St. Louis Cardinals 2003 Season Preview

by James Floto

He's got the bats. Does he have the arms?

Three consecutive play-off years, very good one-through-seven hitters and a deep defense, what with four 2002 Gold Glovers (Scott Rolen, Edgar Renteria, Fernando Vina and Jim Edmonds), plus past recipient Mike Matheney. So why are the Redbirds not runaway favorites?

A, becaue the Astros have improved, especially with the addition of Jeff Kent and B, once again the Cardinals' pitching is suspect. For the past several years, the Cardinals had a fine rotation but two, three, even four at a time would be on the DL. This year, the talent is just not there.

Ace Matt Morris (17-8, 3.92) has good control but lacks the presence needed in an ace pitcher. Woody Williams (9-4, 2.53) is steady but has a history of injuries and Brett Tomko (10-10) is solid if not spectacular. After that at least four veterans (Cal Eldred, Garrett Stephenson, Dustin Hermanson, Jason Simontacchi) battle for the final two spots.

The bullpen is weaker than last year, as they lost Dave Veres and Rick White to free agency and traded Mike Timlin and Mike Matthews, and closer Jason Isringhausen's shoulder is still sketchy after off-season surgery. Steve Kline is reliable. Jeff Faasero, like Kline a lefty, turns 40 but he and his sinker and slider allowed him to pitch in 73 games last year. One of the few addition the Cards made this winter is long-time Angels' mainstay Al Levine, who suffered shoulder tenderness last year. For the remaining spots, a bunch of youngsters will have to sort themselves out.

While pitching will be a problem, manager Tony LaRussa and pitching coach Dave Duncan have done an excellent job of patching staffs together since their days in Oakland. Duncan's specialty is breathing life into fading veterans (such as Dave Stewart and Dennis Eckersley) that others have given up on. Look for the Cards to be active in the trading market.

The everyday line-up is just what you want in a team fighting to reach the post season. The main problems are that second baseman Vina is not really suited for the leadoff role and number 8 hitter Mike Matheney, for all his defensive prowess, is not much a hitter. Inbetween these two, however, they have J.D. Drew (RF), Jim Edmonds (CF), Albert Pujols (LF), Scott Rolen (3B), Tino Martinez (1B) and Edgar Renteria (SS), who, on many clubs, would hit higher in the order. Drew is recovering from knee surgery and will miss the early part of the season, but he is coming into his own, starting to live up to the potential that made him such a hot commodity a few years back when he first arrived on the scene. The center of the order, consisting of Edmonds (.311, 28, 83), Pujols (.314, 34, 127 and second in the MVP balloting) and Rolen (.266, 31, 110, but .278, 14, 44 in 55 games as a Cardinal), is about as powerful as you will find. Edmonds and Pujols are already playing at peak capacity and Rolen, after several disappointing and controversial years in Philly, is poised to become a superstar. He loves St. Louis and has the security of an eight year contract. Martinez slipped below his usual offensive numbers, but La Russa, who has managed extensively in both leagues, says that Tino needed a year to adjust to the NL and should be loaded for bear this year, making the heart of the order that much more dangerous. Then we come to Renteria, who is becoming like the super shortstops in the AL. He has always been a top-notch fielder but has improved his batting skills to the point that he hit .314, with 11 homers and 83 RBI, pretty classy for the number seven hole.

There are several bench sports up for grabs, but supersub Miguel Cairo, who starred in the Division Series last year, is a lock. Other candidates include Eduardo Perez, Orlando Palmiero, and Eli Marrero, who can play every day and several positions and hit 18 homers and 66 RBI in 397 at bats.

They are pretty much set for offense and defense. If they can finally come up with a reliable rotation and the bullpen stabilizes they could go all the way to the World Series. In any case, they should at least be a match atop their division with the Astros, who finished 13 games behind St. Louis last year. Last year they had to deal with the tragedy of Darryl Kile. This year they can concentrate on baseball.