4. Dave Duncan, Cardinals pitching coach: He's about as celebrated as a coach can be, and with good reason. While he's reputedly the highest-paid pitching coach in baseball, he still may be the most underpaid man in the game in any capacity. He has worked wonders for years, and this may be his finest season to date. It'll be interesting to see if a rift with the front office can be worked out after Duncan disagreed with the handling of his son Chris, who was traded for shortstop Julio Lugo. Top guys Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright are Cy Young candidates and currently form the best one-two punch in the game (ever so slightly better than the Giants' duo of Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain). But several other lesser talents are having big years as well. Ryan Franklin, a failure elsewhere, has become a star closer. Boston castoff Joel Pineiro has developed into a solid No. 3 starter. And John Smoltz, in the words of one scout, "had Duncan's magic dust sprinkled on him" and is back to being more than a semblance of Smoltz.
Sports Illustrated
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