2008 St. Louis Cardinals MLB Predictions & Season Preview
June 9, 2008
Big pieces of the Cardinals’ 2006 championship team will not be on the opening day roster. They include Jim Edmonds, David Eckstein, Scott Rolen, Juan Encarnacion and Chris Carpenter. This brings many questions about what to expect from St. Louis heading into the 2008 season. They haven’t had to rebuild in quite some time, and you can bet Tony Larussa will not want to go through a rebuilding year this season if he has his say. With Albert Pujols opting to wait for Tommy John surgery until the end of the season, Pujols must see something in this team that he really like this year. Will Adam Kenned rebound from an off year? Is Rick Ankiel for real? Has Mark Mulder recovered? Can Matt Clement resurrect his career? Will rehabbing Carpenter be ready by midseason? The Cardinals demonstrated that anything is possible by winning the World Series despite just an 83-win season a few years back. The Cardinals finished 15th among 16 NFL teams in ‘07 in total defense, the first aspect they must improve on this season. If the Cardinals can hang around within 5-10 games of the NL Central lead by All-Star break, then maybe they can make another great run to end the season. Below are Larry’s 2008 St. Louis Cardinals predictions along with a season preview of what’s to be expected.
Starting Rotation:
Mark Mulder underwent another surgery to repair his troublesome shoulder. He has not been himself for two seasons now. Best-case scenario has Carpenter returning from his elbow surgery by mid-season. Carpenter missed all but the start of the 2007 season. With the No. 1 and No. 2 starters left with big question marks lingering, there is little hope for this starting rotation. Adam Wainwright went back to being a starter last season and won 14 games. He has a tall ask of being asked upon to be even more effective this season. Braden Looper won 12 in a successful shift from the bullpen, and Joel Pineiro showed enough as a late-season acquisition to get a new contract and a rotation spot. Clement, who missed all of last season and most of ‘06, hopes for a revival after shoulder surgery. Anthony Reyes will get a shot to prove that his 2-14 record last year was just a fluke. It can’t get any worst, right?
Bullpen:
The Bullpen was the Cardinals’ best asset in 2007. Most of the ‘pen returns for the ‘08 season. Closer Jason Isringhausen has lost some velocity at 35 years of age, but his 32-of-34 save chances proves that he is focusing more on location and it’s clearly working. Ryan Franklin was the best setup man in the league until fatigue swelled his 3.04 ERA in his last few showings. Russ Springer had a terrific ‘07 season with an 8-1 record. The Cardinals have two effective lefthanders in Tyler Johnson and Randy Flores for specialty work when needed. The Bullpen looks to be the strength of this team in 2008.
Line-Up:
CF Colby Rasmus had a .932 OPS to go with 69 extra-base hits, 72 RBIs and 93 runs for Class AA Springfield last season. His performance has earned Rasmus a leading candidate to take over the leadoff role in the Cardinals’ lineup after Eckstein’s departure. RF Rick Ankiel combined 43 homers, 128 RBIs and 102 games at Memphis and 47 with the Cardinals. He will bat No. 2 and his performance last season looks to be no fluke. 1B Albert Pujols has hit over .300 with more than 30 homers and more than 100 RBIs in each of his seven seasons. You just can’t beat what this leader brings to the table for the Cardinals. LF Chris Duncan will be asked to give Pujols protection this season when batting in the cleanup role. 3B Troy Gluas has 277 home runs in his 10-year career after coming over from the Blue Jays. Health is most certainly and issue for Glaus, but if he can stay healthy this trade will prove to be successful since Scott Rolen is likely to miss the entire season in Toronto. 2B Adam Kennedy is looking for a do-over after a struggling ‘07 season was compounded by knee surgery. C Yadier Molina will bat 7th while SS Cesar Izturis gets his shot in the No. 8 spot in the Cards’ lineup. Molina hit .275 last season, but needs to improve on his 40 RBIs. The club hopes that Izturis can add defense and improve on his .295 career on-base percentage that has kept him out of a starting job throughout his career. The Cardinals are taking a big chance here. St. Louis does have a killer bench with IF Scott Spiezio, OF Ryan Ludwick, C Jason LaRue, IF Aaron Miles and IF Brendan Ryan when they are called upon to produce. Larue has the Reds’ primary catcher in 5 of his 8 seasons in Cincinnati to add experience behind the plate. Miles is decent with the bat with a .290 career average. Ryan batted .354 in 79 at-bats against lefthanders last season. He will be a nice stick off the bench against these lefties.
Cardinals 2008 Predictions:
If everything falls into place, Mulder and Carpenter will both be in the rotation by July. The Cardinals have so many “ifs” that it’s so hard to believe all of them will fall on the favorable side. LaRussa will get the most out of his roster, Pujols will provide production and the Cardinals will draw some three million fans. But this will likely be the start of a down cycle for one of baseball’s best franchises. The Cardinals may have the best record in the NL after the All-Star break, but we feel they will simply be too far behind the Cubs, Astros and Brewers this season to catch up. The NL Central is getting stronger, while the Cardinals are getting weaker. This is why I have picked the Cardinals to finish in 4th place in the NL Central in 2008 as they overtake the Reds in the month of September to finish in the middle of the pack.
Larry Cook finished with the #5 World Ranking with his baseball picks in 2007 last year. Hard work with research, analysis and starting pitcher breakdowns gives Larry the edge over your sportsbook and bookies. You won’t believe the kind of profits you can make by signing up for any of Larry’s long-term packages. By doing so, you will get in on all of his winning MLB action this season. Larry will guide you to profits you have never seen before once he makes his move up to the #1 spot in 2008.
2008 St. Louis Cardinals Odds:
Odds to win NL Central:
7/1
Odds to win 2008 NL Pennant:
15/1
Odds to win 2008 World Series:
45/1