2007 St. Louis Cardinals

St Louis Cardinals 2007Let me start of saying I am not a fan of the Cardinals. However I am going to try to be as accurate and as impartial as I can. If you agree or disagree with anything I say here, please let me know and I will make any realistic changes to this post.Starting PitchingI see this as a downgrade so far, while I think Mark Mulder will pitch elsewhere, and I am assuming he will, I know that a lot of the predictions made each year are wrong as there are more surprises than not. I mean really who thought Soriano would go to the cubs, or Gil Menche to the Royals, heck who thought the Giants would shell out 133 million (including the buy out) for 7 years of Barry Zito. I inserted Chris Carpenter as number one (obviously) and left the others unmarked as I am not sure how the rotation will play out at the moment, any help here would be appreciated.•Chris Carpenter: I have been saying for a few years that he should return to his old self and be a bottom of the rotation pitcher as he was pre Cardinals, however, every year I am proven wrong. I am not saying I think he is going to be the same pitcher he has been the last 3 or 4 years, I expect a drop off in numbers. I am beginning to think that he might have a few more good years left.•Adam Wainwright: Showed promise last year, however 75 innings of relief is different from 200 innings as a starter. He has as much of a chance of being a superstar as Rich Hill, however Wainwright is 17 months younger. The difference in age is not going to made that big of a difference for at least a few years. I see 2007 to be a down year for Adam, with flashes of brilliance. Should be amazing in 2008, but will struggle to make it past 6th inning most of the year. Good for probably 8-12 wins probably closer to 8.•Anthony Reyes: Highly touted pitcher who had an okay year, I guess, at 5- 8 record with a 5.06 ERA in 85.1 IP. I think in the first half he will be pretty good, a second half fade should be expected. Like Wainwright should improve dramatically in 2008. Good for 8-10 wins.•Kip Wells: Not a bad pick-up. With St. Louis’ offense, should have an improved record, if he comes back okay from the foot surgery. If healthy I predict he will be good for 12 – 15 wins probably closer to 12. If who knows 8 could be a stretch.•Bradon Looper (?): I have heard that he might be tried as a starter. So here it goes. I think he has the ability to work a few innings as he has done it for the last few years. I do think he will struggle switching roles, but unlike Reyes, and Wainwright, I don’t believe he will struggle too much. I see him good for 10 – 12 wins at best.Defensive Line-upCatcher: Yadier Molina: Amazing defensive catcher. The Cards can afford to have him start even though he is such a poor hitter since the rest of their lineup can make up for his weak bat.1B: Not too many players come around the quality of Albert Pujols. Arguably the best complete player in the game today. I would suggest he is probably top 10 of all time. Defense is the only area he doesn’t excel at, however he is no slough, he is an underrated defender.2B: Adam Kennedy will be an interesting watch. He is coming from the AL so his average should improve a little, not too much. He is a decent defender, and he is not really replacing anyone that much better, so the Cards could have done worse.3B: Scott Rolen: If, and it’s a big if, Scott Rolen is healthy he will be one of the top third baseman in the league behind Aramis Ramirez. While Rolen is the better defender (not by as much as many card fans believe), he can’t hit like Ramirez, and strikes out twice as much.SS: David Eckstein Quite possibly one of the most overrated yet underrated player ever. Now let me clarify that. He is vastly over rated by Cardinal fans, yet vastly underrated by fans of any other baseball team. He is a pest as a baseball, (in a good way for him) He doesn’t hit for extremely high average, and doesn’t have the best glove (I am not saying he is a poor defender), he seems to make things happen when he gets on base., and he tends to make great plays at key moments of the game. Eckstein is a slightly above average SS at best.RF: Juan Encarnacion. He is a decent player who should be on the decline. Puts up okay numbers playing for the cards helps hide his flawsCF: Jim Edmonds, An amazing fielder when healthy, has shown a gradual decline in years past. His injury makes him a big question mark for the remainder of his career.LF: Chris Duncan, below average defender, (not by too much). He is seems to be a pretty good hitter, 22 homeruns last year, however how will he do over a full season, his RBI totals were low considering his homeruns but that is due to who else is in the line up with him. Will he be as good as last year he could be Pujols or Shawn Abner. Many players had a good first years (Abner, Eric Hinske, Jerome Walton, Dwight Smith and so on) I am not saying he is going to regress like they did. I just want to wait before I insert him as the starting left fielder for years to come.That is my take on the 2007 starters, it was hard to remain neutral, hopefully I stay fair and impartial. As a team, baring anything unexpected 2nd place is as high as they should finish.

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