34-year old righty starting pitcher Chris Carpenter finished 2nd in the voting for the N.L. Cy Young Award behind only Tim Lincecum of the Giants. Carpenter started 28 games for the Cardinals last year and he was 17-4 with a 2.24 ERA and a 1.01 WHIP. He only allowed 156 hits in 192 1/3 innings showing that he is fully back from the injuries that dogged him the last couple of years before 2009. Carpenter has now pitched in 278 games (260 starts) in his major league career and he is 117-74 with a 3.88 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP. Look for Carpenter to keep pitching at a high level for the Cardinals as long as he can just stay healthy.

UPDATE: Carpenter finished 14th in the voting for the National League MVP voting. What a great year he had as he also won the Comeback Player of the Year Award in the N.L.