Are we as good?

[Gashouse6]

Is the 2006 Cardinal team as good as the 2005 Cardinal team?

[KCGHOST]

The Cards are a year older and have some health issues.

[Sberl]

I think last year we were better. The lineup (Grudz, Walker and Sanders are not with us this year) and the rotation (no more Morris, Ponson is a bet) are worse, the bullpen is about the same (Looper is a good move). But, as every year, we will speak about it at the end of the season. By now, I think we can compete for the division but not for 100wins

[gashouse38]

I think our 2005 team was much better. I think we had much better pitching!

[tonjes]

i think we have to look at the teams in a few different ways.

first, if we match up the '05 and '06 squads in terms of raw talent, then i think the edge goes to last year's team. while all were/are in the twilight of their careers, i still give the edge to walker, sanders, and grudzielanek when it comes to ability.

obviously since the season isn't one game long, part of a player's value is dependent on their health. sanders and walker have proven over the last few seasons that they cannot stay healthy. i don't think we lose too much by replacing those guys with bigbie, encarnacion, and miles. bigbie and miles have had injury issues, but they come at a much smaller price.

also, don't forget that we have every reason to assume that scott rolen will be healthy and around all year. does anyone else remember him? he's pretty good.

i'm also not troubled by the cards replacing morris with ponson. ponson is a very low risk gamble. if he does well, we get a good pitcher for a cheap price. if he bombs, we have anthony reyes ready to step in. either way we're getting more for our money with these guys than we ever could have gotten from morris.

[Solair Wright]

The Cards are a year older and have some health issues.

You could be right about this... (I'm not naming names, except Junior Spivey) It's hard keeping a team healthy, have a good manager and prevent an injury year (except for 2003). Once you get a good team with good players, it will flow. I'm worried about Spivey having a below-average season, though.

[StanTheMan]

The health and productivity of Rolen, Edmonds and Pujols will go a long way towards making this team better, or worse, than 05.

If Rolen is back to his 2004, 2005 level, and Edmonds and Pujols maintain or improve, this team could be better.....