I'm Getting Antsy

This baseball off-season has been nothing but exciting. Big things have been happening everywhere. The Yankees-Red Sox rivalry has captured the imagination of the nation. The Cubs are being pinned as the team to beat in the National League. Pudge went from first to worst. Montreal continues to wither into obscurity. Everything is coming to a head.

Unfortunately the situation in St. Louis has continued to become more murky. We bolstered our struggling bullpen, but Jason Isringhausen continues to look fragile at best. We still do not have answers to questions like, "Who's batting lead off, and who's playing left field?" And I am getting more and more uncomfortable with the idea of Kerry Robinson or So Taguchi being the answer to both of those questions. Believe me I will be rooting for the two of them, as I will be rooting for successful homecomings for Ray Lankford and John Mabry, but reality has to take control at some point over wishful thinking.

The Cardinal Nation did breathe a refreshing sigh of relief when the Pujols deal went through, but then more things came to the surface. Failed negotiations for Matt Morris' contract extension, and Woody Williams' shoulder stiffness reminded us of the shaky status of our starting rotation. Jeff Suppan brings us nothing more than Brett Tomko had last year, and Jason Marquis and Chris Carpenter, although already slotted in the rotation, are huge question marks. We still have Danny Haren and a hopefully rejuvenated Alan Benes to fill in, but who knows how that will go.

People keep bringing up Jason Simontacchi as a possible fill in starter too, but last season proved that he was much better in a relief role. If I calculated things correctly, he had a 3.60 ERA in relief appearances last year versus a 6.64 ERA as a starter. Diagnosis: Keep him in the bullpen.

I am also a little miffed about how they tore apart the bench. Miguel Cairo had proven to be a clutch pinch hitter and a versatile fielder. Eduardo Perez was turning into a real threat at the plate, and although Eli Marrero was streaky at best from the plate, anyone that can play catcher and center field dependably deserves a second look.

My only hope for the next year is that we can stay competitive in the Central Division. Winning against Chicago and Houston was hard enough last year. Now they both have improved their rotations, which were their strongest parts last year anyway. I also hope that we can keep Edgar Renteria. Pujols is important, but Renteria has shown that he is the leader of this team, and he has the ring to prove that he can win.

Every now and then, I still have to remind myself that we still need to play 162 games. The Yankees have not won the World Series yet. The Red Sox have not lost again, yet. The Cubs and Astros have not swept us in a four game series yet. The Cardinals organization has not used the money tied up in the new stadium as an excuse to sell off the team, yet. Somehow, though, I'm already losing my hair just thinking about it.