MLB Preview: St. Louis Cardinals

The 2007 season was a sign that the end had come for the St. Louis Cardinals. The team's nucleus of talent had led the team to the post-season throughout the decade, but father time had finally caught up to the Cardinals as they finished well below 500.

The Cardinals enter 2008 in a rebuilding phase as they let go of Jim Edmonds, David Eckstein, and Scott Rolen. The team does still have Albert Pujols, who is always a good starting point for any team.

Now it's time to look at three pressing issues for the 2008 St. Louis Cardinals

(1) Did the Cardinals pick the right time to rebuild?

There really never is a right time to rebuild as no team wants to essentially give up on a season, but even the Yankees have to do this on occasion. It is always tough to rebuild in the NL Central, as 85 wins has been more than enough to win the division the past two seasons. The good news about rebuilding in this era, is the Wild Card makes the rebuilding process that much shorter as teams are only a few player acquisitions away from being a possible contender.

The Cardinals likely will not undergo a full rebuilding phase as they are consistently amongst the most active teams around the trade deadline, and aren't afraid to go after Free Agents. That being said it's still important for the team to develop their farm system as they have one of the weakest systems in all of baseball.

The team does have Colby Rasmus, who is widely considered to be major league ready, and should be able to help the Cardinals as soon as this season. Rasmus gives the Cardinals a decent outfield which to build from. Rich Ankiel was a great comeback story last season as he swatted 12 home runs despite not being called up until late in the summer.

The Cardinals may have been a year to late in rebuilding as all of the signs were there in 2006 that this team was aging, and not playing at the level Cardinals fans were accustomed to. That of course was the season the Cardinals won the World Series despite finishing barely above 500 during the season. Going into 2007 the Cardinals couldn't rebuild as they had a World Series title to defend, but their chances of repeating ended in April as Chris Carpenter was lost for the season after making his first start.

(2) Is this the year that Albert Pujols should finally get surgery done to repair his elbow?

According to Pujols the answer to that question is a resounding no, but if he were to get that taken care of this would be the season to do it. The Cardinals as I mentioned are not expected to contend this season, and Pujols would likely need 6-12 months to recover from surgery. The best case scenario for the Cardinals would be for Pujols to have surgery early this season, and come back healthy next season, as the Cardinals could find themselves back in contention next season.

Pujols has been playing with this torn ligament since 2003, and it appears as if it has gradually gotten worse over the years. It's hard to notice this in the boxscore as Pujols still blasted 32 home runs last season, but that was a significiant drop off from the previous two seasons as Pujols home run total hovered near 50.

Pujols feels that if he's been able to play through it the previous 4 seasons, there is no reason to think that this season will be any different. This logic makes sense, as his defense at first base is unmatched, so it's not affecting him defensively, but for how long can he defy human physics. The Cardinals fear is that he may be able to play one more season with the torn ligament, and the team will enter next season planning on contending, and then Pujols will come down with that serious injury, thus shattering their chances at contending.

It will be an interesting issue to watch this season as Pujols has a lot to prove to himself and the organization. Let's only hope there isn't an issue between the medical staff, the organization and Pujols as that could damage all parties involved.

(3) Will Dave Duncan and Tony La Russa be able to work magic again with this pitching staff?

The Cardinals starting rotation has very little sure things this year, as their former ace Chris Carpenter is not expected to pitch until July. The team still has Adam Wainright to shoulder the load for the rotation, but after him the rest of the rotation is a bit murky.

Mark Mulder is coming off a serious injury himself, but should be ready to pitch by opening day, Mulder never had a dominating fastball, so this injury may not derail him as it has others previously. Mulder nontheless will have to alter his approach towards hitters, and will have to be that much mor precise with his location.

Dave Duncan has been able to revitalize the careers of many pitchers over the years, including Chris Carpenter, and to a lesser extent Jeff Weaver with the Cardinals during their run in 2006. He will have to use that same approach on the likes of Joel Pineiro, Braden Looper or Anthony Reyes this season, as the Cardinals have very few options in the minors to rely on.

Reyes was projected to be a top prospect for the Cardinals but he has struggled ever since being called up to the big leagues in 06. Last season Reyes started 20 games and posted an ERA slightly over 6. Joel Pineiro fared much better in his 11 starts last season as he posted an ERA below 4.

If the Cardinals get some production from the back end of the rotation, and the Cubs and Brewers suffer through some injury problems, there is a small chance this team could find themselves back in contention. That scenario is highly unlikely, and that glimmer of hope caused the team to trick themselves into thinking they could still contend last season. The team should treat this season as a rebuilding year, and give young players like Colby Rasmus a chance to develop so he can showcase his talents on a contending Cardinals team down the road