[ Ed. note: As part of a spur of the moment “contest” of sorts, I offered up control of this webspace for a day to the first person to guess where the title of this post came from. Josh from over at Redbirds Row nailed it without even trying hard. Today, we feature a guest post from Josh offering up his thoughts on Opening Day. Thanks Josh! ]
Chris Carpenter was by far my favorite attraction on Opening Day in 2007. I couldn’t wait for him to mow down the Mets on my birthday after the World Series banner was revealed. It would have been the perfect day…
As the new season begins, that story is old with Carp regaining his spot in the starting rotation. The ‘lost years’ as I call them are finally in the past, and Cardinal Nation can again embrace their ace.
But that isn’t even the best news! Instead of having just one star pitcher, St. Louis finds itself twice as lucky. Adam Wainwright grew up in a hurry during the 06 Playoffs and took over the reigns as a top-notch hurler the last two years.
The healthy combo will anchor a return trip to the postseason behind a more potent offense than most expect. That is as far as I get for predictions, but I’m all for debates. Take for instance the flexibility the 25-man roster holds.
At first I can honestly say TLR was trying to get fired. Maybe he wanted to join the Reds’ staff sooner than we all thought. That must be the reason for carrying so many redundant parts. Except the more you look at it, the more sense it makes.
And not in that hidden picture kind of way either. Skip Schumaker is the whole key for me, and a lot will be explained by May. While making the right move, the Cardinals are taking a chance by sending Joe Mather down.
Brian Barton was the ‘oops’ decision of the spring, as he was sent down a few weeks too early. Now he and Mather can fight it out to be the first Memphis player called up, never a bad position to be in for any LaRussa club.
The bottom line is a lot depends on how well the reserve infielders play in the outfield. Confused yet? That is the how this St. Louis edition will be measured the first three weeks of the season. And I can’t wait to see how it all plays out.
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