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HQ staffer Tony Bleill turned to 10 experts to answer 10 pressing questions about the 2010 MLB  season:

Q: With Joe Mauer – he of the $184 million contract extension – being arguably the best player in the American League, is it becoming cool again to be a catcher?

A: Yeah – a cool $180 million. That's not a bad way to have to don the tools of ignorance every day. When I was a kid, I always thought it was cool to be a catcher because you got to wear the neat gear and you were in on every play. And it's a position that not a lot of kids want to do, and it's a tough position. If it wasn't for that position, I never would have been able to play in the big leagues. It's a tough position, but it's rewarding. I still think catching is not a position a lot of kids want to play. It's down the list. Pitching is first, then a middle infield spot, then maybe first base, then possibly catcher. It's not cool to play the outfield because there's less action. It's still cool to be the pitcher or the shortstop, but catching is making a comeback. — DARRIN FLETCHER, former Illini and major league catcher

Will Cardinals' broadcasts be on WDWS 1400-AM again this season?

They're definitely going to be on. We'll have at least 145 regular season games. The only conflicts we normally have are with Illinois baseball. It used to be that we couldn't interrupt a Cardinals game. Let's say the Cardinals were playing at noon and Illinois was playing at 3. We wouldn't start the Cardinals game because we didn't have the right to dump out of it. Now we do have the right to do that. In that scenario, we can start the Cardinal game and, when it's time for the Illinois game to start, we would jump in and say we're leaving the Cardinal game for Fighting Illini baseball, and if you want to continue listening to the Cardinal game, we're going to plug WDAN or whatever station in Danville that carries the Cardinals. We can also join the Cardinals in progress. — STEVE KELLY, host of Sports Talk on WDWS

Who will be the next former Illini to reach the big leagues?

I was hoping Jason Anderson would get back. But everybody has told me he needs a third pitch. He's been working on it and hasn't come up with it. Chris Robinson (Class AAA, Cubs) would be my choice. I just saw him on TV the other day. He caught the last inning or two and had an at-bat. I think he's got a chance. I've got a friend who is a (scouting) cross-checker and he told me that he thought Chris would definitely catch in the big leagues. It may not be with that team. Sometimes a trade is good. — ITCH JONES, former Illini baseball coach

With the Twins opening a new open-air stadium this spring, should we be concerned about the weather in Minnesota in April and October?

Yes. However, you have to think of the mentality of Minnesotans. We wear a badge on our chests that we can withstand the weather. For crying out loud, it's been 50 degrees here the last week or two and you see people out with shorts and a T-shirt. Should we be concerned? Yeah. In April, we can see anything. In fact, we've had major winter storms in April. The potential of seeing some nasty weather in those months is there. However, you have to look at the mentality of the people that are experiencing it. A month ago, people were ice fishing with T-shirts on. So, to go to a baseball game when it's 48 degrees, it's not that big of a deal. —JERRID SEBESTA, meteorologist for KARE-11, NBC affiliate in Minneapolis-St. Paul

Can any team in the NL Central challenge the Cardinals?

I think the Cubs could. I haven't been down there in Arizona but they've got a young kid named Tyler Colvin that they like a lot in the outfield. He got called up last year in September and put up some nice numbers at the minor league level. I'm sure they're not happy with what they've seen from (Alfonso) Soriano right now. His knees don't look to be 100 percent. He's not moving around in the outfield at all. I think Colvin could be one of those guys that steps up. But if the Cardinals stay healthy, they're going to be real hard to catch. — RICK SUTCLIFFE, ESPN baseball analyst

How long do you think Matt Herges will play professional baseball?

I've talked to him, and basically his words are, until they pull the uniform off of him. Until the last team says no, he wants to keep playing. He has (played in the minors) in different parts of the last three years and his goal, obviously, is to get in the big leagues. One goal he has is to get in 10 full years, then he would have a full pension. The thing about him is, that's still the only thing he wants to do. He just loves putting the uniform on and playing baseball. I was telling my daughter that's kind of what separates the ones who make it, or the ones who last: They truly love it. They'd rather be doing nothing else. Even though things can become drudgery at times, the bottom line is they love it more than anything else, and that's why they put in the time. When I talk to him even now, he talks like he's 10 or 11 years old. He loves it. —KYLE HERGES, former Centennial baseball coach and brother of Kansas City Royals reliever Matt Herges

Q: With Major League Baseball effectively having pushed Upper Deck out of the scene, will Topps' monopoly be a bad thing for fans?

A: Upper Deck can still produce minor league cards, but people don't collect minor league cards. There's just no interest there. The average fan has no choice, and he doesn't really like that. People in this day and age like choice; they don't like being told what to do. Unfortunately, they have no choice when they buy baseball cards. It's just Topps. I've talked to a lot of people about this, both dealers and collectors. Most people aren't too happy about it. Topps has a monopoly. People think it would be OK if it was an oligopoly, with two or three producers. People right now are unsure what's going to happen. They don't know if they're going to raise the prices. Everyone is waiting in limbo.— MICHAEL OSACKY, University of Illinois graduate and Chicago-based card collector

What kind of impact will vaunted hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo have with the Cubs?

The proof is in the pudding. He continues to make hitters better. Hitters on other teams seek him out in the offseason. Right from our very first meeting when I was associate general manager of the Rangers, Rudy and I hit it off right away. He really starts from the ground up in his teaching philosophy. He has rooted and grounded theories on hitting and he explains those clearly. He has developed great drills. And he's very, very good at getting inside a guy's head. He is a complete coach. I think Chicago is going to love having him. — OREL HERSHISER, ESPN analyst and former Texas Rangers pitching coach

With Fox this year showing a few regular season games on Saturday nights, will prime time baseball work on that day of the week?

I think it'll fly, for true baseball fans. There's a lot of interest in those weekend games. We watch college football games at night, we watch college basketball games at night. I realize there's more to do outside, and the sun's up later. But I think for baseball fans, I don't think they ever seen enough baseball as it is. And those night games on national TV would be a unique thing for people to enjoy. — BRIAN BARNHART, former play-by-play voice of Anaheim Angels

With the lower power numbers in baseball in recent seasons, are we starting to see a greater emphasis on the stolen base?

One thing, with all of the new baseball numbers in terms of formulas, one part that is overlooked and difficult to quantify is speed. There are a lot of aspects of the game that get affected because of speed, or the threat of speed. That is a part that's overlooked but not by most managers. When you go back to one of the great basestealers of all time, Vince Coleman. The rap on Coleman was that he had a low on-base percentage. At the same time, Wade Boggs had great on-base numbers but did not steal bases and had virtually no speed. He got on base 300-plus times a year, but Boggs and Coleman were scoring about the same number of runs, even though Coleman would hit .280 with an on-base of .320. What that told me was, Coleman was still a great weapon even with a low on-base average, and speed was the great equalizer. When he got on base, he got himself into scoring position. That could be something where teams are looking more for those kinds of players. At the same time, the power has not gone down as much as you'd expect. The overall numbers have gone down a little bit, it's just the huge numbers of guys hitting 60 or 70 home runs, that's not happening. I still think there's the natural tendency for a manager to say, "Well, the risk is too high doing a lot of basestealing because the next guy could be popping a two- or three-run homer." — JON MILLER, ESPN play-by-play voice