Before GM Stamey took over the unachievers from St. Louis, the team basically was Albert Pujols. The frustrated fans of the Cards felt it was time for a radical change and so did the Cardinals front office. So, Stamey was brought in and he immediately showed the front office and the fans that he wasn't going to sit on the team he took over. Within hours, future hall-of-famer, Pujols, was sent packing to NL central rival Houston. Power hitting OF Rick Ankiel demanded $12M+ to re-sign and the Cards sent him packing to free agency. This is not your Cards of last season and the new lineup brings a lot of excitement to Busch Stadium in the 2010 season.
The latest trades brought in SP Scott Kazmir and 1B Lance Berkman from the Tampa Bay Rays, SP John Lackey from the Los Angeles Angels and SP Andrew Miller from the Florida Marlins. Departed players include 1B Justin Morneau, 3B Troy Glaus and SP Kyle Lohse.
So, with all of these changes, what does the pitching staff and batting order look like for the re-vamped Cardinals? There is no doubt that the starting pitching rotation has been improved dramatically. The projected starting rotation is:
* S. Kazmir
* M. Cain
* J. Lackey
* A. Wainwright
* C. Carpenter
When Chris Carpenter is your #5 starter, you know you have a powerful and talented rotation! The bullpen is stronger as well with Todd Wellmeyer, a starter last season in the pen along with acquired pitchers, Andrew Miller, Andy Sonnanstine and Rick VanderHurk. Fernando Salas and Jason Motte and the only returnees in the bullpen.
Not only will the team be stronger offensively, the team will be stronger defensively as well. That happens when you bring in a young stud like SS Troy Tulowitzki! Troy will be a huge boost defensively as well as with his power bat. Lance Berkman is no Albert Pujols, but he has big time power and always hits for a great average.
The projected batting lineup for the 2010 Cardinals is:
1) SS Troy Tulowitzki (.297 BA, 18 HRs)
2) 3B David Freese
3) 1B Lance Berkman (.299 BA, 24 HRs)
4) CF Colby Rasmus (.271 BA, 20 HRs)
5) LF Ryan Ludwick (.261 BA, 29 HRs)
6) RF Gabe Gross (.270 BA, 21 HRs)
7) 2B Sean Rodriguez
8) C Yadier Molina
The only real question mark is whether 3B Freese is ready for the big leagues. The Cardinals will be watching the free agent market for available corner men in case Freese isn't ready for the task.
The 2009 Cardinals won only 74 games. In a division containing the World Champion Brewers and NL wildcard, Houston Astros, St. Louis will need the pitching staff to perform to expectations to be able to compete and over take both teams. Not an easy task but GM Stamey believes that the talent level on the 2010 version of the Cardinals is ready to take on the challenge.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Middle Infield Improved with Latest Trade
Continuing their efforts to boost the middle infield, the St. Louis Cardinals today announced the acquisition of SS Sean Rodriguez from the Los Angeles Angels for MR Royce Ring and CL prospect Adam Reifer. Rodriguez, who can play both 2B and SS as well as 3B brings a versatile glove to the team along with a solid bat. He has 20 home run power as shown by his 9 HRs in just 218 at bats for the Angels in the 2009 season. Rodriguez should be a strong complement to recently acquired 2B Emilio Bonifacio.
Dizzy Johnson Traded to Florida!
Just as 2B Kelly Johnson was getting off the plane in St. Louis to join his new team, he was sent directly to another plane heading for Miami as he was given word that he had just been traded to the Florida Marlins. Johnson stated, "Man, I was really looking forward to playing alongside Tulowitzki but I know that baseball is a business and I'm ready to move on to the Marlins."
In the surprise move in which the Cardinals front office had pursued Johnson for a good part of the offseason, St. Louis decided to move Johnson and C Bryan Anderson to Florida for strong SP prospect Ryan Tucker, SP/MR Rick VandenHurk, 2B Emilio Bonifacio and veteran 3B Wes Helms. Tucker was the prize of this trade and could be in the top part of the starting rotation before the end of the 2010 season. He was considered one of the top pitching prospects on the Marlins and in all of GABA. He went 13-9 with a 4.80 era in his first season at AAA New Orleans.
In the surprise move in which the Cardinals front office had pursued Johnson for a good part of the offseason, St. Louis decided to move Johnson and C Bryan Anderson to Florida for strong SP prospect Ryan Tucker, SP/MR Rick VandenHurk, 2B Emilio Bonifacio and veteran 3B Wes Helms. Tucker was the prize of this trade and could be in the top part of the starting rotation before the end of the 2010 season. He was considered one of the top pitching prospects on the Marlins and in all of GABA. He went 13-9 with a 4.80 era in his first season at AAA New Orleans.
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
2B Johnson Joins Cardinals
As had been rumored during the announcement of Pujol's departure in a trade to the Houston Astros, 2B Kelly Johnson has now officially been acquired from the Atlanta Braves for a trio of relievers, Chris Perez, Ryan Franklin and Josh Kinney. St. Louis also received some cash in the deal.
Johnson along with recently acquired SS Troy Tulowitzki provides the Cards with a potent offensive middle infield! In 2009 with the Braves, Johnson hit .305 with 13 HRs and 93 RBIs. At just 27 years of age, Johnson can still get better and the Cards hope that the Johnson-Tulowitzki middle infield will provide the team a significant boost, both offensively and defensively.
Monday, December 28, 2009
Pujols leaving the Cards!
In what was a shock to all Cardinal fans, the Cardinal front office announced today that 1B Albert Pujols, who just won the 2009 National League Most Valuable Player Award, has been traded to the Houston Astros. In return, the Cardinals will received 1B Justin Morneau and SS Troy Tulowitski. SS Khalil Greene and SP Gary Daley (Single A) also will be going to Houston with Pujols.
New GM Stamey had this to say to reporters, "Anytime you trade away a future hall of famer like Pujols, the fans are going to question your motivation. Instead of speculation, let me share with you why this organization made this move. Albert is a great player and has been nothing but a class act for this club and in the club house. But the team clearly needed more that Albert to compete in the powerful NL Central Division. It is a calculated risk but the front office believes that to compete at the next level, we needed to dramatically improve our middle infield, both offensively and defensively. We have been targeting Tulowitzki during the offseason and when we learned that we could acquire him, this became a no brainer for the organization. Tulo brings a great bat along with gold glove defense and at the tender age of 25, will only get better. He is the kind of player you build a franchise around. Justin provides a very potent bat in replacing Pujols and his offensive numbers can be just as significant as Albert's were. Combined, we have two players helping out the club instead of one."
"We are not done with making improvements to the 2010 club. We are in talks with the Atlanta Braves for outstanding second baseman Kelly Johnson and the combination of Johnson and Tulowitzki would bring us one of the strongest offensive middle infields in all of GABA. This will only strengthen our pitching staff having Tulo sucking up baseballs with ease and with both contributing significantly with their bats."
So with that, Albert Pujols closes out his time with the St. Louis Cardinals. It has been believed that he would spend his entire career in St. Louis. Will this move help out the struggling Cards, or will the front office come to regret trading away the future Hall of Famer?
New GM Stamey had this to say to reporters, "Anytime you trade away a future hall of famer like Pujols, the fans are going to question your motivation. Instead of speculation, let me share with you why this organization made this move. Albert is a great player and has been nothing but a class act for this club and in the club house. But the team clearly needed more that Albert to compete in the powerful NL Central Division. It is a calculated risk but the front office believes that to compete at the next level, we needed to dramatically improve our middle infield, both offensively and defensively. We have been targeting Tulowitzki during the offseason and when we learned that we could acquire him, this became a no brainer for the organization. Tulo brings a great bat along with gold glove defense and at the tender age of 25, will only get better. He is the kind of player you build a franchise around. Justin provides a very potent bat in replacing Pujols and his offensive numbers can be just as significant as Albert's were. Combined, we have two players helping out the club instead of one."
"We are not done with making improvements to the 2010 club. We are in talks with the Atlanta Braves for outstanding second baseman Kelly Johnson and the combination of Johnson and Tulowitzki would bring us one of the strongest offensive middle infields in all of GABA. This will only strengthen our pitching staff having Tulo sucking up baseballs with ease and with both contributing significantly with their bats."
So with that, Albert Pujols closes out his time with the St. Louis Cardinals. It has been believed that he would spend his entire career in St. Louis. Will this move help out the struggling Cards, or will the front office come to regret trading away the future Hall of Famer?
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