The Cardinal Way

The Cardinal Way

 

 

As far as Major League Organizations, there are none better than the St. Louis Cardinals. Year in and year out they field a winning and contending team and are second to none from top to bottom. Whether it’s scouting, player development, signings, or trades no one hits the jackpot as often as the Cardinals do. Not many teams are capable of letting a Hall of Famer like Albert Pujols walk and not miss a beat. This team reached the World Series last season and has to be the favorite to do it again.

On the pitching side of things they have developed so many quality arms that top prospect Carlos Martinez and his Twitter fascination with porn will be used in a setup role. The unquestioned ace and leader of the staff is Adam Wainwright who despite some injuries has come back stronger than ever. After Wainwright there’s Michael “Fozzy Bear” Wacha, who burst onto the scene last season in dominating fashion. Lance Lynn, who has had a phenomenal spring, leading in strikeouts, and Shelby Miller give them two more young horses to throw out. The bullpen other than Martinez and Rosenthal could be a little weak but time will tell on that.

If there is one defined weakness of this team, at least for now, it’s the bench. However, once Oscar Taveras is ready to slide into right field and allow Allen Craig to play first and move Matt Adams to a reserve role, that problem will be fixed. Shortstop was a position of weakness for St. Louis last season but the signing of Jhonny Peralta solidifies the position. The team traded David Freese in order to free up third base for breakout star Matt Carpenter and allow Kolten Wong to play second. Being able to get better and younger at two positions is rare in baseball. Matt Carpenter could have easily won the MVP last season over Andrew McCutchen. He became the first player since Pete Rose in 1976 to lead the league in doubles, runs scored, and hits. If he continues to play anywhere near that pace he could have the hardware in his possession. The criminally underrated hit machine Matt Holliday is back and although his defense is nothing to brag about, he will be helped by Peter Bourjos in center. With the speed Bourjos possesses the defensive burden of Holliday can be hidden well. Then of course there is Yadier Molina who will continue to do Yadier things and be the best catcher in the game.

The Cardinals very well could run away with the NL Central and the best record in the National League. Many people will consider the Dodgers the favorite for best record and to be the National League representative in the World Series but I am not one of those people. St. Louis will once again find themselves in the Fall Classic and who knows; maybe they bring the trophy home this year.  

We will be back tomorrow with a look at Robinson Cano and the Seattle Mariners. Be sure to follow us on Twitter @changingspeeds for all our coverage of the national pastime.