***Offical 2012 STL Cardinals World Champions Thread ***

[BigRedChief]

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

[Frazod]

Derek Lilliquist.

[DJ's left nut]

Liliquist did a great job with the staff during his interim run last season - he'll be fine. He's worked under Duncan for awhile and will have plenty of knowledge to offer.

I have no idea if Matheny will be a good manager, but I'm confident we'll continue to have one of the better pitching coaches in baseball.

[whoman69]

I saw rumors the Cards were perhaps shopping Lohse. Wonder who they were going to replace his spot in the rotation with? Couldn't be Westbrook. He hasn't been anywhere near as advertised. Trade Westbrook to some lower team that needs a starter to eat innings.

[O.city]

Thanks for the info guys.

Hope you are right DJ.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by whoman69

I saw rumors the Cards were perhaps shopping Lohse. Wonder who they were going to replace his spot in the rotation with? Couldn't be Westbrook. He hasn't been anywhere near as advertised. Trade Westbrook to some lower team that needs a starter to eat innings.

Westbrook has been exactly as advertised.

Anyone that expected him to be anything other than what he was last season simply didn't pay attention to his career. The trade and subsequent extension for that clown rank up among the dumbest things Mozeliak's done.

Westbrook was a mediocre pitcher at his apex. Now he's just an old pitcher that used to be mediocre.

[BigRedChief]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

Go the 2nd to last week of ST; you'll get the most 'regular' playing time. This year they also have a bunch of home games over that stretch as well as a couple of really close road games.

I dunno if there are any 'tricks', but the feel may be a little more relaxed this year. I enjoyed going to the back fields to watch the minor leaguers play in the mornings. You could sit right up against the fence, it felt like watching a softball game at the local rec.

Eh, I'm sure there are vets that have more insight than I do, we just went down there every morning, brought a ball and a bat and watched 'em practice until the games started.

thinking of going down March 25th for a couple of games and go see them on the road a couple of times. Its only about a 1/2 drive from where I work. I'm assuming that not many regulars travel on the road.

[Miles]

Latest from http://www.mlbtraderumors.com

SATURDAY,1:39pm: The Cardinals insist that there's no deal in place with Oswalt, according to Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (via Twitter). General Manager John Mozeliak also denied that the club is near a deal with Oswalt, writes Matthew Leach of MLB.com.

[Miles]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

Westbrook has been exactly as advertised.

Anyone that expected him to be anything other than what he was last season simply didn't pay attention to his career. The trade and subsequent extension for that clown rank up among the dumbest things Mozeliak's done.

Westbrook was a mediocre pitcher at his apex. Now he's just an old pitcher that used to be mediocre.

He is still completely mediocre at best which is not a total loss as the 5th starter. The trade was confusing as hell at the time but not nearly as bad as the money thrown at Westbrook for the extension. Really hope that it doesn't cause the Cards to sign more interesting guys like Oswalt.

[ShowtimeSBMVP]

Ken_RosenthalKen Rosenthal

Source: #Rangers have not made offer on Oswalt. Interested in him, but as with #STLCards, not an obvious fit. #MLB

[BigRedChief]

Originally Posted by Miles

Latest from http://www.mlbtraderumors.com

SATURDAY,1:39pm: The Cardinals insist that there's no deal in place with Oswalt, according to Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (via Twitter). General Manager John Mozeliak also denied that the club is near a deal with Oswalt, writes Matthew Leach of MLB.com.

I could see the Cardinals wanting Oswalt, Loshe and Westbrook to battle for the two spots. One gets hot, ride him.One flaters, give the other a chance.

If we get back to the playoffs having those 3 experienced arms out of the bullpen would be invaulable.

Now, why would Oawalt come here other to play with a possible playoff contender and his buddy Berkman for one more year???? No way the Cardinals are going to gaurantee him a starting spot. But, whatever his personal reasons, I just don't see the downside in signing Oswalt.

[Miles]

Originally Posted by BigRedChief

I could see the Cardinals wanting Oswalt, Loshe and Westbrook to battle for the two spots. One gets hot, ride him.One flaters, give the other a chance.

If we get back to the playoffs having those 3 experienced arms out of the bullpen would be invaulable.

Now, why would Oawalt come here other to play with a possible playoff contender and his buddy Berkman for one more year???? No way the Cardinals are going to gaurantee him a starting spot. But, whatever his personal reasons, I just don't see the downside in signing Oswalt.

Reports in the last week or so seem to suggest that he may be willing to take a little less to pitch for the Cards. Apparently Beltran took a tad less than his highest offer as well.

It may be memories of what he used to be but I really want Oswalt. I have no problem with the idea the he is at least guaranteed the back end of the rotation unless he pitches himself out of it. The Cards rotation going into this year isn't exactly a model of good health and 6 deep could be more than just a luxury.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by BigRedChief

I could see the Cardinals wanting Oswalt, Loshe and Westbrook to battle for the two spots. One gets hot, ride him.One flaters, give the other a chance.

If we get back to the playoffs having those 3 experienced arms out of the bullpen would be invaulable.

Now, why would Oawalt come here other to play with a possible playoff contender and his buddy Berkman for one more year???? No way the Cardinals are going to gaurantee him a starting spot. But, whatever his personal reasons, I just don't see the downside in signing Oswalt.

Yeah, the Cardinals would absolutely guarantee him a starting spot.

You think they're gonna offer him 6+ million to be a setup guy? C'mon - if he signs in STL it will be because we guaranteed him a slot in the rotation. We'll have Lohse and Westbrook battle for 5, but only after WW proves himself healhty, Carpenter proves to have bounced back from a heavy workload and Garcia proves he's ready to take the next step as a starter.

We could definitely guarantee Oswalt a starting spot and probably still not end up with too many arms.

[whoman69]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

Westbrook has been exactly as advertised.

Anyone that expected him to be anything other than what he was last season simply didn't pay attention to his career. The trade and subsequent extension for that clown rank up among the dumbest things Mozeliak's done.

Westbrook was a mediocre pitcher at his apex. Now he's just an old pitcher that used to be mediocre.

Westbrook was advertised as someone Duncan could fix, a replacement for Suppan. He hasn't come close to getting back to his numbers early with Cleveland and certainly hasn't come close to Suppan numbers. He's going to be a guy who can't fill any spot in the playoffs except perhaps in a game where the starter blows up in the 2nd.

[Marco Polo]

Originally Posted by BigRedChief

I could see the Cardinals wanting Oswalt, Loshe and Westbrook to battle for the two spots. One gets hot, ride him.One flaters, give the other a chance.

If we get back to the playoffs having those 3 experienced arms out of the bullpen would be invaulable.

Now, why would Oawalt come here other to play with a possible playoff contender and his buddy Berkman for one more year???? No way the Cardinals are going to gaurantee him a starting spot. But, whatever his personal reasons, I just don't see the downside in signing Oswalt.

Lohse had a much higher WAR than Oswalt and Westbrook. Lohse is also on a contract year so I expect a big year for him. Westbrook could be moved to the bullpen for spot starts and extended innings in the BP.

[damaticous]

What is this baseball thing you speak of?