St Louis Cardinals Information
The Cardinals have set a legacy of winning unmatched that sets expectations high for fans in ‘07. Spring began with tragedy for the Cardinals, however, with the death of relief pitcher Josh Hancock in April. They bounced back from a 4 game loss in July, beating San Diego 10-5 on August 6th. They also lost Scott Spezio due to substance abuse problems – with his replacement, Rick Ankiel, coming back from the minors to hit a three run homer. In spite of what the team has been through this season, the Cardinals have ten World Series, seventee pennants, and nine division titles – this is a team that will stay competitive for many years to come.
The St. Louis Cardinals missed the playoffs in 2003 for the first time in four seasons. Although that might not sound like a huge accomplishment, consider that during the same span, only the New York Yankees and Atlanta Braves accomplished the same task. The Braves have made it to the playoffs 13 straight years, and the Yankees are the Yankees, so the Cardinals appear to be ready to bounce back and start another streak in 2004. The Cardinals have won 9 championships in their franchise history, but many of those came in the early part of the 20th century, and the most recent championship came in 1967. They made two World Series appearances in the 1980s, but lost both times to Kansas City and Minnesota.
The Cardinals play their home games at Busch Stadium, which opened in 1966 and can hold more than 50,000 people. The stadium is completely circular and covers more than 12 acres while standing 130 feet tall from field level to the top of the stadium. Tony La Russa is entering his 27th season as a big league manager, and his 9th with the Cardinals. La Russa is one of the few managers in the game of baseball to earn 2,000 wins as a manager, but he’s only taken one team to a World Series championship, that team being the 1989 Oakland Athletics. La Russa still thoroughly enjoys his job, and has a certain way of making his players compete at only the highest level, so he doesn’t appear to be worn down or ready for a break, but he’ll definitely have his work cut out for him if he wants to beat out the Astros, Cubs, and Reds for the playoff spot out of the National League Central, widely regarded as the best division in baseball.
The superstar on this roster is Albert Pujols,
a player that can play any position and hit almost
anything that comes across the plate. He won’t
feel the pressure of previous years because he’ll
have help in the form of Jim Edmonds, Scott Rolen,
Edgar Renteria, and Reggie Sanders, among others.
Rolen could be the best third baseman of this generation,
and Renteria had an unbelievable season last year
while playing shortstop almost everyday. Unfortunately,
he’s playing at a time with shortstops dominate
most of the news (Rodriguez, Tejada, Jeter, and Garciaparra).
Matt Morris will lead an older rotation in 2004. Jason Marquis, Woody Williams,
Jeff Suppan and Chris Carpenter will finish out the starting rotation this
season. Marquis is a young player with good potential, and Williams is looking
to build on a steady 2003 season. Suppan and Carpenter are both wildcard type
players, and if they can pitch well, the Cardinals will have a chance to make
a run late in the season. Jason “Izzy” Isringhausen will close
again this season, and should have numerous opportunities in 2004 to save games
for St. Louis. The Cardinals will need strong performances from these players
as well as others to be a factor in such a close division.