Location: St. Louis, Mo. | Ballpark: Busch Stadium (46,861) | Spring Training: Jupiter, Fla.
Owner: William DeWitt, Jr. | GM: John Mozeliak | Manager: Tony La Russa | World Championships: 10
Season in seven words: "Elite starting pitching is a powerful deodorant." ... Hero: Albert Pujols proved proficient at many baseball-related activities ... Loserhead: Rick Ankiel didn't exactly seize centerfield by the horns in his free-agent walk year. His dramatic story won't have a Natural ending -- especially if the 2010 chapter is set in Pittsburgh, as many pundits expect it to be ... Key need: A month from now, they might have to replace the game's best manager and pitching coach, along with an A-list outfielder. Remove La Russa, Duncan and Holliday from this organization, and this becomes a mess in a hurry. Did I mention that Albert Pujols' contract is up after 2010? ... Prognosis: Way too many moving parts here.
09/29/2009
5
5
Adam Wainwright isn't an awful, indefensible choice for the NL Cy Young like Bartolo Colon was a few years back, but it's kinda rare that the award goes to a pitcher who's only the second-best starter on his own team ... I can't see the Albert Pujols contract-extension talks, which may or may not take place this offseason, being too much of a headache. One thing Pu has going for him: The tissue-gentle St. Louis fans won't turn on him even if he asks for $42.5 million annually and a fully stocked game reserve for target practice ... Did I get this right? Tony La Russa got into a shouting match with the Colorado groundskeeper about the height and granular consistency of the Coors Field mound? If that's not a stealth motivational ploy, the guy really oughta loosen his shoelaces.
09/22/2009
5
4
I try to understand defensive stats, I really do. All I know is what my eyes tell me, which is that Skip Schumaker has become pretty darn adept at fielding his position. ... And now Kyle Lohse and Mark DeRosa are approaching something close to full health. The irony? This is a far superior team to the one that claimed a title in 2006, and yet the odds are against them doing it again.
09/15/2009
4
2
I get the impression that the sluggishness over the last week was by design -- La Russa making sure all his charges are well-rested for the battles ahead, etc. They remain the NL front-runner by a substantial margin. ... Has anyone noticed that pundits are starting to give Brendan Ryan the David Eckstein treatment, ignoring his menial stats while praising "what he brings to the team?" Just once, I'd like to see somebody ascribe these magical, oh-so-winning traits to a non-white player.
09/08/2009
2
2
St. Louis Cardinals: They've got as much top-o'-the-roster talent as the Phillies or Dodgers. It's what they have further down the list -– useful parts aplenty, both in the bullpen and on the bench, that makes them the league's top dog about now. ... The staff doesn't surrender walks or home runs. Ain't it funny how that tends to suppress opponents' offense? Perhaps other teams ought to buy into this novel strategic approach. ... Chris Carpenter will probably win the Cy Young, simply because the voters can't resist the lure of A Great Story ("oft-injured ace comes back better than ever before, treats reporters and small children kindly"). That doesn't change the fact that Tim Lincecum is a more deserving choice, owing as much to the higher number of innings and missed bats as to circumstance. Carpenter puts the Cards in a position to win if he limits the damage to, say, five runs in six innings; Lincecum needs to be perfect to rise above his team's lowly offense.
09/01/2009
2
4
They went 20-6 in August and didn't lose a series or back-to-back games. They're 25-9 since Matt Holliday arrived and have the momentum of a bowling ball tumbling from the Arch. ... As the Cards coast through September and rest up for what should be a deep October run, the talk-radio crowd oughta be apologizing to GM John Mozeliak. At this time last year, his intelligence and his nerve were being questioned on a near-daily basis. ... At some point we're going to have to abandon the "Joel Pineiro is doing well because he's a free agent and because pitching yoda Dave Duncan has impressed upon him the importance of throwing strikes and getting ground balls" script and just concede that the guy has evolved into an asset. ... Adam Wainwright shouldn't just be part of the Cy Young conversation; he should be the interviewer, or at least the second guest on Jay's couch after Tim Lincecum.
08/25/2009
4
6
I can't get too excited about John Smoltz's first NL outing, which came against a Padres lineup attempting to get home in time to catch Desperate Housewives. ... Owing to their favorable schedule -– 21 of their remaining 36 games will be played at home, and only 12 of 36 are against teams with winning records –- the Cardinals are as good a bet to claim home-field advantage in the NL playoffs as anybody else. Of course, their on-field personnel and relative health might have something to do with it as well. ... The one reason to worry: a 23-22 record against .500-and-above teams.
08/18/2009
6
9
A star-heavy bevy of bashers? A fundamentals-first gaggle of scrappers? A bunch of misfits guided by the game's greatest tactician? Yes, yes, and sexy yes! ... Was Julio Lugo not trying in Boston, or is the caliber of play so much lower in the National League that he looks rejuvenated simply by showing up? ... Given how well Adam Wainwright and Chris Carpenter are pitching, there aren’t too many teams that will be tougher in a short playoff series.
08/11/2009
9
10
It doesn't look like they'll be getting anything from Troy Glaus this season. Truth is, if Mark DeRosa stays healthy and productive and Khalil Greene stays chipper, they won't really need him. Offense ain't the problem here ... As if everything else he does isn't enough, Albert Pujols tended to an older fan who maimed himself while reaching for a foul ball. He's Mother Teresa in cleats and a jock.
08/04/2009
10
13
The Cards aren't capable of making a summer prospects-for-proven-performer deal that doesn't work out swimmingly. Sure, Mark DeRosa started slow and achy, but look what he's done since then. Add the triumphs of years past to the list -- McGwire, Clark, Rolen, Larry Walker, and now DeRosa and Matt Holliday -- and you've got a team that has consistently cashed in its chips to great effect ... Speaking of Holliday, all of a sudden he's America's Next Top Free Agent once anew. We are so, so quick to pass judgment ... Chris Carpenter is supposed to shatter if you look at him the wrong way, but he didn't look frail and pasty after doubling the other day and galloping around the bases like a rabid stallion. Good for him.
Preseason Power Rankings
Date
Ranking
Previous
02/16/2009
14
-
How the hell did they win 86 games last season?... The core talent is largely unchanged, so I'll just assume Tony La Russa and Dave Duncan will somehow wring 80-something wins out of this bunch. That is, if La Russa's head doesn't explode first, after the Cardinals led the league in blame-it-on-the-economy mea culpas this offseason. One gets the impression he and GM John Mozeliak will spend the next nine months exchanging passive-aggressive non-compliments ("John definitely leaves his mark," "Tony has managed a lot of great players"). ... I say fill the vacancy at second base with an American Idol-ish competition. Better to give the public some say in the matter than to hand it over to a flighty mite (Brendan Ryan) or a defensive abomination waiting to happen (to-be-converted OF Skip Schumaker). Why hasn't Orlando Hudson been brought into the fold?
