Adam Wainwright is already in Jupiter and he’s getting some impressive reviews:
“It was only 30 pitches in February before a collection of 20 players and staff on Field 2 behind Roger Dean Stadium. But it was also Adam Wainwright throwing effortlessly and with command — momentous stuff just two weeks before the anniversary of his elbow injury last year.” Full Story: LINK HERE
That’s Joe Strauss, the Post-Dispatch’s sports section’s response to Bill McClellan. He’s not much for fawning. So when the flowering prose starts coming forth this early, Wain-O, you can surmise, is ahead of schedule and should be ready to start opening day after missing the entire 2011 season.
Having a true #1 ace added to the staff of a World Series Champion is sick. Trouble is, the Cardinals also let the greatest player of the past decade walk. Albert Pujols now is employed by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Otherwise, I think that the 2012 Cardinals would be the heavy betting favorites to win the World Series again. As it stands, they’re 18 to 1… 3 times higher than the Phillies.
Every hot stove off-season has the argument de rigueur, but one mainstay is the timeless gem: is it better to have a #1 starter or a MVP caliber position player?
It’s probably wildly unfair and not exactly accurate to say we saw what Albert did in 2011, top that Adam. But at the same time, I think this is the first situation where we can take basically the same team from one year to the next, replace an MVP caliber hitter with a Cy Young contending ace and see what gets better results.
All the other variables that go into a baseball season will cause either argument to be right or wrong or possibly neither. At the same time, since we’ve never encountered this situation with two colossal players at each position, it’s an interesting thought experiment.
Now, the Friday Links…
- Looks like Barbie has a thing for Ellen. LINK HERE
- 50 funny Facebook photo fails. LINK HERE
- Do not park badly. This site will find you. LINK HERE
- 7 great inventions in the history of alcohol. LINK HERE
- A retrospective on Big League Chew. LINK HERE
- 6 real people with superpowers. LINK HERE
That’s it. That’s the week. We’re getting closer to real-live-baseball. And now that football is over, we’re hitting the sucky part of Feb. Who else is ready?
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