Fan Stop Central

JUPITER, Fla. — You look at the St. Louis Cardinals doing their spring work, and what do you see? You see 95 victories. And you may be seeing a conservative estimate.

The Cardinals, after all, won 205 games over the last two years. They were the best regular season team in baseball in each of those seasons.

True, they have lost some very valuable people from last season. But they lost some very valuable people after the 2004 season, too, and they were not seriously damaged. This is the way it is in contemporary baseball. Unless you are the Yankees, financial considerations will prevent you from keeping everybody that you want to keep. The Cardinals are exceptional on the field, but in this regard, they are human.

Manager Tony La Russa always has the right answer when people ask him about the departures. “I felt last year just like I do now,” La Russa said Thursday. “Look at who’s left.”

Before we look at the impressive group of Cardinals who are in that category … Continue article »

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