Doubtful, but Playoffs are a Possibility for the Cardinals

From the few early-bird Cardinal comments, there seems to be little hope and less angst for the upcoming Cardinal season. Surprise, surprise. Don't forget that we won the World Series two seasons ago. And don't forget what the Rockies did last season with a young, energized lineup.

We've got our core, cornerstone ballplayer in Albert Pujols. And now we've surrounded him with kids who are ready to get their shot in the big leagues. That kind of energy can go a long way. With a group of youngsters out to prove themselves, expect infield ground balls to be run out, outfielders to be diving dirty, and a little more than just a little "spring in our step" as this season gets underway.

In all honesty, I think we the Redbirds could end up in the playoffs. We'd have to win the division, no doubt. The wild card is not a possibility. But c'mon, nobody can really be sure that the Cubs aren't going to screw everything up again this year. And from where the Reds and the Astro's sit, I'm not sure they're in much a better boat than St. Louis. You can forget about Pittsburgh. I think they're still a year or two away, they have neither the talented youngsters that the Cardinals have or the experience you need without the young guns.

The Brewers are where we're going to have to fight. They are obviously the clear-cut favorites in the division. But remember how bad they were in the final months of last season? Maybe they're a team that just got hot for a while last season, and then came back to play, poorly, within themselves. Maybe not.

They certainly have the talent to be great. But whether they can string it together or not is a different question, and we don't know the answer yet. So don't ink them in quite yet.

Houston has little to no offense, still. And the Reds are..well, the Reds. I would assume there's no need for me to go on a Cub-bashing rampage right now, we all know what to expect from them. Yes, on paper they may be the best team in the division. But, they are still the Chicago Cubs.

The Cardinals need to have a few things fall into place right away. First and foremost, Tony LaRussa has to put the haunting memory of last season and all of it's horrors behind him and get back to becoming a top tier skipper. Secondly, we need to have at least two pitchers step up in Carpenter's absence and throw shut-down ball. I wouldn't be surprised if this happens either. Reports out of Jupiter are that Mark Mulder is throwing pretty well. In his 30 pitch session today, he threw 16 of his last 18 pitches for strikes, broke a bat on a pop-up, and got a hitter to look silly chasing a ball that broke late into the dirt. All of these are good signs. If Matt Clement or Kyle Lohse can step up on a weekly basis, or if Braden Looper can throw like he did early last year...then all of a sudden we have the best pitching staff in the division. Easy. We know what we're getting from Wainwright, we just need a little help from the other guys. All we really need to do is stay healthy, and in the hunt, when the All-Star break hits. Soon after there is a chance we get a major retool with Carpenter .

If we can stay tight early, we can break late. Write that down.

*I'll be away for the next two weeks on a river trip. Enjoy your time without me. And we'll cheers again soon.