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Old 01-04-2012, 10:08 PM  
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***Offical 2012 STL Cardinals World Champions Thread ***

St. Louis Cardinals: 7 reasons fans should feel good about 2012

Posted Wednesday, October 24, 2012, at 9:26 PM

St. Louis Cardinals fans are likely feeling deflated after the collapse that put an end to the team's dreams of a World Series repeat, but there is good reason to be excited.

With all of the odds against them, the Cardinals managed to push their 2012 season beyond any anticipated boundary.

Given all of the season's changes and the adversity the team had to fight through, the fact that they played in October at all was an anomaly in itself. On paper, it made sense for the Cardinals to be in the playoffs, but few saw them as a true threat.
As the season continued, even fans began to doubt as they watched the team seemingly crumble in June and July. When the Cardinals finally came to life in September they went 11-5 in the last 16 games of the season to lock up the second Wild Card position in its inaugural year.

That run, despite it's crushing end in Cincinnati in Game 7 of the National League Championship Series, lots of good came from the Cardinals' season and playoff run.
Following in no particular order are 10 reasons Cardinals fans have to be excited about the 2013 season.

Trevor Rosenthal
When rookie fireballer Trevor Rosenthal made his first trip to St. Louis, it was obvious almost instantly that he was something special.
Between his 100 mph fastball and the general inability for almost anyone to hit off of him, he became a huge part of the Cardinals playoff run.

He pitched in a total of 19 regular season games before the 22-year-old rookie from Lee's Summit, Mo. got his first taste of postseason baseball and he put on quite a show.
In 8.2 IP over seven postseason appearances, Rosenthal held opponents to only two hits and no runs.
It's possible that down the stretch he may have already earned his spot in the rotation for 2013.

Shelby Miller
The long-coveted fastball pitching prospect Shelby Miller also made his first trip to St. Louis in 2012 and put on a good show.
In 13.2 IP over six regular season games, Miller surrendered only two runs on nine hits. His postseason performance was more of the same with two runs on four hits in 3.2 IP.

Despite a dismal first half of the season in Memphis, Miller got himself together and still managed to make one major league start before the end of the season -- a very impressive start at that.
Against the Cincinnati Reds in the final game of the regular season, Miller posted 5.2 hitless innings. He gave up no runs and collected his first major league win.

Expect to see a lot more of Miller in St. Louis early in 2013.

Joe Kelly
When Joe Kelly made his major league debut on June 10, few could have guessed the importance he would play throughout the remainder of the 2012 season.
Kelly started 16 games for the Cardinals this season filling in for Jaime Garcia and Lance Lynn, but it was the postseason when he really came through for his teammates.

When starting pitchers struggled time and again in October, it was Kelly who came to their rescue.
In seven postseason appearances, Kelly threw 7.2 innings and surrendered only two runs on six hits. Kelly came through for the Cardinals from the bullpen.
There's a good chance that could be his home in the future.

Mike Matheny
When the Cardinals hired Mike Matheny to take over for Tony LaRussa, many question bringing in a manager with no experience to such a storied franchise.

He had a few hiccups and growing pains along the way, but for a rookie manager to get his team where Matheny did this year speaks volumes.
His players have a strong respect for Matheny and credit his positive style with being a driving force behind their 2012 success.
True, he didn't get them through the NLCS, but the team made it to an all or nothing Game 7. That's good experience for the players obviously, but also for Matheny. Not only did he learn a lot about managing in the media pressure cooker that is postseason baseball, he also got a taste of what it felt like to win as a manager.

NLCS loss means more drive to win
While the NLCS loss was a good lesson for a young manager, it's an even more important lesson for a young player.
The 2011 championship lit a fire under young players like Lance Lynn and Jon Jay. That fire helped drive them to extremely successful sophomore seasons.

What happened in 2012 will likely do the same for Rosenthal, Miller and Kelly. Their 2013 season may not be like Jay or Lynn's 2012, but now they've gotten a little taste of what it feels like to be a winner.

Both the excitement and the public humbling can be a great experience for any young player.

The run was without several key components
In a season riddled with injuries, none were as crucial as those late in the season.
The loss of Lance Berkman and Rafael Furcal significantly weakened the team's bench. Instead of having Pete Kozma, Allen Craig and Matt Carpenter to pinch hit, the team wound up having to use them in the lineup.

The loss of Jaime Garcia and Jake Westbrook also rocked the Cardinals. Instead of having Lynn and Westbrook also available from the bullpen, Lynn was pushed back into the rotation after a very successful NLDS bullpen stint.

Having gotten as deep into the playoffs as the Cardinals did in spite of the injuries is quite the accomplishment.

They did it without Pujols, LaRussa and Duncan
Few in the world of sports gave the Cardinals a fighting chance when Albert Pujols left the team to play on the west coast. Surely this team couldn't be as good as they were?

Few gave them a chance after longtime manager Tony LaRussa decided it was time to retire.
Few gave them a chance after pitching coach Dave Duncan left the team.
The Cardinals did it despite all of that. That's something any fan should be proud of.

No, they didn't hoist a trophy. There will be no parade or tickertape.
What there is, though, is hope for next year and that will come sooner than you may think.
After all, pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training in just four short months.

From a blog I was sent on twitter: http://www.dailystatesman.com/blogs/...es/entry/50051

Last edited by BigRedChief; 10-24-2012 at 08:57 PM..
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Old 03-01-2012, 05:01 PM   #136
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They probably paid too much, but that's what the market is. Kind of hamstrings them elsewhere. But the length of the deal is pretty good. He has caught nearly a 1000 games which is usually where catchers start grinding down, but he's still fairly young at 29.
He would have got more in FA.

We are set up nicely. Loshe, Westbrook come off the books and we will have around $110 million in salary to spend. We can pay wainwright next year without hamstringing the team. With this one game and out playoff system coming, having a stud is essential.
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Old 03-01-2012, 07:20 PM   #137
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He would have got more in FA.

We are set up nicely. Loshe, Westbrook come off the books and we will have around $110 million in salary to spend. We can pay wainwright next year without hamstringing the team. With this one game and out playoff system coming, having a stud is essential.
Hate the new system. You're really hamstringing a team that has to have a must win game. They have to burn their ace while the other team gets an extra day or two of rest.
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Old 03-01-2012, 07:41 PM   #138
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Hate the new system. You're really hamstringing a team that has to have a must win game. They have to burn their ace while the other team gets an extra day or two of rest.
That's more or less the point of it, they've talked about wanting to reward the division winners more.
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Old 03-01-2012, 07:46 PM   #139
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That's more or less the point of it, they've talked about wanting to reward the division winners more.
If by "division winners" you mean bloated payroll big market teams, then yes, I agree, that's why they're doing it.

Personally, I like it when the scum of New York and Philadelphia piss down their multi-million dollar legs and watch somebody else in the World Series.
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Old 03-01-2012, 09:47 PM   #140
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If by "division winners" you mean bloated payroll big market teams, then yes, I agree, that's why they're doing it.

Personally, I like it when the scum of New York and Philadelphia piss down their multi-million dollar legs and watch somebody else in the World Series.
Sure, its still not as dumb as determining home field in the WS on the ASG. Bud loves him some dumb decisions.
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Old 03-03-2012, 09:33 PM   #141
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Hate the new system. You're really hamstringing a team that has to have a must win game. They have to burn their ace while the other team gets an extra day or two of rest.
Then make sure you win the division. Thats the point. Put more worth into winning the division.
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Old 03-04-2012, 08:02 AM   #142
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Originally Posted by frazod View Post
If by "division winners" you mean bloated payroll big market teams, then yes, I agree, that's why they're doing it.

Personally, I like it when the scum of New York and Philadelphia piss down their multi-million dollar legs and watch somebody else in the World Series.
They just can't have the Red Sox missing out on the postseason either.
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Old 03-04-2012, 11:11 AM   #143
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Yankees are so confident with the new system in place, they're going to drop their payroll to $189 million. The new Steinbrenner is going to pocket a billion from the Yanks every five years.
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Old 03-09-2012, 11:29 AM   #144
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Should we worry? From bernies column..............

* Go ahead and send me to the penalty box for two minutes for overreacting, but this neck stiffness with Chris Carpenter is troublesome. And with Joe Strauss reporting this morning that Carpenter left camp to get examined by a local doctor ... sheesh. The anxiety level just went up a bit. This could be absolutely nothing. Nothing at all. It could be something else. But the Cardinals put in a program for Carpenter this spring to limit his throwing, just to be on the safe and smart side after his laborious 2011 season. It makes a lot of sense. But in reducing Carpenter's workload, the Cardinals signaled at least some internal concern over Carp. That is duly noted. And excuse me if I'm a little reluctant to accept the Cardinals' attempts to downplay the situation. We've been through this before.

* Including the postseason Carpenter worked 273.1 innings last season and threw 4,155 pitches. (For means of comparison, that was 775 pitches more than Jaime Garcia.) Over the last two years including the postseason, only Roy Halladay has pitched more innings (522.1) than Carpenter (508.1) And only two pitchers, Justin Verlander (8,047) and C.J. Wilson (7,961) have thrown more pitches than Carpenter (7,704.)
I'm not suggesting the Cardinals keep Roy Oswalt's phone number on speed dial, but still ...
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Old 03-09-2012, 11:39 AM   #145
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Carpenter threw his ass off last year, this should've been expected.

Then again, I'm not too concerned about it just yet. There's little indication that this is likely to be a game-changer, though it could be a sign of things to come. I've battled a bad disk for years and they're annoying as hell, but ultimately can be managed. If that's what he's looking at here, it can be addressed.
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Old 03-09-2012, 11:42 AM   #146
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We'll be lucky to get one more full season out of him, IMO. But it's not like he hasn't done enough for us.

I'm kind of wishing they'd pulled the trigger on Oswalt, though.
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Old 03-09-2012, 01:31 PM   #147
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We'll be lucky to get one more full season out of him, IMO. But it's not like he hasn't done enough for us.

I'm kind of wishing they'd pulled the trigger on Oswalt, though.
5tb game in Philly. WS win on 3 days rest. He has earned a place in Cardinals lore. He's earned the right to stand alongside the Cardinal greats on Opening Day till the day he dies or as long as he desires.

We are damn lucky to have Miller ready to take his spot in the rotation next year.
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Old 03-09-2012, 02:01 PM   #148
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Don't tell me they let Carpenter towel himself off.
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Old 04-04-2012, 05:19 PM   #149
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Season has started. Furcal leading off and Loshe on the mound.
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Old 04-04-2012, 05:27 PM   #150
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