Game of the Week: Cardinals Review

By David Conde
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Updated: April 3, 2015

The St. Louis Cardinals start their fourth season on Sunday April 5th, under manager Mike Matheny and in the previous three years, the team finished in second place once and in first the last two seasons.

In his first season under the helm, Matheny took over a Cardinals team that won the 2011 World Series and in 2012 the Cards returned to the playoffs but lost in the NLCS to the San Francisco Giants 4-3. In 2013, they made their return to the World Series but came up short to the Boston Red Sox 4-2. In 2014, the Red Birds would make their third straight trip to the post-season under Matheny but would succumb to another NLCS post season knock out, this time at the hands of the eventual World Series Champion San Francisco Giants.

This season they look to continue with their regular season success, then turn it on during the post season and ride the wave all the way to the World Series again and win it all.

Key pickups during the off-season have propelled them as the favorites to not only win their division, but go deep in the post-season. The journey begins Sunday night against division rival, Chicago Cubs.

Cardinals Key Pickups:

November 2014 – Trades: Received from Braves Jason Heyward (OF) and Jordan Walden (RHP).

December 2014 – Signed as a Free Agent: Mark Reynolds (1B) and Matt Belisle (RHP).

February 2005 – Signed as a Free Agent: Carlos Villanueva (RHP)

Cardinals Top Prospects Spring Stats

#1 Stephen Piscotty – .224 (11 for 49), 2 Doubles, 7 RBI’s, 3 Walks.

#2 Marco Gonzales – 3-0, 1.04 ERA, 5 Games, 4 Starts, 2 Saves.

#10 Tim Cooney – 1-0, 1.13 ERA, 4 Games, 5 K’s.

Cardinals All-Time Leaders

Batting

GAMES	Stan Musial	3026
RUNS	Stan Musial	1949
HITS	Stan Musial	3630
DOUBLES	Stan Musial	725
TRIPLES	Stan Musial	177
HOME RUNS	Stan Musial	475
RUNS BATTED IN	Stan Musial	1951
WALKS	Stan Musial	1599
STOLEN BASES	Lou Brock	888
AVERAGE	Rogers Hornsby	.359
OBP%	Mark McGwire	.427
SLUG%	Mark McGwire	.683

Pitching

WINS	Bob Gibson	251
ERA	John Tudor	2.52
GAMES	Jesse Haines	554
SAVES	Jason Isringhausen	217
INNINGS	Bob Gibson	3884.1
STRIKE OUTS	Bob Gibson	3117

Cardinals Prediction

The Cardinals return their 2014 starting lineup and rotation that won the Central Division and posted 90 wins. Now with the additions of Jason Heyward, Matt Reynolds and a full season of John Lackey, the Red Birds look even stronger. But the 2015 season won’t be a cake walk in their division, especially with the Cubs and Pirates looking to take over the helm. The Red Birds should prevail and win their third straight division crown.

David Conde

David is the Co-Founder and Executive Editor of Legends On Deck®, as well as a Co-Host on Legends On Deck Podcast. David was a Senior Editor for MetsMerizedOnline.com, MetsMinors.net and Contributor for Hardballchat.com that spanned from 2010 to 2014. David made his MLB Debut as a writer in June 2014, while covering the NY Mets at Citi Field, for MetsmerizedOnline.com. David also coaches baseball for ages 13-15, a Babe Ruth League team in his local community. David's passion is coaching the game he loves to the future Legends of Tomorrow as well as making available a website that people can have fun sharing and reading. David is also passionate about his career as a Mortgage Loan Officer which allows him to help many families reach their dreams of owning a home. Connect with David via his Social Media pages as he loves to chat all about baseball.

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