2010: New Decade, Same Name

Without belaboring the point, the 2000s were a very good decade for the Cardinals. Seven playoff appearances, six divisional titles, two world series appearances, one world series victory. Further, it will be known as the Decade of Pujols; since his improbable emergence in 2001, Pujols has in fact won the triple crown for the decade, leading the NL in HR, RBI and batting average. This is a decade, of course, where Barry Bonds would regularly hit 60-70 HR in a season.

I'm writing because Spring Training kicks off in 5 short days. With football over and basketball doing its interminable, endless thing, I need el beisbol more than ever. I'm not quite ready for a 2010 preview yet, as there are still probably some roster moves yet to be made and some freak injuries (hello, Brendan Ryan's wrist surgery) yet to occur.

But in a nutshell: the 2010 Cardinals are, on the whole, as good as the 2009 Cardinals that won the Central with ease. And the Central looks worse than it did a year before. Sorry Mike, prepare for another patented Astros season o' futility.