A catalyst doesn't necessarily need to steal a lot of bases.   All he needs to do is disrupt the defense.   I was just watching the 8th inning of game 1 of the World Series and the Yankees brought Phil Hughes into the game with Jimmy Rollins leading off.   Rollins worked a walk.  Then with Victorino up, Hughes threw over to first base 4 times and stepped off the rubber twice in an effort to hold Rollins close.   He fell behind Victorino 3-0 and then Rollins stole second anyway.  One pitch later Victorino walked.   Hughes was obviously more concerned with Rollins on base than throwing strikes to Victorino.   Hughes' night was over with 0 innings pitched and 2 walks.  Rollins and Victorino both scored later in the inning.  That's how you disrupt a defense with speed and that's what the Cardinals lack.

I have to agree with PJD...The Cards will never run with Albert. Shoot, guys don't even try to leg out doubles for fear of Pujols getting intentionally passed. He may lose some at bats over the year, but I've often thought of the damage the Cards might do with Albert hitting clean-up!

In looking at the past few Major League drafts in the post-steroids era it appears that many teams are now looking to speed over power when scouting prospects.  Speed on the bases gives the pitcher and the defense something else to think about.  The Phillies have Rollins, Victorino and Utley all with over 20 steals at the top of their order, the Dodgers had Furcal, Kemp and sometimes Pierre and the Rockies had Dexter Fowler but they really took off when Carlos Gonzalez joined the team at the top of the order midway through the season.  You have to pay attention to these guys when they're on the bases.   While the Cardinals have good players at the top of the order, the names Skip Shoemaker and Julio Lugo don't exactly strike fear in the minds of opposing teams when they're on the bases.   The playoff teams all had the good balance of speed and power, except for the Cardinals and Twins.  Team stolen bases among playoff teams had the Angels with 148, Red Sox 126, Phillies 119, Dodgers 116, Yankees 111, Rockies 106, Twins 85, Cardinals 75.  It's sad when Albert Pujols leads the team in steals with 16 and Yadier Molina is third with 9.   This offseason the Cardinals need to shop for more speed at the top of the order.  When the big bats go silent you need to be able to manufacture runs.