What Happened? The St. Louis Cardinals enter 2008 with a very different reputation than last April. No longer considered World Series contenders, the Cardinals seem stuck between a youth movement and a team full of washed up veterans. In a young, up-and-coming division, the Cardinals will need to find the right balance of talent quickly.

Bats. The fate of this club will start and end with the health of Albert Pujols. One of the game’s most feared hitters, Sir Albert was nagged by injuries throughout last season. His numbers, while impressive, were merely pedestrian for a player who we’ve come to expect greatness out of. Pujols hit .327 with 32 homers and 103 RBIs. Impressive? Yes. But for a guy who went .331-49-137 in 2006, last year was a letdown. He enters this year nagged by an elbow injury but if Opening Day is any indication, this injury may not affect his power as much as we think.

In the past glory years of the Cardinals, Pujols had protection in the form of Scott Rolen and Jim Edmonds. With those two veterans now playing elsewhere, St. Louis is still looking for a guy to protect #5 in the batting order. They hope that a pair of all-or-nothing hitters can be the answer. 3rd baseman Troy Glaus arrived in exchange for Scott Rolen, a trade that I described as “shit for shit.” Both players are old, off steroids and largely ineffective at this point in their careers. Glaus may be able to provide 30 homers, but will strike out 125 times and hit less than .250. Expect Ankiel to put up similar numbers. A feel good story from 2007, Ankiel has a great power stroke, but probably won’t bring much in the average department. Read the rest of this entry »