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St. Louis Cardinals
Team Page | Roster | Spring Training Schedule | Regular Season Schedule
On this page: Arrivals | Departures | Spring Cleaning | Team Breakdown | Prospects | Predictions

Mark McGwire enters the season just 46 homers shy of 600. AP

By Ryan Hunt, CNNSI.com

It's a simple theme for the St. Louis Cardinals this season: The chase for 600.

If Mark McGwire is healthy, the 37-year-old slugger likely will become the fourth player in baseball history to reach the 600-homer plateau. More important for the Cardinals, a healthy McGwire means they have a chance to play .600 ball for the first time since their 1985 pennant-winning team.

That's how high expectations are in St. Louis. And that's how much McGwire means to meeting those expectations.

Even still, the Cardinals proved they were more than just Big Mac last season, with help from Will Clark, sweeping the Braves in the Division Series before getting knocked out by the Mets in the NLCS.

But don't think for a minute Redbirds fans weren't wondering what could have been with a healthy McGwire. In 2001, they could find out.

With the offseason trade of power-hitting third baseman Fernando Tatis to Montreal, however, the brunt of the Cardinals' offense falls even heavier to McGwire -- who still hit 32 homers last season despite playing in only 89 games because of a knee injury -- and Jim Edmonds.

Top Guns Cardinals 2000 team leaders Avg.  Fernando Vina  .300  HR  Jim Edmonds  42  RBIs  Jim Edmonds  108  SB  Edgar Renteria  21  Wins  Darryl Kile  20  ERA  Rick Ankiel  3.50  Ks  Rick Ankiel  194  Saves  Dave Veres  29    Go Figure 45-33 The Cardinals' record after July 6, when McGwire went down with a knee injury; they were 50-34 before his injury.

It's a somewhat scary proposition considering when McGwire was hurt last season, the load was too much for Edmonds. The center fielder hit .238 after the All-Star break with McGwire out. Before the break -- and with McGwire's protection -- Edmonds hit .341.

Still, with Edmonds and McGwire clicking, as well as 25-homer potential from outfielders Ray Lankford and J.D. Drew, the Cardinals have plenty of offense to account for the loss of Tatis -- even if his replacements are Placido Polanco, Shane Andrews and Craig Paquette.

As for pitching, while the starting staff is solid one through five, it's not without its question marks. Darryl Kile won 20 games last season and pitched as well as any NL pitcher in the second half. Dustin Hermanson, acquired in the Tatis deal, gives the Cardinals a solid No. 2 starter.

The rest of the staff, however, will determine whether the Cardinals are serious World Series threats or not.

Rick Ankiel's postseason control problems overshadowed an impressive rookie season (194 strikeouts in 175 IP and a 3.51 ERA). Garrett Stephenson won 16 games last season after winning a combined 14 in his first 57 major league games. Andy Benes won 12 games, but had an ERA of 5.65 after the All-Star break

The wild card is Matt Morris, who has the tools of a future 20-game winner, but has pitched only 53 innings since arm surgery in 1999.

Remember: The Cardinals won 95 games last season, a winning percentage of .586. Getting to .600 is a very real possibility in 2001.

Arrivals
Pos.	Player	From	Via
RHP	Dustin Hermanson	Expos	Trade
LHP	Steve Kline	Expos	Trade
3B	Shane Andrews	Cubs	Free Agency
OF	Bobby Bonilla	Braves	Free Agency
OF	Bernard Gilkey	Diamondbacks	Free Agency
OF	John Mabry	Padres	Free Agency
OF	Quinton McCracken	Cardinals	Free Agency
RHP	Heathcliff Slocumb	Padres	Free Agency

Departures
Pos.	Player	To	Via
3B	Fernando Tatis	Expos	Trade
RHP	Britt Reames	Expos	Trade
1B	Will Clark	N/A	Retired
OF	Eric Davis	Giants	Free Agency
OF	Shawon Dunston	Giants	Free Agency
RHP	Pat Hengten	Orioles	Free Agency
OF	Thomas Howard	Pirates	Free Agency
LHP	Jesse Orosco	Dodgers	Free Agency
1B	Eduardo Perez	Japan	Sold
RHP	Scott Radinsky	Indians	Free Agency
C	Rick Wilkins	Padres	Free Agency

Spring Cleaning

J.D. Drew Is this the year Tony La Russa finally lets J.D. Drew play everyday? Drew has averaged only 387 at-bats in his two full major league seasons. At 25, this could be the year Drew lives up to the hype that has followed him for his entire pro career. The corners could turn out to be a big problem if McGwire is unable to stay healthy. At third, the trio of Polanco, Paquette and Andrews won't be able to match the Tatis' offensive production. And if McGwire goes down again, the Cardinals will be forced to replace nearly 50 percent of their power supply. Experience never hurts. The Cardinals revamped their bench in the offseason, brining in veteran outfielders Bobby Bonilla, Bernard Gilkey, John Mabry and Quinton McCracken, while signing oft-inured Dave Kingman impersonator Andrews. But how big of a role will they play? The bullpen should be much improved. Veres is a solid closer. Late-season acquisitions Mike Timlin and Jason Christensen pitched well down the stretch. Left-hander Steve Kline was added from Montreal in the offseason. And if Morris is unable to break into the rotation, he'll stabilize a pen which could become among the best in the NL.

Team Breakdown
Projected Lineup		Projected Rotation
2B	Fernando Vina	RHP	Darryl Kile
SS	Edgar Renteria	RHP	Dustin Hermanson
CF	Jim Edmonds	LHP	Rick Ankiel
1B	Mark McGwire	RHP	Andy Benes
RF	J.D. Drew	RHP	G. Stephenson/Matt Morris
CF	Ray Lankford	Bullpen
3B	Polanco/Paquette/Andrews	RHP	Dave Veres (closer)
C	Mike Matheny	LHP	Jason Christensen
Key Reserves		RHP	Mike Timlin
C	Carlos Hernandez	RHP	Mike James
OF	Bobby Bonilla	RHP	Heathcliff Slocumb
OF	Quinton McCracken	RHP	Alan Benes
1B	Larry Sutton	RHP	Mark Thompson
OF	Bernard Gilkey	RHP	Gene Stechschulte

Prospects to Watch
LHP Bud Smith -- Smith was downight dominant in 2000, putting him on the brink of advancing to the majors. After posting a combined 17-2 record --ncluding two no-hitters -- in stops in Class AA (Arkansas) and Class AAA (Memphis), the southpaw likely will start this season in Memphis. He should be a fixture in the Cardinals' rotation soon after. 3B Albert Pujols -- By dealing Tatis, the Cardinals showed a trememdous amount of faith in the future promise of Pujols. The 21-year-old hit .324 with 17 homers in Class A, although he struggled in a short stint in Memphis. While not ready in 2001, Pujols is the heir apparent for the third-base job while the Cardinals keep the seat warm for one year. RHP Chad Hutchinson -- There is perhaps no more puzzling propsect than Hutchinson. While scouts drool over his stuff, Hutchinson had elbow trouble, then struggled mightily last season in Memphis with a 25.92 ERA in four starts. But their current staff, the Cardinals can afford to wait on him to mature into the dominant pitcher they think he can eventually become. OF Esix Snead -- Snead set a Carolina League record with 109 stolen bases last season. Just imagine how many he could have swiped if he hadn't hit .235.
Best-Case Scenario
Game 6 of the World Series. Cardinals lead the Yankees 1-0. Three outs away from a World Series title. Yankees pinch-hitter Luis Sojo hit a slow grounder wide of the bag. McGwire makes an off-balance stab, turns and fires to Veres. Don Denkinger calls Sojo out -- correctly. Veres retires the next two in order. St. Louis celebrates its first championship in 19 years.
Worst-Case Scenario
With McGwire playing fewer than 50 games because of another back injury, the Cardinals are forced to play Andrews and Larry Sutton at first base. They don't come close to matching the Will Clark spark. Meanwhile, the Cards' young but fragile pitching staff takes a big step backward -- Morris and Alan Benesstruggle with arm problems, Ankiel reverts to the pre-spectacled Rick Vaughn and Kile thinks he's back in Coors Field.
Bottom Line
Even as the defending NL Central champions, the Cardinals have a lot of questions to answer. They answered a lot of them down the stretch last season, getting to the NLCS. If they answer them again in 2001 -- McGwire's health, Ankiel's control, the third base job -- a World Series trip could be (pardon the pun) in the cards.

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