The Cardinals are Really Good and Here to Stay

Seriously this post isn't satire, the Cardinals are really good this season and it does pain me a bit to say it. I was wrong about them when I wrote the preview and this is a sort of makeup try. 

Albert Pujols is still really good, we know that, but he has been awesome so far this season. Hitting grand slams out of stadiums and even stealing bases in big spots. Ryan Ludwick hasn't fallen off very much at all. His homers are steady as well as his RBI. He also brings solid defense to right field which is very important on this particular Cardinals team. 

Yadier Molina looks like he has figured out hitting, this season his at-bats are almost always solid, he rarely strikes out, and his OBP is almost .400. Skip Schumaker has been solid hitting leadoff and playing second, while his numbers are a bit low, I would expect them to rise as the season goes along. He has shown he can be about a .300 hitter with a little pop at the top of the order. Chris Duncan is healthy and swinging the bat well, getting some walks and not striking out as much. 

They are also getting good production out of Joe Thurston and Brian Barden. Barden has an OPS of .977 this season, that will come down, but if he can keep it in the mid to high .800s then the Cardinals have themselves something nice. Thurston has also been great with his speed and bat. Troy Glaus will be back in late-June which will only make the lineup that more potent.

The pitching is also been really good. Kyle Loshe has been able to turn his talent into on-field production with a 1.97 ERA so far this season. Adam Wainwright struggled with control early in the season, but his ERA is under three, and he has pitched much better the last few times out. Joel Pinero might be getting a bit lucky with balls in play, but a 4-1 start is hard to ignore. Even if he settles around a four ERA, he will be producing really well for the Cardinals. Chris Carpenter will return eventually, he looked awesome before his injury. Todd Wellemeyer hasn't been very good this season, but once Carpenter gets back he can be taken out of the rotation if Mitchell Boggs is pitcher better.

They still have a shaky bullpen, but Ryan Franklin is a solid closer and Kyle McClellan has settled as a solid setup man. Chris Perez and Jason Motte have tons of potential and might just be figuring out how to pitch as the season goes on.

This team is really good and the favorites to win the Central right now. I do think they slow down a bit and settle as about a 92-94 win team. Do I think the Cubs can catch them? Maybe, but it won't be the cakewalk we all thought it would be. Not when Geovany Soto and Milton Bradley are fighting to not rename the Mendoza line.