Exit Poll: Comeback Cards
TOWER GROVE — In hindsight, the Cardinals have realized they based a lot of their expectations of success in 2008, particularly when it came to pitching, on hope.
Hope was inconsistent, at best, and was recently diagnosed with impingement.
The Cardinals expected no fewer than three starting pitchers to return from serious injuries and contribute — at least one in a significant way — to the 2008 team. From Mark Mulder (shoulder), Matt Clement (shoulder) and Chris Carpenter (elbow, then shoulder), the Cardinals got a grand total of seven appearances, four starts, an 0-1 record and 17 innings, 15 1/3 of which were thrown by Carpenter before nerve irritation ended his season.
As the Cardinals reach the offseason, the disabled list remains populated by potential everyday contributors. Outfielders Rick Ankiel and Chris Duncan are recovering from surgeries; rookie Joe Mather is rehabbing after a wrist injury. Carpenter is a concern; Tyler Johnson is an unknown; and Randy Flores feels better after surgery but is an uncertain contract situation, with the team holding his rights at the end of a two-year deal. Josh Kinney (elbow surgery) showed well in his September cameo, but the Cardinals handled him delicately.
Hope apparently has an option for the 2009 season.
Following the theme of previous EXIT POLLS (closer here, encores there): Below is a list of players returning from missing significant time with an injury, any of whom could have the kind of comeback that boosts the Cardinals chances to contend. Whether the Cardinals will bank on these comebacks as they build the roster for 2009 remains to be seen. But coming out of 2008 and the lessons therein, the Cardinals appear less likely to leverage their chances to contend on health, and more on improving depth.
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Derrick Goold said he was going to Mizzou for capital-J journalism, but after growing up in the Time Zone Baseball Forgot he was really drawn to MU sitting between two major-league cities. Goold joined the Post-Dispatch in 2001 after working for The Times-Picayune and Rocky Mountain News, covering sports from LSU to NHL and every level of baseball in between. 
Carpenter is key in my mind and he got my vote in this poll. Carpenter needs to make his scheduled starts throughout the year and give us 200+ innings. If he cannot do that we will have more of the same in ‘09 that we had in ‘08′….No ace to lead the staff. If Carpenter’s right wing keeps him caged up, Wainwright, Lohse and Wellemier cannot be expected to carry the cage while waiting for the ace to heal. So, if the ace is not leading the flock, the Red birds will not fly, unless, of course, another ace happens to migrate and integrate into the RED BIRD flock. To win in MLB you have got to have an ace, a solid number two and a number 3 that is close to a two. The LOONG season merits that. So if the Cards take off in the Spring with out an ace, mark my word that they will be flying south in the summer where birds go to live for the winter. Otherwise we just might see RED in October.