Written by Alex Gruberman. Media by Ryan Dunn.[divide]
It’s that time of the year again. Temperatures are rising, there is no more snow in the forecast, allergies are affecting everyone, and then there’s Cardinals baseball back in our lives.
It seems like every October we are cheering on the Cardinals as they look to capture another World Series. We cheer them on to victory win or lose, but once October is done it seems like forever until the season starts back up again. Cardinals’ general manager John Mozeliak started the off-season moves with a bang. He traded starting pitcher Shelby Miller and prospect from AAA to the Atlanta Braves for right fielder Jason Heyward and relief pitcher Jordan Walden. This shocked the baseball world for quite a while because no one saw this move coming. After the Heyward trade, things started to quite down for the Cardinals. The Cardinals signed Mark Reynolds to a $2 million dollar contract, they signed right handed pitcher Matt Belisle to a $3.5 million dollar contract, and then picked up some minor league players in Dean Anna and Ty Kelly.
Hopefully we will see them play in the majors here in a few years.
If the Cardinals can stay healthy for most of the season and their offense continues to stay hot as the summer weather, the Cardinals will be looking at the playoffs once again. Winning the division will be no easy task though, as the National League Central will be especially tougher this year than in the past. The Cubs made some off-season moves to win it all this year even though it has taken them over 100 years to win a World Series. The Pirates will continue to ride their winning season streak this year, the Reds will be in a fight, and the Brewers will continue to be a thorn in the side to everybody.
The N.L Central will be a dogfight throughout the season. Early predictions say that to be at the top of this division, a team will have to win at least 90 (or more) games. With plenty of baseball to be played, it is tough to make an early prediction, however, the Cardinals find a way to be in playoff contention and find a way to win to make it the National League Championship Series. If they can get the momentum in their favor, the Cardinals will be playing for the World Series in 2015.
The Cardinals especially need Adam Wainwright and Michael Wacha along with the rest of their starting pitchers to show their “nasty side.” Adding Jason Heyward to the lineup will add some power that the Cardinals seemed to lack in previous years. Matt Holiday and Matt Adams need to continue to hit for power, Matt Carpenter needs to work counts and be an outstanding leadoff batter. And who can forget about the center piece for the
Cardinals, Yadier Molina? Not only does he control the pace of the game but also he seems to be an experienced leader both on and off the field. Don’t even try stealing on Yadier Molina because you would be Yadier mind! The only questionable factor to the Cardinals run this year is their bullpen. Can Trevor Rosenthal be the man and close out games when the pressure is on? Or will the bullpen be the crack in the Cardinals’ overall shield?
What do you think? Tell us below in the comment section!
