absolutely unfair."

Rumor mill

Early indications are that Andy Pettitte will get the Opening Day start for Houston, followed by Roy Oswalt and Roger Clemens.

• Kris Benson is throwing off a mound and expects to be in shape for spring training. The Pirates hope he can pitch well enough to be in demand at the trading deadline.

• While the Cubs push for more night games, the Rangers believe increased day games will boost attendance. They have scheduled 19 for the upcoming season.

• With Albert Pujols asking for $10.5 million and the Cardinals offering $7 million, there's bad karma coming from St. Louis. There's a similarly threatening outlook in Los Angeles, where Cy Young Award winner Eric Gagne is asking for $8 million; the Dodgers are offering $5 million.

• The Indians have invited 25 non-roster players to camp, including 13 pitchers.