The turnover in baseball these days is at its highest rate it's ever been - taking the Cards as an example, we don't have but five guys who were on the roster before Yadier Molina was called up almost three years to the day ago, in June 2004: Edmonds, Pujols, Isringhausen, Rolen (Taguchi, Kennedy, and even Ankiel have been on the 25-man and either back down to the minors or traded and returned, so they don't count). So there's tons of guys out there who've donned the Birds on the Bat for a few seasons here or there recently, some of whom were quite popular during their times in St. Louis. Take the Washington Nationals, for instance: watching them play last Friday night, I came face-to-face with three guys who'd worn Cardinal uniforms since that fateful day three years ago, but had already moved on. Since they're coming to St. Louis this weekend, here's a preview of the familiar faces to be seen at Busch:

Ronnie Belliard will get his ring this weekend as the Nats come to St. Louis - he was lucky enough to wear the BoB at just the right time, from August to October 2006. He didn't really do much as a Cardinal outside of a great Division Series performance, but he's on the list nonetheless. We will never forget the 'Fro. Ronnie signed with the Nats for a remarkably cheap $750,000 in the offseason.

This season, Ronnie got off to a hot start - hitting .309/.343/.392 as recently as April 29 - but since then, he's managed just 6 singles and 4 walks in 45 PA, and been stuck in a quasi-platoon with Felipe Lopez and the triple machine that is Cristian Guzman. Against the Orioles at RFK on Friday, he came into the game in the bottom of the ninth inning with the tying run on first base (then second, after a stolen base), and struck out.

Ray King was a Cardinal in 2004 and 2005, pitching two of the better seasons of his career in St. Louis. As a situational lefty, he held opposing left-handed hitters to a .150/.236/.168 line in 2004. He regressed a bit the next year, however, and while he didn't post that terrible of an ERA in his second season, his peripherals were much worse, dropping to a lefty/righty OPS split of .673/.981 in '05 after a .404/.688 in '04. That 2005 season ended poorly, as Ray was not used in the postseason and bad-mouthed Cardinal management thereafter. He was soon traded to the Rockies for Aaron Miles and Larry Bigbie.

Ray had a mediocre season as a Rockie in 2006; his strikeout rate dropped for the fifth consecutive season, and he posted a 4.43 ERA. As a National this season, Ray has struggled, posting a 6.55 ERA coming into the weekend series in St. Louis with a 5/5 K/BB ratio and 4 HR allowed in 11 innings. On Friday, he came in to start the top of the 7th inning to face the top of the O's lineup; he gave up a double to Brian Roberts before retiring Nick Markakis on a groundout. He was relieved by Winston Abreu and Roberts was stranded at second base.

And then there's Get Up Baby favorite Jason Simontacchi. Simo came up with the Cards in May 2002 when the starting rotation was decimated by injuries. He stuck by going 7-1 in his first 10 starts with the big club, posting a 2.77 ERA despite only a 26/17 K/BB in 61 2/3 IP in those starts. His ERA caught up to his peripherals in later starts, however, and he ended up at 4.02 for the season. Simo struggled out of the gate in 2003, but still made 16 starts before being demoted to the bullpen in early July. There, he proved a reliable long man, posting a 3.60 ERA with a 29/12 K/BB in 45 IP, which included one spot start late in the year. Despite his preference to start, he was slotted for that role in 2004 coming out of spring training, but gave up runs in his first four appearances and was demoted to Memphis. He was sent down and called up several times throughout the '04 season, and in those major-league appearances he only gave up 3 ER in 10 IP, but couldn't consistely crack what was a strong 'pen on that 105-win team.

After leaving the Cards after the 2004 season, Simo disappeared. Seriously. Perhaps Dan at GUB might've tracked him better and would know, but I can't find any record of him playing baseball in 2005. In '06, Simo emerged from his hiding and surfaced with the Bridgeport Bluefish of the independent Atlantic League. He pitched on a staff which included several former Cardinals: T.J. Mathews, Jimmy Journell, Luther Hackman, Donovan Osborne (ugh), and Pedro Borbon Jr. (yikes!). In 2007, Simo showed up in spring training with the Nats - a wise choice given the fact that only one slot in their starting rotation was set (John Patterson), and even he was injury-prone - and made two uninspiring starts in Columbus before being called up to make his first major league appearance since October 2, 2004 on May 8. Simo has actually pitched well in a Nats uniform, getting his second win in his fourth start in Cincinnati on Wednesday, and posting a 4.37 ERA with a 16/7 K/BB in 22 2/3 IP. On Friday against the O's, he gave the Nats a quality start, giving up 3 ER in 6 IP with 6 K/1 BB. Given the state of the Nats' rotation, he should stick if he continues to put up numbers that are anywhere decent.

Finally, I have to mention the former Cardinal broadcaster Bob Carpenter, who is in his second season as the Nats' play-by-play guy for the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network after spending over ten years with the Cards. Bob's been doing an excellent job, as always, with the Nats, and I'm sure those in St. Louis who remember him as fondly as yours truly does will be glad to see him back in town - just like the rest of these guys.