As a baseball fan watching Kansas City suffer for years, I have to wonder if they are actually a good contender this season for the playoffs, or if this is just their 15 minutes of fame.

There is certainly something for Royals’ fans to get excited about right now. At this point in the year, Kansas City is 17-10, when last season at this time they were only 10-20. A dramatic difference. Pitching, in particular, seems to be carrying most of the team, but their offense is not far behind.

Royal Pitching

Veterans like Ervin Santana and Jeremy Guthrie are having stellar seasons. They have combined for 7 Wins to date, both with having an ERA under 2.50 and WHIP just above 1.00. According to ESPN, while Santana is owned in 97% of fantasy leagues, Guthrie is only owned in 50%. Guthrie brings a commendable work ethic to the team and I think would be a valuable pick-up if he is still available in your league. The right-hander excels at mixing all of his pitches to keep hitters off balance, and he recently threw his first major league shut-out.

The Royals’ starting rotation has been rounded out with the new additions of Wade Davis and James Shields. While Davis is has been struggling since joining Kansas City with a 4.75 ERA, he hopefully can get back down to that 2.43 ERA he finished with in 2012. And Shields may soon become the ace of the team, filling the void that Zack Greinke left. Both Davis and Shields are 2-2 this season.

The Royals’ bullpen has been strengthened with former-starting-pitchers-now-relievers, Bruce Chen and Luke Hochevar. Chen has not allowed an earned run yet this year in 5 appearances, and Hochevar has only given up 1 earned run in 7 appearances. Greg Holland is settling in nicely as a solid anchor for the bullpen. He has 7 saves so far this year and only 1 blown.

Royal Batting

Kansas City’s pitching has started off hot, but the fans are still waiting to see the promise the line-up showed during Spring Training this year. There are only three batters with an average above .300 right now, Jarrod Dyson is one of them and he only has 20 plate appearances so far.

The power is not quite there yet from their top hitters. It somehow got lost in the transition between Spring Training and the regular season. If this team can get their bats going and keep the pitching consistent, they can be a force for the entire summer.

Fantasy owners might want to watch players like Lorenzo Cain, Eric Hosmer, Salvador Perez, and Mike Moustakas. They have all been showing signs of improving in their last 15 games, and might just break out of their slumps soon. Moustakas is only 39% owned in fantasy leagues which is obviously due to his struggle at the plate. If he can start making solid contact again, he will prove he deserves a position on your fantasy roster.

Even though the Kansas City line-up is not producing the way they are capable of, they can still be tough to beat in the American League Central. But if history is any indication, this poor team does not have a chance. If someone were to walk into the baseball world right now and not know anything about the Royals’ past, they would never know that they are usually toward the bottom of the AL Central division.

First place Detroit Tigers better take notice that Kansas City is only a half game back. Can they keep this up? Is this just a flash in the pan? If the starting pitching can continue eating up innings, their bullpen will be able to stay fresh for the long season. And if their bats start producing, then I would say that the Royals can shed the pretender branding and will be a contender in 2013.

Thursday’s Potential Yankees @ Orioles A.L. East Tiebreaker Game Would Be at 7:10 P.M. (ET) If Necessary

Major League Baseball today announced game times for a potential A.L. East Tiebreaker game on Thursday, the inaugural Wild Card Games presented by Budweiser on Friday and the pair of Division Series-opening Game Ones, involving the Detroit Tigers in the American League and the Cincinnati Reds against the San Francisco Giants in the National League.

 Please note that the schedule above is tentative and subject to change based on postponed and/or suspended games.

TBS would provide exclusive coverage of the potential A.L. East Tiebreaker Game.  TBS will air up to 18 of the potential Division Series games, while MLB Network will air a Division Series game on Sunday, October 7^th and Wednesday, October 10^th.  ESPN Radio will provide live national coverage of all 2012 MLB Postseason games, as well as the potential Tiebreaker Game.

St. Louis Cardinals right-hander Shelby Miller has bounced back from two sub par outings and has now fanned 15 batters in his last 10 innings after tossing five shutout frames Tuesday.

Miller did not appear to be a strong consideration to make the Cards’ rotation out of spring training but it wasn’t completely ruled out until he was shipped to minor league camp in March. He’s the No. 2 starting pitching prospect in Keith Law’s Top 100 and the No. 1 arm remaining in the minors (Tampa’s Matt Moore already is in the Rays’ rotation).

Miller’s ETA could depend largely on the club’s workload plan for the right-hander, as he’s not likely to be allowed to approach 200 innings after throwing 139 2/3 last season at age 19.

Here’s what ESPN’s Keith Law had to say about Miller just prior to the start of the season:

“He will sit in the low- to mid-90s and touch 97 mph as a starter with a sharp breaking ball in the upper-70s/low-80s with good depth that misses right-handed hitters’ bats. He continued to make progress this year with his changeup, a pitch he rarely needed or used as an amateur, and the pitch has good tailing action that has helped him gets some swinging strikes against lefties. He is very receptive to coaches’ suggestions and has proved a quick study so far. He often lands on the third-base side of the rubber and comes slightly across his body, creating deception but also potentially putting stress on his shoulder. If the Cardinals can keep him more on line, and he sees more improvement in the changeup and command of the fastball, he’s a potential No. 1 starter for the Cardinals in two or three years.

Rejoice! The Royals won 8-2 against the Cleveland Indians Wednesday night, ending their 12 game losing streak. It’s a good thing, because if the Royals kept losing, who knows what would happen…

Alex Gordon found dazed and incoherent in the Royals clubhouse.

◄ Back

Next ►

Picture 1 of 6

May, 3, 2012: After losing their record setting 21st game to the New York Yankees, Royals coaches and officials were alarmed when they found left fielder Alex Gordon cowered in the corner of the Royals clubhouse, surrounded by empty bottles of Cherry RC and plates of half-eaten funnel cakes. Gordon was babbling incoherently and his mouth and face were coated in powdered sugar. Gordon leads the league with 42 strikeouts and seven face plants in left field while making defensive plays. Efforts to bring Gordon back to reality were unsuccessful.

"Yeah, we're a bit concerned about Gordo, but everyone handles adversity differently," said Manager Ned Yost. "We just need to wipe the powdered sugar off his face and he'll be ready for tomorrow."

Major League Baseball returns in earnest this Wednesday.  It marks the beginning of the St Louis Cardinals title defense, and hopefully their return to the post-season.   ESPN.com ranks St Louis ninth in their initial baseball Power Rankings, the highest of any NL Central team, making them the early favorites to win the division.

As we head into the regular season, here are three things to consider that may well determine whether or not they do return to October baseball.

Chris Carpenter‘s health.  First the bulging disc in his neck, then the weakness in his right shoulder and arm attributed to a nerve condition, much like what he experienced during the 2004 and 2008 seasons.  Apparently his body is allergic to Presidential campaigning and the Summer Olympics.  He could return in May, he might miss the entire season.  The Cardinals are guardedly optimistic he will return this season, however, there is no timetable as to when that return will be.

Lance Lynn has pitched capably this spring and looks poised to carry that forward into the season.  The return of Adam Wainwright also helps soften the blow to the rotation.  There’s no way Lynn will replace Carpenter’s 237 innings, however, and it’s unrealistic to expect Wainwright to throw that many innings his first year back from Tommy John surgery.  If Carpenter does not return, will Lynn, Kyle McClellan, and possibly Shelby Miller give the team enough out of the #5 spot to stay in contention?

Rafael Furcal‘s bat.  Furcal has really struggled this spring.  I mean struggled (.192/.222/.269).  Struggled to the point where people who don’t put any stock in spring training statistics are saying, ‘wow he’s really struggling’.  St Louis has been exploring options to hit leadoff because of Furcal’s struggles, including Daniel Descalso and Tyler Greene.

At some level we should have seen this coming; after all, Furcal only hit .236/.296/.382 in the leadoff spot last year.  He has hit .281/.327/.417 leading off during his career, but the drop-off is concerning; can he pull himself out of the ditch?  The Cardinals are loaded in the middle of the order with Lance Berkman, Matt Holliday, and Carlos Beltran, but those guys need guys on in order to produce.  Will the Cardinals be able to contend if they turn over the top of the lineup to Descalso or T. Greene?

Mike Matheny.  He’s said all the right things and run a very organized camp, which made it easy to forget this will be his first year ‘behind the bench’.  Matheny inherited a good chunk of Tony LaRussa’s staff, which has undoubtedly made his transition into the job easier; however at the end of the day he’s the guy making the final decision on pinch-hitters, pitching changes, and the like.  LaRussa was one of the most seasoned managers in the game and he still made decisions which occasionally cost the Cardinals games.  Matheny will make his share of mistakes.  What will the cumulative effect of those errors be on the Cardinals’ season?  Will they be too much to overcome?

Mike Metzger is a freelance writer based in San Diego.  He also blogs about the San Diego Padres.  Follow him on Twitter @metzgermg.

The Kansas City Royals and the Los Angles Angels will be the last two teams in Major League Baseball to begin their season. The Oakland Athletics and Seattle Mariners have already started theirs. The Miami Marlins and St Louis Cardinals will start theirs in Wednesday evening. Finally, six days from today, after twenty-eight other teams have started, the Royals and Angels will start at 9pm local time. Even though these two teams will be the last to step off, I think they will get the most media coverage, and it’s not because the national media is in love with the Royals.

This guy and the Royals are going to crash the Angels Opening Day Party

It seems that the Angels have signed a couple of big name free agents over the off-season in the name of Albert Pujols and C.J. Wilson. It is a compelling story in the national media. Albert Pujols graced the cover of Sports Illustrated’s MLB Preview. ESPN is televising the opener, and FOX added Saturday’s game to their regional coverage. If you live in the Royals television market don’t expect to watch the ESPN telecast. It will be blacked out to protect the FoxSports Kansas City broadcast. In Los Angles, the Orange County Register is hopping on the “mob” fad, and plans to cover the Royals-Angels Opener like never before.

The Royals track record doesn’t lend itself to the Royals being anything more than facilitaters for a game of baseball disguised to be a celebration of Arte Murano’s shopping spree during the winter. The Royals are like the convicted being lead into the Roman Coliseum to be eaten by lions. The cards are even stacked against the Royals liturgically. That’s right, Christian Royals fans will be rooting against the Angels on Holy Weekend.

I think the Angels are a good out of division rival for the Royals. Southern California is a hot bed of baseball talent. George Brett is from there, and so are a bunch of other Royals players. The Angels broadcast team consists of Victor Rojas and Mark Gubicza. Mark Gubiza needs no explaining. Victor Rojas is the son of Cookie, and grew up in Kansas City. If you follow him on Twitter you’ll notice he remains a Chiefs and KU Jayhawk fan. The Royals broadcast team has many ties to the Angels. Steve Physioc and Rex Hudler were Angels broadcasters for 11 seasons. Ryan Lefebvre is also from Southern California. If that’s not enough these two teams have seen a lot of each other in Cactus League play. Including a little dust up when Everett Teaford hit Peter Bourjos with a fastball after surrendering three straight home runs. This opening series shapes up to be exciting and hotly contested.

There is always opportunity in adversity. What better time to come out in punch the other team in the mouth than when they congratulating themselves? The Royals have a power hitting first baseman of their own. The Royals have some electric bullpen arms. The Royals have an excellent outfield. The Royals also won the last season’s series 7-3.

Earlier in the winter I was concerned that the Royals were getting too much media attention. It appeared they had become the next trendy pick in the surprise baseball team sweepstakes. I’m sure the Angels organization is not overlooking the Royals. I’m glad to see that for one weekend it appears the national media is. It’s a good recipe for “Chip on our shoulder”. It’s time for the Royals to crash the Pujols Party and shock the world.

Will David Freese build off his postseason success?

Had things gone slightly differently last season, we wouldn’t even be having this conversation.

Had the world champion St. Louis Cardinals not clawed back from 10½ games behind in the wild-card race with 31 games to play — or 8½ games back with 21 to play, or three back with five to play — to sneak into the playoffs on the last day of the regular season, David Freese wouldn’t even be a topic of discussion as fantasy owners prep for draft day.

David Freese earned MVP honors in both the NLCS and World Series, but is that enough for fantasy owners to make him a top option at a weak third base position?

Entering 2011, Freese barely cracked the ESPN top-20 rankings at third base, and he did little during the regular season to boost his stock, finishing outside the top 250 on the ESPN Player Rater and ranking just 22nd among third basemen by hitting .297 with 10 dingers and 55 RBIs in 333 at-bats.

Oh, what a difference a few extra weeks can make. Freese looked like a different player over the course of the Cardinals’ 18-game postseason run, batting .397 with five home runs and a playoff-record 21 RBIs and earning MVP honors in both the NLCS and World Series. Not only that, but his game-tying, two-run triple in the bottom of the ninth inning (with two outs and two strikes, no less) and his game-winning, walk-off homer in the bottom of the 11th in Game 6 to force a Game 7 will go down as two of the biggest postseason hits of all time, which could inflate Freese’s draft day price tag by themselves.

The first problem with gleaning too much from Freese’s postseason outburst is obviously the small sample size. An 18-game hot streak in June or July, no matter how impressive, would go largely unnoticed in the grand scheme of a 162-game season, so we shouldn’t put extra stock into a hot streak that happens in October. One can argue that a hot streak late in the season is more telling than one in the middle of the year, as I suppose it’s more likely to be a sign of growth, but there isn’t precedence for players showing new skills in October and having them carry over into the following season. In 2008, for example, B.J. Upton hit just nine home runs in 531 regular-season at-bats and then went on to hit seven homers in 66 at-bats in the postseason, causing many to predict that we’d see a power surge in 2009. Upton did eventually cash in on some of his untapped power potential, but it didn’t happen in 2009, when he hit just 11 dingers in 560 at-bats.

So if we remove last year’s postseason from the equation and take a step back to get a big-picture, helicopter view, what do we see? Despite turning 29 years old in late April, Freese has just 604 big league at-bats under his belt over three seasons. And that leads us into the major concern with Freese: his ability to stay healthy. The Cardinals third baseman missed more than half of the 2010 season with an ankle injury, and a left hand injury sidelined him for 51 games last year, not to mention a concussion that forced him to miss time in August. We currently have him projected for 470 at-bats — a plateau he could very well reach — but if we’re simply going off his big league track record, expecting even that many may be optimistic.

Injuries aren’t the only problem when evaluating Freese. Despite the .794 slugging percentage in the playoffs last year, there are questions about how much power potential he really possesses. While Freese hit 26 home runs at Triple-A in 2008, he hasn’t hit more than 13 homers in a season since and has just 15 dingers in 604 big league at-bats. Yes, part of that is attributed to his inability to stay healthy, but the metrics don’t say there’s a ton of power upside here. Last year’s fly ball rate was just 23.1 percent — down from 29.1 percent in 2010 — and his 16.7 percent HR/FB rate could regress in 2012, which obviously doesn’t bode well for a future power spike.

That said, we shouldn’t completely rule out the possibility for some future power growth, either. At nearly 29 years old, Freese is in his hitting prime, and it’s fair to assume that his power numbers last year were at least somewhat negatively affected by his hand injury. He wouldn’t be the first player to have some of his power sapped by a hand or wrist injury, after all.

As mentioned, Freese hit 26 homers in 131 Triple-A games in 2008, so it’s not like he’s never shown the ability to hit for power. And while his isolated power (which measures a player’s raw power in terms of extra-base hits) last year was just .131, he posted a .238 ISO in 664 Triple-A at-bats between 2008 and 2009. That’s not to say his minor league power will ever fully translate, but let’s face it, he probably hasn’t even been in the big leagues long enough for us to make that determination considering we’ve basically seen only one full season’s worth of playing time from Freese. Heck, it took former top prospect Alex Gordon nearly 1,500 big league at-bats before he finally put things together last season, and Freese wasn’t even half the prospect Gordon was. A full season of at-bats — still far from guaranteed, obviously — could result in a level of power production we haven’t yet seen from him at the big league level.

If all else fails, there’s one thing Freese has already proved he can do, and that’s hit. Despite a less-than-ideal contact rate (77 percent) in his big league career, he boasts a .298 batting average in 604 career at-bats, he improved his strikeout rate last year, and had he qualified, his 24.6 percent line-drive rate would’ve ranked fifth in the National League. He was also a career .307 hitter with a .384 OBP in the minors. Perhaps his batting average last year was aided by his .356 batting average on balls in play, but he’s been a high BABIP guy his entire professional career, so that’s not a huge concern. Projecting Freese to settle in as a .280-.300 hitter seems like a safe bet.

However unlikely it may be, the absolute best-case scenario with Freese in 2012 is that he stays healthy all year, shows growth in the power department and continues to hit for average. Should all of that happen, the result could be something close to a .300 average with 20-25 homers and 90-100 RBIs. Those numbers would mirror the season fantasy owners just got from Aramis Ramirez, who hit .306-26-93 last year and was a top-five fantasy third baseman. The odds are that Freese will fall well short of those numbers (particularly the home run total), whether because of injury or simply failing to produce, so don’t draft him with that kind of production in mind. Still, it’s reasonable to think there could be some untapped potential in Freese’s bat, with the upside being a top-10 fantasy third baseman, and potentially more given the lack of many high-end options at the position.

Based on current ADP data at Mock Draft Central, Freese is being drafted 162nd overall and 11th at third base. That’s several spots higher than our ESPN rankings, which rank him 16th at the position. (Note: ESPN live draft data will be available in early March.) This means that, in a standard 10-team league, Freese can generally be drafted in the 17th round or later. For the injury risk involved, that’s not a bad spot. If you’re going to draft Freese, it’s best to plan for some time on the disabled list and not expect more than the 10-15 home run power he’s displayed thus far. That way you won’t be disappointed if the injury bug bites again or he fails to make strides in the power department, and you still have some potential upside built into his draft slot if everything goes right.

David Freese is the subject of the April 2012 Computer Desktop Calendar from D-Two.net.  Get yours here.

A mostly predictable storyline in Major League Baseball has been emphatically turned upside down. Milwaukee Brewers outfield and reigning National League MVP Ryan Braun has become the first player in MLB history to win an appeal following a failed drug test. It’s a shocking ending to a story we’ve heard time and time again over the past decade. Player “A” is accused, or tests positive for, taking substance “B.” Player A denies taking substance B, the fans and media roll their eyes, and in the end, player A is found guilty (Manny Ramirez and Rafael Palmeiro), admits guilt (Mark McGwire), or at the very least looks really bad in a court of law (Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds).

Obviously, this is great news for Braun. The last thing he wanted to do coming off an MVP season was to have it tainted by a 50-game suspension for using performance enhancing drugs. For the time being, it’s unclear whether or not his successful appeal will fully repair his reputation. ESPN is citing sources who say the appeal was granted not because the positive test results were inaccurate, but rather because the process of shipping the test to the lab was delayed. We’ll have to wait and hear both sides of the story, but for now, Braun will at least have the stain of a steroids-related suspension removed from his resume’ and will not have to sit out the first 50 games of the 2012 season.

Why the ruling is bad for baseball

Major League Baseball released an angry statement Thursday night in response to the Braun ruling, and it’s easy to understand why. With this breakthrough, much of the progress MLB has made to change the public perception has been undone. Though the testing isn’t perfect, and has yet to include a way to test for HGH (human growth hormones), the public perception is that the game has been significantly cleaned up. Players don’t appear to be as “juiced” anymore, and home run totals have been in decline throughout the league. Gone are the days when 4+ players reached the 50+ homerun mark in the same season. Players, including Braun himself, publicly encouraged other players who tested positive for a banned substance to come clean, be honest, and ask for forgiveness in lieu of denying their steroid use. But now that Braun has broken the mold with his appeal, players will no longer be apologetic, and can hide behind the shield of a potentially “inaccurate” drug testing system.

Here’s the statement from MLB:

“Major League Baseball considers the obligations of the Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program essential to the integrity of our game, our Clubs and all of the players who take the field. It has always been Major League Baseball’s position that no matter who tests positive, we will exhaust all avenues in pursuit of the appropriate discipline. We have been true to that position in every instance, because baseball fans deserve nothing less.

“As a part of our drug testing program, the Commissioner’s Office and the Players Association agreed to a neutral third party review for instances that are under dispute.  While we have always respected that process, Major League Baseball vehemently disagrees with the decision rendered today by arbitrator Shyam Das.”

If Braun really is innocent and didn’t take any performance-enhancing substance, this situation really is a shame for him. But regardless of whether he’s clean or not, this is an absolute disaster for baseball.

Why the ruling shouldn’t bother the St. Louis Cardinals

You might be familiar with a term that’s tossed around from time to time by players and management within the Cardinals organization: “The Cardinal Way.” It’s a term that embodies a number of things, from playing hard and battling until the final strike (or in some cases, the final strike…twice) to simply playing the game the right way. And it’s that simple philosophy that will help them stay focused and driven to overcome the Milwaukee Brewers this year despite an unprecedented ruling that will allow their best player, a person who tested positive for a banned substance, to avoid a 50-game suspension.

During the 2006 World Series, the Cardinals were faced with a moral dilemma in the early stages of Game 2. Detroit Tigers pitch, Kenny Rogers, was caught red-handed with pine tar illegally placed on the palm of his hand. Baseball rules call for pitchers who use pine tar to be automatically ejected from the game, the same way batters are ejected for using a corked bat. Now how much of an advantage Rogers was really getting from that pine tar is unclear, but instead of asking the umpire to inspect (and eject) the Tigers’ starting pitcher, Cardinals manager Tony La Russa simply asked the umpire to have Rogers remove whatever was on his hand and continue on.

Talk about taking the high road.

Rogers went on to pitch 8 innings of shutout baseball, and the Cardinals lost Game 2 to the Tigers. The Cardinals then went on to win the next three games straight to claim the 2006 World Series.

If you believe in the WAR statistic (wins above replacement), that’s essentially a decision that will net the Brewers 2-3 wins the Brewers otherwise would not have had while Braun was out of the lineup (Braun’s WAR was 7.8 in 2011). Now consider that Braun would’ve missed six games against the Cardinals during his 50 game suspension.

Again, the Cardinals will be taking the high road. You shouldn’t expect to hear any whining from their side during Spring Training or during the first two months of the season. But don’t be surprised if the Cardinals privately use it as a little extra motivation.

The Brewers better be ready come April 6^th.

So just how much of an impact does one player have on a lineup? The St. Louis Cardinals are about to find out. Last year, the Cardinals’ offense ranked in the top five in the majors in runs, average, and on-base percentage, which is absurd considering there’s not a designated hitter in the National League.

Most would agree that any NL team in the top five in the majors in all those categories must have a deep lineup and a solid bench. The Cardinals certainly did in 2011. Six of the team’s eight everyday starters hit .296 or higher, with the exceptions coming from the middle infield positions. And when it was all said and done, they had a player in Allen Craig that many players, coaches, and fans thought would be starting on just about any major league team other than the Cardinals, who were already set with Matt Holliday, Lance Berkman, and Jon Jay.

That’s why I was a little taken aback when I heard the following from ESPN baseball analyst John Kruk: “The X-factor for the Cardinals this year is Adam Wainwright. We know this team is going to struggle to score runs; you just don’t lose the best hitter in the game and expect to have the same production.”

Struggle to score runs? Really? The thought had never even occurred to me. Yes, the Cardinals will be without Albert Pujols and you can’t easily replace his production and impact on the rest of the lineup, but does that mean the Cardinals will “struggle to score runs” without him?

Take a look at the Cardinals’ projected lineup and ask yourself if it looks like they’ll struggle to score runs:

1)      Rafael Furcal: .255 avg, 7 HR, 16 RBI (*numbers after trade to St. Louis)

2)      Carlos Beltran: .300, 22 HR, 84 RBI

3)      Matt Holliday: .296, 22 HR, 75 RBI

4)      Lance Berkman: .301, 31 HR, 94 RBI

5)      David Freese: .297, 10 HR, 55 RBI

6)      Yadier Molina: .305, 14 HR, 65 RBI

7)      Allen Craig: .315, 11 HR, 40 RBI

8)      Skip Schumaker: .283, 2 HR, 38 RBI

The only difference between last year’s lineup and this year’s will be Albert Pujols replaced by Carlos Beltran. Last year, Pujols hit .299, 37 HRs, 99 RBI. With Beltran, the Cardinals pick up a point in the average column and lose 15 HR and 15 RBI… so essentially 15 solo home runs. That’s nothing to scoff at, but nothing that would make you think the sky is falling either.

Of course, we haven’t taken into account the “Pujols factor” yet. This is the impact players and managers say Pujols has on the rest of the lineup just by his mere presence. Opponents have long said “we always knew how far away number five was from coming up to bat, whether he was due up 3^rd, 5^th, or 7^th at the start of the inning.” A quick example of this happened in the first inning of Game 7 of the World Series. In an interview with MLB Productions, Lance Berkman suggests one of the turning points in the game that ultimately cost the Texas Rangers the lead and the World Series was when pitcher Matt Harrison pitched around Albert with no one on and two outs in the bottom of the first inning. Harrison had recorded the first two outs with ease, but after pitching around Pujols he walked Lance Berkman on four pitches. Berkman said he thought Harrison lost his release point while pitching around Pujols, and subsequently walked him as well. That brought David Freese up to the plate with two on and two out, and Freese drove a fastball into the left-centerfield gap to tie the score at two.

So there’s an example of two runs the Cardinals, in theory, got last year that they will not be getting this year. No one will be pitching around Matt Holliday with no one on and two outs to help jump start a rally.

So the question is: just how much will the Cardinals miss Albert Pujols this season? Will they really go from a top five offense club to one that “struggles” to score runs? Or with the addition of Beltran and fewer injuries, will the Red Birds continue to put crooked numbers on the board at a high clip?

The answer may be somewhere in between.

One thing is for sure, this season will be unlike any we’ve seen in the past 15 years. The Cardinals have featured one of the game’s premiere deep-threats in the number three hole every year since 1997… first Mark McGwire, then Albert Pujols. Matt Holliday certainly has a tough act to follow as the new anchor of the Cardinals’ offense.

ST. LOUIS (February 16, 2012) – The St. Louis Cardinals today announced their television schedule for the 2012 season.  FOX Sports Midwest (19^th season) is scheduled to carry 150 games in its second full season as the exclusive local TV home of the Cardinals.

Ten regular season games are currently scheduled to be carried as part of Major League Baseball’s national television packages with FOX (aired locally on KTVI) and ESPN.  The July 22 game vs. Chicago and the August 12^th game at Philadelphia will be carried by FOX Sports Midwest or ESPN.   The schedule is subject to change based on future Major League Baseball national television selections.

FOX Sports Midwest will also televise five Grapefruit League Spring Training games (March 17 at Detroit, March 19 at Atlanta, March 20 at Houston, March 22 vs. Washington and March 24 at the New York Mets), with each game carried live locally at Noon CT and replayed later that day during prime time.

FOX Sports Midwest’s offseason coverage will also include new Cardinals programming on Mondays in February and March, starting with a 30-minute special on Monday Feb. 20 at 7 p.m. chronicling the World Series champions visit to the White House.   Upcoming Monday night shows include La Russa’s Championship Insights, a one hour special, and roundtable discussions with Cardinals Hall of Famers and 1980’s stars.  FOX Sports Midwest will also produce a spring training report in early March, as well as 2012 season preview.

FOX Sports Midwest will also continue to produce the Cardinals Live pregame and postgame shows with Jim Hayes, Pat Parris and Cal Eldred for every regular season telecast on the network. Dan McLaughlin, Al Hrabosky and Rick Horton will again call the games this season from the broadcast booth for FOX Sports Midwest.

In 2011, Cardinals telecasts on FOX Sports Midwest generated the 2^nd highest local market television ratings in Major League Baseball, the 12^th straight year in which the Cardinals ranked among the top three teams.  FOX Sports Midwest-produced Cardinals telecasts are shown in nine states and available in millions of homes. A complete Spring Training & 2012 Regular Season schedule follows.