A late season surge, accompanied by the collapse of the Atlanta Braves, lead to one of the greatest comebacks in professional sports history. The Cardinals battled back from a nine game deficit late in September, and eventually overtook the Braves, allowing them a berth in the 2011 playoffs as a wildcard team. Much like a cliche baseball movie, the Cardinals' end to the regular season was one large "never say die" moment. Was it club house leadership that brought about this massive momentum swing? Or did the Cardinals come to the realization, much like the NBA Champion Dallas Mavericks, that their window of success is narrowing quickly?
Even more popular among media outlets than the World Series is the Albert Pujols sweepstakes. It is not a well kept secret that Pujols' contract is set to expire, and he will be in line for the largest per year contract in the history of baseball. Sources have his agent hoping to strike a deal in the area of $240 million over six years. The odds of the Red Birds management dishing out such a lucrative contract are ludicrous, as are the odds that his agent will settle for much less than his desired amount. After all, Pujols is hands down the best hitter in all of baseball, and is the most deserving of an enormous contract. Strike Pujols name from the Cardinals 2012 spring training roster.
Losing Pujols will surely damage the Cardinals offense, as he provides ridiculous consistency and power that no (steroid free) player has ever wielded. The Cardinals are not a one dimensional team, though, and could find someone to replace Pujols. The replacement would certainly be a downgrade, but the Cardinals could focus more on other strong areas of their club, such as their pitching.
Nope, the pitching staff looks to be in a similar amount of trouble.
For the last several seasons, the Cardinals pitching rotation has included a combination of aces in the top two spots. Former Cy Young Award winning pitcher Chris Carpenter is likely to return for the 2012 campaign, though the 36 year old veteran likely doesn't have much left in the tank. An ace while on the mound, Carpenter has been nothing short of dominant for most of his time spent in the red and white. An career filled with injuries tends to not bode well for an aging pitcher, and for this reason, his long term future in baseball is up in the air. If the Cardinals top the Texas Rangers in the World Series, could Carpenter call it quits?
The Cardinals will suffer a significant loss whenever Carpenter decides to hang up his cleats, and not many teams in the past have been successful with only one ace. Recent World Champion teams have duos such as Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain, CC Sabathia and A.J Burnett, Josh Beckett and Curt Schilling. Saint Louis is fortunate to have 30 year old Adam Wainwright, the man that will take over the top spot in the rotation.
Wainwright, a former Cy Young runner up, is still in his prime, even though he did not pitch in the 2011 season due to elbow injuries. Fortunately for Saint Louis, Wainwright's deal made the 2011-2012 seasons club options. Each season will pay him approximately $21 million, but in return he must stay healthy. Given his season derailing elbow injury, the Cardinals have the option of walking away from Wainwright's deal, voiding the final season. It would save the team quite a bit of money, but will they be able to find anyone better in free agency? Much like Carpenter, the clock is ticking on Wainwright. Future ace Shelby Miller will be competing in spring training next year for a spot in the rotation, but Wainwright needs to remain the top dog at least until Miller can fully develop.
With three of the four Cardinal's anchors possibly on the way out, the only guarantee left is that Matt Holiday will stick around. The talented left fielder signed a seven year, $120 million deal that will likely have him end his career in Saint Louis. Barring a trade, the Cardinals will need to build around Holliday. Players like recent call up Allen Craig, prospects Zack Cox and Oscar Tavares will need to step up, or the Cardinals could be in for some turbulence.
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