St. Louis Cardinals 2010 Preview, Predictions & Odds

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St. Louis Cardinals 2009 MLB Record: 91-71
St. Louis Cardinals 2009 MLB Home Record: 46-35
St. Louis Cardinals 2009 MLB Away Record: 45-36

St. Louis Cardinals 2010 Betting

St. Louis Cardinals Odds to Win the National League: 15/4
St. Louis Cardinals Odds to Win the World Series: 8/1

St. Louis Cardinals 2010 Preview & Prediction

Convinced that a few marquee additions would transform them from contenders to champions, the Cardinals bet big in 2009. They made a series of all-in moves meant to fortify the team around their pillars of Albert Pujols and pitching. But a swift exit from the playoffs revealed the Cardinals as suddenly less than the sum of their parts. Pujols won the NL MVP unanimously, and Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright were Cy Young Award finalists. That trio forms a solid foundation, but the lingering question is whether the club needed to play better in the postseason or if it needed to be built better for the postseason. The Cardinals have the talent for an October push that will provide the answer.

The Cardinals’ core of PUjols, Holliday, Carpenter and Wainwright is enough to elevate them to the top of the division, but to transcend the Central and challenge for the pennant, that quartet needs help. The deeper rotation is a quality start. An offense that insulates Pujols and helps Holliday is essential. As he nears potential free agency, the Cardinals are aware that protecting Pujols is the recipe for contending, and contending could be key to keeping Pujols. Holliday is more than a cleanup hitter he’s a reason for Pujols to stay. While 2009 stressed the team’s eagerness to add players and win in the present, the 2010 season is built on keeping players and contending into the future.

St. Louis Cardinals Manager: Tony La Russa (32 Seasons) Record: 2552 – 2217

St. Louis Cardinals 2010 Projected Batting Order: 2B Skip Schumaker (L), SS Brendan Ryan (R), 1B Albert Pulols (R), LF Matt Holliday (R), RF Ryan Ludwick (R), CF Colby Rasmus (L), 38 David Freese (R), C Yadier Molina (R)

St. Louis Cardinals 2010 Projected Rotation: RH Chris Carpenter, RH Adam Wainwright, RH Kyle Lohse, RH Brad Penny, LH Jaime Garcia

St. Louis Cardinals 2010 Projected Closer: RH Ryan Franklin

2010 St. Louis Cardinals Rotation:

Headlined by the tandem of aces, Carpenter and Wainwright, the rotation stakes the Cardinals’ claim to the NL Central. The starters tied for the NL lead with 69 victories, and the rotation’s 3.66 ERA was fourth-lowest in the majors. Carpenter did not lose to a division rival, going 11-0 with a 1.73 ERA. Wainwright had one stretch of 13 consecutive starts with two earned runs or fewer. Kyle Lohse’s season was undermined by injury after a strong start, and he’ll be valuable at No.3 if he reconnects with his 3.78 ERA form of 2008. Power arm Brad Penny joins the rotation on what could be a mutually beneficial one-year deal if he pitches like he did in a 4-1, 2.59 ERA finish with San Francisco last summer. The fifth spot is likely to be filled by rookie lefty Jaime Garcia or a candidate from the bullpen, like Mitchell Boggs. A veteran pickup is also possible.

2009-2010 St. Louis Cardinals Bullpen:

The Cardinals are comfortable with Ryan Franklin returning as closer, though they would like to find an understudy. Franklin, a first-time All-Star, did not allow an earned run in August, converting all 11 saves, but he faltered late and blew four of his final seven save opportunities. To keep Franklin fresh, Jason Motte, Boggs or Kyle McClellan could emerge as options. The Cardinals structured their postseason bullpen around power, intrigued by Boggs’ and Blake Hawksworth’s late-season flashes of velocity. Lefties Trever Miller and Dennys Reyes, the specialists, bring needed seasoning to what could be a young pen.

2010 St. Louis Cardinals Middle Infield:

There were games during spring training when Skip Schumaker was certain his switch to second base was doomed, and days when Brendan Ryan was worried he’d be ticketed for Triple-A. By August, however, a middle infield of circumstance had become the Cardinals’ middle infield of promise. Transplanted from the outfield, Schumaker improved dramatically defensively in the season’s second half. The challenge of a foreign position didn’t dent his offense as he hit over .300 for a second consecutive season at leadoff. The nimble Ryan flourished as the everyday shortstop, flashing one of the best gloves in the league. To improve his bat, he followed his double-play partner this winter to work with Schumaker’s off season hitting advisor – Mark McGwire.

2010 St. Louis Cardinals Corners:

Pujols entered the season as the consensus best player in the game and did not disappoint, joining an elite group of players with his second consecutive MVP award and his third overall. He and Stan Musial are the only Cardinals to win three MVPs. Only after the season did he reveal that the fidgeting he did with his right elbow all summer was to readjust tooth-sized bone spurs that had cracked loose. Pujols had elbow surgery in October, and he should be ready for spring training. Even with the discomfort and an 89-at-bat stretch without a homer to close the season (including the playoffs), Pujols led the NL in home runs for the first time in his career with 47. While Pujols is the constant corner, the Cardinals are changing the guard at third, after both Troy Glaus and Mark DeRosa departed. Rookie David Freese will get ample opportunity to win the job. Acquired from San Diego for icon Jim Edmonds, Freese is a St. Louis native who hit 26 homers with 91 RBI’s in 2008 at Triple-A Memphis. Injuries complicated his ascent to the job, though the Cardinals feel it’s more ideal to have Freese at third than a rotating cast or high-cost free agent.

2010 St. Louis Cardinals Outfield:

Only a hamstring injury kept Ryan Ludwick from a second consecutive 100-RBI season, though the right fielder was disappointed he didn’t match his breakout 2008. Ludwick’s slugging percentage plummeted from .591 to .447. He says his true potential is somewhere between the 22 homers of this past season and 37 of his All-Star summer. Matt Holliday, who signed a seven-year deal worth $120 million to remain a Cardinal, gives the team another proven bat in the middle of the lineup. He’s a three-time All-Star who has driven in 100-plus runs in three of the last four seasons. Center fielder Colby Rasmus will define his potential as an everyday starter. Rasmus finished second among NL rookies in homers (16) and third in total bases (193), but he was slowed by nagging ailments. Rasmus is a slick fielder with enough speed to be a true 20-20 threat. He also could be planted in an RBI role as the Cardinals’ top left-handed threat.

2010 St. Louis Cardinals Catching:

Arizona manager A.J. Hinch says that his team loves to run and usually does – just not against Yadier Molina. Few do. The Cardinals’ catcher has a reputation as the best and most aggressive arm in the game, throwing out at least 40 percent of would-be base stealers in four of his five seasons as the starter and picking off seven at first base last summer. In recent years, Molina has altered his diet and increased his leg work to improve his stamina and durability through another 1,000-inning season. His on-base percentage has also climbed in three consecutive seasons. The Cardinals would like to find a way to spell Molina more often, which would require more from veteran backup Jason LaRue.

2010 St. Louis Cardinals Bench:

Intent on protecting the bullpen for later in the season, manager Tony La Russa would play shorthanded on the bench in order to carry an extra reliever. A bench thin on power and experience could lead to the same approach. Julio Lugo, acquired in a July trade, returns as an infielder with a live bat (he slugged .432 as a Cardinal). Ruben Gotay, who had a .429 on-base percentage in Triple A with Arizona, is the switch-hitting infielder La Russa values. But beyond rookie Jon Jay, there isn’t an obvious left-handed option for the bench, and Allen Craig is better suited for his development as a part-timer with power easing into the majors.

St. Louis Cardinals 2010 Season Predictions

We predict that the St. Louis Cardinals will finish 1st in the NL Central Division .

St. Louis Cardinals 5-Year Win Trend

2009: 1st NL Central 91
2008: 4th NL Central 86
2007: 3rd NL Central 78
2006: 1st NL Central 83
2005: 1st NL Central 100

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