It all seemed so simple.

In 14 games last September, J.D. Drew, while wearing the Cardinal uniform, had 15 hits in 36 at-bats..with five homers, one triple, and three doubles while compiling a gaudy .417 batting average.

Hmmm...five HRs in 36 ABs...that's 1 HR every 7.2 at-bats! Stretched out over a 500 at-bat season...that comes to 69 HRs. Perish the thought.

Maybe it was too simple...young Drew is now re-habbing a strained quadricep muscle in a Memphis Redbird uniform (see above)...and perhaps re-habbing a bit of his confidence, too. Certainly the picture-perfect swing that he exhibited last September...as well as during spring training '99...needs re-discovering. Not to mention his supposedly superior defensive and baserunning skills too, which were not in evidence in April or May of this year.

One thing's for sure. It wasn't in the plan for Willie McGee...at the '99 one-third mark...to have a half-dozen more hits that J.D. Drew.

And now Post-Dispatch columnist Bernie Miklasz is taking a shot or two at Drew...in terms of his durability.

Baseball, as they say, is a funny game.