by BY DERRICK GOOLD ¿ dgoold@post-dispatch.com > 314-340-8285 , St. Louis Post-Dispatch

"I think Ryan Franklin is a quality closer," manager Tony La Russa said the day after the Cardinals' elimination from the playoffs. "I think he'll work hard all winter and come in and be ready to put (together) another season like he had."

General manager John Mozeliak echoed his manager, saying the veteran Franklin, a rookie closer in 2009, is their ninth-inning answer for 2010. No doubt. Franklin is the anchor of a relief corps that, by design, will see little turnover from this season to next. Franklin and lefty reliever Trever Miller signed extensions in September, and lefty Dennys Reyes has another year on the contract he signed last spring. Around those seasoned arms, the Cardinals have four young righthanders returning, three of whom have a season or less of experience.

Jason Motte, Blake Hawksworth, Mitchell Boggs and Kyle McClellan, the only one of the four who wasn't a rookie in 2009, all were on the postseason roster and all return. Mozeliak said "in a perfect world" the Cardinals won't have to pull from the bullpen to fill two spots in the rotation, meaning would-be starters like Boggs and Hawksworth proved valuable in relief.

A year after overhauling their bullpen with a new closer and a new set of lefty specialists, the Cardinals are in the atypical position to return every one of the arms from the group that had the fourth-best ERA in the NL, at 3.67.

"What it's really saying is we have a young bullpen," Mozeliak said. "We have some flexibility there, and we have our specialist roles set. I think when you look at what we take into the season, it's a good situation. ... We expect consistency to also mean improvement."

In 2008, no team in the NL took as many leads into the eighth inning as the Cardinals' 87, yet they fumbled 14 of them. The bullpen led the NL in blown saves (31) and was second in losses (31). With Franklin, the tandem lefties and an infusion of youth, the '09 bullpen had the fewest losses in the NL (18) and the fewest blown saves of any of the majors' eight playoff teams (14). The starting rotation helped, leaving the bullpen a league-low 437 innings to handle.

At 36, Franklin's sudden career change also boosted the 'pen. He finished the season with a 1.92 ERA, 38 saves and the first All-Star Game invitation of his career. Yet, Franklin also finished the season with something else - troubles.

The Cardinals' closer did not successfully convert a one-run save in the final month of the season. After his 37th save of the season, on Sept. 5, Franklin went 2-2 with one save, three blown saves and a 6.14 ERA in 7 1/3 innings. More telling: More than half of the hitters he faced reached base. His lone save opportunity in the playoffs was a blown save because of a dropped fly ball in left field.

Mozeliak cited Franklin's inconsistent use in the final month as a possible factor. He also reiterated what Franklin and La Russa saw in September - inconsistent command for a closer who relies on command. Look no further than the spike in walks. Franklin had seven walks in 34 innings at the All-Star break. He had 14 walks, against 13 strikeouts, in his last 13 1/3 innings of the season.

Without control, he invited too much contact.

But he was not alone.

During the season, an NL coach said that in the bullpen "you want throwers, not pitchers." The Cardinals saw this firsthand in the NL Division Series against arguably the best bullpen in the game. The LA Dodgers relievers allowed two earned runs in 9 2/3 innings against the Cardinals , and they did so with power. LA had three relievers, including closer Jonathan Broxton, who averaged more than 94 mph on their fastball.

The Cardinals have tried to cultivate four power arms in theirs. Motte averaged 95.9 mph on his fastball, according to FanGraphs. When asked how Boggs earned a spot on the playoff roster, an official described a recent fastball: "98 mph." Either of them could bring velocity to a setup role.

"I think it's definitely an advantage in the playoffs when you come out there throwing in the upper-90s mph when its 45 degrees outside or colder," Mozeliak said. "The key, though, is performing. That comes in all shapes and sizes. We have tried to focus on some players who do throw hard, and we have improved there. We have a nice thing with Motte and Boggs and Sanchez."

Sanchez is Eduardo Sanchez, a 20-year-old righthander, who surged into Class AA this season and sports a 95-mph fastball. He'll get a look in spring, but most of the spots already are reserved. Brad Thompson, the long reliever, is likely going to be a casualty, as the Cardinals might not offer him a contract, allowing him to become a free agent. Mozeliak said he expects to scan the minor-league free agents for depth, but there will be no bullpen renovation this winter.

Most of the same arms are signed. As Motte advances, McClellan evolves and Boggs and Hawksworth enter, the players won't change, even as their roles and the innings they handle do.

Save, that is, for the ninth.

That's spoken for.

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