The eleventh World Championship banner was raised. The players, managers, and front office all recieved there World Championship rings, they resigned Yadi to a five-year, $75 million dollar contract--but there was a spot in Cardinal Nation's hearts that just seemed empty and had a missing void.
There was no Albert Pujols. There was no Tony La Russa--and there just wasn't the same vibe around the clubhouse that there had always been for over the past decade. That doesn't mean it isn't a good thing though.
Despite the team losing both there best player statistically, possibly of all-time, and one of the greatest managers to ever manage the sport of professional baseball, new manager Mike Matheny and the guys on this team haven't seemed to change a bit.
With the month of April closed once the clock strikes midnight tonight, the team will be in first-place in the National League Central division, own a record of 14 wins and 8 losses, and still have a lot to look forward to for the rest of the season--and the best part about it all, this team truly believes they are still the very best team in the division--as well as possibly all of the National League, still.
Don't believe it? That's all on you, but when you look at the crystal ball that only the future can truly tell us, every player in the St. Louis Cardinals dugout believes it all, one-hundred and ten percent.
Dating back to the announcement that was made telling us all that Albert had indeed decided to leave 'Baseball Heaven' to go to the Los Angeles Angels of Anahiem, uncertainty was all over the baseball world when the defending World Champion-Cardinals were brought up. I for one, had always expected AP to be there. He was the type of guy that comes around just once in a lifetime--and with it being for our beloved Cardinals, he was truly a special player to watch, whether it be at the plate, on the bases, or even in the field--people would pay big time money just to watch him.
But now with him gone, it just goes to show you that what I had written a few days ago is true--no matter how good you are, you're not bigger than this organization.
To a lot of people, it certainly is a suprise at how well this team has started--and sure, it pretty much is. Despite the fact that the team has yet to get a single win out of both Adam Wainwright or Chris Carpenter, we still have one of the best pitching staffs in baseball. Both Kyle Lohse and Lance Lynn have tallied four wins each, while Jake Westbrook has three. The bullpen has looked sharp, and Motte, besides having one blown save that was against arch-rival Chicago, has been magnificent as well.
The offense has done it's part as David Freese and new outfielder Carlos Beltran have both hit five home-runs. Rafael Furcal is once again looking like his old self and has been the best leadoff hitter we have had in years, and the team is slowly starting to regain health.
The Cardinals have the best record in the division by four games currently, but have yet to see a single at-bat from Allen Craig, have had injuries to Skip Schumaker, Jon Jay, and Lance Berkman that has held them all out of over a handful of games, and as I already stated, the two Cy Young canidate-worthy pitchers in Wainwright and Carpenter, have yet to record a win.
Molina is showing his worth to the Cardinals, and the baseball world, as he is leading his pitchers to overwhelming starts, and is striving at the plate as he showed on Saturday during the teams' 7-to-3 win over Milwaukee when he went 4-for-4 with a game-winning two-run home run. He truly is being the leader that Albert and Tony once were, but even better.
This team simply strives because of great management in the front office. With the valuable assets this team loss in the off-season, it is pretty hard to believe that it doesn't even seem like theyve missed a beat. Matheny, who was one of the fan favorites in Saint Louis during his playing days, has been as good of a manager as we have seen in his first season. He is loose in the dugout and lets the guys play.
This team is striving with everything that they have gone through, and after the first month of baseball over here in "Heaven", there is still a lot more good things to look forward to. With everything going as well as it is, this team could become even more dangerous once the injury bugs go away. With all of that said, the month of April 2012 was definitely one to remember in the greatest sports city in the world, Saint Louis.
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