Chris Carpenter

The doctors call it a UCLR (ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction). Baseball players and fans call it Tommy John surgery—named after the pitcher who was the first to have the surgery in 1974. Fans of the Cardinals call it the surgery that saved former left-handed reliever Ken Dayley's career, and also gave him spotlight from the way he recovered from it. Dayley recovered in an astonishing seven months where most pitchers take up to 14 months recovering from the operation. 

The Cardinals head into Cincinnati on Monday looking to make up two games in the standings on their rivals, the Reds. For most of the season, the two teams have been locked in a to-the-death battle for first place in the National League Central. Who wins this three game series could likely have a major impact on the pennant race going forward.

With three of the National League's best starters taking the mound for St. Louis, they have the early edge in this series.

Fantasy Baseball’s Pitching Line of the Week:

Paul Maholm (SP-PIT) 

Strong Start By Carpenter

As Chris Carpenter breezed through the Los Angeles Dodgers lineup on Thursday night, all of Cardinal Nation gave a deep sigh of relief while they celebrated the 7-1 victory.  

As the St. Louis Cardinals begin the second half of the season, we have prognostications for all three categories of the roster : the good, the bad, and the injured. First we'll look at the ten players to count on in the stretch run to the playoffs.
From boosting their flaccid offense to maintaining solid pitching, the Redbirds have the talent and ability to make the playoffs.

A month into the season, races are naturally tight throughout the league.

The Rays and Yankees, the Twins and Tigers, all the teams in the AL West, NL West, and NL East

In the NL Central, the St. Louis Cardinals are running neck and neck with...the St. Louis Cardinals.

Every year there seems to be someone who comes back from certain retirement to once again establish themselves as a force in the baseball world.

This year is no different, and there are a number of players making surprise comebacks this season. Vernon Wells and Barry Zito come to mind immediately.

So I have decided to run down what I feel are the top ten comeback seasons of the past ten years.

Just to clarify, there is a difference between a breakout season and a comeback season.

Adam Wainwright is coming off a season where he posted career bests in wins, earned run average, strikeouts, games started, and innings pitched.

The scary thing for opponents is that Wainwright didn’t just beat his career bests last season—he shattered them.

His previous best in wins, 14, was replaced with a National League leading 19; his best ERA, 3.12, was replaced by a 2.60 ERA; his career best strikeout total of 136 was upped to 212, and his previous career high of 202 innings pitched was increased to 233, which was also tops in the NL.

After a middling 2008 season (86-76, fourth place), the Cardinals rebounded nicely in 2009 to win the NL Central with a 91-71 record, thanks in large part to the mid-season acquisition of LF Matt Holliday. While the Redbirds managed to re-sign Holliday this off-season, the club lost several other of its key contributors this winter.

Whether the team will be able to compete with the Philliles for the pennant will be largely dependent upon how well the replacements perform.

Key Additions: P Rich Hill and P Brad Penny