St Louis Cardinals

Towards the end of this offseason, there were a lot of rumblings about Albert Pujols and his need for a contract extension. 

Pujols has said throughout that he wants to remain with the St. Louis Cardinals and that he would not deal with the contract once spring training had started. Although Pujols took the noble path of not allowing the contract to interfere with the current season, there was no agreement met between the two parties.

As we know, the injury of Adam Wainwright has put the St. Louis Cardinals in a really tough position. What was looking to be a promising 2011 season is now looking to be one of disappointment. Adam Wainwright has been the Cy Young runner-up in the National League the past two seasons. According to the Wins Above Replacement statistic, Wainwright was worth 5.7 and 6.1 wins in 2009 and 2010 respectively.

As everyone knows Albert Pujols did not sign a contract extension with the Saint Louis Cardinals by the deadline that was put in place by Pujols.  As a result Pujols will become a free agent after the 2011 Major League Baseball season.  At the Winter Meetings, Pujols will sign the largest contract in the history of baseball, 10 years for $300 million, with the Chicago Cubs.  Immediately afterwards the world will start its decline into the apocalypse.
 

After news broke that Adam Wainwright will miss the entire 2011 MLB season, the Cardinals have a serious decision to make whether or not they want to exercise his option for the 2012 and 2013 seasons.

Originally, that option was extended due to Wainwright’s stellar 2010 performance when the "Cards" saw their No. 2 starter end the season second in the National League Cy Young voting.

When you heard about the season-ending injury to St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright, you probably immediately wrote off the Cardinals as a World Series contender this year.

You wouldn’t be alone, as many people, including oddsmakers, have pretty much discounted the chances for St. Louis this season without their top pitcher.

That might be a mistake.

Adam Wainwright got a surprise this week.  It has been determined that he will have to endure every pitcher's worst nightmare—Tommy John surgery—and will miss the 2011 season.

Will he ever be the same?

That is the big question not only Wainwright is probably asking, but every baseball fan in St. Louis, as well.

With the recent explosion in the field of sports medicine, all signs point to a successful recovery for Wainwright.

The St. Louis Cardinals are coming off of a rather disappointing 2010 campaign that included giving up the lead in the NL Central over the final month of the season to miss the postseason.

The injury to Adam Wainwright's elbow will officially require Tommy John surgery, ending his season and severely damaging the Cardinals' chances at an NL Central division title.

Now that their season is over before it even began, the Cardinals are going to trade Chris Carpenter, their only remaining ace, and probably try to find a buyer for Albert Pujols, who is set to become a free agent at the end of the season.

They'll probably sell the team, and baseball in St. Louis will be over.

Is this the smartest move for the St. Louis Cardinals to make?

Moving Carpenter throughout the league would open up viable cap room ($15 million), but his contract expires this year, meaning if he hit the dirt, they would just not re-sign him.

With news of Adam Wainwright’s elbow injury and his impending Tommy John surgery, Dave Duncan has his work cut out for him to get a starting rotation ready for the 2011 season.

Duncan has been the pitching coach for manager Tony La Russa since 1983, when he took over as the pitching coach for the Chicago White Sox. Duncan has been with La Russa ever sense, with stints in Chicago as well as in Oakland and St. Louis.