So, all of you Cardinals fans are expecting more of the same from your team this year?
Please, don't shoot the messenger, but the 2004 Redbird performance was a one-time feature presentation. What this means for all of you Cardinal (read: fair-weather) fans: You can go back to the hiding places you sat in before mid-May last year.
Yes, your team won the National League Central in a rout. Yes, they whooped the Dodgers in October. Yes, they beat Houston in dramatic fashion to win the NL Championship Series. And, yes, they were embarrassed by the Boston Red Sox in a four-game sweep of the World Series.
Surely, manager Tony LaRussa and the Cards would seek to find the missing piece that would send their city into the victory frenzy that they missed out on. Surely, losing their starting shortstop, second baseman, catcher, ace pitcher and left-handed bullpen staff couldn't have helped their cause.
That's right, St. Louis: Your Cardinals sent two-time NL Gold Glove shortstop Edgar Renteria packing. Renteria, who hit .287 and drove in 72 RBIs in 2004, headed east for Boston, and former Anaheim Angel David Eckstein will move into Renteria's spot in the middle infield. The 5'7" shortstop is a downgrade in offense, speed and defense for the Cards. He drove only 35 base runners home last year and hit only two home runs. Eckstein's small size and slower foot speed decreases the range available to LaRussa at shortstop.
In a measure to further pick apart their middle infield, St. Louis let second baseman Tony Womack escape to the New York Yankees. Steinbrenner's evil empire grabbed the free agent, who hit .307 and stole 26 bases in 145 games for the Cards in 2004. LaRussa's new man is the former Cub and Dodger Mark Grudzielanek. Grudzielanek played in only 81 games for the Cubs in 2004 and spent about a week on the disabled list for every letter in his last name.
Bo Hart, the fan favorite who made 14 plate appearances last season, will play behind the injury plagued Grudzielanek.
Continuing around the horn, we come to the catcher situation in Redbird nation, which is as much of a mess as the new stadium.
Mike Matheny, the heart of the Cardinals' defense, packed up his three Gold Gloves and left for San Francisco. LaRussa is left with Einar Diaz, Cody McKay and Yadier Molina; not quite a platoon that strikes fear into too many hearts. The trio combined to make 141 appearances in 2004, or nine more than Matheny did.
Now, on to the pitching staff.
Once again, the Cardinals are faced with a precarious starting staff in 2005. Woody Williams, the Cardinal starter in Game 1 of the World Series, left for sunny San Diego.
While that may be a reprieve to St. Louis, his departure opened a hole in the staff. General Manager Walt Jocketty decided to shuffle his roster, shop for a big-name starter and pick up Mark Mulder from Oakland.
Mulder, a talented curve-ball pitcher, started 33 games for the Athletics, but did not win after Aug. 24. Some feared that his health may have been to blame for his drop in production.
Mulder joins Matt Morris, who had shoulder surgery in November; Chris Carpenter, who was plagued by nerve trouble in his pitching arm; Jeff Suppan, who only pitched 188 innings in 2004; Jason Marquis, who has only pitched one 200-inning season; and Rick Ankiel, who hasn't started since 2001.
Such uncertainty would need a solid bullpen behind it. Unfortunately, the Cards lost their go-to guys in Steve Kline and Kiko Calero. Kline, a flamethrower with an attitude, moved on to greener pastures-and bigger bank accounts-in Baltimore. Calero earned himself a one-way trip to Oakland by pitching spectacularly throughout the playoffs. Late-inning relief in St. Louis now consists of "Big" Ray King and Julian Tavarez and his Hat of Tricks.
Jocketty made a feeble attempt at filling their shoes. His off-season bullpen moves consisted of signing Mike Myers from Boston. Myers posted a 4.64 ERA in 75 games, but he cannot eat up as many innings as Kline and Calero did in 2004.
There were some roster moves that may benefit St. Louis in 2005: the Houston Astros and new-look Chicago Cubs each lost two of their sluggers.
With Carlos Beltran and Jeff Kent departing, Houston is in a deeper pit than they were in 2004 and may prove to be a non-factor in 2005. Chicago gained speed and lost two big, expensive babies, creating a clubhouse atmosphere that may help them topple the Cards this year.
St. Louis compiled 105 wins in 2004, leading the Majors, but only would have needed 93 to top the Astros for the NL Central title. Looking into my crystal ball, I see a Cardinal team that does not reach the 100-win plateau and will face stiff competition from Chicago, with the winner of the division barely reaching the 93-win mark.
Sorry, Cardinal crazies; somebody should have told Jocketty and LaRussa that "addition by subtraction" doesn't always compute.
