Spring training is officially underway, with real, no-foolin' games being played and everything. The beginning of a long, twisty road that leads through summer and into autumn, hopefully ending late in October with a nice, new piece of hardware to add to the trophy case at Busch Stadium.
At the very least, it promises to be an interesting season, one which will likely go a long ways toward deciding how the fan base views the Cardinals' new-found commitment to a build-from-within philosophy. In fact, interesting may not be a strong enough word; fascinating may be better. Perhaps compelling. Maybe even, dare I say it, riveting. Yeah, let's go with that.
Riveting.
Speaking of riveting, we don't really even have to wait for the season. We've got some of the most fascinating story lines imaginable going on right now, right here in spring training. Injuries, positional competitions, and players just trying to build on last season's performances are just some of the things you may want to pay attention to this spring as you follow the Redbirds' flight toward opening day. Here's a little checklist to help you keep track.
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| flickr.com/photos/shgmom56 |
| Lohse |
10. Kyle Lohse: emerging star or one-year wonder? After last season's performance, when he won eighteen games and served as the club's de facto ace while Adam Wainwright was on the shelf with a finger injury, Lohse signed a big new
four-year deal with the Cardinals. In fact, he was the only big signing the Cards made, and the pressure will be on Lohse to prove he was worth it. Known as an underachiever during his career, it finally looked last season as if Lohse was ready to live up to his considerable potential. Whether or not he does so in 2009 will go a long way toward deciding how his new contract, signed well before free agency began, will be viewed.
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| flickr.com/photos/gadgetcat |
| Freese |
9. The hot corner competition
When Troy Glaus
suddenly underwent shoulder surgery just a few weeks
back, it opened up an interesting opportunity for a couple of
players to make their case for playing time.
David Freese and
Brett
Wallace, the top two third basemen in the Cardinals' minor league
system, were both given lots of ink, but the move of
Joe Mather over to
third early in spring training has really added a new element to the
competition. What's really interesting about the Mather inclusion is
that he directly benefits from a more positive prognosis for Glaus. If
Glaus looks to only miss a short bit of the season, say, two weeks or
so, Mather would likely get the call to fill in temporarily. If Glaus
is going to be out a more significant chunk of time, a month or more,
Freese, as the more natural third baseman, might have the inside track
on the starting assignment. So we get not only a great competition, but
a possible indication of just how much time Glaus is looking at on the
shelf.
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| flickr.com/photos/madmannova |
| Chris Carpenter |
8. Carpenter's arm: The second most important appendage in Florida
We all know what's at stake with Chris Carpenter and his health. As
goes Carpenter, so goes the rotation. If Carp is healthy, the Cardinals
suddenly have one of the most imposing starting rotations in all of
baseball; if he isn't, it quickly begins to look like Mozeliak and Co.
badly miscalculated in not signing another free agent pitcher. So far,
everything seems to be going well for Carpenter in his bid to return to
prominence, but I'm sure we'll all be holding our collective breath for
quite a while on this one.
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| Colby-Rasmus.com |
| Colby's Web site... |
7. Colby, Colby, Colby
The Cardinals' consensus top prospect three years in a row,
Colby
Rasmus looks to have a pretty good chance to make the club this year
out of spring training. Even so, there are tons of question surrounding
the young outfielder. First, will he make the club? Second, if he makes
the club, where will he play? Third, is he makes the club, where does
he hit? Fourth, if he doesn't make the club, why not? And, possibly
most worrisome of all, if he doesn't make the club, are we going to be
forced to live through another summer of his father making news with
his
incessant message board douchebaggery?
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| flickr.com/photos/rosepetal236 |
| Pujols |
6. Albert's arm: The most important appendage in Florida
It's interesting to look back at all the press that Albert's elbow got
in spring training last season, and then look at the way it pretty much
all just disappeared by the time the season reached its waning days.
Metronome-like performance will do that to you, I suppose. Once again this
spring, though, we look around and find ourselves face to face with the
knowledge that Albert Pujols, the
best player in baseball right now,
has an elbow that is, at the very least, worrisome. He had surgery
during the off-season to transpose the nerve and alleviate the pain, and
so far the reports have all been positive. Still, you see your
franchise player wearing one of those over-sized ice and compression sleeves
following workouts, and you have to be a little bit scared. And by a
little bit, I mean absolutely shitless.
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| flickr.com/photos/dirkhansen |
| La Russa |
5. The Tony Factor
This may or may not be Tony La Russa's last season as the manager of
the St. Louis Cardinals. No, really. It could be. Okay, I know. We've
heard this little song and dance before. Nonetheless, there still is
the chance that TLR could be on his way out of town come October. And
where better to start looking for clues than spring training? La Russa
has outspoken in his desire for help from the front office; so far,
that help has yet to really materialize. I think we may all want to
look at the way Tony conducts himself this spring in press conferences
and the like. If he seems reenergized and excited, the way he did last
year, then maybe we see him frowning his way through a few more seasons
here. On the other hand, if the team just doesn't look to be shaping up
the way that TLR hopes, and still no help seems forthcoming, then...
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| flickr.com/photos/dirkhansen |
| Ludwick |
4. Ryan Ludwick: Also see Lohse, Kyle
Ryan Ludwick, proud owner of a few hundred major league at bats and
nearly as many surgeries, suddenly blossomed last year into an elite
power hitter and MVP candidate last year at nearly 30 years of age. The
team's primary cleanup hitter for most of the year,
Luddy was one of
the biggest reasons that the Cardinals' offense was able to pile up the
runs on a daily basis. (Well, except for when they would leave 15-20
men on base. Those days, not so much.) Much like Kyle Lohse, Ludwick
now faces the question of whether or not he'll be able to replicate
that performance going forward. If he does, the offense should look
mighty imposing once again this year. If not, the Cards are going to
have to hope for a step-up contribution from another player somewhere
along the line if they want to avoid a significant downturn with the
bats.
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| flickr.com/photos/twonickels |
| Perez skips out to the field. |
3. Closing doors, closing games
More words than you would probably believe were spent this offseason
debating the Cardinals'
pursuit of Brian Fuentes, the former Colorado
Rockies closer. Fuentes would stabilize the bullpen, giving the Cards
an imposing back end to help shorten games, the argument for Fuentes
went. He's overpriced and only a marginal upgrade at best, went the
argument against, also known 'round these here parts as my side of the
argument. Regardless, the Cardinals come in to camp with two rookies,
Chris Perez and Jason Motte, competing to earn the team's closer spot,
along with Ryan Franklin (I just threw up in my mouth a little bit),
and possibly Kyle McClellan as well. If the Cards want to avoid another
bullpen meltdown this year like the one they had last year, it's going
to have to begin with whoever earns the right to take first crack at
nailing down leads.
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| flickr.com/photos/dirkhansen |
| Greene in 2008. |
2. It ain't easy being Greene
Last year, we saw outstanding glovework at shortstop, offset by one of
the weakest bats in all of baseball, courtesy of Cesar Izturis. Over
the offseason, the Cardinals tried to upgrade the position by trading
for the San Diego Padres' former phenom turned strikeout artist Khalil
Greene. Greene was one of the most exciting young players in all of
baseball just a few years ago, an outstanding defensive shortstop with
power to burn. Recently, though, Greene's plate discipline has almost
completely evaporated, leaving him struggling to stay above the Mendoza
line. The Cardinals dealt away malcontent reliever Mark Worrell and a
player to be name later for Greene, hoping to see him turn himself
around and regain the form that made him an emerging star in 2004. If
he does, the upgrade to the offense could be huge. If not, well, at
least
we can make plenty of Spicoli jokes.
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| flickr.com/photos/lscan |
| Schumaker |
1. The Great Schumaker Experiment
So far, this has been the biggest story of camp and, in my opinion,
rightfully so. Not just because what Skip Schumaker is trying to do
(converting from the outfield to middle infield), is so unprecedented,
or even because it may end up determining what the Cardinals have at
second base for several years. To me, the reason that this story is so
remarkably important is because it could well function as a referendum
on both Tony La Russa and the Cardinals' front office.
The reason that
Skip is trying to make this transition, after all, is largely because
TLR simply
couldn't stand to have Adam Kennedy around anymore. Mozeliak
tried to trade Kennedy, but found no takers, and eventually decided to
just release the disgruntled second baseman outright. Along with the
departure of Aaron Miles and the suckitude of Brendan Ryan, the
Cardinals find themselves in camp with no real candidates to play
second base this year outside of Skip Schumaker, the human guinea pig.
If it works, La Russa and Mr. Mo will be hailed as geniuses for their
outside-the-box thinking. If it all falls apart, and the Cardinals end
up with a gaping hole at second base all year, not only will La Russa's
inability to get along with a player garner a lot of criticism, but
Mozeliak's credibility will be called into question. People will
question whether or not Mozeliak has the testicular fortitude to stand
up to TLR, as well as the decision-making acumen to build a winning
team.
For better or for worse, the 2009 season may very well end up being
defined by a career outfielder trying to turn himself into a second
baseman. And yes, that scares me just as much as it does you.
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