2011 MLB Team Preview: St. Louis Cardinals
Hard to believe, as many of us watch the snow fall outside, that the Boys of Summer are almost back. But it’s true; teams have started reporting to 2011 Major League Baseball training camps and it’s time to start our team-by-team baseball gambling previews for the year.
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Cardinals Calender
FEB. 1-18, 2011 – Salary arbitration hearings
FEB. 14, 2011 – Voluntary Spring Training reporting date for pitchers, catchers and injured players
FEB. 19, 2011 – Voluntary Spring Training reporting date for non-pitchers and catchers
FEB. 26, 2011 – Mandatory Spring Training reporting date for all players
Does any team have a worse taste in its mouth than the St Louis Cardinals entering the 2011 season? After contending in 2009 but missing the playoffs in 2010, the Cards were ready to write last year off, take a mulligan and return to powerhouse status. But a lot has gone wrong over the offseason. They couldn’t strike a long-term deal with superstar Albert Pujols, meaning they’ll play the entire year with the distraction of not knowing his future. Worse yet, ace Adam Wainwright blew out his elbow two weeks ago and had season-ending Tommy John Surgery.
Suddenly, St. Louis has some major obstacles to overcome it if wants to even play .500 baseball, let alone return to the playoffs.
ST. LOUIS CARDINALS
World Series odds: +3000
Despite the Pujols uncertainty and Wainwright injury, we can’t immediately write the Cardinals off. There’s still plenty to like about this team. Pujols is still Pujols, perhaps the greatest right-handed hitter of all time, and it’s scary to wonder how good he might be in a contract year.
He has some professional hitters backing him up in Matt Holliday, still one of the game’s best all-around players, and Lance Berkman, who is aging and an injury risk in the outfield but still has pop. Colby Rasmus, compared to a young Jim Edmonds by some scouts when he broke into the bigs, may need an attitude adjustment but he’s still a talented young player who should keep improving.
After that quartet, things get a bit spotty. Will Ryan Theriot, Skip Schumaker, David Freese and Yadier Molina combine to drive in as many runs as Albert Pujols? It’s almost debatable. At least Freese has potential to mature into a legit RBI man if he stays healthy at the hot corner. 
I know pitching coach Dave Duncan is a miracle worker but what can he do with this staff now that Wainwright, who won 40 games over the last two years, is out? To put the problems in perspective, St. Louis now has to bank on Chris Carpenter to be the “guy who stays healthy.” Gulp. It’s terrifying to imagine what will happen if (when?) Carp goes down.
Jake Westbrook and Kyle Lohse look like they’ll be two of the Cardinals top four starters. Yikes. St. Louis has to hope Jaime Garcia doesn’t slump after his outstanding rookie season. If the Cardinals trade for a starting pitcher – Kevin Slowey, anyone? – their rotation could survive, but management has repeatedly suggested it wants to fix the problems from within. Good luck with that.
Ryan Franklin is perhaps baseball’s least intimidating closer but he’s done a fine job for the Cards over the last three seasons and leads a solid if unspectacular St. Louis bullpen that includes guys like Jason Motte. The Cards’ pen isn’t a major strength but it doesn’t look like an Achilles’ heel either.
2011 OUTLOOK
Since 2000, the St. Louis Cardinals have won the National League Central seven times. But I have to wonder if their era of dominance is ending. The Reds are a young team on the rise and the Brewers improved dramatically this offseason while the Cardinals regressed. St. Louis still has enough talent to be a competitive team and win 85 games but i think it has too many hurdles to climb to be a playoff team this year.
Prediction: 3rd, National League Central
One reply on “St. Louis Cardinals Predictions | 2011 Season Betting Preview”
cool, keep the underwhelming projections coming. This team is going to feed on that all year
If they stay healthy in the rotation and the hot corner from this point out they will still win the division