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.
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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.
Russ Springer and Ryan Franklin both give the Cardinals a quality righty arm out of the bullpen and Jason Ishringhausen proved that he still can be a good closer last year.
But now, let's set up a typical 8th inning for the Cardinals. Let's say their facing the Brewers, who have Tony Gwynn Jr. (L), Ryan Braun (R), and Price Fielder (L) coming up. La Russa will start the inning with Tyler Johnson, who gives up a double to Gwynn.
Next comes in Springer, who looks amazing and strikes out Braun on three pitches.
Then, Randy Flores comes in and looks equally as amazing and fans Prince Fielder on three pitches.
With JJ Hardy coming up, La Russa elects to go to Todd Wellemeyer, a righty, because he already used Franklin to eat a few innings when Matt Clement got torched. Instead of leaving an in-the-groove Flores (or Springer) on the mound, he elects to go to Wellemeyer, who, in perfect Todd Wellemeyer fashion, gives up an RBI single to Hardy.
Keep that scenario in mind, because it wouldn't surprise me if it happened at some point this year.
What I'm getting at is that the Cardinals have a decent, but not very deep bullpen, and La Russa's mismanagement of it could be its ultimate downfall.
Bullpen grade: C+
Lineup
For the last five or so years, the staples of the Cardinals lineup have been Albert Pujols, Scott Rolen, and Jim Edmonds. They were what you thought of when you thought Cardinals baseball. Now, only one remains.
Rolen, who was driven out of St. Louis unjustly by La Russa, was injury-prone but still provided a few good at-bats and excellent defense at third base. The Cardinals traded him for Troy Glaus, who provides very good power to hit behind Pujols but plays defense about as well as a drunk/coked up Ozzy Ozborne sings take me out to the ballgame.
Edmonds was on his way out and needed to be traded to give way to Colby Rasmus down the road. For now, you'll see Miracle Man Rick Ankiel patrolling centerfield. Ankiel, along with Chris Duncan and Skip Schumaker, will be interesting to watch to see how they improve and perform this year.
As for the rest of the lineup, it's unimpressive at best. Yadier Molina proves great defense behind the plate and will hit for a decent average, but provides very little in terms of power and RBIs.
Adam Kennedy and Cesar Izturis make up what might be the weakest-hitting double play combination in baseball. Why the Cardinals gave Izturis, whose career on-base percentage is below .300, a starting job is a question that baseball minds and Chinese monks have been pondering all winter.
Outside of Pujols, Glaus, and maybe Ankiel, Schumaker, and Duncan, this lineup isn't anything to write home about, just like the rest of the Cardinals. I'm giving them a C just because they have Pujols–if not, this lineup easily would earn a D- or F.
Lineup grade: C
Bench
Aaron Miles and Scott Spezio are both pretty good backup infielders who give the Cardinals good options off the bench. Hopefully, for the Cardinals' sake, Miles ends up starting at second over Kennedy.
Ryan Ludwick gives the Cardinals another quality bat off the bench, where he should stay. The Cardinals have too much young talent in the outfield for Ludwick to start over them.
Bench grade: B-
It's funny how things change so quickly. The Cardinals went from World Champions in 2006 (a side note: In my opinion, they were the worst team to ever win a World Series, and I think the stats back me up on that one) to third-place and under .500 in 2007.
If you thought that's as far as this team could fall, boy, you were wrong. Look for the Cardinals to be battling the Pirates for the basement of the NL Central this year.
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6 months ago
You Cub fans are all the same!
Yeah, Go,Cubs,Go!!
Your logic is about as solid as the Cubs defense.
"...Troy Glaus, who provides very good power to hit behind Pujols but plays defense about as well as a drunk/coked up Ozzy Ozborne sings take me out to the ballgame."
Scott Rolen was THE best defensive 3rd baseman in the Senior Circuit.
Although a step down, comparing Troy Glaus to a drunk Ozzy Ozborne is somewhat of an overstatement on your part.
Glaus will do just fine and what he may lack in defense, he will more than compensate with his bat.
Rolen was washed up, just like Edmonds.
Pujols isn't as "hurt" as he makes out to be.
Carpenter will be back after the All Star break and Mulder will be back sometime in the first half of the season.
Yeah, Go , Cubs, Go....
It's year 100 and one thing for sure, The Cubs will ALWAYS suck!
1. Brewers
2. St. Louis
3. Cubs
4. Houston
5. Pittsburgh
6. Reds
6 months ago
J, are you kidding me?
I'm a White Sox fan. Yet, I'm an unbiased White Sox fan who realizes that the Cardinals have absolutely nothing going for them this year. And, while I hate to admit it, the Cubs are the best team in the division by far.
6 months ago
who is this guy?
Let's look for the worst possible and call it probable.
LaRussa is such a terrible manager that he has managed finding his way to the playoffs on a regular basis - with some pretty mediocre teams.
The Cards will finish above the Cubs.
6 months ago
I'm a die hard cards fan and this is going to be a long season. It's not like any of the moves they have made over the past few years are going to help their future either. Signing questionable journeymen (piniero, kennedy, wellemeyer, etc...) instead of spending money on solid free agents has been the wrong philosophy.
If they don't want to spend money (understandable) they need to get younger, but that is not happening. Also, trading one washed up guy like rolen for another washed up guy like glaus makes absolutely no sense.
Couple all that with the cards having one of the worst minor league systems in the game and this could be a struggle for the next decade. I'm so excited ...
6 months ago
Let's not kid ourselves, Cardinal fans. You're honestly delusional if you believe the Cardinals will come close to winning this division at this point. This is a preseason prediction, and, as such, takes into account the team's status right now. Your two best pitchers are injured and will be out for a large portion of the season. You have one (1) marquee player in Pujols, but that's not enough. He could hit .400 with 80 home runs and 200 RBI and it wouldn't be enough. The rest of the patchwork lineup is far too inconsistent to win on a regular basis.
Let us just compare.
Soto v. Molina - Molina
Lee v. Pujols - Pujols
DeRosa v. Kennedy - DeRosa
Ramirez v. Glaus - Ramirez
Theriot v. Izturis - Theriot (who actually beat Izturis for the starting job, so yeah)
Soriano v. Schumaker - Soriano
Fukudome v. Duncan - Fukudome
Pie v. Ankiel - Push
As much as I tried to favor the Cardinals in this comparison, the Cubs still won out offensively, where there is greatest similarity. The Cubs starters, as it stands, are all healthy and experienced. They have many to choose from, and Zambrano, Lilly, and Hill are all better than the Cardinals' options outside of Carpenter and Mulder, who, as has already been mentioned, are both injured.
As for the bullpen, the closer for the Cubs is presently unsettled, but I imagine they will choose a serviceable option. However, I will still give the Cardinals the edge, out of the kindness of my heart. Whichever two of the three remaining options will provide excellent setup. Carlos Marmol has been ranked by many as the best middle reliever in baseball, Kerry Wood was solid in his time out of the bullpen last year and showed (and is showing) dominance towards the end of the year. Howry is solid and consistent. Other relieves include Scott Eyre, who posted a .81 ERA in the second half, Michael Wuertz, who has the second best inherited runners stranded ratio in the NL (second only to Marmol). The remaining spots will likely be filled by whichever veteran does not make the rotation (as it stands, I would prefer Jon Lieber, simply because Marquis was much better from the rotation than the bullpen last year) and possibly one the Cubs young studs like Billy Petrick or Jose Ceda.
6 months ago
"anonymous" u have got to be kidding me putting pie and ankiel in the same skill level. look at the stats, ankiel hit like .285 with 14 homers and 55ish RBIs in like 1/3rd season, pie hit .219 with 2 homers and 19 RBIs, and while pie is fast and a great fielder, ankiel has been proven to be a good fielder too. I really think the cards this year depend on consistency, luck, and health. their lineup can be decent if players stay consistent, last year there were too many hot/cold streaks (most being cold). if their starting rotation can play to the skill level it has, it can be decent too , and the cards bullpen is strong. hopefully they will get the sense to start brendan ryan or aaron miles at 2nd, as everyone knows kennedy sucksssssssss thats just my 2 cents, im only 15 so if this was dumb, bear with me....
6 months ago
also fukodome hasnt proven anything, that is a give or take right there...
6 months ago
some quick hits:
-For 2008, I'll take 12-12 starter with a sub 5 ERA in my rotation any day. Looper just needs to pitch in every day game the Cardinals play in, where last year he shined at 7-1 with a 1.78 ERA (must be a night vision issue)
-Your scenario regarding the bullpen did cause me to wince and smile. LaRussa does have a penchant for favoring the numbers in the late innings for any given matchup, regardless if the current hurler on the mound is having a great outing. But that won't happen everytime
-While I was one of the many who rejoiced at the signing of Rolen, and marveled at his ability to turn the 5-3 like no other, lets remember he was a malcontent in Philly. I can't recall any other player under LaRussa who caused such a stir. He became a cancer to the team and good riddence.
-I'm worried about the team as a whole, for reasons you didn't address. They have become dysfunctional, and Cardinal Nation won't stand for it. I do expect a disappointing season.
6 months ago
Baseball, as we have all seen if we've been watching it more than five years, is a strange game. Cardinal fans always come through the turnstiles and hold out hope until their team is mathematically eliminated. Yes, there are many IFs that will have to pan out for the Cardinals to have a chance. Many, MANY IFs. But, consider the following: They hang around the .500 mark through the All-Star break. Carpenter and Mulder come back and pitch close to their capabilities. Juan Gonzalez finds his fountain of youth (yeah, stranger things have happened) and plays at close to 80 percent of his near-Hall-of-Fame level. Duncan solidifies his defense and tosses 30 homers and 90 RBIs into the mix. Granted, all of this is an incredibly optimistic scenario. But if these things happen, tell me you would bet against this bunch nudging the Cubs back to the Baseball Purgatory they've been mouldering in for a century?
4 months ago
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about 1 month ago
Taking a look at this now, how much of this do you take back?
from about 1 month ago
You know what, I don't take back a lot of it. I did not see Todd Wellemeyer coming. I did not see Kyle Lohse coming. I did not see Ryan Ludwick coming. And most of America didn't see those guys coming.
I guess I was too harsh on La Russa, though. He's done a magnificent job this year.
from about 1 month ago
I didn't mean to sound prickilish. Just happy to see people eating their words around the nation :-)
Of course, I'm eating mine because I didn't see any of this coming either.
from about 1 month ago
Oh no, Joel. By no means did you think that was prickilish. I'd do the same thing if somebody wrote a lot of negative things about my White Sox.
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