I had the opportunity to take in my first 2012 St. Louis Cardinal game at Busch Stadium this past Sunday, as they defeated the punch-less Cubs behind a very solid pitching performance from Jake Westbrook and tremendous days at the plate from Yadier Molina and Matt Carpenter. That win pushed the Cardinals to 7-3 on the young season.

One of the worst mistakes any blogger/journalist can make is take a small sample size (like 10 games) and make a lot of assumptions or unreasonable projections, but soaking in the beautiful day at Busch Stadium during a blowout of the Cubbies….I just could not help myself.

I began to ask a lot of “what if” questions.

-What if this team under new leadership, starts another great era of Cardinal baseball without a reloading period following the key off-season losses?

Mike Matheny has been preaching respect. He has preached playing the Cardinal Way. He has reminded the team what it means to wear the Birds on the Bat. They are playing hard and playing with confidence. The Cardinals could not have asked for a better start to the season. If you had told me that the first two weeks would be played without Allen Craig, Skip Schumaker, and Chris Carpenter, see Lance Berkman, David Freese, Jon Jay, and Carlos Beltran miss time with aches and pains, AND yet to have the “real” Adam Wainwright make an appearance; I would have predicted 3-8 not 8-3. Many experts in the industry warned of a mediocre season for St. Louis following the loss of Pujols, Duncan, and LaRussa. There are 25 solid players in the clubhouse and a coaching staff that does not believe a “reload” is necessary. They play hard for each other and want to win now.

Could this mix of veterans and deep farm system usher in a new era of being perennial playoff contenders, just like 2000-06, when the Cardinals made the playoffs six out of seven consecutive seasons? What if…..

-What if Matheny does not listen to the doubters who say he can not manage a winning ballclub without any experience…and the team keeps on winning ?

-What if Kyle Lohse and Jake Westbrook continue pitching this well in their contract years?

-What if Pujols did not afford the other batters in the lineup as much protection as we thought he did? These guys can hit the baseball. It is a solid, deep, and balanced lineup.

-What if the bullpen is actually better this year than it was last year? Matheny lets relievers who are pitching well stay in the game, as opposed to playing the matchups constantly like LaRussa did. He looks more at the quality of the pitches that night, and less at the spreadsheet of past performance. This just might create an added level of confidence in the bullpen that the better they perform, the more they get to pitch.

-What if the team makes great selections with five of the first 59 draft picks?…and keeps stocking its deep farm system with future impact players. The model of surrounding four or five key veterans with young talent seems to be the Cardinals best chance for sustained excellence. They have a tremendous opportunity during this year’s draft to get a bunch of great young talent that they can keep for at least  six years at a very reasonable price.

-What if Carpenter returns to form by summer and Wainwright returns to his former dominant self? The rotation would be just plain scary.

-What if this team is tired of the talk they can’t repeat without Pujols and LaRussa? Touched on this one above, but this is a highly talented group of professionals with a very competitive edge. This was most evidence by several players showing up to camp after a short off-season in the best shape of their lives. They are motivated to win this year.

Look, I know everything seems like rainbows and lollipops after such a fast start. The trials will come. Matheny will cost them a game with a bad decision at some point. But as I sat in the bleachers Sunday afternoon, I had a realization of just how many things are going right in Cardinal Nation right now.

For years, the talk was how losing Pujols would derail the organization into mediocrity. I am simply proposing that may not be the case. In fact, this organization may be the brink of a new standard of sustained excellence. That is a very big leap to make after 11 games, I know. This could be the start of another spell of playoff runs like the team had at the start of the century.

With a solid rotation, deep lineup, a manager they love to play for, and motivation to silence the doubters, they have as good a chance as any to make quite a run for seasons to come.

Just as quickly as the Kansas City Royals’ minor league system was the best in all of baseball, it wasn’t. That sort of ranking isn’t meant to last, and it really isn’t something you can repeat, nor would you want to.

Photo Courtesy of Minda Haas

The farm system sent a treasure trove of talent Kansas City’s way in 2011, but that meant that the number one ranking from Baseball America was just a fleeting alignment of the stars.

This season’s rankings will look night and day different from a year ago. While last season the Royals placed eight players in the top 100 (not counting Jake Odorizzi), this season their prospects will rank considerably lower. With Moustakas, Hosmer and Duffy having matriculated to the big leagues, it’s likely the remaining players ranked last season will drop on this year’s list.

Wil Myers came in at #10 last year. After battling injuries last season, he’ll likely drop in this year’s ranking.

John Lamb was in the #18 spot before blowing out his arm and going under the knife. If he makes it in the top 100 at all, it will be more a vote of confidence in Lamb’s surgeon than in his pitching.

Baseball America has released its ranking of the top 10 for each organization. Last year’s #19 overall, Mike Montgomery, is in the top spot in the Royals’ Top 10 this year. He struggled mightily last year and probably won’t rate that highly this year, even though he’ll be given a shot to make the big league club.

Christian Colon, last year’s #51, won’t continue to get credit for his collegiate accomplishments for much longer. If he’s ranked at all, it will be a surprise.

Odorizzi, who was rated #69, is rated fourth in the Royals franchise this year, and therefore might not move up in the overall list.

Chris Dwyer, after a mediocre season at Double A last year, won’t repeat last year’s #83 ranking.

So with Hosmer, Moustakas and Duffy moving off the list, and everyone else moving down, things are looking bleak. A few newcomers should provide a little bit of silver lining to this otherwise dark cloud, however.

Baseball America ranks Bubba Starling #2 in the organization, even though he’s done nothing right on the field and everything wrong off it so far. He’ll be somewhere in the top half of the list, most likely.

And look for 19-year-old Cheslor Cuthbert to break in somewhere, after two promising seasons at the lowest levels of the farm system.

Here is Baseball America’s ranking of players within the Royals’ organization this winter:

1) Mike Montgomery
2) Bubba Starling
3) Will Myers, outfielder
4) Jake Odorizzi, RHP
5) Cheslor Cuthbert, 3B
6) John Lamb, RHP
7) Kelvin Herrera, RHP
8) Jason Adam, RHP
9) Chris Dwyer, LHP
10) Yordano Ventura, RHP

And while we wait for Baseball America to announce it’s top 100 list, MLB.com announced this week its top 10 at each position. And predictably, Royals prospects, which dominated the lists last season, were few and far between this year.

Compare last year’s Royals entrants to this year’s:

2012 MLB position rankings:

#3 Outfielder (Starling)
#4 Outfielder (Myers)
#7 Left Handed Pitcher (Montgomery)

2011 MLB position rankings:

#1 First Baseman (Hosmer)
#10 Second Baseman (Johnny Giavotella)
#1 Third Baseman (Moustakas)
#2 Catcher (Myer)
#2 Left Handed Pitcher (Montgomery)
#9 Left Handed Pitcher (Lamb)

There are still tons of things to be excited about in the Royals’ developmental program, but a top ranking won’t be one of them.

Nonetheless, the team now has several players that are about one year away from the big leagues – most notably Montgomery, Lamb, Myers and Odorizzi. And for them, this season will be a huge one, ranking or no ranking.