St. Louis Cardinals: 4 Reasons They're the Team to Beat in the Central

The defending champion St. Louis Cardinals won't have their entire team back for 2012, but they are still the team to beat in the NL Central.

Lance Berkman will be taking over at first base. Mike Matheny will be replacing Tony LaRussa at head coach. The Cardinals are in a transition period as they celebrate their success from 2011, as they are preparing for life after Albert Pujols.

Despite these changes, however, the Cardinals are in position to be the leaders of the NL Central for another year. Here are a few reasons why.

Momentum and Motivation

The St. Louis Cardinals are coming off one of the most remarkable championship runs in the history of sports and will carry that momentum into next season.

Yes, they lost two future Hall of Famers in Albert Pujols and Tony LaRussa, but the Cardinals fan base has accepted those departures and is getting excited for 2012. The front office had been preparing for the loss of Pujols since the beginning of last year and wasted little time in hiring Mike Matheny to replace LaRussa.

Being the defending champion, however, has little impact on the team's playoff chances the following year. Of the past five World Series champions, only three made the playoffs the next year (the 2011 San Francisco Giants and 2006 Cardinals failed to advance to the postseason).

The difference with the 2012 Cardinals, however, will be motivation in addition to the momentum. Despite having just won the World Series, this group may feel that they have to prove themselves again, this time without their star player.

Similar to how Kobe Bryant has always wanted to play better post-Shaq, the Cardinals will feel the need to win a ring without Pujols.

Experienced Core

The middle of the Cardinals' order will consist of 32-year-old Matt Holliday, 34-year-old Carlos Beltran and 36-year-old Lance Berkman. 

With age may come weaker limbs, less durable frames and more days off, but it also includes treasured experience and knowledge that can be passed on to the younger players.

Holliday is still very much in his prime, but it's no secret that Beltran and Berkman are on the final chapters of their respective careers. Beltran and Beckman are still valuable on the field, as they had fWARs (FanGraphs Wins Above Replacements) of 4.7 and 5.0, respectively, in 2011.

To put that into perspective, Albert Pujols had an fWAR of 5.1.

Top-End Strength in the Rotation

The 2011 Cardinals showcased two great starting pitchers in Chris Carpenter and Kyle Lohse. The 2012 Cardinals, however, will be showcasing three.

Adam Wainwright will be returning to the rotation after missing all of last season while recovering from Tommy John surgery. The 30-year-old right-hander is a perennial Cy Young candidate and will take a lot of the sting off of Albert Pujols' departure.

Chris Carpenter has put together three great seasons since coming off of Tommy John surgery he had in 2007. He was the Cy Young runner-up in 2009 and has pitch 472.1 innings over the past two seasons alone. Carpenter might be 36, but he's showing no signs of slowing down.

Kyle Lohse is coming off a year in which he went 14-8 and led the team with a 3.39 earned run average. He has been inconsistent over the course of his career, posting a 4.64 earned run average in 10 years of experience, so the Cardinals will need him to be back in 2011 form to keep their rotation strong three men deep.

Competition

The 2011 NL Central Champion Milwaukee Brewers are in no position to repeat, and the Cardinals will be taking advantage of that.

The Brewers lost Prince Fielder to free agency, and likely won't have their best player for 50 games as Ryan Braun serves a suspension for testing positive for steroids. They did add Aramis Ramirez, but he's not going to be able to replace Fielder and Braun by himself.

The Cincinnati Reds will be the Cardinals' stiffest competition this summer. They have a decent offense led by former MVP Joey Votto and a pitching staff that has the potential to be one of the best in the league. With Mike Leake, Homer Bailey, Mat Latos and Aroldis Champan, the Reds have four guys with very high ceilings.

Johnny Cueto will be the top starter after posting a 2.31 earned run average last year, and veterans Bronson Arroyo and Jeff Francis will be waiting to pick up the slack of one of the young guns if need be.

However, a lot of that is built around potential. The Reds only won 79 games in 2011 and have yet to prove that their 2010 playoff run wasn't a one-time deal. Cincy may be better built for the future, but in 2012, it will be all Cardinals in the NL Central.