St. Louis Cardinals 2012 Preview

Coming out of nowhere last year and bringing their 11th World Series Crown back to St. Louis was a huge accomplishment.  But the Cardinals will be a totally new team come Opening Day, Tony La Russa stepped down after the World Series and Albert Pujols is now in Anaheim.  Besides Pujols the Cards did a good job of retaining a majority of last years roster and added Carlos Beltran to play right and move Lance Berkman to first.  So the replacing of Pujols will not be as bad on the offense as we all thought, but the production won't be nearly as good.  The pitching staff will get a nice boost in Tommy John returnee Adam Wainwright.  New manager Mike Matheny takes over a good ball club and should have no problem finding w's.  Let's take a look at how the Cardinals will look come Opening Day.
Starting Rotation- Chris Carpenter pitched phenominal last year down the stretch and will get the ball to start the year.  Wainwright will slide into the #2 spot of the rotation but expect Matheny to keep a close eye on him. Lefty Jaime Garcia will be sent out every third day and if he throws like last year will have a good year.  Veterans Kyle Lohse and Jake Westbrook will round out the rotation, a lot of trade rumors have surrounded Westbrook and it will interesting if they decide to move him in Spring Training.
Bullpen- La Russa used a closer by committee theme last year and down the stretch Jason Motte emerged as the man to put out late game fires.  Motte will be the closer come Opening Day but if he struggles look for Fernando Salas to step in nicely.  Mitchell Boggs and Kyle McClellan will be the other setup men and will get help from lefty's Mark Rzepczynski and J.C Romero.  Lance Lynn will also see some bullpen appearances.
Catcher- Gold Glover Yadier Molina will again be the back stop for this team and will provide leadership both on and off the field.  Tony Cruz will be the man that gives Molina his days off though he rarely takes them.
Infield- Berkman will fill in nicely for the void left by Pujols, expect the same caliber of defensive play but a little loss in the offensive production.  Rafael Furcal will get to play his first full season with the team and the speedster still finds a way to get it done.  WS MVP David Freese will be at third and will look to build on a solid second half.  Scrappy second baseman Skip Schumaker and can fill in nicely in plenty of other positions.  Daniel Descalso and Tyler Greene will serve as the utility men for the infield.
Outfield- Matt Holliday will be in left and will look to lead the outfield and help provide a spark to the lineup.  New addition Beltran will be in right and if he can stay on the field full time, could have a good year.  Jon Jay will be the man in center after impressing everyone last year and taking Colby Rasmus' job.  Allen Craig will serve as a quality backup to these guys.
Lineup-
1. Rafael Furcal- Great leadoff man!
2. Carlos Beltran- Power is down but still a doubles machine.
3. Matt Holliday- Should get 25+ HR's.
4. Lance Berkman- Another 30 and 90 year easy.
5. David Freese- Will he be the hero we same in October?
6. Yadier Molina- One of the better hitting catchers around.
7. Jon Jay- Speedster with some pop.
8. Skip Schumaker- Good contact hitter.
9. Pitcher's Spot- Just Bunt!

Mike Matheny takes over a very solid club and should find success very easily but they will not win the division.  Even though the NL Central is very wide open, replacing Pujols will be to big of a task for this team and they will end up with about 85 wins and finish second in the division but could make another Wild Card run.  This team has been known to prove people wrong with strong second half performances so stay on your toes fans.  Good luck in 2012 Cardinals Fans!

-Buddy