Marlins Gut Their Team, Again

                                          Toronto bound

When the Marlins spend money, what usually happens next is they look for a way to dump those contracts. They went out and signed manager Jim Leyland, Bobby Bonilla, Moises Alou, and Alex Fernandez before the 1997 season. They already had veterans Kevin Brown, Al Leiter, Robb Nen, and Gary Sheffield, and up and coming players like Edgar Renteria, Livan Hernandez, and Charles Johnson. They won the 1997 World Series, but within a couple of years, all those players were traded away. They lost 108 games the next season after gutting their championship team.

In 2003, the Marlins had a group of talented players entering their prime. They changed managers mid-season and under Jack McKeon they went on a second half surge. They won the wild card and upset the Giants, Cubs, and Yankees to win their second World Series. Yet, after the season they didn't re-sign Pudge Rodriguez and traded away Derrek Lee. A few years later, they either traded or didnt' re-sign Luis Castillo, Juan Pierre, Josh Beckett, Mike Lowell, Alex Gonzalez, Brad Penny, and many others. They entered the 2006 season with a 15 million dollar payroll, with only Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis remaining from their 2003 team. Two years later, they traded both players to the Tigers for practically nothing. The big prospects from that trade(Cameron Maybin, Andrew Miller) did little with the Marlins, and Cabrera just won the Triple Crown and MVP this past season.

Marlins ownership then decided to sign Hanley Ramirez to a long term deal during the 2008 season. After the 2009 season, MLB Players Association and Commissioner Bud Selig forced the Marlins to spend more of their money. The Marlins were due to open Marlins Park in 2012 and they had received $300 million in revenue sharing in the last 10 years. The Marlins then signed Josh Johnson and Ricky Nolasco to contract extensions. They still traded away Dan Uggla a season later after signing free agent catcher John Buck. The prior offseason, the Marlins said they would change their ways and keep a higher payroll. The went on a spending binge and got a new manager in Ozzie Guillen. They went out and acquired Heath Bell, Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle, and Carlos Zambrano. The Fish were expected to contend this year, but they were a flop.

Maybe it was a bad mix of players, or that manager Guillen wasn't a good fit, or it could of been that ownership didn't give this team a fair chance to succeed. They traded away Hanley Ramirez, Randy Choate, Edward Mujica, Gaby Sanchez, Anibal Sanchez, and Omar Infante at the deadline this year. Guillen was fired weeks after the season ended, and Heath Bell was traded away to Arizona after a disastrous season. Then last week, the Marlins announced they would be trading Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle, Josh Johnson, John Buck, and Emilio Bonifacio to the Blue Jays for Yunel Escobar, Jeff Mathis, Henderson Alvarez, and 4 minor leaguers. The Marlins heavily backloaded the Reyes, Buehrle, and Bell deals and traded them all after 1 season.

The Marlins have now shed $236 million in future contracts since July. Some of the players they recieved back could be good players like pitchers Jacob Turner and Nathan Eovaldi. But, the Marlins have said for years they needed a new stadium to be competitive. Now that they have it, they still are cheapskates. Giancarlo Stanton is now the face of the franchise and is a a enormous talent, but he wasn't happy about the trades and I can't blame him. Stanton tweeted after the Fish-Jays megadeal, "Alright, I'm pissed off!!! Plain and Simple." I doubt the Marlins will pony up the money for Stanton when he's eligible for free agency either.

Jeffrey Loria is one of the worst owners in professional sports, if not the worst. He bought the Montreal Expos in late 1999, and is somewhat responsible for the extinction of baseball in Montreal. He wanted more money for English broadcasts of the team in 2000, and ended up having no English broadcasts available. The Quebec government had a deal for a new stadium for the Expos, but Loria wanted them to spend more money. The proposed Labatt Park never became a reality because of Loria's greed. He then sold the Expos to MLB before the 2002 season, and bought the Marlins from John Henry for a discount rate. Henry went on to buy the Red Sox.

Despite winning the 2003 World Series, Loria would not keep that team together. He dumped salary and explored moving the team during 2005 and 2006. Loria was then able to work out a sweetheart deal with Miami to build a new stadium. The city of Miami and Miami-Dade County agreed to pick up 80% of the $634 million costs of the new ballpark. Loria isn't as rich as some big league owners, but he has a net worth of $500 million. Loria is also a big recipient of revenue sharing along with the corporate welfare picked up by the city of Miami. Yet, he has not held up his end of the bargain in trying to field a competitive team.

The latest trade with Toronto is under review from Bud Selig. He is angered about the deal since he helped Loria secure the stadium deal. Still, Selig is likely to approve the deal. There is talk that he could strip the Marlins of the 2015 All Star Game now. The Marlins will have a tough time recruiting free agents to Miami now because of this. There was not a no-trade clause in the Reyes, Buehrle, or Bell deals, but Loria assured Reyes that he would not be traded. Loria only cares about making money, and isn't all that interested in winning and has alienated Marlins fans. It would be for the best interests of the Marlins franchise, their fans, and baseball if he sold the team.

Teams Going With Younger Managers

Walt Weiss: Former Rockies shortstop becomes manager

Last year, two teams hired managers without previous managerial experience. The White Sox hired Robin Ventura after Ozzie Guillen left to go to the Marlins. While Ventura hadn't even been a coach at the major league level, the White Sox nearly made the playoffs this year. Guillen wore out his welcome in the South Side and Ventura's style was a good change for them. After the Cardinals won the World Series last year, future Hall of Fame manager Tony La Russa retired. After interviewing several candidates, GM John Mozeliak decided to go with his special assistant and former Cardinals catcher Mike Matheny. There were some questions since Matheny had no prior experience. However, Matheny did a terrific job and nearly got the Redbirds back into the World Series this year.

This year, there has been 6 managerial openings. The Indians fired Manny Acta, and ended up going with former Red Sox manager Terry Francona. Cleveland almost went with former All Star catcher Sandy Alomar Jr., but decided on Francona instead. Alomar Jr. will be Cleveland's bench coach, though. The Red Sox fired Bobby Valentine after one disastrous season, and worked out a deal to bring Toronto's manager John Farrell to Boston. Farrell had been a pitching coach previously with the Red Sox. Toronto still doesn't have a manager yet. They have interviewed Alomar Jr. and Tim Wallach, but its rumored they want someone with previous experience.

The Astros have lost 100 games two years in a row, and will be moving to the American League next year. They went with 40 year old Nationals coach Bo Porter to be their manager. Porter briefly played in the big leagues at the turn of the century, and was a journeyman minor leaguer. He has held a variety of minor and major league coaching jobs since retiring as a player. The Astros are in sorry shape, and Porter will have his work cut out for him in Houston.

The Marlins signed Guillen to a four year contract after luring him from the White Sox last year. Miami spent a bunch of money in the offseason, acquiring Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle, Carlos Zambrano, and Heath Bell. However, Miami had a dissapointing year and finished in last place. Hanley Ramirez, Gaby Sanchez, Anibal Sanchez, and Omar Infante were traded in July in a fire sale. Guillen also made negative headlines praising Fidel Castro and said he gets wasted on every road trip. The Marlins decided to go a different route, and went with former catcher Mike Redmond. Redmond played for over 10 years in the big leagues, and was a member of the 2003 World Champion Marlins team. Redmond had been managing in the Blue Jays farm system the last two years. Jim Leyland and Jack McKeon both highly recommended Redmond as a manager.

Jim Tracy resigned as Rockies manager after a frustrating last place finish. Colorado did a search, and considered bench coach Tom Runnels and even Jason Giambi to be manager. However, they went with former shortstop Walt Weiss. Weiss played with the Rockies from 1994 to 1997. He also played with the Athletics, Marlins, and Braves. Weiss was the 1988 AL Rookie of the Year, and part of the Athletics 1989 World Champions. However, Weiss has only managed at the high school level and was a special assistant to GM Dan O'Dowd last season. Weiss did play for La Russa and Bobby Cox during his career, so I imagined he learned a few things from them.

Also, the Nationals have brought back Davey Johnson for one more season. The Nationals made the playoffs for the first time since 1981 when they were the Expos this past season. Johnson is 70 years old and the oldest manager in the game right now. Johnson will retire at the end of the 2013 season and move into a consultant's role. Johnson has led 4 different teams into the playoffs, including the Mets, Reds, Orioles, along with the Nats.

Cardinals Should Trade for Elvis Andrus

                Elvis Andrus avoiding a Matt Holliday slide in the 2011 World Series

The Texas Rangers have the luxury of having two outstanding shortstops in their organization. In the big leagues, they have Elvis Andrus. He took over as Rangers shortstop at age 20 in 2009, moving Michael Young to third base. Andrus is one of the best defensive shortstops in the game, and a big part of their two World Series teams. Andrus hit for a career high .286 in 2012, and set a career high in doubles, RBIs, on base percentage, and slugging percentage. Andrus is just entering his prime and is still only 24 years old.

Texas also has the top rated shortstop prospect in the game in Jurickson Profar. The Rangers signed him out of Curacao in 2009, and he was a Little League World Champion in 2004. Before the 2012 season, Profar was rated the #7 prospect in baseball, barely after he turned 19. Profar will turn 20 next February, but he may be ready for the big leagues. Profar homered in his first major league at bat this past September, and made an appearance for the Rangers in their wild card game loss.

What will the Rangers do with Profar? They recently signed second baseman Ian Kinsler to a long term extension, so moving to second is out of the question. They also have third baseman Adrian Beltre signed for several more years, so moving to third isn't going to happen either. They could keep him in Triple A next year, as insurance in case someone gets injured. Or they could trade him for another bat in the outfield or first base. Another possibility is that the Rangers could put Andrus on the market to make room for Profar.

Its not often when a team would consider trading someone like Andrus. But, Andrus is two years away from free agency, and Profar would be six years away. Profar is also 4 and a half years younger than Andrus, and has more power. Like Andrus, Profar steals bases and is an excellent defensive shortstop. Rangers GM Jon Daniels has a good problem to have, but may make a move to address weaker spots in the organization. Josh Hamilton is a free agent, and its quite possible he will depart. The Rangers could be in the market for a big bat, and use either Andrus or Profar as trade bait.

The Cardinals might be a player for one of those two players. Rafael Furcal isn't likely to be ready for opening day, and it would be a miracle for the Cardinals to get 121 games out of him again. Thats the second highest total of games played by Furcal in the last 5 seasons. Furcal is also in the last year of his deal, and is 35 years old. Pete Kozma had a terrific September, and had some big hits for the Cardinals in the playoffs. However, Kozma also had some errors and fielding misplays in the playoffs. Also alarming is that Kozma is just a .236 career hitter in the minor leagues. Its also possible that the Cardinals could stick with a platoon of Kozma and Furcal, but that plan could blow up if Furcal isn't healthy. That would leave Kozma as the main guy, and who knows which version you would be getting. The .236 career minor league hitter, or the .333 September hitter in 72 at bats.

I think the Cardinals should make a major push for either Elvis Andrus or Jurickson Profar. Andrus is the most likely target and its rumored the Rangers might be shopping him. I'm not sure what the Rangers would want for him, but I have a few guesses. I would think they would want one of our bigtime pitching prospects like Shelby Miller or Trevor Rosenthal. But the Rangers have several top pitching prospects of their own. Another guess would be a big bat to replace Josh Hamilton. That could be a number of players, they could want Oscar Tavares, but I would want Profar instead of Andrus if that was the case. They could want Allen Craig, Matt Adams, or Matt Carpenter. I would hate to give up Craig, but it would be worth looking at.

There is one more option, and while not as likely, but is something I would do in a hearbeat. Matt Holliday for Elvis Andrus, straight up. It might sound like a radical idea to some, but I don't think it is. Holliday will be 33 next year, and still has 4 years and a option left on his contract. Holliday is still productive and hit .295, had a .379 on base pct., 27 home runs, and 102 RBIs. Holliday did a good job as the #3 hitter this year, and actually had a better year than the guy he replaced this year, Albert Pujols. However, Holliday set a career high with 132 strikeouts this year. His defense is somewhat shaky, and while he has some big hot streaks, his bat can go cold for long stretches. Holliday always plays hard(just ask Marco Scutaro), but he never seems to get a big hit when you need it.

I don't know if the Rangers would be interested in picking up the rest of Holliday's contract, but they might if Hamilton leaves. They would need a big bat to replace him, and Holliday would be that guy. I also don't know if Holliday would accept a trade to Texas or not. The Cardinals could move Craig to right field, and put Adams or Carpenter at first base. They could also leave Craig at first, and put Carpenter or even Oscar Tavares in left. Its obvious the Cardinals need a shortstop, though and Andrus would fill that void. Andrus is two years away from free agency, and the Cardinals could use the money they save from the Holliday deal to sign Andrus to a long term deal.

The Cardinals should be considering upgrading shortstop this offseason. It looks like they might, I've read a story on them looking at Stephen Drew. I also just read a Bleacher Report story about the Cardinals trading for Elvis Andrus. Middle infield is really the Cardinals only weakness, and shorstop specifically. 2011 top pick Kolten Wong will soon be ready to take over second base, and Matt Carpenter is learning how to play second this offseason, so I'm not as worried about that. Daniel Descalso was overexposed this year, and would be better off as the Cards top utilityman like he was in 2011. Descalso is a scrappy player, takes good at bats, and plays good defense, but is a weak hitter overall.

Shorstop is a position the Cardinals will have to go outside the organization to upgrade. Andrus would be a huge upgrade from what we have. Andrus hits for a .270-.280 average, steals bases(stole over 30 bases in 3 out of 4 big league seasons), and is a defensive wizard. Andrus also wears #1 in Texas, like Ozzie Smith, but would obviously have to change his number in St. Louis. Besides the huge upgrade in defense, he would add some much needed speed to the ballclub. Jon Jay has turned into a stolen base threat, stealing 19 bags this year, but he's pretty much it. Andrus would add a new dimension to the Cardinals with his speed. At age 24, Andrus is young enough where he could be the Cardinals shortstop for years to come. I hope John Mozeliak is looking into acquiring him.



                            Jurickson Profar, the Rangers shortstop prospect

Giants Tame the Tigers

The Giants came from behind to win in both the Division Series and Championship Series, but there was no such drama in the World Series. The Giants swept the Tigers, outscoring them 16-6, and shutting them out in Games 2 and 3. The Giants rallied from a 0-2 deficit to beat the Reds 3 straight in Cincinnati. San Francisco found themselves down 1-3 to the Cardinals, but rallied to win the last 3 games. The Giants hot streak didn't stop in the World Series either, and they won their final 7 playoff games.

A couple of former Oakland A's played a big role in the Giants playoff run this year. Marco Scutaro was acquired from the Rockies in July, and hit .362 with the Giants. Scutaro played good defense as well, won the NLCS MVP, and hit .328 in the postseason. He was getting a lot of key hits this October. Barry Zito went across the bay after the 2006 season, and has been a dissapointment since signing a big contract. Zito was even left off the postseason roster in 2010. Zito had his best year with the Giants, and won 15 games this year. He also won Game 5 of the NLCS in St. Louis, which was a turning point in the series. Zito won Game 1 of the World Series, and was 2-0 with a 1.69 ERA in 3 starts in the playoffs.

The Giants pitching was great this October. Ryan Vogelsong was 3-0 with a 1.09 ERA in 4 starts, and had a good follow up year to his All Star campaign in 2011. Before 2011, Vogey hadn't pitched in the big leagues since 2006, toiling in the minors and Japan during that time. Madison Bumgarner had a good regular season, but was bad in his NLCS start. However, he came back in the World Series and pitched a gem. Matt Cain was the Giants ace this year, pitching a perfect game, and starting the All Star game. Cain also won the clinching game of the Division Series, NLCS, and World Series. Tim Lincecum had the worst season of his career, but pitched terrific out of the bullpen in the postseason. If you take out his Game 4 start during the NLCS, Lincecum pitched 13 innings out of the bullpen with a 0.69 ERA.

The Giants closer Brian Wilson went down with an season ending injury in April, and the Giants had to replace their All Star closer. Santiago Casilla, Jeremy Affeldt, and Javier Lopez all closed out games this year in Wilson's absence, but Sergio Romo took over as closer down the stretch. Romo has had a ERA under 2 and a WHIP under 1 two straight years. Romo also was dominant in the postseason, saving 4 games.

Like 2010, the Giants didn't have a overwhelming offense. They were 6th in the National League with 718 runs scored. Still, it was a major improvement over the 2011 version, which was dead last in the NL. The 2012 team also scored more runs than their 2010 championship team. They also did this without All Star Game MVP Melky Cabrera, who was leading the NL in batting average when he was suspended for PED's. Buster Posey came back from his leg injury, and had a MVP type season. The Kung Fu Panda Pablo Sandoval missed 54 games this year, but had a big October this year. Sandoval only played 6 of 15 games during the 2010 run, but was a middle of the order force this time around. The Kung Fu Panda hit .379 during the playoffs with 6 home runs and 13 RBIs. Sandoval also hit 3 home runs in Game 1 of the World Series, becoming only the fourth player to ever do that, joining Babe Ruth, Reggie Jackson, and Albert Pujols. Sandoval hit .500 during the World Series, and was named the MVP of it.

Hunter Pence was also a big pickup for the Giants at the deadline. They got him from the Phillies and he was a inspirational leader for them this October. They needed him as well because Cabrera would be suspended a few weeks later. While the Giants missed Cabrera's bat, Gregor Blanco played great defense in left and stole 26 bases during the season. Angel Pagan played a terrific center field this year, in his first year with the Giants coming over from the Mets in a offseason trade. Homegrown talent Brandon Belt and Brandon Crawford played first and short for the Giants this year. Aubrey Huff was relegated to the bench to make room for Belt. Former Cardinal Ryan Theriot was a utilityman for the Giants this year, and has now won back to back World Series with different teams.

The Giants made the right moves this year picking up Pence, Scutaro, and lefty Jose Mijares. GM Brian Sabean made similar moves in 2010, picking up Cody Ross, Pat Burrell, and Javier Lopez for their stretch run then. The Giants didn't win their first World Series in San Francisco until 2010, but have now won 2 out of the last 3 World Series. Yesterday's win was their 7th World Series title in franchise history. They won 5 in New York in 1905, 1921, 1922, 1933, and 1954. The Giants have great pitching, play good defense, get timely hits, steal bases and take the extra base, and play good fundamental baseball. With a core of Sandoval, Posey, Cain, Lincecum, and others they should be contenders for many years.

The Tigers had a terrible World Series after sweeping the Yankees to get there. It was similar to 2006, when they swept the A's and waited the winner of the Cardinals/Mets NLCS which went 7 games. The layoff hurt the Tigers this time around, too. Even with mighty sluggers like Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder, the Tigers only batted .159 for the World Series. That is the third worst team average in World Series history, not the kind of leaderboard you want to be on. Justin Verlander was rocked in Game 1, and the Giants never let up after that. The Tigers have now lost the last 2 World Series they've played in, and haven't won it all since 1984.

Cardinals Snatch Defeat From the Jaws of Victory

                                  Not the scene I expected a few days ago

After the Cardinals won Games 3 and 4 of the NLCS, I thought they were a lock for the World Series. They had a 3-1 lead and were in the driver's seat. Then on Friday, Lance Lynn pitched 3 no hit innings, and fell apart in the 4th inning. Barry Zito shut the Cardinals down. When it went back to San Francisco, the Cardinals didn't show up to play. The Giants outscored us 20-1 in the last 3 games of the NLCS. It was a terrible way to go out, and the Cardinals made a NLCS record 10 errors. The Redbirds luck ran out, and were not able to make a miracalous comeback in Game 7. The Cardinals didn't do themselves any favors either, but the Giants beat us. In fact, the Giants kicked our ass in the last 3 games.

With the exception of Adam Wainwright's start in Game 4 and Kyle Lohse's start in Game 3, the starting pitching was terrible in this series. The other 5 games, the starting pitcher pitched under 5 innnings. Like I mentioned earlier, our defense was very bad during this series. Cardinal hitters only batted .217 during the NLCS. Allen Craig was 3 for 24(.125), David Freese was 5 for 26(.192), Matt Holliday was 5 for 25(.200), Daniel Descalso was 5 for 25(.200), and Jon Jay was 6 for 29(.207). That's not going to get it done. Ryan Vogelsong shut us down twice during this series, and was key for the Giants. Even with Matt Holliday's hard slide into Marco Scutaro, he had a terrific series on defense and offense. Scutaro was 14 for 28(.500) for the series and won the NLCS MVP.

The 2012 NLCS is reminiscient of the 1996 NLCS. The Cardinals had a 3-1 lead on the Braves that year. The Braves rallied back to win that series, outscoring the Cardinals 32-1 in the last 3 games. In Game 7, starter Donovan Osborne was knocked out in the first inning, and the Redbirds lost 15-0. It was as bitter of a defeat as this year's NLCS. 1996 was also Tony LaRussa's first year as Cardinals manager, and this year was Mike Matheny's first year on the job. The Cardinals are in good shape for the future, and Matheny did a good job as a rookie manager. The Cardinals also proved they can win without Albert Pujols this year.

The Tigers and Giants will meet in the World Series this year, and this is the first meeting between the clubs in the Fall Classic. This will be the Detroit Tigers 11th World Series appearance, and they last won it all in 1984. The San Francisco Giants will be making their 19th World Series appearance, which sets a National League record. Previously, they were tied with the Cardinals and Dodgers. The Giants also won the 2010 World Series.

The Tigers are the favorites, but the Giants have proven they can win with their backs against the wall this year. However, with a rotation led by Justin Verlander, along with Max Scherzer, Doug Fister, and Anibal Sanchez, the Tigers will be hard to beat. They also have a devastating 3-4 combo of Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder. The Giants have some pretty good pitching as well with Matt Cain and Ryan Vogelsong, but not as good of a offense. The Giants bullpen is probably more solid than the Tigers, and their defense is better. The Tigers are well rested, but that backfired on them in the 2006 World Series against the Cardinals. I think this year's Tigers team is better than the 2006 version, and I think they will win the World Series this year.

Redbirds Young Rocket Arms

                       Trevor Rosenthal pitching against the Giants

This postseason, the Cardinals are showing off some young power arms out of the bullpen. Lance Lynn had this role last season, and moved into the rotation this year. Lynn made a relief appearance in Game 1 of the National League Division Series, but was moved into the rotation because of Jaime Garcia's injury. Garcia's injury led to the Cardinals adding 2009 first round pick Shelby Miller to the postseason roster. Miller was impressive in his start against the Reds in the season's final day. He no-hit them for 5 plus innings. He shut the Giants down in his first inning of his postseason debut in Game 2, but ran into trouble in his second inning of work.

Miller had a up and down year in Memphis, but turned it on in the second half. He started using his secondary off speed pitches, instead of using purely fastballs. Miller just turned 22 years old, and is still learning how to pitch. In the same 2009 draft, the Cardinals also drafted Joe Kelly in the third round and Trevor Rosenthal in the 21st round. Kelly has played the biggest role on the 2012 Cardinals, starting 16 games for the Redbirds, and now being a power arm out of the bullpen.

Rosenthal can reach up to 100 mph on his fastball. He also has a very good curveball. He is a valuable weapon out of the bullpen, and should be a very good starter someday. Rosenthal had a 2.78 ERA with 25 strikeouts in 22.2 innings pitched in the big leagues this year. He pitched in Double A Springfield and Triple A Memphis this year before joining the Cardinals. Rosenthal is also from Lee's Summit, Missouri. Rosenthal has also pitched very well in the postseason this year, pitching 4.1 scoreless innings with 7 strikeouts.

The Cardinals should have plenty of arms for years to come. All three of these guys are good enough to be starters and could be All Stars someday. The Cardinals have several more top pitching prospects in the minors. The Cardinals signed Carlos Martinez form the Dominican Republic in 2010, and he was rated baseball's 27th best prospect coming into this season. Martinez just turned 21, and pitched in two levels this year, High A Palm Beach, and Double A Springfield. Martinez had a 2.93 ERA in 104.1 innings pitched in the minors this year. John Gast is the Cardinals top lefthanded starting prospect, and he was a 6th round pick in 2010. Gast dominated Double A, going 4-2 with a 1.93 ERA, but struggled in Springfield, going 9-5 with a 5.10 ERA.

Tyrell Jenkins was the Cardinals supplemental first round pick in 2010, and was baseball's 94th ranked prospect coming into the year. Mike Matheny compared Jenkins to Chris Carpenter in spring training this year. Jenkins is several years away from the big leagues, and struggled in A ball this year. He had a 5.14 ERA in 82.1  innings for Quad Cities this year. He did strikeout 80 batters, but is far from a finished product at 20 years old. The Cardinals spent their number 1 draft pick this year on Michael Wacha from Texas A&M. Wacha reaches the low to mid 90s on his fastball. He had a 0.86 ERA in 21 innings with 40 strikeouts in the minors this year after signing.

Its possible that some of these pitchers won't pan out, but I think the Cardinals will have some very good pitchers coming up in the next few years. Some might pitch out of the bullpen in the majors. I think this year's trio of Kelly, Rosenthal, and Miller will make a big impact on next years club. The three 2009 draft picks are already contributing on this year's club.





                      

Division Series Wrapup, LCS Preview

                Daniel Descalso had a big night on Friday's deciding game

This year might of been the most exciting round of Division Series ever. All four series went a full five games, the first time thats ever happened since the Division Series was introduced in 1995. Obviously, Friday nights deciding Game 5 between the Nats and Cards was a classic. The Cardinals overcame the biggest comeback in a elimination game in postseason history, at one time being down by 6 runs. The previous record was 4, which two teams overcame(Yankees against the Red Sox in the 2003 ALCS, and the Pirates over the Senators in the 1925 World Series). Ironically, the 1925 Washington Senators lost to the Pirates by a 9-7 score. The Cardinals can never be counted out even when the circumstances look dire.

The Nationals have got to be second guessing the decision to shut down Stephen Strasburg for the season. Would they have won with Strasburg pitching? Maybe not, but there chances would of been better. While this was the best season this franchise has ever had, this lost could haunt them for quite some time. They have a young talented team though, and should be contenders again next year.

The Giants made some postseason history themselves on Thursday. They became the first National League team to overcome a 0-2 deficit. Even more impressive, they won all three games on the road in Cincinnati. They are the first team to do that. Buster Posey's grand slam clinched the series win on Thursday, and Matt Cain won the game. Tim Lincecum also pitched out of the bullpen in this series, but could start vs. the Cardinals in the NLCS. The Reds were pretty cocky going into the playoffs, but they choked this series away.

The NLCS will be a match between the last two World Champions. The Cardinals are the defending champions, and the Giants won it all in 2010. This is the first time in NLCS history this has happened, and it is an intriguing matchup. Both teams had to deal with injuries this season The Cardinals lost Rafael Furcal and Lance Berkman for the season, and Chris Carpenter missed most of the year. Carpenter is healthy now, but Jaime Garcia injured his rotator cuff during Game 2 of the NLDS and will miss the rest of the playoffs. This is also the first season of the post Albert Pujols/Tony LaRussa era, but the Redbirds haven't missed a beat. The Giants had to had to deal with Brian Wilson's season ending injury, Melky Cabrera's 50 games suspension(will not play in the playoffs), and a down year from former ace Lincecum. Posey had a big year this year, coming back from his leg injury last year.

The Giants will need their starting pitching to come through for them if they are going to win this series. The Cardinals scored the second most runs in the National League this year, and had 5 players reach th 20 home run plateau this year in David Freese, Yadier Molina, Matt Holliday, Carlos Beltran, and Allen Craig. The Redbirds also have a lot of young strong arms in the bullpen in Joe Kelly, Trevor Rosenthal, and Shelby Miller. The Giants do have some threats on offense in Posey, Pablo Sandoval, and Hunter Pence. Marco Scutaro was third in the NL in hits this year.

In the American League, the Athletics gave the Tigers all they could handle in the Division Series. Detroit got off to a 2-0 lead, but the A's roared back to tie it with a come from behind win in Game 4. Justin Verlander pitched a complete game shutout to win Game 5, and set a Division Series record with 22 strikeouts. With a rotation of Verlander, Doug Fister, Max Scherzer, and Anibal Sanchez, and a offense led by Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder, the Tigers might be the team to beat this year.

The Yankees and the Orioles played in a tough grind it out five game series. Only in Game 1, did a team score more than 3 runs. Every game was close, and went down to the wire. Jim Johnson saved 51 games in the regular season, but blew two games in this series. Alex Rodriguez was benched for the deciding game in favor of Eric Chavez. This series could also be the end of Jim Thome's career, he has hinted at retirement after this season.

The Tigers have already took Game 1 of the ALCS in New York, and the Yankees got some more bad news. Derek Jeter fractured his ankle making a defensive play Saturday night, and will miss the rest of the postseason. Game 3 of this series will feature a great pitching matchup between CC Sabathia and Verlander. The Cardinals and Giants will kick off the NLCS tonight with Lance Lynn taking on Madison Bumgarner.




 The Giants came back to beat the Reds and now will face the defending champion Cardinals