Inaugural Post and Season Preview!

Ah, spring is here, and the smell of fresh grass, beer and hotdogs has filled the air. Time to break out the old leather from under the bed and start getting it oiled up for another baseball season. Frankly, it’s this time of year that is probably my most favorite. Why? Maybe it’s because the weather is changing from a bleak, stark, cold winter to a more optimistic, sunny, warm summer. Maybe it’s because Opening Day always reminds me of my childhood with my father watching the Cards at the old Busch Stadium with the artificial turf and Ozzie patrolling the patch of land known as shortstop (and I’m pretty sure he covered third and second AT THE SAME TIME… But that may just be how it felt). But at any rate a new season is upon us, and this season could be by far the most intriguing for my beloved Redbirds.

This season has many new faces for us to grow accustomed to, and many familiar friends wearing new uniforms. Jim Edmonds, Scott Rolen, So Taguchi, David Eckstein, and Scott Spiezio are gone (Note: Add Juan Encarnacion to that list due to a possible career ending eye injury from being hit by a foul ball last season. It would take a miracle to save his career at this point.). Troy Glaus, Cesar Izturis, Matt Clement, Ron Villone, Jason LaRue, and Kyle Lohse, along with a battery of young players from the minors, have been added.

Here’s a brief rundown of the stories to watch this year:

OUTFEILD
Gone are the days of Jimmy Edmonds’ breathtaking back-to-home-plate-over-the-shoulder-game-changing-diving grabs. He has been replaced by Rick Ankiel whose remarkable story of promising young pitcher, to tragic fallen star, to reinvented power hitting outfielder has made him one the most beloved Cardinals of all time and, in my opinion, the most intriguing aspect to this season. Not seeing Jimmy retire in a Cards uniform is pretty sad, but injuries over the years have limited his defensive range and his swing has been non-existent for longer than that. Ankiel, although still a rough talent, has translated his mid 90s fastball to a live arm in the outfield that’s going to contribute to many an exciting out this year and make runners think twice about trying to stretch out to the next bag. His bat has steadily been improving, and, as of now, he is projected in the cleanup spot behind Albert and before Glaus, or as the number five spot behind those two, which should tell you how the Cardinal brass feel about his batting potential.

He’ll be joined in the outfield by Skip Schumaker, Ryan Ludwick, Chris Duncan, and Brian Barton. All of these guys will probably end up as a platoon in the outfield, but they all have shown live bats and even liver arms (with the exception of Barton whose arm is sub-par, but his speed helps compensate). If Duncan can improve his usually suspect defense enough to limit the damage then this could be one of the strongest outfields St. Louis has seen in a long time. Barton, a young Rule 5 draftee stolen away from Cleveland, offers some additional intrigue as he’s got tremendous speed, decent defensive abilities, and put together an impressive spring to force his way on to the big league roster. If Duncan can prove he’s not a huge defensive liability and Ankiel lives up to his massive potential, the middle of the lineup with Dunc, Pujols, Ankiel, and Glaus could be a pretty intimidating combination as each player has the ability to hit at least 30HRs and 100 RBIs each. Also, look for rising star and projected future center fielder Colby Rasmus to make an appearance in The Bigs sometime this season. He’s got huge potential and is expected to be the center fielder for years to come, but the brass think the 21 year old needs just a little more time in Triple A before he’s completely ready to make the jump.

INFIELD
A swap at the hot corner brought in Troy Glaus and shipped out disgruntled former employee Scotty Rolen to the Toronto Blue Jays. We’re going to miss Scotty’s defense (which most would rank up there as near the top in his position), but Troy brings a little more pop in his bat and hopefully can bring at least a serviceable glove to the corner. Not to mention the feud between Scotty and LaRussa that began during the 2006 World Series run and carried over into last season, which became a distraction and a cancer in the locker room. I think the fresh air will help everyone.

Cesar Izturis has been commissioned to replace the hometown favorite Eckstein this year. Eckstein, like Rolen and Edmonds, was a key player in the Cardinals success over the past few years, which earned him a World Series MVP in 2006. Fans loved his small size but massive heart/hustle and grit. His lead off bat will be sorely missed as well this season. He’ll be joining Rolen in exile in Toronto (Seriously, Canada?! Do they even know what Baseball is?). The Izturis signing didn’t make a whole lot of people very happy as his errors and lack of offensive production over the last few seasons have been well documented since being considered one of the best defensive shortstops in the game not too long ago. The Cards hope that his defense will be better with a more solidified role as well as being two years removed from leg troubles that may have contributed to his limited range and speed. LaRussa hopes to have him bat in the ninth spot behind the pitcher in an effort to make him a “double leadoff man” of sorts. Only time will tell if LaRussa’s mad scientist tinkering will be fruitful or a bust. Should the Izturis experiment fail, however, Brendan Ryan will be ready to fill the void as well as SS/2B backup Aaron Miles. Ryan will open the season on the 15 day disabled list with a strained rib cage but should be ready for action in a few weeks.

Adam Kennedy at second base is also hoping to improve over last year’s dismal performance in both the field and at the plate. The leash is short, however, and Ryan and Miles could see significant playing time at that position as well.

There's been a lot of talk about Albert's partially torn elbow ligament and how that might affect his season or if he may possibly need surgery that will take more than a year to heal from. Before you start freaking out and hyperventilating, however, Pujols does not expect to have surgery. He's had this injury for a few years now, and he's against getting surgery until when and if it completely blows. It does not affect his swing, so he should be his usual productive self at the plate this year and is looking to rebound from an "off year" last year where he still hit 32 HRs and had 99 RBIs- one short of 7 consecutive seasons of at least 30HRs and 100 RBIs. Seriously, if that's an off year, I think we're in good shape. Chill. He's still the best hitter of this era.

Last but not least Rico Washington, an 11 year veteran of the minors, has been placed on the big league roster. It’s a feel good story, but not one likely to end with Rico in The Bigs all season. He’s basically being used as a stop gap until Ryan returns.

PITCHING
The biggest question mark of the season lies in the starting rotation. Adding Kyle Lohse late in spring helps bolster a rotation that is missing starters Chris Carpenter, Mark Mulder, Matt Clement, and Joel Piniero. Piniero experienced a tightening in his back/shoulder early in spring, but is expected to return in late April. Mulder and Clement, facing rehab from surgery, should return in early-mid May and mid-late May respectively while Chris Carpenter is expected sometime around the All-Star Break. Expected to hold down the fort while waiting for the cavalry to arrive are Adam Wainwright (a bona fide starter with potential to be an Ace one day), Lohse, and converted relievers Brad Thompson, Todd Wellemeyer, and Braden Looper. As the other guys come back look for the bottom three to be phased back into the bullpen.

If everything works out according to plan, the starting rotation after the All-Star Break could be Carpenter, Mulder, Wainwright, Clement, and Piniero/Loshe. If they are all true to past form that could be one of the most disgusting rotations in The Bigs and leaves the Cards Admin with plenty of trade bait to add an impact player in the second half of the season. Let’s just hope the current rotation can keep us in competition through April and May so adding an impact player will… well… have an impact.

The bullpen, however, is looking strong as ever with Randy Flores, Ryan Franklin, Jason Isringhausen, Josh Kinney, Kyle McClellan, Russ Springer, Ron Villone, and new addition, converted starter Anthony Reyes who didn’t show enough during spring training to erase the memories of a deplorable 2-14 season last year to earn a spot in the rotation. Once Tyler Johnson returns and the three current starters get displaced by the returning starters, the bullpen will be loaded with quality guys. Look for Reyes and possibly a few others to be used as trade bait later on in the season as well.

So that’s the briefest rundown of the 2008 St. Louis Cardinals that I can give you. There’s a lot riding on pure hope and speculation this year. If things work out as planned this team could surprise a lot of people, but, as is the case usually with so much relying on hopes and prayers, it just as easily be a disaster. Currently, I find that most “expert” projections place us at or near the bottom of the Central Division, which I find is a little harsh but not too far off. I think we can’t realistically expect this team to make the playoffs this year or contend for a division title with Milwaukee and Chicago, but I expect the combination of savvy veterans, young blood, and new talent to push us to about four games better than last year, and in the worst division in baseball that may be enough. Needless to say the rebuilding has gone better than planned so far, and this current team will be fun to watch, as well as the possible trades that might happen as people get healthier. Don’t drink the spring training cool-aid just yet, but this year, more than in years previous, anything could happen.

So that’s it. Let’s Play Ball!