Albert, Tony, Dave. These are all names you've heard mentioned together ever since Black Thursday (December 8th). Just because we lost three future Hall of Famers (Duncan should be in the HOF), doesn't mean that St. Louis can't bring it all home once again in 2012. La Russa and Duncan have been the Cardinals classic combo since '96. And Albert has been the one to save the day since he arrived at Spring Training in 2001. Three icons. Gone as all of us die hards were still celebrating a fantastic World Series run. Yet, there is still hope and perhaps optimism for 2012.
Reason number one for why you should be excited for 2012. Adam Wainwright. What a year for this guy to miss. And yet, what a year to just be able to watch from the dugout. You can be sure that Adam is rearing to get his arm going for this season. Let's hope that he still has the same curveball that struck out now teammate Carlos Beltran back in 2006. While I expect Waino to lead the team in pitching this year, Jaime Garcia challenged him in one thing last year, the best hitting pitcher. Although stats don't show it, Jaime is a great hitter. He has a great swing, a hitter's swing. After all, you don't hit upper deck shots off of Shaun Marcum by swinging like Jason Motte.
Reason number two! David Freese. Freese has become a fan favorite for life. Not just Cardinal fans, but fans across baseball. Quick factoid: @Dfreese23 has 4,000 more than @Cardinals do. A great fielder, and he is the whole package. All he needs to do is to stay healthy for a solid 140-150 games in 2012, and the Cardinals will go places (and not on vacation in October).
Reason number threeeeeee. Ryan Braun. Whether you took the largest dosage of steroids ever recorded in baseball history or not, thank you. You just put your team out of contention for the playoffs. Perfect timing for the arrival of all of prospects which I will blog about later. However, Cardinal fans, be careful because thy pride comes before thy fall. Don't let Cincincy come out of nowhere to claim the division title.
Reason number four. Torty. Yes, the pet turtle of the guy that had the highest OPS (On-base percentage plus Slugging) versus southpaws last year on the club. His OPS clocked in at 1.000. In the first inning, his OPS was off the charts at 1.244. No one with as many at-bats as Craig did had as high of an OPS. Although 2011 MVP runner up Matt Kemp was one point behind him with almost three times as many AB's. But still, stats don't lie....although sometimes they are misleading. Any way you want to look at it, I think Craig should bat third against lefties. To put Craig's stats from 2011 in an overall perspective, if he had as many at-bats as Albert did last year, he would have finished the season with 32 home runs. Compile that with his .311 batting average and you have an All Star on your team that might not even play ever day. Wow.
Reason number five...... Normally, this would be where I would say something about Albert. But, alas, the past is in the past. And unfortunately Albert is now only apart of our past in St. Louis. So let's talk about something exciting. Which rising prospect is more exciting than Shelby Miller? After all, this guy has a career K/9 IP of 12 in the minor leagues. He had the highest K/9 of all starters in the hitter friendly Texas Grapefruit League. In fact, he was the only starter to have more strikeouts than he did innings pitched. He also had the fewest home runs given up at a mere two. I think Miller should start the year at Double-A Springfield so he can start the year on a good note. But, I think he should be ready for a call up to Memphis after the first month or two. Miller's K/9 plummeted from an unheard of 13.97 K/9 at Single-A to a still impressive 9.3 K/9. That four and a half less strikeouts per nine innings pitched is why I think Shelby should start in Springfield. But don't be surprised if he gets called up in September if not sooner.
Clearly, there is still reason to get ready for the 2012 season with plenty of excitement. Pitchers and catchers report in six days and Opening Day will be here soon too! S go to Jupiter, Florida and support your 2011 World Series Champs for there will be plenty of more good times in 2012.
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