The Cardinals will win the NL this year for 1 reason: Pitching!! They have the best starting 5 I've seen from a Cardinals team since, well, ever. Both Matt Morris and Chris Carpenter are healthy and they both are solid #2 starters with the potenial to have #1 stuff; Mulder is a proven Ace, which leaves Marquis (who is only 26) and Suppan, both of which would be #3's in all but a handful of rotations.
The key to the starting five can be found in Mulder's recent 10 inning Shutout victory over Roger Clemens. Clemens lasted 7 innings and threw 123 pitches, while Mulder threw a mere 107 in 10 innings. How you ask? Simple the Cardinals have bought into Dave Duncan's philosophy of 'let them hit the ball on the ground and take the outs'. The Cardinals won't rack up the strikeouts; they are built to eat innings and force the other team to hit the ball.
Here is the kicker: the Cards are known for thier killer line-up, but the line-up has yet to produce and they are still 14-5. Yeah, it's good to be a member of the Cardinal Nation!!
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2 comments:
2nd to the Braves will be a pretty good season!
No . . . But I'd love to play them in the first round of the playoffs :)
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