2008 MLB Preview: St. Louis Cardinals

Manager: Tony La Russa
Arrivals: SP Matt Clement, 3B Troy Glaus, SS Cesar Izturis, C Jason Larue
Departures: C Gary Bennett, 3B Russell Branyan, 2B Miguel Cairo, SS David Eckstein, OF Jim Edmonds, RP Troy Percival, OF John Rodriguez, 3B Scott Rolen, OF So Taguchi, SP Kip Wells, OF Preston Wilson*

Offseason grade: F

Starting rotation

With Chris Carpenter's status up in the air, the Cardinals rotation is extremely weak. This was a group that was pretty bad in 2007, and yet, all the Cardinals did to improve the rotation was sign Matt Clement, who hasn't been good since the first half of 2005. 

And that, in a nutshell, is why the Cardinals got an F for the offseason. If St. Louis really was serious about winning in 2008, they needed to improve their rotation more than signing Matt Clement.

Adam Wainwright is a good, young arm and Joel Piniero had success in limited time as a starter, but after those two, the rotation goes downhill real fast.

Let's start with Braden Looper, a guy the Cardinals are counting on to be their No. 2 or 3 starter. Looper went 12-12 with a 4.94 ERA in 2007, hardly numbers you want for a mid-rotation starter. As a matter of fact, those aren't numbers you want for any starter in a competitive rotation.

After Looper, there's Clement. The first thing that jumped out at me when looking at Clement's profile was not that he didn't pitch last year–and thusly contributed in his own way to the Red Sox winning the World Series–but that he shaved off his trademark chin hair.

After the 2005 All-Star break, Clement's career has imploded like the Kingdome. Clement's ERA skyrocketed to 4.57 by the end of 2005 and when Clement went on the disabled list in 2006, his ERA was at 6.61. 

There's a slim, slim chance that Clement could regain his ability to pitch that was so evident when he was with the Cubs from 2002-2004, but really, if the Cardinals are relying on Clement to be a consistent member of their rotation, they're in for pretty bad season in 2008.

Finally, Anthony Reyes comes in after a miserable 2007 in which he went 2-14 with a 6.04 ERA. Maybe Reyes should have spent less time ironing his hat and more time working on his pitching skills that were so promising in 2006. 

The Cardinals' rotation could be good if Piniero, Reyes, and Clement all improve–which they could. However, I don't see that happening this year.

What I do see happening is the Cardinals rotation getting torn to shreds by the above-average lineups that populate the NL Central in Chicago, Milwaukee, Cincinnati, and Houston.

Starting rotation grade: D+

Bullpen

The Cardinals have a number of good arms in their bullpen, but what they lack is a consistent lefty. Why do I bring this up first? Because Tony La Russa loves to micromanage games by playing the percentages all the time.

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