AP Photo

The last World Series winner to undergo such a dramatic overhaul in the afterglow of its championship was the 2003 Florida Marlins, whose owners treated the ballclub like a foreclosed property. These Cardinals are different, torn apart for a wide swath of reasons, from economics to age to health to upward mobility.

To call them better for it is a stretch; to call them worse is the same. Considering that over a two-month period, St. Louis lost the best player in baseball, one of the game’s best managers, arguably the best pitching coach and among the best scouting directors, the ability not just to maintain a semblance of continuity but to turn such losses into an otherwise productive offseason is a testament to how general manager John Mozeliak made this team his own.

The Cardinals wanted to re-sign Albert Pujols. They...

Read Full Article »

Related Topics: mlb, St. Louis Cardinals