2008 Woodie Awards
The Cardinals cannot make the playoffs again ... Can they?
Erik Johnson
Issue date: 9/7/07 Section: Sports
- < prev Page 2 of 2
The St. Louis line-up is also quite different than the batting order Tony LaRussa used to earn him a ring last year. For starters, Albert Pujols is having a down year. How .315 with 30+ homers is a down year I do not know, but Pujols has been so good that those numbers are definitely down from his usual. Another difference is the rapid decline of Jim Edmonds and Scott Rolen. Edmonds has seen his average drop over 10 points from last year, and he is not yet in double digits for homers yet this year (he hit 19 last year). Rolen has deteriorated to the point that he will not even be available for the playoff push due to a bum shoulder.
This article is not to say that the 2007 St. Louis Cardinals cannot make the playoffs. Stranger things have happened, like the Detroit Tigers' pitchers inability to throw the ball to first base, and the Cardinals do have some things in their favor. For example, neither the Cubs nor Brewers are much better than the Cardinals. St. Louis has the easiest schedule of the three teams remaining. Isringhausen is healthy and solid at the back of the bullpen, and Rick Ankiel has given the Cardinals a real spark like Scott Spiezio gave St. Louis last year.
This article is to say that the Cardinals were the best team in the NL Central in 2006. They are not the best team in the NL Central this year. I believe that title goes to the Milwaukee Brewers. If one compares the Brewers and Cardinals, they would see the Brewers have a superior line-up led by the one-two punch of Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder. Milwaukee also has two pitchers, Ben Sheets and Yovani Gallardo, who are comparable to Wainwright. Behind Sheets and Gallardo, the Brewers have a familiar name to Cardinal fans: Jeff Suppan. The "Brew Crew" also has a dominant closer in Franciso Cordero to finish games off .
The Brewers are the best team in the NL Central on paper. Cardinal fans need to hope that the old saying, "that's why games aren't played on paper" comes into effect over the last thirty days of the season, or there will be a lot of disappointed baseball fans on campus.
This article is not to say that the 2007 St. Louis Cardinals cannot make the playoffs. Stranger things have happened, like the Detroit Tigers' pitchers inability to throw the ball to first base, and the Cardinals do have some things in their favor. For example, neither the Cubs nor Brewers are much better than the Cardinals. St. Louis has the easiest schedule of the three teams remaining. Isringhausen is healthy and solid at the back of the bullpen, and Rick Ankiel has given the Cardinals a real spark like Scott Spiezio gave St. Louis last year.
This article is to say that the Cardinals were the best team in the NL Central in 2006. They are not the best team in the NL Central this year. I believe that title goes to the Milwaukee Brewers. If one compares the Brewers and Cardinals, they would see the Brewers have a superior line-up led by the one-two punch of Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder. Milwaukee also has two pitchers, Ben Sheets and Yovani Gallardo, who are comparable to Wainwright. Behind Sheets and Gallardo, the Brewers have a familiar name to Cardinal fans: Jeff Suppan. The "Brew Crew" also has a dominant closer in Franciso Cordero to finish games off .
The Brewers are the best team in the NL Central on paper. Cardinal fans need to hope that the old saying, "that's why games aren't played on paper" comes into effect over the last thirty days of the season, or there will be a lot of disappointed baseball fans on campus.
Be the first to comment on this story