Grapefruit League play began yesterday for the St. Louis Cardinals. The crack of the bat and Cracker Jack are back — undeniable signs spring is right around the corner. Usually, fans rejoice in warmer temperatures and optimism about the year ahead, both in and out of the stadium.
This year, however, many fans will also mark Feb. 28 as The Day The Season Ended.
Ironic, because the regular season doesn’t start until March 31.
Starting pitcher and staff ace Adam Wainwright underwent Tommy John surgery yesterday, requiring a rehabilitation stint of 12-15 months. Without Wainwright, some have claimed the Cardinals have no chance at capturing the National League Central division, despite the division’s collective ineptness in recent years.
I agree.
It pains me to write that, as I consider myself a generally optimistic person for teams whose seasons haven’t commenced.
With Wainwright, the Cardinals possessed one of the strongest starting pitching rotations in the league. A top-three of Wainwright, Chris Carpenter, and Jaime Garcia would have rendered any banter from the Cincinnati Reds meaningless. The Cardinals went 20-13 in Wainwright’s starts. The team went 66-63 otherwise.
I’ll be looking at this season as a rebuilding year, perhaps the first of many. Cardinal fans have been treated to a rather successful decade of success, featuring seven postseason appearances since 2000, including two trips to the World Series and three more to the League Championship Series.
Not to say this year won’t be interesting. It already has been, right? (Sad, but true.)
Any team anchored by Carpenter on the pitching staff and Albert Pujols on offense will win some games. But it will be up to the newest batch of Cardinals that will determine just how far this team can go.
Garcia will move up into the second spot in the rotation behind Carpenter. Is he prepared? Can Garcia avoid a sophomore slump? Can he avoid overworking his arm and undergoing another Tommy John surgery? He has the raw talent, but now batters have had an entire offseason to study, and he will probably struggle at times this year.
Following Jake Westbrook and Kyle Lohse, who both sport career .500 records, the final spot on the Cardinals’ rotation is thought to be unknown. First there were reports that the team would only promote someone internally, but then rumors suggested that general manager John Mozeliak would turn to free agents.
It will be Kyle McClellan.
Why? Not only will Mozeliak save some money (always a key ingredient to personnel decisions) but also because of what pitching coach Dave Duncan told the Associated Press last week.
“I feel like the most important thing is your starting pitching and that you get your best five guys as starters and then you build your bullpen,” Duncan said in an Associated Press article. “It’s easier to get somebody who can do that job in the bullpen than it is to get somebody who can do that job as a starter, so that takes priority for me.”
On offense, third baseman David Freese, outfielder Jon Jay and utility man Allen Craig will see prominent playing time.
These Cardinals will be here for years to come, and their influence will start in a month’s time. As the players on the field gradually become younger, will we see the same transition in the dugout?
