Season Previews: St. Louis Cardinals

C'mon. Who else would kick-off our National League Previews but the World Champion St. Louis Cardinals?

There may be a little uncertainty surrounding the Cards' starting five, but one thing's for sure: Ace Chris Carpenter, the 2005 Cy Young winner, is pretty much secure and veteran Kip Wells' name is damn near written in ink. Beyond that? Adam Wainwright will either have a shot at the rotation or be tossed in the back of the bullpen (depending on the health of Isringhausen) and Anthony Reyes will probably take one of the two remaining slots.

Right-hander Braden Looper may be the favorite for the fifth spot, but Ryan Franklin and Brad Thompson, as well as rookie lefty Chris Narveson, will get the chance to compete. But when May and June roll around, Mark Mulder, who had shoulder surgery last fall, is expected to bump someone out of that lineup, depending on everyone's performances up to that point.

Jason Isringhausen is the franchise's career saves leader, with 173 in a Birds uni. He will enter this season as a question mark, though, after missing the last part of the regular season and all of the postseason with a hip injury.

The exceptional depth in the bullpen, aside from Looper and Thompson, stems from both sides with second-year reliever Josh Kinney, new acquisition Russ Springer and holdover Josh Hancock, all three rising strikeout pitchers. Ricardo Rincon hopes to return after missing most of 2006 due to major arm surgery, but in his absence, Tyler Johnson emerged as a dependable option alongside Randy Flores. With this kind of pitching depth, the Cardinals could be in a good spot to trade for another bat or starting pitcher, if needed down the line.

Health is the primary concern in the outfield, with Jim Edmonds' in question after offseason shoulder and toe surgery and Juan Encarnacion recovering from an operation on his left wrist. And while Chris Duncan provided a big bat in 2006 with 22 homers, skepticism remains regarding his ability to repeat that kind of production.

On the up-side, you don't see Edmonds' Gold Glove defense and 40-home-run power in the same package very often. Encarnacion is reliable year in and year out for 15-20 homers, a few steals and some amazing defensive plays and Duncan could be a 30-homer man. So Taguchi and Skip Schumaker offer sharp defense as well, with Preston Wilson recently signing on for another year at a backup. All three will have a shot at the designated hitter spot.

No questions up the middle, though. Scrappy World Series MVP David Eckstein will return along with Adam Kennedy and his spankin' new three-year contract. Aaron Miles and youngster Brendan Ryan will be there to back things up.

The Cardinals may have the best corners in the majors in Albert Pujols at first and Scott Rolen at third. Possibly the most comforting aspect of this duo is that they're locked down through 2010, with Pujols having a 2011 option, as well. Scott Spiezio, meanwhile, has hopefully gotten rid of that horrid red soul patch and is ready to return at backup.

After a regular season in which he took a giant step back offensively, catcher Yadier Molina was one of the Cardinals' best postseason players. He batted .358 with immense power, including the single biggest hit of the playoffs - the game-winning shot in Game 7 of the NLCS. He will return as head backstop in front of Gary Bennett, a right-handed hitter whose greatest asset is his defense.

St. Louis' bench is so plentiful, that the DH position has been up for grabs for the past few years. Last year it belonged to Spiezio and the year before that, Abraham Nunez. This year, Tony La Russa has confidence that Wilson will provide a huge right-handed swing, John Rodriguez a tough lefty bat and Taguchi, handling the bat better than either, will be just as great a defender in the outfield.

The Cardinals finished the 2006 season with an 83-78 record, 49-31 at home. There is room for improvement on the road though, as they had a 34-47 losing record away from Busch Stadium. Look for the Birds to work hard against division rival Houston to keep the title, as they finished only a game and a half in front of the Astros last year.