Like I said in Part 1 of my “Building The Birds” series, Pitching wins championships. And I am happy to report that the St. Louis Cardinals’ bullpen should be one of their strengths as they enter the 2008 campaign. We already have enough questions and uncertainty surrounding this year’s team, but in my opinion the bullpen should be very solid.
Remember Juan Gonzalez? Well, he is close to receiving and invitation to spring training. After taking some batting practice in Puerto Rico with Albert Pujols and Yadier Monlina, Juan evidently thinks he still has some gas left in the tank.
January in Memphis hardly seems like baseball weather. And that is even more so the case in St. Louis. Yet every January, I make my annual trek downtown to Autozone Park in Memphis to kick off my baseball season. Yep, It’s Cardinal Caravan Time! The gang came through Memphis this past Sunday, and here is my take on the what went on:
With the departure of David Eckstein, the Cardinals find themselves having to replace their leadoff hitter. Eckstein’s replacement, Cesar Izturis, is not a good fit to hit leadoff because of his poor on base percentage. So who will take the spot atop La Russa’s lineup? I will be breaking down the Cardinals over the next several days, position by position. But before we get to “Breaking Down The Birds,” I wanted to address the question regarding who will hit leadoff.
Between now and the beginning of the season, I will be breaking down the Cardinals and analyzing them in depth. It has been a very long time since the Cardinals have entered spring training with so many questions. Who is our lead-off hitter? Who will start where in the outfield? Is Colby going to make the team? Will Juan Gonzalez make the team? When will Carpenter be back? What about Mulder? How will Troy Glaus perform? What about Cesar Izturis? And perhaps the biggest question of all, can Albert stay healthy? Iwill be addressing all of those questions and much more. But for now, let’s talk pitching.
Now that the Jim Edmonds era is over in St. Louis, where do we go from here? Who will be patrolling center field for us next season and beyond? Is Colby Rasmus ready yet? And with players like David Eckstein, So Taguchi, and Aaron Miles having played their last games for the Cardinals, what will the team look like in 2008?
There really hasn’t been much to talk about in Cardinal Nation lately, other than rumors. Since the Jim Edmonds trade, I have just been trying to not be upset at the Cardinals. I have become increasingly convinced that this organization isn’t as dedicated to winning as they boast. The main reason I make that assertion is that they have done NOTHING, and I mean NOTHING, to bolster their starting pitching. And that was their “biggest need”. They claim that the free agent pool is thin this year. While I agree there isn’t a ton of talent out there, there are definitely some names out there that are worth looking at. And we just may be close to signing one of those names that I have had my eye on for a while. But more on that in a minute.
Well, it looks as if the Cardinals have finally signed a pitcher. I discussed the possibility of the Cardinals acquiring Matt Clement in my last post and now it is official. Thursday St. Louis inked Clement to a one year deal with a club option for 2009.
The Cardinals made an “interesting” signing today, signing Josh Phelps to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training. I say interesting because the last thing we need is another infielder. We already have too many as it is. And not only that, but Phelps is a first baseman who has caught a little bit too. We don’t need a backup first baseman. If Pujols is out, Duncan is a first baseman by trade. And Scott Spiezio can play first as well.