From college to professional, from baseball to basketball and everything in between, “For the Love of the Game” is an opinionated look at sports throughout the nation and in the St. Louis area. This twice-monthly column discusses topics pertaining to the phenomenon of sports and what they mean to the writer.
Tim Doty
– Copy Editor –
The St. Louis Cardinals will be kicking off their 119th season on March 31. With as much news that has been surrounding first baseman Albert Pujols and his contract negotiations, there have been other stories regarding the Cardinals’ 2011 season.
During spring training, it was announced that pitcher Adam Wainwright, who won 20 games in 2010, would undergo Tommy John surgery and would miss all of the 2011 season. Wainwright was probably pegged to be the ace of the pitching staff. The role will now most likely be filled by Chris Carpenter, who is entering the last year of his current contract. The biggest surprise from the pitching staff may be Kyle McClellan. The native of Florissant, Mo., has four wins and no loss and an ERA of 0.78 in 23 innings pitched (IP) in spring training. Kyle Lohse has an ERA of 1.88 in 24 IP during this spring training as he looks to recover from surgery and two make up for two subpar seasons as a Cardinal. As long as lefthander Jamie Garcia does not experience to difficult of a sophomore slump, the question marks in the starting rotation could become exclamation points.
The bullpen is a mix of veterans and younger players. Ryan Franklin is the closer once again, with righties Jason Motte and Mitchell Boggs setting up the bridge to the ninth inning. Miguel Batista along with lefthanders Trever Miller and Brain Tallet are journeymen that also will constitute the Cardinals’ bullpen. Bryan Augenstein, 24, also made the opening day roster as another right handed reliever. His only other season pitching in the major league was in 2009 with the Arizona Diamondbacks. Pitchers such Motte and Boggs becoming prime relievers and the veterans staying injury-free throughout the season are the keys for the Cardinals’ bullpen to be successful in 2011.
David Freese, former player for the STLCC-Meramec Magic, will be starting at the hot corner while Pujols will be starting at first. The middle infield and bench could have been upgraded as Ryan Theriot, the starting shortstop, may have just been acquired from the Dodgers in an effort to get rid of Blake Hawksworth. The bench also could have been upgraded, as the Cardinals did not do much in the offseason to improve in that area. Tyler Greene and Daniel Descalso are the backups for the infield while John Jay and Allen Craig will backup the outfield.
The biggest offseason acquisition for St. Louis may have been Lance Berkman. The switch hitter will play right field moving last season’s acquisition Matt Holliday to left field. With Colby Rasmus patrolling center field, the outfield looks to provide some needed pop for the lineup.
The Milwaukee Brewers also upgraded this offseason, trading for pitchers Zack Greinke and Shaun Marcum. The Cincinnati Reds will also look to repeat as NL Central division champions. The moves made in the offseason by the Cardinals seem to fill some holes, but may not be enough to reach the postseason. My prediction for the NL Central in 2011 is that the Reds will repeat, with the Cardinals placing second but with not enough wins to capture the wild card (I hope they prove me wrong, though). Rounding out the NL Central will be the Milwaukee Brewers, the Chicago Cubs, the Pittsburgh Pirates, and the Houston Astros. No matter the results, the Cardinals look to compete for their 11th World Series championship.
