JUPITER, Fla. -- The final week of Spring Training means that the feeling-out period is over. Cardinals manager Tony La Russa knows what he has, even if he doesn't necessarily know which 25 names will be on his Opening Day roster.

It's a time when the lineups stop looking like what you'd find in a day game after a night game against the Pirates in mid-August, and more like a Friday night series opener against Houston. The Cardinals have yet to trot out their full projected Opening Day lineup this spring, due to injuries, the World Baseball Classic and simple days off. But La Russa has shown enough to give an idea of what the group will look like.

A few things are set. David Eckstein will lead off. Albert Pujols will bat third. Against right-handers, Jim Edmonds will hit cleanup and Scott Rolen will hit fifth. Against lefties, those two may switch, but you also may see some substitutions -- remember, Yadier Molina batted fourth against southpaws at times in 2005.

The biggest question at this point is what to do with new right fielder Juan Encarnacion. A free swinger with a little power, Encarnacion seems ideally suited for the sixth or seventh spot. He doesn't get on base as much as you'd like to see someone do in front of Pujols, but he does have the kind of pop that allows him to drive in runs.

Encarnacion has hit second on consecutive days, and there's a good chance that's where he'll be on Opening Day in Philadelphia. Of course, this is La Russa, so there will be plenty of combinations as he keeps his reserves in the mix and gives his starters -- other than Pujols -- plenty of rest.

With that in mind, here's a look at one possible combination for how the Cardinals lineup will shake down, and some of the thinking that goes into it.

1. Eckstein, SS: Eckstein is the definition of what La Russa wants in a leadoff man: he works deep counts, forces the pitcher to show his hand and gets on base at a solid clip (.363 OBP last year, .351 lifetime). He's not a speedster, but you don't run all that much with Pujols, Edmonds and Rolen lurking -- because you don't want to give away outs. Eckstein is the second-surest thing in the lineup, aside from Pujols.

2. Encarnacion, RF: This is the interesting one. You may see So Taguchi here at times. You may see John Rodriguez, who has the combination of the "damage" that La Russa craves and a willingness to take an occasional walk. But Encarnacion, who has averaged just under 19 homers per year the last four years, is the guy La Russa would love to see work out.

"I like damage in the second spot if possible," La Russa said. "And he has a lot of things. He's got good legs, he's got extra-base pop, and he's got enough experience to understand the value of 3-4-5 behind him."

Larry Walker hit second much of the time he was in St. Louis, and La Russa acknowledges that his combination of power, bat control and on-base ability made Walker pretty much the perfect No. 2 batter.

3. Pujols, 1B: The best hitter goes in the No. 3 spot. It's an axiom in baseball -- although some lineup simulations suggest that actually you should hit your best hitter second. Pujols is guaranteed to come up in the first inning, often with a runner on. This is the one true slam dunk.

4. Edmonds, CF: Here's another place where it gets interesting. Edmonds has hit second quite a bit in St. Louis, but he's not particularly fond of it and he hasn't fared as well there. He meets the criteria for the two spot, but his exceptional power also helps him shake down as a classic cleanup man. The Cardinals will avoid putting Edmonds back in the two hole unless other options just don't work out.

"I just think the way the club shapes up, he's probably our best four hitter against a right-handed pitcher," La Russa said.

Edmonds actually has very little platoon split over the past three years. He's hit for a slightly higher batting average and slightly lower slugging percentage against lefties, though his on-base has been 37 points lower against left-handed pitchers. Still, he will likely move down to the five spot against opponents' lefty starters.

5. Rolen, 3B: Traditionally, the fifth hitter looked a lot like the fourth hitter, except sometimes a little more limited -- more of a pure power guy at times, perhaps someone who hits for a lower average or gets on base less. In Rolen's case, La Russa prefers left-handed protection for Pujols rather than the right-handed Rolen, at least against righty starters.

In a good year, though, Rolen is a fine fit for anywhere from second through sixth, because he hits for average, gets on base and hits for power.

6. Taguchi, LF: In recent years, the Cardinals have had a lot more "damage" or "danger" in the No. 6 spot than they're likely to have this year. Edgar Renteria manned this position for much of his tenure in St. Louis, and Reggie Sanders hit there a lot as well. Now it's likely to be someone with a little less power.

"I don't mind having Taguchi hit sixth," La Russa said. "A line drive wins a lot of games. I have absolutely no problem with that. It's nice to have some extra-base power, but it's more to be a good hitter."

To some extent, the sixth and seventh spots are the last ones filled out in a National League lineup. After the top positions, often a manager will figure out who should hit eighth, the last position-player spot, before figuring out who bats sixth and seventh.

7. Molina, C: Last season, Molina hit eighth for much of the year, but La Russa prefers to have a slower player like Molina hitting seventh if possible. That's because often he will have the pitcher bunt, and a slow player can make the sacrifice attempt a failure.

The Cardinals hope and expect that Molina will show some offensive development in 2006, making him a fine candidate for the few extra plate appearances that come a little higher in the lineup. If he hits left-handed pitching as well as he did last year, he could bat higher than this against southpaws.

8. Junior Spivey, 2B: Entering camp, Spivey looked like someone who would hit much higher in the order, perhaps even second. But a rough spring has meant he's batting lower in the order most of the time. If Spivey returns to his previous form, he could hit second, or he could be the line-drive hitter batting sixth and driving in the sluggers when they get on base and in scoring position.