St Louis Cardinals Tickets

Despite numerous injuries, the St. Louis Cardinals surprised everyone last year but staying in the National League Central race until fairly late in the season.

The Cardinals are hopeful that pitcher Chris Carpenter will be 100 percent healthy this year. He returned from a serious arm injury in the last couple of months last year only to be shut down and undergo another surgery.

The team is contemplating using Carpenter as a closer, but the pitcher insists he can be durable as a part of the starting rotation.

If Carpenter can return close to full strength, the starting rotation should be solid. Todd Wellemeyer has proven to be an asset while many believe Adam Wainwright still hasn't reached his ceiling.

Kyle Lohse was a late offseason addition who should prove to be one of the better No. 5 starters in all of baseball.

There was concern of first baseman Albert Pujols and his elbow injury heading into last season, but showed it was a non-issue by winning the MVP award. Expect a similar season from Pujols in 2009.

Third baseman Troy Glaus is already hurt again and will likely miss at least the first month of the season. The fact he is already hurt doesn't bode well for his status for the remainder of the year.

There were some changes in the offseason, most notably at shortstop. The team traded for San Diego's Khalil Greene, who struggled last season but had a career year in 2007. The Cardinals are hopeful that playing for a better team will rejuvenate him.

The outfield is a major question mark, where pitcher turned position player Rick Ankiel is probably their most steady performer. Skip Shumaker and Ryan Ludwick both had career years and are not expected to keep that up.

The Cardinals have plenty of talent on their team, but they will be hard-pressed to pass the Chicago Cubs and win the division crown. A playoff spot isn't out of the question, but winning the wild card won't be easy, either.