To piggy back off of last week’s column where I noted the Cardinals inability or maybe better said, hesitance, to play small ball the team embarks on a six game trip through the American League East. After the lack luster home stand showed that perhaps the Cardinals are not equipped for the NL game maybe this trip out east will show if perhaps they are built for the AL game. Somehow I doubt it. The St. Louis Cardinals are a team without a baseball identity and until they can commit to one style of play or the other the Cardinals will continue to linger in baseball purgatory. Worse yet, if management and the collective brain trust behind Ballpark Village cannot pick a direction for this team I fear every 3-4 years will be a roster turnover and more of the same.

There are a lot of quality players on this 2011 roster; the problem is that they can be divided into two groups. Those best suited to play in the NL and those maybe better off on an AL club. In this situation two halves do not necessarily make a whole. Adding to their identity crisis is manager Tony LaRussa, who cannot seem to make up his mind as to which style the Cardinals should play. Seemingly changing his strategy from series to series. We as fans and bloggers know what we see when watching a game so no facts, sabremetrics, percentages or other statistics will be used. That is for another article on another day. All statements within this column are based on the “eye-test” and common sense factors.

For as long as I can remember the breakdown was always speed and defense win games in the NL, power in the AL. Here is how it breaks down for the Cardinals. Theriot and Schumaker give away outs like free soup at a homeless shelter while Pujols and Molina when healthy are two of the best fielders in either league at their positions. If not for his glove Descalso would not be on the Major League roster, by the same token, if not for his bat neither would Allen Craig. The yin & yang of it goes on and on.

Based on the criteria above here is how I separate the two groups. In examining the roster I take into consideration any position player who has seen significant AB’s as either a regular or an off-the bench guy.

Albert Pujols	Ryan Theriot
Daniel Descalso	Allen Craig
Yadier Molina	Matt Holliday
Colby Rasmus	Lance Berkman
Skip Schumaker	David Freese
Jon Jay
*disclaimer players were assigned leagues based on where their skill levels I felt were best suited. Some of course could play in both

Finding a way to utilize both types of players requires good strategy and gamesmanship. Usually synonyms for how TLR has managed his teams. But for his part, these last few seasons TLR’s management of this miss-matched roster only makes the differences more apparent. He has players in Rasmus and Schumaker who are supposed to be good on the bases but doesn’t let them show it. To make it worse more often than not he bats them out of position. In yet another mystifying move, where a team should be sacrificing offense for defense the Cardinals do the opposite on a daily basis by continuing to run Theriot out to SS rather than moving him over to 2B.

The pieces are there and yes injuries have played a large role in the season’s results thus far. But the season is not lost, especially not in the NL Central. The sooner the Cardinals and Tony LaRussa decide which type of team they want to be for the remainder of 2011 the better the results will be.

As usual these are just my thoughts…if you’re smart you’ll most likely agree. If not keep on reading my articles and you’ll get up to speed.

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Opening day is just over the hill. 2011 is a very strange year for both Royals and Cardinals. This actually could very well be the strangest year in decades for both franchises.

The case of the Royals sheds a feeling of anxiety. The other side of the coin in Saint Louis presents a feeling of uncertainty. I think most readers can agree with me on these two statements.

In my eyes, Cardinals aficionados usually know where they stand. They usually have a good idea of what might happen in the season ahead. For the most part, I’d give a leaning vote to positive thinking and say the Cardinals instill a sense that they will not shell out a losing season. With their heads still above water, under Mozeliak’s wing they sink a little deeper every year as the grip loosens a little more. It’s not dramatically frightening because we all know the Cardinals have just enough stability to not completely fall apart and just enough talent to stay in the middle of the division. The loss of Adam Wainwright is the largest low blow to any team this season and I think the Cardinals are still attempting to get that awful pill down.

Jaime Garcia put up extremely promising numbers last year, posing a continuing threat to an already solid pitching staff. This year’s spring training numbers tell a different tale though as he has dished out a 1-3 record in five appearances and a heavy 7.95 ERA to boot. Should the front office be concerned? Is this an early sign of the eventual mediocrity to come? This we know is true: Carpenter will get his fill and find a way to be productive. There is no need to worry about that. BUT, with the loss of Wainwright to Tommy John surgery and the nail biting fact that Garcia is underachieving in the spring, Saint Louis could be in trouble before the season even begins.

The Royals know the future is bright, although the present is lack luster. They are receiving more publicity than ever since the first half of 2003, when they went on a tear. The farm system is the best Major League Baseball has seen in twenty years and the Royals know that. There are plenty of arguments to be made for how the Royals handle their organization though. What they do with their money and how they move their players is questionable to say the least. However, Dayton Moore and company grabbed the attention of Royals fans regarding the promising future of the ball club.

Fans in the Royals nation want to see results now. There is an anxiety to grab the money and run away in the fields of MLB success. Many people speculate that patience is the key for the team’s rise. They know that the team should accept the fact they are very weak this year, will most likely lose 100 games, and continue the trend of bottom feeding. That good fortune will arrive with time and that fans should shovel their trust in the hands of the front office. That this seven-year plan is almost to its conclusion and victory upon victory is now within the reach.

The Kansas City Royals have provided us with an interesting blueprint, one that most can depict as a blueprint for resuscitation. Bringing back to life something that was once dead. It takes time. It takes trust. It takes money in the right places. It takes draft ability. It takes the perfect amount of team analysis and management, all churned into one interesting mix on the rocks that will eventually go down smooth.

Having these suspicions headed into the 2011 season creates for a very odd assumption. The Royals, so horrible in their own right, have found the key to a hidden door. The door still difficult to open yet reaps of promise. The Cardinals, meanwhile, are always secure and engaged with expectation, yet unfamiliar with the current lack of depth and stability.

We are left with two odd feelings from two completely different faces in the game. Only time can tell the direction each team is headed.