"As he settles into his new career, Cardinals manager Mike Matheny rarely is far from a yellow legal pad to jot notes on, and for more than a month now he's been sketching out different lineups that he could use next season.

Until a few weeks ago, he always knew where to start, penning Albert Pujols into the No. 3 spot and working from there. Pujols now is part of another manager's scribbles. But in the past week or so, Matheny has been writing a new name into his musings. He put Carlos Beltran in the No. 3 spot. He took a look at Beltran in the cleanup spot. He put the All-Star at No. 2.

Matheny made his lineup, checked it twice.

On Thursday, he got his gift.

"With Carlos, I think that term 'flexibility' keeps getting used," Matheny said. "So, I'll ride with that.""