Do the Cardinals scare you at all?

[zurch1818]

Last year I wasn't scared about the cubs and I was wrong. This year is going to be different. I'm not going to get scared of the cards, but I am not going to write them off like what i did last year. From the tone of many people here, they are writing them off after one week.

 

Many people last year probably were not scared of the Rockies and they should have been.

[Bring Back the Stein]

They scare me in the sense that I'm scared of driving down Water Street with all the "expert" midnight drivers. But for real, their rotation, in their best years, was scary. But the injuries will give me sleep at night. You all are smarter than me when it comes to past performance, but all I can say is "W....YZ."

[ELCABALLO45]

Not scared of them, but can't write them off. If Pujols is still in the line up, they still have a chance.

[TooLiveBrew]

Many people last year probably were not scared of the Rockies and they should have been.

 

It took a really fluky hot streak and a blown call in the one-game playoff for the Rox to make the playoffs. I understand and agree with your general point, but I disagree with the example.

[zurch1818]

It took a really fluky hot streak and a blown call in the one-game playoff for the Rox to make the playoffs. I understand and agree with your general point, but I disagree with the example.

 

It's ok to disagree with that example. My point being is no team can ever be written off at any time. Any team at any point in time can get hot -- even if it is fluky.

[JohnBriggs12]

I'm not worried about the Cardinals. They might have a little better starting pitching than I thought. But it's still pretty average. All those guys are capable of throwing a good game now and then and they happened to do it the first week. Their offense to me is still rather lackluster. Guys like Molina, Kennedy, Schumaker, Izturis, Ludwick, etc, don't do much for me. At best it's a .500 team, at worst it's a 70 win team.

[splitterpfj]

Some thoughts after one whole week of baseball...

 

Gabe Kapler will not hit 54 home runs this season.

 

Manny Parra will not win 27 games.

 

Ben Sheets will not finish with an ERA of 0.00

 

The St Louis Cardinals will not reach the playoffs.

 

1/27th of the season is in the books, Detroit will win a few, St Louis will lose a few, and the Mets will collapse in September - some things are just meant to be.

[Tbadder]

Considering that LaRussa is a black magus who has sold his soul to the devil in much the same way Robert Johnson did, only for baseball wizardary, I'd be scared if I was the Brewers. But then again they got enough to be scared of in the Cubs and Reds, which scares me even more. I said I hated it when the Cards signed Lohse. Duncan turns guys like that around hence Wainwright, Carpenter, et al. In addition, the hardest force to overcome in sports is tradition. Story books must be written. The collective doesn't like the new--witness the humiliation of the Rockies, coming all that way only to be horribly slapped down in public. BOO!

[Fatter than Joey]

The one thing about the Cardinals -- if they are in the race, they are not going to hesitate to acquire what they need, unlike a Pittsburgh perhaps.

 

If the Cardinals end up being a .500 team, and the Reds keep winning, the NL Central will be a blast -- and I certainly would not mind that at all.

 

EDIT: If Cueto and Volquez continue to perform like they have, and with BP pitchers Mike Lincoln and J. Affeldt and of course Cordero -- I'm primarily concerned about the Reds. Cueto struck out 10 in 7IP and Volquez K'd 8 in 5. ruh roh. At some point Jay Bruce enters the fray as well, and they still have 2 decent arms in Bailey and Maloney in AAA. ruh roh.

[Tbadder]

I think you're right Fatter Than Joey. In my darkest hour over the off season I thought the Crew would end up in 3rd because of all the young Reds players coming up, especially the pitchers.

[berniebrewer4life]

I agree with FtJ, i think the Reds are really the bigger threat than the Cards this year.

[DrWood]

their pitching might end up being solid, but i don't think they have the bats to score enough runs to win more then 80 games this year.

Pujols, Glaus, and Duncan (against RH pitching) is a pretty formidable trio. Maybe Ankiel will be tough, too. I wouldn't write off their offense yet.

 

 

 

[joepepsi]

Too early to get hung up on stats, but I don't see how Cardinals pitching can maintain that 1.83 team ERA.

 

Brewers are 5th in team ERA which seems about right where you'd expect them to be. They are first in runs scored, first in average and slugging, 2nd in on base. It's not unreasonable to expect the Brewers to be 1 or 2 in the league in offense.

 

It's way to early to make any definitive statements, but the Brewers seem to be performing at a level that is consistent with their talent, while the Cardinals' are riding a hot streak by the pitching staff.

[DrWood]

just like the cards aren't going to finish with a 1.83 ERA, the brewers aren't going to finish with a .300 average.

[DocLuna7]

Has anyone heard anything on the status of Carpenter's rehab? I could see him making a fairly big difference if the Cards are still in the race after the break. I definitely like Milwaukee for the divisioin, but hate counting out any team managed by Tony LaRussa.

[joepepsi]

just like the cards aren't going to finish with a 1.83 ERA, the brewers aren't going to finish with a .300 average.

No probably not, but like I posted above, it's not unreasonable to think they'll finish with 1 or 2 in league average.

 

[Fatter than Joey]

I think realistically Carpenter could return August/Sep.

[Fear The Chorizo]

They said the same thing about Carpenter making a difference in the postseason chase last year, and he ended up contributing nothing.

 

I'll believe Carpenter is a difference maker when I see him pitch in a Cardinals' major league game with the same stuff he had in 2006. Until then, he's not a factor. Ditto for Mulder and Clement. heck, if they expect their current crop of starters to pitch like this all year, there's no way they'd even point out the possible returns of these three guys.

 

An injury or two and some missed time by Pujols (as simple as necessary off days to keep his elbow from exploding) mean rough times are ahead for the Cardinals - they have zero depth.

[fondybrewfan]

The Cards are off to a good start no doubt about it.

 

Their pitching shut down the Nationals and Rockies. The Rockies have scored 10 runs in 6 games. Perhaps the Cards just ran into 2 very cold offense teams or perhaps the Cardinals pithcing just turned them cold

 

Thier starting rotation has an ERA under 2 coming from these guys:

 

Adam Wainright - Career 3.57 (Not to bad at all)

Braden Looper - Career 3.87 (4.94 as a starter last year)

Todd Wellemeyer - Career 4.92 ( Had a solid 3.11 in 11 starts and 20 games last year)

Brad Thompson - Career 3.89 (4.73 as a starter last year)

Kyle Lohse - Career 4.78

 

They only scored a little over 4 runs a game. If all 5 of these guys didnt have a stellar opening game and where at least near where they were historically you would be looking at a 3-3 or 2-4 team not 5-1. They outscored their opponents 25-13 in their 5 games. We have outscored our opponents 40-19 and the Reds have outscored their opponent 27-24. We have been by far the most impressive. Their is just no way the Cards can keep up that pitching and they don't have the offense that the Brewers, Reds, or Cubs have. They will be under .500 by the time May comes around.