The World of Sports According to Jake
by Jake Kreinberg
Assistant Sports Editor
Spring is in the air, but St. Louis sports teams are on ice. With the Blues out of the playoffs for the third consecutive year, only the Cardinals are active. And it is anyone's guess as to how they will play this season after watching their series against the San Francisco Giants last weekend. After bashing their way to an entertaining 11-1 victory, the Cards lost the following two by an ugly combined score of 11-2. Luckily, the World of Sports is here to help you decide whether to skip the Cardinals on KSDK on Sunday afternoons this summer.
Universally, the Cards were picked to be either fifth or even sixth (last) in the National League Central Division, ranging anywhere from 65-75 wins. I'll admit, my own predictions weren't promising for the 2006 World Series Champs (I had them finishing fourth). However, the Cardinals entered yesterday with a 13-9 record, far better than many imagined. Despite this, they lost the season series to the Giants, 4-3. The Giants will surely finish near the bottom of the National League. In fact, the Cards' entire schedule thus far has been against mediocre teams, who have combined for a 46-61 record. So while many fans have been impressed by the Cards' 13-9 record, it carries little weight. As the last two games against the Giants proved, the Cards have several pressing issues in nearly every asset of their game.
Starting pitching...
The good news is Adam Wainwright has not missed a beat, posting a 2-1 record with a 2.73 earned run average. He is only giving up 1.08 walks and hits per inning (WHIP) and leads the team with 29.1 innings pitched. The late signing of Kyle Lohse is paying dividends quickly. Lohse will provide the Cards will plenty of innings and give the bullpen a rest most of the times he is starting. Lohse's key to success is pitching to contact. If he can successfully guide the ball to the defense, he should be worth much more than the $4 million the Cards are paying him.
After Lohse, the level of talent quickly drops off. The combination of Todd Wellemeyer (a Royals castoff), Braden Looper (a Mets castoff), and Joel Pinero (a Red Sox castoff) isn't nearly as threatening as bowling against Barack Obama (who rolled a 37 in an attempt to gain small-town voters). These pitchers have combined for a 4.98 ERA and are the main reason why the Cards had lost four of their last six games heading into Wednesday.
Thankfully, both Chris Carpenter and Mark Mulder are rehabbing in the minor leagues from injury and are set to arrive in the next couple of months. Both are former aces that will provide a much-needed psychological lift, giving the Cards more experience. Matt Clement, another free agent signing from Boston, is due to join the big-league club within the month.
Relief pitching...
The Cards' bullpen has faired pretty well thus far, as Jason Isringhausen has racked up seven saves to lead the league. However, "Izzy" is showing signs of fatigue, and has a tough time pitching in consecutive games. His ERA is 4.82, which is downright ugly for a closer. Ryan Franklin, his set-up man, has been sporadic, blowing two saves. Florissant native Kyle McClellan has been a welcomed surprise, sporting a mid-90s fastball and the capability of being a starter down the road. Overall, the bullpen depth chart has been set. The question is whether Izzy's 37 years of age catch up to him during the long season.
Hitting...
Albert Pujols, Albert Pujols, Albert Pujols. The challenge the Cards face is who to put behind Pujols. Rick Ankiel and Troy Glaus are the most logical choices and possess the most power. However, they are very streaky, and both have combined for only four home runs on the season. Otherwise, many players have stepped up their performance, especially Ryan Ludwick and leadoff hitter Skip Schumaker. Schumaker started off with a 0-for-16 hitless streak, but has since raised his average to .324. Eventually, the Cards must find a way to get production from the middle through the bottom of the lineup if they want the opportunity to win the division.
Otherwise...
-The Cards have four admitted steroids users on their active roster. Shouldn't they be winning at a faster rate?
-The news from Ballpark Village is not good…Centene Corporation pulled out, leaving the Cardinals and their developer, Cordish Company, without a main tenant. While groundbreaking is scheduled for this summer, it has been postponed at least four times. Originally, the goal was to have it opened by Summer 2009, when St. Louis will host the All-Star Game. Clearly out of the picture, the new deadline is 2011. Please, Cardinals, at least fill in that crater downtown with grass or make it a parking lot so the city won't be embarrassed next year.
Predictions...
The Cubbies from Chitown will take the NL Central for the second consecutive year behind a strong offense led by Derrick Lee and Aramis Ramirez. Their pitching staff is okay, but it still features on of the premier pitchers in the league, Carlos Zambrano. However, their bullpen is now anchored by Kerry Wood, who brings experience to a bullpen that used to be composed of only wild flamethrowers. The Cubs gave up the most walks last year in the entire league. Situated in a weak division, the Cubs will go on to win 90+ games, easily outdistancing the second-place Milwaukee Brewers, whose inexperience will cause a meltdown reminiscent of last year. The Cardinals will finish in third.
The Cubs will advance to meet the Arizona Diamondbacks in the National League Championship Series before losing to a superior pitching team. The Diamondbacks, who made the NLCS last year, now possess the experience to go all the way in 2008, defeating the Boston Red Sox in the World Series. While the American League is superior to the National League with a plethora of good teams, Boston still seems to be a cut above the rest of the teams in the league.