66-year old manager Tony LaRussa is showing no signs of slowing down for the Cardinals. They missed the playoffs with a 86-76 (53.1%) record last year which was impressive due to injuries. LaRussa has now managed 15 years for the Cardinals and he has compiled a 1,318-1,110 (54.3%) record during the regular season and he is 39-35 (52.7%) during the post-season. He lead the Cardinals to the World Series Championship in 2006 over the Detroit Tigers. LaRussa has now been a major league manager for 33 years now and he is 2,638-2,293 (53.5%) during the regular season and he is 59-51 (53.6%) during the post season. LaRussa also won a World Championship back in 1989 with the Oakland A’s. LaRussa is still a master, so he will have the Cardinals right in the hunt this year.

38-year old righty Ryan Franklin will be back as the closer in 2011. Franklin pitched in 59 games (0 starts) for the Cardinals last year and he was 6-2 with 27 saves, a 3.46 ERA and a 1.03 WHIP. He has now pitched in 264 games (0 starts) in his first four years with the Cardinals and he is 20-15 with 83 saves, a 3.04 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP. Franklin is not a dominating closer by any means but he gets the job done more than naught.

28-year old righty Jason Motte is moving up in the Cardinals’ bullpen. Motte pitched in 56 games (0 starts) for the Cardinals last year and he was 4-2 with 2 saves, a 2.24 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP. He whiffed 54 batters and he only allowed 41 hits in his 52 1/3 innings for the Cardinals last year which shows how nasty he can be. Motte pitched in 137 games (0 starts) in his first 3 years with the Cardinals and he is 8-6 with 3 saves, a 3.30 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP. I’m not confident that Motte could handle the closer’s job and I think the Cardinals have doubts too because of his makeup. But, the Cards will likely be happy using him as a set-up man again in 2011.

27-year old righty Mitchell Boggs responded with a full-time move to the bullpen in 2010. Boggs pitched in 61 games (0 starts) for the Cardinals last year and he was 2-3 with a 3.61 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP. He has now pitched in 85 games (15 starts) in his first three years with the Cardinals and he was 7-8 with a 4.63 ERA and a 1.60 WHIP. The Cardinals will keep Boggs in the pen in 2011 and they will likely trust him with protecting leads in the middle innings.

25-year old righty Fernando Salas is the Cardinals’ #14 prospect heading into 2011 according to Baseball America. Salas pitched in 27 games (0 starts) for the Cardinals last year and he was 0-0 with a 3.52 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP. He also pitched in 34 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball last year and he was 1-0 with 19 saves, a 3.79 ERA and a 0.98 WHIP.

37-year old lefty Trever Miller had a off year in 2010 for the Cardinals. Miller pitched in 57 games (0 starts) for the Cardinals last year and he was 0-1 with a 4.00 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP. He has pitched in 127 games (0 starts) in his first two years with the Cardinals and he is 4-2 with a 2.94 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP. The Cardinals will likely limit Miller to pitching against lefties in 2011.

33-year old lefty Brian Tallet is not as bad as he pitched in 2010. He pitched in 34 games (5 starts) for the Blue Jays last year and he was 2-6 with a 6.40 ERA and a 1.58 WHIP. He has now pitched in 223 games (36 starts) in his first 8 years in the majors and he is 16-23 with a 4.65 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP.

33-year old lefty Raul Valdes finally made it to the big leagues in 2010. He pitched in 38 games (1 start) for the Mets last year and he was 3-3 with 1 save, a 4.91 ERA and a 1.47 WHIP. Valdes will likely battle Tallet for one job in the pen in 2011.

24-year old righty Bryan Augenstein pitched in 25 games (22 starts) in AA+AAA-ball last year and he was 6-9 with a 6.49 ERA and a 1.63 WHIP. He gave up a stunning 172 hits in 129 innings in the minors leagues last year. He last pitched in the majors back in 2009 with the D-Backs. Augenstein has pitched in 7 games (2 starts) in his major league career and he is 0-1 with a 7.94 ERA and a 1.71 WHIP.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE CARDINALS BULLPEN IN 2011: C

Losing Adam Wainwright to Tommy John Surgery is a huge blow to the Cardinals’ starting rotation, but they still have a lot of talent lined up for the 2011 season. 35-year old righty Chris Carpenter will be the ace of the starting rotation. He started 35 games for the Cardinals last season and he was 16-9 with a 3.22 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP. Carpenter has now pitched in 161 games (160 starts) in his first seven years with the Cardinals and he is 84-33 with a 2.98 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP. He won the Cy Young Award in the National League back in 2005 for the Cardinals and he is as solid as they come when healthy.

24-year old lefty Jaime Garcia will slot #2 in the Cardinals’ starting rotation in 2011. He started 28 games for the Cardinals last season and he was 13-8 with a 2.70 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP. Garcia has now pitched in 38 games (29 starts) in his first two years with the Cardinals and he is 14-9 with a 2.96 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP. Garcia finished 3rd in the voting for the N.L. Rookie of the Year Award last season and he might even be better in 2011.

33-year old righty Jake Westbrook started 12 games for the Cardinals last season and he was 4-4 with a 3.48 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP. He pitched in 33 games (all starts) overall last season for the Cardinals & Indians and he was 10-11 with a 4.22 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP. Westbrook has now pitched in 233 games (193 starts) in his first 10 years in the majors and he is 73-75 with a 4.29 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP. Westbrook is a workhorse, so he should help the Cardinals replace some of Wainwright’s innings in 2011.

32-year old righty Kyle Lohse will be the Cardinals’ #4 starter coming into 2011. He started 18 games for the Cardinals last season and he was 4-8 with a 6.75 ERA and a 1.78 WHIP. Lohse has now pitched in 74 games (73 starts) in his first three years with the Cardinals and he is 25-24 with a 4.68 ERA and a 1.43 WHIP. The Cardinals need Lohse to get back to being the pitcher he was for them in 2008.

26-year old righty Kyle McClellan will likely be the #5 starter for the Cardinals when the 2011 season begins. He will be converting from the bullpen, which shouldn’t be much of an issue as Dave Duncan (the pitching coach) really helps out his pitchers in this kind of transition. McClellan pitched in 68 games (0 starts) for the Cardinals last year and he was 1-4 with 2 saves, a 2.27 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP. He has now pitched in 202 games (0 starts) in his first three years with the Cardinals and he is 7-15 with 6 saves, a 3.23 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP. I have a feeling that he’s going to do a solid job for the Cardinals in 2011.

40-year old righty Miguel Batista will likely start the season in the pen, but he could start if needed. Batista pitched in 58 games (1 start) for the Nationals last year and he was 1-2 with 2 saves, a 3.70 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP. He has now pitched in 588 games (238 starts) in his first 16 years in the majors and he is 96-110 with 41 saves, a 4.51 ERA and a 1.49 WHIP. Batista is a very versatile pitcher who will help the Cardinals wherever they need him to in 2011.

26-year old righty P.J. Walters comes into this season as the Cardinals’ #17 prospect according to Baseball America. Walters pitched in 7 games (3 starts) for the Cardinals last season and he was 2-0 with a 6.00 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP. He also pitched in 19 games (18 starts) in AAA-ball last year and he was 8-5 with a 3.81 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP. Walters has now pitched in 15 games (4 starts) in parts of two years with the Cardinals and he is 2-0 with a 7.24 ERA and a 1.57 WHIP. Walters will likely start the season in AAA-ball for the Cardinals in 2011.

25-year old righty Adam Ottavino comes into this season as the Cardinals’ #29 prospect according to Baseball America. Ottavino pitched in 5 games (3 starts) for the Cardinals last season and he was 0-2 with a 8.46 ERA and a 2.06 WHIP. He wasn’t missing many bats as he gave up 37 hits (5 of which were homers) in only 22 1/3 innings last season for the Cardinals. Ottavino also pitched in 9 games (all starts) in AAA-ball last season and he was 5-3 with a 3.97 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP. Ottavino will have to work his way back to St. Louis through the minors.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE CARDINALS STARTING ROTATION IN 2011: B

Righty starting pitcher Ian Snell has decided to retire rather than report to the Cardinals’ minor league camp. Snell pitched in 1 game in spring training for the Cardinals this spring and he worked 2 innings in which he gave up 4 hits and 2 earned runs. This is absolutely no loss for the Cardinals as they weren’t expecting much out of him when they signed him to a minor league deal over the winter.

The Cardinals signed 35-year old switch hitting Lance Berkman to take over as the starting RF in 2011. It will be interesting to see if his body can hold up in RF. He played in 93 games at 1B last season for the Yankees & Astros last year. Berkman has had knee issues recently, so signing him to play the outfield in 2011 comes with significant risk. Berkman played in 122 games for the Astros & Yankees last season and he was 100 of 404 (.248 avg, .781 OPS) with 48 runs scored, 14 homers, 58 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. Over his last 10 years, Berkman is averaging 93.1 runs scored, 30.2 homers and 101.7 RBIs per year so the Cardinals are hoping that his bat bounces back in 2011.

25-year old lefty swinging Jon Jay will back up Berkman in 2011. Jay played in 105 games for the Cardinals last season and he was 86 of 287 (.300 avg, .780 OPS) with 47 runs scored, 4 homers, 27 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. He played in 61 games in RF for the Cardinals last season and he only had 1 error despite showing pretty awful range. Jay did have 3 assists out of RF last season as he shows off a pretty good throwing arm. Jay will likely get a lot of P.T. in RF for the Cardinals in 2011.

26-year old righty swinging Allen Craig will be #3 in line for the Cardinals in RF. Craig played in 44 games for the Cardinals last season and he was 28 of 114 (.246 avg, .711 OPS) with 12 runs scored, 4 homers and 18 RBIs. He played in 30 games in RF for the Cardinals last season and he didn’t make any errors while showing pretty awful range. Craig had 1 assist in RF. Craig is running out of time as prospect so he needs to step up soon.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE CARDINALS RF IN 2011: C+