Is it Just Me?

[Caryatid]

Or do the Cardinals really not look like anything special this year? I know they got a lot of preseason hype, but (even though its just two games) they look like a team with about 4-5 good players (Pujols, Rolen, Carpenter, Izzy, and maybe Edmonds) and NOTHING else.

 

I don't particularly think the Cubs will be all that good this year, but I certainly don't see much from the Cardinals, either. Maybe that's just me overreacting to two games, but really-not seeing much in terms of potential from that team.

[srbin84]

Yeah, I agree. They remind me of the 2003 Cards.

[BigbadB]

I don't think St. Louis or Houston is as good as they were last year.

 

The Cardinals should have brought back Reggie Sanders and Grudz. Houston should have offered Clemens whatever he wanted.

[MPrior]

I definitely think they're not as good as in the past two years, but they're still pretty formidable. Despite their regression, they may still be the best team in the NL. They're certainly up there, anyway. Pujols, Rolen, and Edmonds is still a pretty scary middle of the order.

[otis89]

It's too bad Pujols can't face Cubs pitching everyday. He's 0-7 against it so far this season.

[E.J.]

I definitely think they're not as good as in the past two years, but they're still pretty formidable. Despite their regression, they may still be the best team in the NL. They're certainly up there, anyway. Pujols, Rolen, and Edmonds is still a pretty scary middle of the order.

 

Pujols and Rolen are going to have good/great years, but I think Edmonds is on a pretty steady decline. He's going to hit his homeruns with that upper-cut swing, but I don't see him having a good year this year.

 

If I were a Cards' fan I would be really nervous of that bullpen they have.

[Jehrico]

Or do the Cardinals really not look like anything special this year? I know they got a lot of preseason hype, but (even though its just two games) they look like a team with about 4-5 good players (Pujols, Rolen, Carpenter, Izzy, and maybe Edmonds) and NOTHING else.

 

I'd add Mulder to that list...if he's healthy and his hips aren't giving him problems, he could be an ace in some rotations. He didn't have a particularly great first year in the NL though.

 

I like Yadier Molina. He may not be great this year, but I think he's going to be another Tony Pena type of catcher once he hits his prime. He's going to be a good one.

 

And Pujols, he's so good, he's the equivalent of two good players at least.

 

Other than that, I'd agree, they don't have as many solid players as they have in years past. They're alot closer to average now than they were.

[snoodmonger]

It's too bad Pujols can't face Cubs pitching everyday. He's 0-7 against it so far this season.

 

Unfortunately, that's not too reflective of his career against us, which is pretty impressive.

 

The cards lineup has definitely regressed, though.

 

Taguchi, Encarnacion, and Miles are all pretty big steps back from Sanders, Walker, and Grudz. The Cards' known quantities (Rolen, Pujols, Edmonds) are still very formidable, but they're going to be relied on much more with the decline of supporting talent.

 

To be honest, if Ronny and Murton give us even decent production, I think our lineups are pretty comparable.

 

Eckstein---Pierre

Encarnacion---Walker

Pujols---Lee

Edmonds---Aram

Rolen---Jones

Taguchi---Barrett

Molina---Murton

Miles---Cedeno

 

Unfortunately, I'm guessing they'll upgrade LF at some point in the season.

[Outshined_One]

My observations so far this season...

 

1) Juan Encarnacion/So Taguchi or whatever scrub they put out in RF is not going to approach Larry Walker's numbers. While Walker was declining during his time with the Cardinals, he still managed to put up pretty good numbers. Without his bat, they're not going to be as productive offensively.

 

2) Their bullpen is a mess. Braden Looper as a potential closer just doesn't strike me as the best of ideas, even though Izzy has had his own share of struggles. Even with good starting pitching, this team will have problems winning games if they have to rely on their bullpen to win.

 

3) It will be reasonable to expect Pujols/Edmonds/Rolen to continue to be three of the best hitters in baseball. They'll likely see drops in runs and RBIs due to the surrounding lineup being fairly weak, but they can still mash.

 

4) Chris Carpenter is still pretty darn good.

 

5) The rest of their rotation is...interesting. It's hard to draw a bead on Mulder since he actually performed much better in the second half than the first half, which is the first time he's done that in awhile. I was curious as to whether his hip problems would flare up, but he might have found a way to get over that. Suppan and Marquis are pretty much what you'd expect them to be. Ponson...if he manages to start 30 games and post an ERA under 4, I will be convinced that the entire Cardinals organization has indeed made a pact with Satan.

 

The Central is going to be a fun division this year. I don't think it'll be like previous years where the Cardinals build a 100 game lead by June 1st. Quite the contrary, I expect the division to be fought over until the end of September. Also, if the Mets and Phillies collapse like previous years, we may well see another Wild Card team come out of the Central.

[KaiserCesar]

The NL is definitely down this year. That being said, it's gonna be fun and wide open. All playoff teams under 95 wins?

[SouthSideRyan]

It's too bad Pujols can't face Cubs pitching everyday. He's 0-7 against it so far this season.

 

Unfortunately, that's not too reflective of his career against us, which is pretty impressive.

 

The cards lineup has definitely regressed, though.

 

Taguchi, Encarnacion, and Miles are all pretty big steps back from Sanders, Walker, and Grudz. The Cards' known quantities (Rolen, Pujols, Edmonds) are still very formidable, but they're going to be relied on much more with the decline of supporting talent.

 

To be honest, if Ronny and Murton give us even decent production, I think our lineups are pretty comparable.

 

Eckstein---Pierre

Encarnacion---Walker

Pujols---Lee

Edmonds---Aram

Rolen---Jones

Taguchi---Barrett

Molina---Murton

Miles---Cedeno

 

Unfortunately, I'm guessing they'll upgrade LF at some point in the season.

 

I don't know if you were directly comparing them but Jones is nowhere close to Rolen. The bottom 3 do make up the difference though.

[Geech]

I don't know if you were directly comparing them but Jones is nowhere close to Rolen. The bottom 3 do make up the difference though.

 

I think he was just placing the two lineups side-by-side.

[snoodmonger]

I don't know if you were directly comparing them but Jones is nowhere close to Rolen. The bottom 3 do make up the difference though.

 

I think he was just placing the two lineups side-by-side.

 

Yep. Just showing that, while their big three are superior to ours, overall, ours is more complete ( assuming Murton and Ronny don't suck.)

[Cubskmill30]

I think the NL central this year will come down to the bullpen. No team in the division has an offense that can overcome any short comings of their bullpen. The most powerful lineup (St. Louis) doesn't have anyone to get on base, and will have an offense that resembled the '04 Cubs. The most balance (our Cubbies) has a lack of power/clutch hitting, which will get beaten when facing good pitching, but will take advantage of any pitching mistake (see yesterday's game). Houston has digressed far from last year. With age, injuries, etc catching up to the 'stros, I see them fading come June. Milwaukee/Cincy will fade like Tampa did last year after starting hot. Meaning the division will come down to St. Louis/Cubs. The Cubs remind me alot of the '03 Marlins team in terms of offense (good balance, but has a lack of power). When it is all said and done, the team that has the best pen will win this division. The Cards pen is atrocious, easily similar to the yanks from last year (terrible middle relief with a good closer). St. Louis will be demanding way too much from their starters (something familiar with us), which I believe will end up hurting the team down the stretch. With our superior pen, I see us having a much better shot at winning the division than St. Louis.

[A New Era]

Eckstein---Pierre =

Encarnacion---Jones =

Pujols---Lee Cards

Edmonds---Barret Cards

Rolen---Aram Cards

Taguchi---Walker Cubs

Molina---Murton Cubs

Miles---Cedeno Cubs

 

And I still considered Lee and Aram pretty darn close to Pojuls and Rolen. Cubs have the advantage in Offense this year. If Wood Prior and Miller all come back and contribute. We'll take the Central.

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

Eckstein---Pierre =

Encarnacion---Jones =

Pujols---Lee Cards

Edmonds---Barret Cards

Rolen---Aram Cards

Taguchi---Walker Cubs

Molina---Murton Cubs

Miles---Cedeno Cubs

 

And I still considered Lee and Aram pretty darn close to Pojuls and Rolen. Cubs have the advantage in Offense this year. If Wood Prior and Miller all come back and contribute. We'll take the Central.

 

If you're grading defense, Rolen is better than Ramirez, but I think offensively, Aramis has surpassed Rolen.

[David]

Eckstein---Pierre =

Encarnacion---Jones =

Pujols---Lee Cards

Edmonds---Barret Cards

Rolen---Aram Cards

Taguchi---Walker Cubs

Molina---Murton Cubs

Miles---Cedeno Cubs

 

And I still considered Lee and Aram pretty darn close to Pojuls and Rolen. Cubs have the advantage in Offense this year. If Wood Prior and Miller all come back and contribute. We'll take the Central.

 

If you're grading defense, Rolen is better than Ramirez, but I think offensively, Aramis has surpassed Rolen.

 

Seconded.

[otis89]

Eckstein---Pierre =

Encarnacion---Jones =

Pujols---Lee Cards

Edmonds---Barret Cards

Rolen---Aram Cards

Taguchi---Walker Cubs

Molina---Murton Cubs

Miles---Cedeno Cubs

 

And I still considered Lee and Aram pretty darn close to Pojuls and Rolen. Cubs have the advantage in Offense this year. If Wood Prior and Miller all come back and contribute. We'll take the Central.

 

If you're grading defense, Rolen is better than Ramirez, but I think offensively, Aramis has surpassed Rolen.

 

Seconded.

 

Thirded.

[srbin84]

Who's the better overall player?

[Rob]

Who's the better overall player?

 

I don't think we can answer that due to the insane injury concerns for each player.

 

We have no idea on how much power Rolen has retained, or how much to dock Aramis for because of his legs...

[snoodmonger]

Who's the better overall player?

 

Right now, probably Rolen by a hair (not as good offensively, but much better fielder and probably a better baserunner). But A-Ram is younger and hasn't had the major injury ROlen has had (although ARam has been on the DL plenty), so if I were building a team, I'd take A-ram.

[A New Era]

Who's the better overall player?

 

Right now, probably Rolen by a hair (not as good offensively, but much better fielder and probably a better baserunner). But A-Ram is younger and hasn't had the major injury ROlen has had (although ARam has been on the DL plenty), so if I were building a team, I'd take A-ram.

 

And Aram is at the age and talent level where he could have a really over performing breakout year like Lee did last year. I'd rather have Aram. If he's out a month again this year. That would change though. But you see IMO our offense might actually be a bit better than the Cards if Murton and Cedeno do pan out well.

[soccer10k]

Eckstein---Pierre =

Encarnacion---Jones =

Pujols---Lee Cards

Edmonds---Barret Cards

Rolen---Aram Cards

Taguchi---Walker Cubs

Molina---Murton Cubs

Miles---Cedeno Cubs

 

And I still considered Lee and Aram pretty darn close to Pojuls and Rolen. Cubs have the advantage in Offense this year. If Wood Prior and Miller all come back and contribute. We'll take the Central.

 

I think every team in the National League has serious questions. There are a lot of ifs with every team. If two of Prior/Wood/Miller come back healthy and pitch well the Cubs could make the World Series. If the Cardinals new additions have good years they could make the World Series. If Clemens goes back to the Astros they are good enough. There isn't really a clear cut favorite. The Giants are a popular pick because of Bonds but if he gets injured, the Giants are screwed.

 

This is the main reason why a team like the Brewers could play well and surprise a lot of people.

[A New Era]

Eckstein---Pierre =

Encarnacion---Jones =

Pujols---Lee Cards

Edmonds---Barret Cards

Rolen---Aram Cards

Taguchi---Walker Cubs

Molina---Murton Cubs

Miles---Cedeno Cubs

 

And I still considered Lee and Aram pretty darn close to Pojuls and Rolen. Cubs have the advantage in Offense this year. If Wood Prior and Miller all come back and contribute. We'll take the Central.

 

I think every team in the National League has serious questions. There are a lot of ifs with every team. If two of Prior/Wood/Miller come back healthy and pitch well the Cubs could make the World Series. If the Cardinals new additions have good years they could make the World Series. If Clemens goes back to the Astros they are good enough. There isn't really a clear cut favorite. The Giants are a popular pick because of Bonds but if he gets injured, the Giants are screwed.

 

This is the main reason why a team like the Brewers could play well and surprise a lot of people.

 

Yeah I agree. I'm just having to say that alot, not to shove off the Cubs as if the season is over already.