1 St. Louis Cardinals

An offensive juggernaut appears to have added the missing piece: a frontline pitcher

Who would you rather have, Tim Hudson or Mark Mulder? Soon after the end of last season both Oakland aces were made available to Cardinals general manager Walt Jocketty, who was shopping for a front-of-the-rotation starter to add to a staff that had been battered by the Red Sox in the World Series. In a four-game sweep the overwhelmed St. Louis starters had allowed 26 hits and 18 runs in 171/3 innings. So from his seat on a mid-December flight to Hawaii--en route to a vacation with his wife, Sue--Jocketty negotiated by phone with A's G.M. Billy Beane and agreed to surrender pitching prospects Danny Haren and Kiko Calero plus minor league catcher Daric Barton to Oakland for Mulder. (Hudson went to the Braves two days before Jocketty and Beane sealed the Mulder deal.)

"In the end Mulder was our preference because we needed a lefthander in our rotation and he was signed for two years versus Hudson's one," says Jocketty. "We also have faith that he'll bounce back from his tough finish last year."

With Oakland, Mulder was a model of consistency, a monster innings eater (he ranks second in the majors with 22 complete games since 2001) who has amassed more wins (72) over the last four years than any other lefthander. But the 27-year-old is coming off his most disappointing season since his rookie year. On Aug. 24 he was 17--4 and a Cy Young front-runner; in seven starts thereafter Mulder was 0--4 with an 8.31 ERA and a big reason why the A's missed the postseason for the first time in five years.

Mulder is quick to refute the suggestion that he was pitching hurt. "I wasn't injured at all," he says. "There wasn't anything wrong with me. Looking back, maybe the reason for the struggles was fatigue. I was exhausted at the end of the season. Maybe all those innings in Oakland caught up to me. When you're tired like that, your mechanics change."

At the top of the Cardinals' rotation Mulder joins Chris Carpenter, who was voted last year's NL comeback player of the year after rebounding from arm troubles that limited him to 13 starts in 2002 and sidelined him for all of '03. Carpenter made 28 starts, won 15 of them and got stronger as the season went on, consistently throwing in the mid-90s and regaining the sharpness in his knee-buckling curve. He sat out the postseason because of nerve damage in his right biceps, but he says that he's been throwing better this spring than at any point last season. "I really feel great," he says, "like I'm just now putting my injuries behind me."

St. Louis's starters will again enjoy plenty of run support: The meat of the offense--which led the league in runs, hits and slugging percentage--returns mostly intact. All-Star shortstop Edgar Renteria, who signed with the Red Sox in December, is the most notable loss, but the Cardinals think they landed a capable replacement in David Eckstein, a 5'7", 165-pound nuisance to American League pitchers as a member of the Angels. In a lineup rife with sluggers--Albert Pujols, Jim Edmonds and Scott Rolen were the only trio in the majors to each hit .300 with 30 homers and 100 RBIs--Eckstein, a quintessential contact hitter (first among AL hitters in lowest percentage of swings that missed) who's solid defensively (.988 fielding percentage, tops among AL shortstops), knows his role: "Do everything in my power to get on base," says the 30-year-old Eckstein, who signed a three-year, $10.25 million contract in December. "If I do that, someone in this lineup will find a way to get me home."

"He gives this lineup a little different look," says Jocketty. "We think he's tailor-made for the National League with his ability to do the small things, like moving runners over and bunting. The offense should be strong with him at the top of the order."

The Cardinals are loaded again, but are they better? Their new ace knows who the key will be. "You look at how close this team came to winning a championship last year, and it's exciting," says Mulder. "Maybe I can help put us over the top." --Albert Chen

In Fact

Albert Pujols, Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams are the only players to rack up 500 RBIs over their first four big league seasons.

Enemy Lines

an opposing team's scout sizes up the Cardinals

"THEY DON'T have a top pitcher other than Mark Mulder, but one guy who has impressed me is Al Reyes. He has a live, hard fastball and a pitcher's arrogance. He really believes in himself.... This team is going to miss Mike Matheny at catcher. Yadier Molina is a good prospect, but he has to learn how to handle a pitching staff.... Scott Rolen's left knee is still bothering him. He's been struggling.... Their outfield looks good on paper, but Larry Walker has a low threshold for pain and a reputation for being hard to get into the lineup. Jim Edmonds, on the other hand, plays through the hurts. He's quality.... I hate to see Rick Ankiel unable to use his talent on the mound. He can swing the bat, but he's 25 and has been away from every-day hitting for too long.... Albert Pujols is a Hall of Fame type, and his heels don't seem to be bothering him. He's been running well and is unbelievably scary.... This was a mediocre club last year until they ran the table at the end. I don't see them doing that this year, but you can't discount the Tony La Russa--Walt Jocketty magic."

The Lineup

projected roster with 2004 statistics

Batting

Order

SS Eckstein

RF Walker

1B Pujols

3B Rolen

CF Edmonds

LF Sanders

2B Grudzielanek

C Molina

JIM EDMONDS

B-T L

PVR 22

BA .301

HR 42

RBI 111

SB 8

REGGIE SANDERS

B-T R

PVR 82

BA .260

HR 22

RBI 67

SB 21

LARRY WALKER

B-T L-R

PVR 91

BA .298

HR 17

RBI 47

SB 6

DAVID ECKSTEIN [New acquisition]

B-T R

PVR 183

BA .276

HR 2

RBI 35

SB 16

MARK GRUDZIELANEK [New acquisition]

B-T R

PVR 282

BA .307

HR 6

RBI 23

SB 1

SCOTT ROLEN

B-T R

PVR 12

BA .314

HR 34

RBI 124

SB 4

ALBERT PUJOLS

B-T R

PVR 1

BA .331

HR 46

RBI 123

SB 5

YADIER MOLINA

B-T R

PVR 253

BA .267

HR 2

RBI 15

SB 0

BENCH

JOHN MABRY

B-T L-R

PVR 315

BA .296

HR 13

RBI 40

SB 0

ROGER CEDEñO

B-T S-R

PVR 347

BA .265

HR 3

RBI 23

SB 5

SO TAGUCHI

B-T R

PVR 375

BA .291

HR 3

RBI 25

SB 6

2004 RECORD

105--57

1st in NL Central

MANAGER

Tony La Russa

10th season with St. Louis

ROTATION

[originallink:10808646:720496]

PITCHER	PVR	W	L	S	WHIP	ERA
RH Jason Isringhausen	16	4	2	47	1.04	2.87
RH Julian Tavarez	187	7	4	4	1.18	2.38
LH Ray King	216	5	2	0	1.08	2.61

New acquisition (R) Rookie B-T: Bats-throws IPS: Innings pitched per start WHIP: Walks plus hits per inning pitched

PVR: Player Value Ranking (explanation on page 69)

COLOR PHOTO

CHUCK SOLOMON (2)

THE LITTLE THINGS

Eckstein knows his role: contribute his usual solid play in the field and his signature pesky at bats.

COLOR PHOTO

CHUCK SOLOMON (2)

Mulder