St. Louis Cardinals 2014 Season Projections

With Spring Training beginning to ramp up, many baseball fans can feel the 2014 Major League Baseball season fast approaching.  There are many storylines coming into the new season: Will the Boston Red Sox be able to recreate the success of last year?  Will the moves made by the New York Yankess bring them back to the playoffs?  Will the addition of Robinson Cano lead the Seattle Mariners back to the top of the AL West?  And, will the grand experiment of infusing the payroll with a fuckton of cash finally pay off for the Los Angeles Dodgers.  While I will be following all of these storylines in a passive manner, my personal area of focus will be on the St. Louis Cardinals.

The venerated franchise, who over their history have won eleven World Series championships, went 97-65 last season, finishing first in the NL Central and losing to the Red Sox in the World Series.  While many franchises may see such a season as highly successful, such a season is seen as a disappointment to the Cardinals due to their two World Series championships since 2006.

Pitching has always been an area of focus for the St. Louis Cardinals, and, with the naming of Adam Wainwright as their opening day starter, the Cardinals look to have a solid rotation going into the season with the continues ascensions of Michael Wacha and Carlos Martinez.

With the front office actively working to make the entire organization better, and Matt Carpenter looking like he's returning to form, it looks like the St. Louis Cardinals are poised to make another run at a World Series championship.  If no major long term injuries plague this team, and they keep their focus, success is all but assured for this franchise.  Focus, however, may be a problem due to the Cardinals recent foray into social issues, specifically the contentious issue of how religions handle divorce.