This time last year, the St. Louis Cardinals were picked by just about everyone to win the NL Central with little trouble. They had just signed Matt Holliday to the richest contract in franchise history, Brad Penny was added to round out the rotation, and they were the defending division champs. No other teams made huge moves before 2010 to try to catch the Cards. Some picked the Cincinnati Reds as a dark horse candidate, but that was about the extent of the legitimate threats. The NL Central was the Cardinals’ to win or lose.

And we all know how that turned out.

Fast-forward one year. The Cards made a lot of moves early to shore up the 2011 club in anticipation of spending this part of the offseason trying to re-sign Albert Pujols. It was a smart move, because that’s exactly what is happening: this week the team announced they have re-opened talks with the legend’s agent, and things are moving in a positive direction. That’s great news for Cardinal Nation. But after that piece of business is taken care of, the question remains: will it be enough?

The division champion Cincinnati Reds had little to do this offseason. A piece here and a piece there was really all the tweaking needed…most of their 2010 club is returning and healthy. So they could be counted on as, at the very least, co-favorites for the 2011 crown with the Cards before the Hot Stove proceedings really got underway. When the Cards re-signed Jake Westbrook, the team appeared to have the best rotation—on paper, of course—in the division. Add offensive upgrades in Ryan Theriot and Lance Berkman, and the Cards were poised to take the Central back from the Reds in 2011.

But the Theriot and Berkman additions are not all they seem. Theriot was added at the expense of Brendan Ryan’s incomparable defense, effectively weakening the Cards’ middle infield (and possibly their entire pitch-to-contact staff). Berkman will be asked to play a full season in the outfield for the first time since 2004, and he has recent injury issues to go with his advancing age. Perhaps it was these perceived weaknesses and a belief the Reds could be prone to a regression that led some of the other teams in the Central to ask, “Hey…why can’t we compete with these guys?”

First, the Milwaukee Brewers got busy revamping their god-awful rotation and acquired Shawn Marcum from the Toronto Blue Jays. Then they surprised everyone by trading for former Cy Young winner Zack Greinke, sending some of their best young talent to the Kansas City Royals in return. These bold moves instantly thrust the Brewers into the conversation about who would win the division this year. The Brewers have always been able to hit, and now apparently they can pitch, too.

Not to be outdone, the Chicago Cubs went out and got the lefty power bat they’ve craved for so long in Carlos Pena. They also added a rejuvenated Kerry Wood to their bullpen. But the Cubs have lots of problems too, and were believed to be rebuilding while they wait out the terrible contracts of Alphonso Soriano, Kosuke Fukudome, and Carlos Zambrano. Still, the rumors persisted, and finally Chicago decided to make some noise in the NL Central projections Friday by trading half their farm system to the Tampa Bay Rays for RHP Matt Garza. Suddenly they have a deep rotation to go with a deep bullpen. If their head cases can keep their cool, the Cubs will not be a pushover in 2011.

The Brewers and the Cubs obviously see an opportunity this season; why else would they trade away so many young, cheap players for veterans? These teams are not without their flaws, to be sure, but they look a heck of a lot better than they did last season. The Reds look to be just about as good as they did last year. Even the Astros cannot be completely dismissed; they have a young lineup, but their rotation of Brett Myers, Wandy Rodriguez, JA Happ, and Bud Norris is decent at worst. No, this is not the new AL East. But it certainly does not look like the same old NL Central, either.

After taking all that in, how much better do the Cardinals look this year than last? Can they compete in a four team dogfight for the NL Central crown? Maybe John Mozeliak better speed up the Pujols negotiations a little…he might have some more work to do for 2011.

Chris Reed is a freelance writer who also writes for InsideSTL Mondays and at Bird Brained whenever he feels like it. Follow him on Twitter @birdbrained.

Every year, the group known as the Baseball Bloggers Alliance places their ballots for various awards to be announced at the end of the season. This year, it is my pleasure to place the votes for the St. Louis Chapter of the Baseball Bloggers Alliance in the category of Rookie Of The Year. The award is officially titled The Willie Mays Award.

The National League this year has shown some diversity amongst the teams. Highly competitive races came down to the last few weeks of the season, highlighted by three teams and the men that guided them. In my mind, the top three managers to be considered for the award are listed here….

3 – Jaime Garcia, St. Louis Cardinals
I will probably catch some heat around Cardinal Nation for not placing Jaime higher in consideration for this award. Truth be told, he put together one of the most impressive seasons of a rookie pitcher in recent memory. That being said, the team, as a preventative measure, shut Garcia down in the early part of September for the remainder of the season. After costing him two or three more starts, the team also made it very hard for voters to seriously consider him in post-season award conversations.

Even after the team had shut him down, Garcia would finish with 13 wins in 28 starts and a 2.70 earned run average. He struck out 132 batters, walked only 64, and even threw a complete game shut out, just for good measure. A “dark horse” candidate for this award in the early part of the season, it seemed that Garcia was overlooked by everybody in baseball that was not following the St. Louis Cardinals. Garcia will not take the award home this season, but being considered in the top three is an accomplishment in its own right.

2 – Buster Posey, San Francisco Giants
What Buster Posey lacked in patience at the plate, he certainly made up for with solid contact and the presence on the field of a veteran. Posey took charge of the Giants’ pitching staff while putting together a season that would make most veteran catchers proud.

Posey would come on strong, hitting 18 home runs and driving in 67 runs over the course of 2010. Add into those number his 23 doubles and Posey would post a slugging percentage of .505 while hitting an impressive .305. He would only strike out 55 times, but only walk a total of 30 times. When Posey came to the plate in 2010, he came to hit, and he did just that. If Posey can learn some patience at the plate, the Giants will be talking about this young, talented man for a very long time.

1 – Jason Heyward, Atlanta Braves
He was the favorite to win this award when teams broke camp in Spring of 2010. What Heyward did throughout the year, despite a stint on the disabled list, was not a disappointment in the slightest.

Heyward would match fellow rookie Buster Posey’s 18 home runs, drive in 72 runs and hit a respectable .277. What set him apart was his approach at the plate – though he would strike out an alarming 128 times, he would also walk 91 times, showing some patience and veteran style approach. A .456 slugging percentage and 29 doubles showed many pitchers that he was a force at the plate and moved him to the top of most ballots on the rookie award categories. In the long run, Heyward is ready for greatness in Major League Baseball, and that greatness is coming sooner rather than later.

There you have it, my picks for the Willie Mays Award for the Baseball Bloggers Alliance.

Bill Ivie is the editor here at I-70 Baseball as well as the Assignment Editor for BaseballDigest.com.
He is the host of I-70 Radio, hosted every week on BlogTalkRadio.com.
Follow him on Twitter here.

At the halfway mark in the 2010 season, the Cardinals have not lived up to the hype. A team that was expected to run away with the division finds itself in second place to a Reds team that has surprised many. However, all is far from lost in Cardinal Nation. Some players have struggled, and many have shown that they are above their pre-season projects. Let’s take a look at the some of the players on either side of the line and see how the team stacks up.

Unnecessary

Say what you want about Aaron Miles, Randy Winn and Jeff Suppan. Whatever it is, it probably is not a kind review. The team started the year with the ‘Baby Bench,’ made up of several players that were key members of the 2009 AAA Memphis Redbirds team. Slowly but surely they were all shuttled back to Memphis, despite solid play by Jon Jay and Allen Craig, among others. Instead, ownership and the coaching staff made moves for the three veterans, all of which have been designated for assignment at some point in this season. Their play is inconsistent and has seen much better days, but they are constantly being run out there by Tony LaRussa and Dave Duncan. It is frustrating and, ultimately, unnecessary for pretty much all three players to be on the major league roster.

Frustrating

Brendan Ryan: The entertaining and fairly well-loved shortstop has not been able to get it together this year. His bat, which had steadily improved since arriving on the major league scene a few years ago, has plummeted. His batting average is hovering around .200, frustrating the emotional player to the point that his defensive play has also lapsed. His defense, which was so good that he was a dark horse candidate for a Gold Glove at the beginning of this year, seems to be made of swiss cheese at times. Plays that seem routine he throws wildly, using a sidearm throw that looks more like a slingshot than a throwing motion. He still has stellar range and makes great plays, but poor Brendan is, in his own words, just not having any fun out there.

Skip Schumaker: The outfielder turned second baseman is also having a bizarre year. The team’s .300 hitting leadoff hitter has dropped off the map, also watching his batting average drop into the lower .200’s. While his replacement level defense was solid enough to be accepted when he was hitting as a consistent leadoff hitter, less than stellar defense and struggling at the plate is cause for Skip to lose his hold on the top spot in the order. He now finds himself out of the order altogether more often, and hitting in the seventh or ninth spots when he does start.

(Dis)honorable Mention: Yadier Molina. Yes, I have an All-Star starter listed as ‘frustrating.’ Yadi is also struggling at the plate, middling in the .220 range for a good portion of the season, when he had been in the .300 range for much of the past two seasons. His defense is still outstanding, gunning down runners that dare to challenge him with a nonchalant air, and calling such a good game that Jaime Garcia admitted in an interview with FOX broadcaster Tim McCarver that he has only shaken off Yadi’s call once. What happened? “It didn’t go very well for me. I don’t shake off Yadi anymore.”

Slightly Frustrating

Albert Pujols: Yes, another All-Star. Buckle up; it will not be the last. I chronicled in my first piece here at i70 Baseball that Albert has had a rather un-Albert like first half, but what the counting numbers don’t show is that he has also expanded his strike zone more than necessary. While he continually contests that there is no issue with his surgically repaired elbow, Albert has taken some ugly swings and has often looked like he is just missing pitches he usually clobbers into the upper deck. Very few want to contest that Albert Pujols is struggling, because usually the day after someone ventures to suggest it we see a 3-4 and 3 RBI day, but this season as a whole has not lived up to normal Albert standards, and he will be the first to agree.

Chris Carpenter: One of the toughest pitchers in baseball, Carp has been through it all in a big league uniform. He has won a Cy Young. He has missed entire seasons. He has won the Comeback Player of the Year Award… twice. This year, there have been several games where that dominant pitcher has looked somewhat lost. His curveball, one of the best in the game, has been hit around a little, and he has lost a little velocity on his fastball. I will say this for Carpenter: the man is a beast. His fire and intensity on the field means he will battle through it all and work his way out of some tough situations. However, you can tell by watching him though that something is not quite the same as it used to be.

Matt Holliday: I want to glaze over this one because so much has been made of Holliday’s ‘slow’ start to the season, the first season since signing the richest contract in Cardinals’ history. Right now Matt is putting together a very solid road trip, stringing together hits, making solid contact and driving in runners. Matt has agreed to participate in the Home Run Derby over the break, and considering his current hot streak, he should be ready to go to swing for the fences.

Slightly Surprising

Colby Rasmus: Last year was a decent rookie year for the young center fielder. Due to inconsistent playing time and getting used to the grind of the long season, Colby struggled to find his footing. This year he has been a much more consistent and patient hitter. His walk rate has gone up, which has led to a higher on-base percentage. He has faced more left-handed pitching this year and had more success there as well. Although he has been largely overlooked in the grand scheme of things, Colby has been a quiet contributor on this team.

Adam Wainwright: It hardly seems fair to say that a pitcher who was third in the Cy Young voting last year is having a surprising year this year, but the fact remains. Adam has been better! He has been more economical in his pitches, while striking out more and walking fewer batters per game. He has had four complete games already this year, one of which was a two hitter against Milwaukee in early June. His eight strong innings Friday against Houston has moved him ahead of teammate Jaime Garcia for second in the National League in ERA, sitting pretty with a 2.11.

Jon Jay: It is hard to say what I would give to see Jay on a more consistent basis. The rookie performed well in limited at bats at the beginning of the season, hitting roughly .300 in mostly mop-up and late game replacement duties. When the Cardinals brought in Miles and Winn, Jay was one of the ‘Baby Bench’ that got sent back down to Memphis to make room. The company line was that Jay was going down to get more consistent at bats in the minors and be able to play every day, which was not the case when he was in St. Louis. Now, with David Freese and Ryan Ludwick both on the disabled list with various injuries, Jay is back, and carrying a 10 game hitting streak into Sunday’s game against the Houston Astros. This is one rookie that wants to stay with the big club, and has played well enough to do so.

Surprises

Jason Motte: Last year, everyone thought that Motte was going to be given the closer’s job, but after a shaky start to the year he was quickly removed in favor of Ryan Franklin, who retained the job heading into the current season. In the meantime, Motte has put together a very strong season, at one time retiring 32 consecutive batters, spanning from May 11 to June 6. His flame throwing ways and intense antics on the mound have earned him the nickname ‘Mayhem,’ and he has been causing plenty of mayhem on the diamond. He has finally become the flame-throwing reliever the organization wanted him to be.

Blake Hawksworth’s last few starts: After a rough last half of May, which eventually saw Hawk’s ERA to balloon to 6.11, he was thrust into a starting role due to the injuries of both Brad Penny and Kyle Lohse. Make no mistake – Blake is not the most stellar pitcher on the team. Far from it. However, a pitcher that had been reduced to mop-up duty earlier in the season has made good, making it at least five innings and allowing three runs or fewer in all three of his starts since joining the starting rotation at the end of June. Considering he was a last resort, Dave Duncan has been pleased with what Blake has been able to accomplish, and has agreed that every start has been good enough to earn him another.

David Freese: After a frustrating 2009 season in which he missed much of the season with various injuries, Freese came into 2010 having much to prove, both to a fanbase that was judging his character after a DUI earlier in the year and to an organization that was willing to give him a shot to play every day on the major league team. After a few rough defensive innings in Milwaukee in early April, Freese has silenced the critics in a major way, hitting just under .300 and flashing a stellar glove. Unfortunately, after a misstep rounding the bases rolled his ankle, Freese has been sitting on the disabled list for the past few weeks. Hopefully he will make a return to the lineup soon!

Jaime Garcia: I would be remiss to end this list with anyone besides young Garcia. The rookie has been simply amazing. He began the year fighting in Spring Training for the opportunity to start, and made his way from third in line for the fifth spot in the rotation to the top of the pile, outlasting bullpen stalwart Kyle McClellan and free agent signee Rich Hill. Since then he has been in the top five in the NL in ERA all season, mixing in several solid pitches and having 14 quality starts (6+ innings pitched allowing 3 runs or fewer) in 17 starts. Oh yes, to top it off, he has done all of this after spending all of last season recovering from Tommy John surgery, and is now making a strong case for Rookie of the Year.

As a whole, the Cardinals honestly do have more ups than downs among the players. The problem has become that on any given day, the lineup is unable to hit consistently, the defense breaks down, or (on rare occasions) the bullpen or starting rotation simply gives up too many runs for the bats to overcome. At times it seems that right as one thing comes together, another falls apart. Thankfully it is a long season, and there are still many games to play. Whether or not the Cardinals make a push depends on the surprise players to keep on going and the players dealing with some frustration to rise above their first half issues. Time will tell for these Cardinals, but time could run out quickly if the team is not watching.