Title Hopes for 2011

One thing that always exists in the off-season, every year, prior to the start of a new season is HOPE. The 2011 season has been an injury plagued one for my St. Louis Cardinals, beginning with Adam Wainwright, and continuing with Matt Holliday, Albert Pujols, David Freeze, and others. It has also been a season of coming together as a team, continuing even now with the addition of Rafael Furcal, Edwin Jackson, Octavio Dotel, Corey Patterson, and Mark Rzepczynski. Recent sparkling performances by rookie Lance Lynn have definitely bolstered our relief corps, as has the return of Kyle McClellan. Tony continues to mix and match, paying special attention to getting the whole roster involved often enough to keep everyone sharp. Ryan Theriot has shown his appreciation for the value of teamwork by willingly allowing Rafael Furcal to take over the regular shortstop duties while he is willing to be plugged in whenever and wherever needed. Rookie Daniel Descalso has truly sparkled with his remarkable rbi production in the late innings. And, Lance Berkman, has been the greatest find in recent Cardinal history! What have all these events produced? In one word – H-O-P-E. Hope to win the National League Central Division title this season, and maybe more; Hope to be competitive enough to sign Albert long term, and Hope to sustain all True Cardinals fans…