Best- and worst-case scenarios for the 2010 Cardinals
The Cardinals have raised expectations even higher than usual for the 2010 campaign, securing the offseason’s biggest free agent and otherwise fortifying a solid core that won the NL Central by 7.5 games. Yet a few spring-training injuries have revealed a possible chink in the champion’s Under Armor. What are the best- and worst-case scenarios for Cardinal fans this season as the team begins their title defense?
Best case
The 2009 Cardinal club will be as potent as the 2004-05 juggernaut that won 205 games over a two-year span. They start with a lineup and rotation that, on paper, is superior: With Matt Holliday anchoring left field, the team figures to get 100 starts from each of its outfielders for the first time since 2002. Plus-defense around the diamond, especially up the middle, gives the club the league’s top defense. And the pitching staff has the highest upside potential in baseball, with Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright reprising their twin Cy Young 2009 performances, Brad Penny and Kyle Lohse regaining their three-WAR form and under-the-radar Jaime Garcia winning Rookie of the Year. Albert Pujols threepeats as MVP and helps the team win the Central in a cakewalk.
Worst case
The high hopes from offseason spending on Matt Holliday and Brad Penny will be dashed when Holliday’s and Albert Pujols’s spring-training injuries recur and they hit the DL. Yadier Molina struggles when he eventually returns, and David Freese falls off the wagon, forcing Felipe Lopez into regular duty. Chris Carpenter “feels a twinge” in his elbow on Opening Day, and Ryan Franklin experiences the other side of the pitch-to-contact coin. Local media feeds the “Yankeefied” Cardinal fans’ revolt on ownership again, while Tony La Russa pulls another stunt and tries to add hitting coach Mark McGwire to the active roster, creating yet another unnecessary rift in the fan base.