I saw this in today's Memphis Commercial-Appeal:

Alan Benes got an emergency start for the Memphis Redbirds Friday night in what was likely his last appearance before retiring from the game.

He's a mop-up guy these days and the only way he'll help the club is by saving Brad Thompson and Josh Kinney from pitching too much in blowouts, which is pretty far down the ladder of concerns. And there's always the worry that Tony LaRussa will do something silly like let Benes pitch the ninth of a tie game. But if the Cardinals can throw away two games to preserve the honor of a two-year Cardinal and free agent-to-be, then they can give a roster spot to Alan Benes.