SAN FRANCISCO - Sporting buzz cuts, dreadlocks, comparatively little major-league experience, three left-handed bats complemented by two right-handed ones, greater speed and one sore left hamstring, the St. Louis Cardinals' outfield offers five disparate talents for three outfield positions. | MLB page

Five names can go into three positions many ways. It only seems like manager Tony La Russa has tried every combination during his team's 9-4 start.

"If all things were equal, I'd flip a coin," La Russa said regarding his decision-making process last weekend.

Since things are inherently unequal, La Russa does not carry a 60-sided coin. Instead, he nightly aligns Rick Ankiel, Brian Barton, Chris Duncan, Ryan Ludwick and Skip Schumaker to form so far the most productive facet of the National League's most surprising division leader.

"Everybody's got a reason to say they should be in the starting lineup. When they've gotten a chance, they've all played well," La Russa said.

The five-man Cardinals outfield rotation tonight enters its 14th game third in the major leagues with a .986 on-base-plus-slugging percentage compared with a .771 figure that ranked just 18th last season. Only the Arizona Diamondbacks' .626 outfield slugging percentage surpasses the Cardinals' (.600). Through Sunday, no outfield in either league matched the Redbirds' 25 extra-base hits.

The quintet entered the season with 1,816 major-league at-bats between them, or less than half as many as the 4,685 right fielder Juan Encarnacion would have brought into the season had he not sustained a career-threatening eye injury last August. Duncan, with less than two years' major-league service, leads the contingent with 665 at-bats entering spring training.

"We were all pretty much in the same boat going into camp," Schumaker said. "I don't think anybody really had anything guaranteed. It was competitive. But at the same time, we all wanted to see each other do well. I think it made us closer more than anything."

"We get along great," Ludwick said. "Coming into spring training I was battling for a job. When the season starts, your goal is just winning. When you're in there, you're going to take advantage of your opportunities. When you're not, you've got to be ready to come in a pinch-hit role. … We're all competitors. That's why we're playing well."

Ludwick enters tonight's series opener against the Brewers with home runs in three consecutive games. Through Sunday, he also was one of 11 NL players with at least eight extra-base hits, and the only one of those 11 with fewer than 50 plate appearances. (He has 39.) Ludwick's 1.210 OPS led NL right fielders with at least 30 at-bats.

Ankiel ranked 17th league-wide in slugging percentage and 21st in OPS through Sunday. His four home runs tied for fifth in the league; his 11 RBIs stood alone in fifth.

Despite his much-scrutinized 0-for-16 start, Schumaker was tied for 10th in the league in runs scored entering Monday's games. Only the Diamondbacks' Chris Young (12) and Eric Byrnes (11) had more runs among NL outfielders.

"You do what you can with the opportunities you're given," he said. "It's not a situation where guys sit around hoping somebody else does poorly so they'll get more playing time. You can't win like that. That's not what we're about."

Schumaker still waits for his first RBI in 40 at-bats, a reflection of both his early struggles and continued halting production at the bottom of the order.

Schumaker also is one of only two Cardinals averaging more than four pitches per plate appearance. The ranking of the other, Ankiel, is partly attributed to his team-high 12 strikeouts.

Known as an early-count hacker his previous three seasons in St. Louis, Schumaker has balanced aggressiveness and plate discipline while hitting predominantly to the opposite field. He reached base five times and scored a career-most four runs in Friday's win over the San Francisco Giants. His 10-for-26 road trip included a nine-for-18 spree during a four-game span ending Friday.

Barton and Duncan form a de facto platoon whenever Schumaker is not in left field. Through 13 games, the duo conspired for 25 total bases in 45 at-bats.

"I feel like I've been coming around the last couple weeks," said Duncan, slowed by a left hamstring strain during the team's first home stand. "I'm happy with how I've swung the bat. Right now, it's fun to be part of a group where everybody is contributing."

With only 25 games above Class AA, Barton played his way onto the 25-man roster this spring as a Rule 5 draftee. If the Cardinals at some point wish to send him to the minor leagues, they must first offer him back to the Cleveland Indians or else work out a trade with his former club.

Barton, who turns 26 on April 25, has given the Cardinals little reason to ponder either scenario. The Cardinals are 4-0 when he starts. Sunday he came off the bench to contribute an infield single and lift his average to .421 in 19 at-bats.

Barton possesses a "short" arm that confines him to left field and has so far caused La Russa to remove him in "late-and-close" situations. But his speed, flashing dreadlocks and raw aggressiveness already have endeared Barton to a fan base that had grown tired of an established but aging, injury-prone alignment.

"As a young player, I'm used to playing every day," Barton said. "It's not an easy situation not knowing when exactly you're going to play or what situation you're going to come into. But at the same time, I think I've shown an ability to handle that. I understand myself pretty well. I'm understanding the role."

The Cardinals' most lopsided win this season came in Friday night's 8-2 wipeout of the Giants with Schumaker batting leadoff and Barton hitting second. La Russa's lineups have been so closely scrutinized that it is sometimes difficult for him to hear it as anything but an indictment of the other 59 possibilities.

"There's enough games in six months," La Russa reminded. "They'll all play."

It's a promise, not a threat.