stl cardinals fans: are you worried?

I’m worried as all heck with this years Cardinals. Are starting totation is too shakey for me to be confident in, and out bullpen is a far cry from stable. I like the 1 - 2 punch of Mulder and Carpenter, but then our starting rotation has a drop off from there. I think Marquis will be solid, Suppan will be a bust as will Matt Morris. The Cardinals should revamp their starting rotation and quick. They need another top notch starter. Not one as good as Mulder, but relatively close. Maybe another left to balance things out (Brandon McCarthy from the White Sox would be nice). I clinch my teeth everytime Larussa makes a call to the bullpen. King and Traveras are decent set up men. Traveras get’s to crazy and mucks up the game too often for me liking. Although, I do think the two of them combined with Izzy will be much more stable than their middle relievers. They absolutely need either a hard throwing right hander who they can count on to get through an inning 1-2-3, or a crafty lefty who can strike out some big guns. Their bench needs some work, but I immagine Walt will take care of that. I only hope that Walt will make some moves to boost their pitching and bench. If not, this is going to be a huge let down year for the cardinals. :frowning: So, who out in Cardinal nation is feeling confident in this year’s season? I think Walt will make a couple good deals, but it will be too little too late and we’ll see the dreaded cubs actually makes the playoffs :mad:

It’s a little early to panic, isn’t it? Last year IIRC the Cardinals went 2-3 before they could win more than 1 game in a row.

I’ve seen the Cardinals play for 40 years now (I do sound like an old fart, don’t I?) and I’ve decided I can never tell anything by what they do in April.

I’ll be down there on 4/20 Kunilou to watch the redbirds mop the floor with the cubs. Since you’re a fellow doper, I’d be glad to buy you a beer over at Al Hrabosky’s Ballpark Saloon
:slight_smile:

I think what is of concern that you didn’t mention is that the defensive strength up the middle last year of SS/2nd/Catcher have all been replaced. Edmonds isn’t getting any younger, and he could pull something in centerfield while trying to make a routine catch seem like it was the hardest catch ever made. Pujols might be more injured than people know about (heel) and you have to admit, they over-achieved last year. Mulder hasn’t looked promising, but as mentioned above, you really won’t know much until late May.

This will be interesting for you then. From Will Carroll’s column at Baseball Prospectus today: