The one thing we know for sure as we head into the newest era of the remade St. Louis Cardinals is just how much we really don't know. But isn't that what always makes baseball in the spring so fascinating, so hopeful, so essential to the baseball poets' romance with spring training?
Everyone has a chance to start over and believe.
Spring brings out the annual eternal optimism in all of us — with or without any evidence to support it, mind you — that whatever offseason changes were made will be the ones that will deliver a more compelling season than the last.
In some cities, the definition of compelling might be, please just keep it interesting until June. For others, it's the hope of a legitimate chase toward the playoffs. But as the defending World Series champion Cards embark on spring training, this organization knows that St. Louis isn't one of those less-ambitious cities. The definition of compelling around here is another Red October World Series chase.
On Monday, the guy who was for the better part of the last decade largely responsible for making the Redbirds championship contenders reported to work a week early, but it was in Tempe, Ariz., not Jupiter, Fla.
Los Angeles Angels first baseman Albert Pujols (Boy, that's going to take a lot to get used to saying, isn't it?) showed up early at the team's spring training complex and almost immediately looked ahead to what he can do for the hopes of his new city, not what he's already done in his old one.
"You know what, I had a great time in St. Louis," Pujols told reporters. "Obviously, 11 years, you know you just don't just flip that page and say, 'Move on.' There were some great moments. I was able to accomplish two World Series (titles) and that was a great experience and something I want to bring to this city, to Anaheim, to this ballclub and hopefully better seasons than I had in St. Louis and hopefully more championships.
"I can't go back and feel sorry (for leaving St. Louis)," Pujols said. "It's time to move forward. (That was) like another chapter in my life, and it's time to open a new one. I don't want to look over my shoulder and regret the decisions I made. It was the best decision for me and my family. I want to help this organization get to the next level."
Pujols, the three-time National League MVP, is gone, and so are manager Tony La Russa and pitching coach Dave Duncan. And while general manager John Mozeliak might be chafing at the notion that this is his team, for better or worse that is exactly what it is. And that's not necessarily a bad thing. That's just what it is.
He has reshaped everything from the ground up. He has a rookie manager replacing a future Hall of Famer. He has a new pitching coach replacing a legendary one. He has taken money that could have been spent on one of the greatest players in baseball history and spread it all up and down the roster. He has reworked the organization, brought in new people up and down the franchise and now we get to see how it all works out.
A lot of people within the organization may be desperately seeking to get out from under the Pujols-La Russa-Duncan story line. But it is unavoidable, at least for the short term. Every success or failure — particularly with regard to replacing Pujols' Hall of Fame production — will be cloaked in a rather unusual but merited aura lingering over a defending champion: uncertainty.
You don't extract the bat, glove and leadership of an Albert Pujols from a championship lineup and not expect a ton of raised eyebrows, a little apprehension or the constant predicament of short- and long-term evaluation of how the move is working out.
"What Would Albert Do?" and "How Would Tony Handle That?" will be part of the unavoidable saga of the 2012 Cardinals. But the way they handle it — will they wear it like an annoying anchor or a motivating chip? — will be the reason why the Cardinals will be must-see TV this season. The loss of Pujols, La Russa and Duncan does not have to weigh anyone down.
Already it sounds as if some players (see: Adam Wainwright) are planning on using it as a rather powerful force to stoke some motivational fires.
Pujols is gone, but he won't soon be forgotten ... until this team proves that the irreplaceable man can and will be replaced.
To truly competitive people, that's not a burden. It's a gift.
