70-year old Joe Torre was much more than a manager in the major leagues. Back in 1971 (when he was 30 years old), Joe Torre won the National League MVP Award for the Cardinals. He played in 161 games for the Cardinals in 1971 and he was 230 of 634 (.363 avg, .976 OPS) with 97 runs scored, 24 homers, 137 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. Torre also set a record in 1971 that stood until earlier this week when Andre Ethier of the Dodgers topped Torre’s 22-game hitting streak in April! Torre played six years for the Cardinals (1969-1974) and he appeared in 918 games in which he was 1,062 of 3,452 (.308 avg, .840 OPS) with 455 runs scored, 98 homers, 558 RBIs and 12 stolen bases. Torre made the All-Star team 4 times while he was with the Cardinals. Torre also managed the Cardinals for six years in which he compiled a 351-354 (49.8%) record, but he never got them to the playoffs.

32-year old righty starting pitcher Kyle Lohse had a rough year in 2010 for the Cardinals. He pitched in 18 games (all starts) for the Cardinals last year and he was 4-8 with a 6.55 ERA and a 1.78 WHIP. Lohse gave up a stunning 129 hits in only 92 innings for the Cardinals last year as he was pitching batting practice. This year though, Lohse has been outstanding. Lohse has started 4 games so far this year for the Cardinals and he is 3-1 with a 2.01 ERA and a 0.73 WHIP. He only has given up 19 hits and walked 4 batters in 31 1/3 innings while whiffing 22 batters. It look as if pitching coach Dave Duncan has Lohse trusting his stuff (which is good) once again and the results have been great so far in 2011.

Righty swinging LF Matt Holliday, lefty swinging CF Colby Rasmus and switch-hitting RF Lance Berkman are hitting the heck out of the baseball so far this year. Holliday missed some games early this year due to an emergency appendectomy but he’s been making up for lost time. Holliday has played in 15 games for the Cardinals so far this year and he is 22 of 55 (.400 avg, 1.133 OPS) with 15 runs scored, 2 homers and 11 RBIs. Colby Rasmus has been hot all year long for the Cardinals. He has played in 22 games for the Cardinals so far this year and he is 29 of 87 (.333 avg, .950 OPS) with 17 runs scored, 3 homers, 10 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Lance Berkman has been a surprise as he has been awesome so far this year for the Cardinals. Berkman has played in 19 games for the Cardinals so far this year and he is 26 of 69 (.377 avg, 1.173 OPS) with 19 runs scored, 6 homers and 15 RBIs. If the Cardinals’ outfield stays healthy and productive like they are right now, they might just help propel the team back to the playoffs in 2011.

Righty starting pitcher Kyle McClellan is off to a great start for the Cardinals in 2011. He has started 3 games for the Cardinals this year and he is 2-0 with a 1.89 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP. He has only walked 5 batters so far this year in his first 19 innings as he is attacking the strike zone while letting his defense help him. With McClellan converting to starting from the pen, it makes sense for him to attack the strike zone so that he can keep his pitch count down. McClellan is the latest reliever to be converted into a starting pitcher and pitching coach Dave Duncan has had a lot of success with guys like him.

The St. Louis Cardinals have stripped 38-year old righty reliever Ryan Franklin of his closer’s job. Franklin has pitched in 6 games (0 starts) for the Cardinals so far this year and he is 0-2 with 1 save, a 11.57 ERA and a 2.14 WHIP. He has given up 8 hits (3 of which are homers) in his first 4 2/3 innings this year as he has been pitching batting practice this year. Franklin saved 82 games for the Cardinals from 2008-2010, but he appears to have lost it. 27-year old righty Mitchell Boggs will likely get the first shot to replace him. Boggs has pitched in 6 games (0 starts) for the Cardinals so far this year and he is 0-0 with a 2.00 ERA and a 0.67 WHIP. Boggs has only given up 3 hits while whiffing 12 batters in his first 9 innings this season for the Cardinals, so he has the stuff to succeed as the closer for them. The question for Boggs is if he can handle the pressure of being the closer and I guess we’re going to find out soon.