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St. Louis Cardinals offense

NL Central Report: St. Louis’ Offensive Machine Keeps Churning

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It’s no secret that the St. Louis Cardinals are struggling. They’ve got injuries and the pitching that is healthy just isn’t very good, either in the rotation or the bullpen. Since the middle of May they’ve been plummeting in the standings, now in third place in the NL Central, trailing both the Cincinnati Reds and the Pittsburgh Pirates. But they got a couple wins over Houston the last two nights to get back over .500 at 30-28, they’ll start getting players returning from the disabled list in the next couple weeks and possibly more after the All-Star break. And this offense has been absolutely fearsome, even when not entirely whole.

MLB March Report: St. Louis Cardinals

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It’s a new era for last year’s World Series champions in St. Louis. The Cardinals have a new manager, as future Hall of Famer Tony LaRussa has retired, and their signature player, Albert Pujols left town for the Los Angeles Angels in free agency. But if there’s one thing this organization has its pride and tradition—over the last 12 seasons, they’ve been on the right side of .500 11 times, won three National League pennants and two World Series titles. In the bigger picture, they’ve won more World Series crowns than anyone outside the Bronx. So how does the 2012 talent match up with the pride and tradition? TheSportsNotebook dives into the Cardinals lineup, with our usual four measuring sticks of the ability to get on base, hit for power, starting pitching and relief pitching.