St. Louis Cardinals: 3 Upgrades and 3 Downgrades from 2011 to 2012

The 2011 offseason was very eventful in St. Louis to say the least.

St. Louis made many moves throughout the offseason to help them get back to a spot where they can once again contend for a World Series title. Like every team though, the Cardinals had to make upgrades and downgrades across the board.

The question fans now want the answer to: How will the 2012 team perform compared to the 2011 squad? Obviously, many of the faces on the 2012 Cardinals will be familiar, but many of them will be new as well.

Here is a look at the three biggest upgrades and three biggest downgrades the Cardinals made going into 2012.

Upgrade: Starting Rotation

The biggest upgrade for the Cardinals coming into 2012 is their starting rotation. The Birds did not bring in any new players for the 2012 campaign, but they did not need to because Adam Wainwright is back.

Don't get me wrong, Wainwright's return is no guarantee. There could still be some setbacks along the way, but the Cardinals have handled everything very cautiously, and all signs indicate that the ace of the rotation will be back and ready to go this season.

If Wainwright can get back to top form, he will likely be a Cy Young candidate in 2012, just like he was in 2010.

Along with Wainwright, the Cardinals also feature Chris Carpenter, Kyle Lohse, Jaime Garcia and Jake Westbrook in their starting rotation.

If Carpenter can get back to the form he had in the postseason, and stay away from the struggles he had at the beginning of the year the St. Louis rotation will be a force in 2012. The rest of the staff has shown that they are capable of stepping up in big situations, but consistency has been a problem with all of them.

The Cardinals starting rotation will be interesting to follow all season long, but there is no doubt that it is currently better than it was last season.

Downgrade: First Base

In the long run, St. Louis likely made the right move by not bringing Pujols back. Although it was sad to see him leave, the risk of signing him to such a long deal was just too great for the franchise.

Even though it was the right move, the Cardinals will still have a downgrade at first base. Obviously. No offense to Lance Berkman, but Albert Pujols is the greatest player in baseball.

If you have read anything I have written before about the Cardinals or if you read anything in the future, then you will have either heard this before and/or will hear it again. It will take a strong all-around effort to replace the void Pujols left in St. Louis.

Lance Berkman certainly will have the most important role of replacing him at first base, but the offense will have to come through multiple sources.

I have no doubt that the Cardinals can make up for the loss of Albert Pujols, but they definitely took a downgrade at first base during the offseason.

Upgrade: Center Field

How can the Cardinals have an upgrade at center field when Jon Jay remains the everyday center fielder?

Valid question, but here is the answer. Instead of Jay having to suffer through the Colby Rasmus soap opera that was much of the 2011 season, he now has the privilege to play with Carlos Beltran.

Jay has already learned a lot through his short major league career, but Beltran has already made it known that he wants to help mentor Jay even more.

Although Jay had a great regular season and a great defensive season all-around, his bat struggled a lot in October, and he seemed to lack confidence at the plate. With Beltran and Matt Holliday in the outfield alongside Jay, I expect Jay to continue to gain more valuable experience this season.

When April rolls around, I expect Jay to have his .300 batting average back, and I look forward to seeing him flash some leather each night as the every day center fielder.

Downgrade: Managerial Experience

There is a big difference between a downgrade in managerial talent and a downgrade in managerial experience.

Tony La Russa was one of the greatest managers the game of baseball has ever seen, and while it is very likely there will be a downgrade in managerial talent with the signing of Mike Matheny, we do not know that for a fact.

Matheny could turn out to be a better manager than La Russa was. We just do not know.

We do know though, that Matheny definitely does not have as much experience as La Russa did, and he probably never will have as much experience as Tony.

Matheny is not the only new face around the clubhouse though. Pitching coach Dave Duncan is on a leave of absence as well, so Derek Lilliquist will have to fill the role as the new pitching coach for St. Louis.

The downgrade at managerial experience is not necessarily a good or bad thing for the Cardinals, but there is no denying that a downgrade did take place.

Upgrade: Third Base

Well, if you're not excited to watch David Freese play in 2012, then you obviously are not a Cardinals fan.

I don't need to list the stats anymore for Freese, all I need to say is, World Series MVP.

If Freese can avoid injury in 2012, I expect this to be a huge year for him. I have already predicted that I expect to see Freese in the All-Star Game, and why shouldn't fans expect the same?

Even if Freese does not perform as well as he did in the postseason, which he most likely will not, we should be in for a very special year from him at the hot corner.

It certainly should be a lot better seeing him at third base each night, then having to suffer through the nights where we hoped Albert's elbow did not blow out on him as he played the hot corner.

Downgrade: Bullpen

The bullpen was very difficult to classify. If you look back to the beginning of 2011 and compare that bullpen with the bullpen St. Louis has now, I give the edge to the 2012 bullpen by far.

If you compare the bullpen the Cardinals had in the World Series with the bullpen St. Louis has now, the edge goes to the World Series bullpen.

That is why I have to give the bullpen a downgrade. The Cardinals still have an outstanding bullpen, but the losses of Arthur Rhodes, and especially the loss of Octavio Dotel, hurt the Cardinals a lot.

The Cardinals brought in J.C. Romero during the offseason to help make up for the losses, and they will likely get a larger contribution this year from young pitchers such as Eduardo Sanchez and Fernando Salas. The contributions from these players will help them greatly, but I just do not see how the St. Louis bullpen can be as amazing as it was in the playoffs.

Look for St. Louis to have a very good, if not great bullpen, but it will not quite be as great as the one that helped carry them to the World Series.