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rockondlouie wrote: ↑11 Feb 2026 14:47 pm I've been saying the 2026 Team > 2025 Team all Winter.

Here's why:

I think they can shorten games to 5 - 6 inning affairs and it's the BULLPEN that will make the difference.

If they can get the ball to Svanson/1.94 ERA--O'Brien/2.06 ERA--Leahy/3.07 ERA (I keep him in the pen')--and JoJo/2.07 ERA (I'm keeping him), then they can win many low scoring games.

The BULLPEN is the key to the Cardinals having a way more competitive 2026 season than many of the naysayers believe.

Keep an eye on the pen', it's going to be THE KEY to the 2026 team surprising to the upside.

JMO

ramfandan wrote: ↑11 Feb 2026 17:07 pm

Hoosier59 wrote: ↑11 Feb 2026 16:48 pm JJ should be able to at least duplicate the numbers that Donovan put up.
Gorman, even if he doesn’t improve should be able replicate the stats put up by last years 3rd basemen.
Winn, if healthy, should put up better numbers.
A healthy Herrera should have better stats.
Burleson should be able to repeat his numbers, if not improve upon them.
So where is the rest of the offense going to come from? Basically it’s either by incumbent players improving, or by new players beating them out! The thing is, there hasn’t been any new players brought in, either by trades or signings!
The bullpen should be strong, if it’s not completely over used. Which is an issue if the starters aren’t healthy. I still think at least one, if not two veteran starters need to be signed. That wouldn’t be needed if we knew May, Fitts, and Dobbins would be healthy, but all three are risky!

Interesting that no mention of Walker ?

45s wrote: ↑11 Feb 2026 20:52 pm I think this team will surprise Rock with how bad they are….

rockondlouie wrote: ↑11 Feb 2026 14:47 pm I've been saying the 2026 Team > 2025 Team all Winter.

Here's why:

I think they can shorten games to 5 - 6 inning affairs and it's the BULLPEN that will make the difference.

If they can get the ball to Svanson/1.94 ERA--O'Brien/2.06 ERA--Leahy/3.07 ERA (I keep him in the pen')--and JoJo/2.07 ERA (I'm keeping him), then they can win many low scoring games.

The BULLPEN is the key to the Cardinals having a way more competitive 2026 season than many of the naysayers believe.

Keep an eye on the pen', it's going to be THE KEY to the 2026 team surprising to the upside.

JMO

11WSChamps wrote: ↑11 Feb 2026 21:02 pm

rockondlouie wrote: ↑11 Feb 2026 14:47 pm I've been saying the 2026 Team > 2025 Team all Winter.

Here's why:

I think they can shorten games to 5 - 6 inning affairs and it's the BULLPEN that will make the difference.

If they can get the ball to Svanson/1.94 ERA--O'Brien/2.06 ERA--Leahy/3.07 ERA (I keep him in the pen')--and JoJo/2.07 ERA (I'm keeping him), then they can win many low scoring games.

The BULLPEN is the key to the Cardinals having a way more competitive 2026 season than many of the naysayers believe.

Keep an eye on the pen', it's going to be THE KEY to the 2026 team surprising to the upside.

JMO

Team doesn't have the depth of arms to do as you believe plus Romero will be gone at the deadline if not sooner as will Leahy if performs as he did last season leaving the pen even more depleted for the last two months of the season.

Not to mention a rotation that has no proven inning eaters and numbers which in this case doesn't translate to depth except with the unproven.

Third strike is a team which will finish in the bottom third in runs scored which will tax any pitching staff let alone this one.

ecleme22 wrote: ↑11 Feb 2026 15:55 pm I think they’ll win 79 to 86 games

NYCardsFan wrote: ↑11 Feb 2026 15:05 pm

rockondlouie wrote: ↑11 Feb 2026 14:47 pm I've been saying the 2026 Team > 2025 Team all Winter.

Here's why:

I think they can shorten games to 5 - 6 inning affairs and it's the BULLPEN that will make the difference.

If they can get the ball to Svanson/1.94 ERA--O'Brien/2.06 ERA--Leahy/3.07 ERA (I keep him in the pen')--and JoJo/2.07 ERA (I'm keeping him), then they can win many low scoring games.

The BULLPEN is the key to the Cardinals having a way more competitive 2026 season than many of the naysayers believe.

Keep an eye on the pen', it's going to be THE KEY to the 2026 team surprising to the upside.

JMO

One problem with that argument, at least as it relates to Y/Y improvement in team performance, is that the 2025 Cardinals bullpen was already pretty decent.

2025 Cardinals Relief Pitching (MLB rank)
fWAR: 5.1 (9th)
ERA: 3.74 (10th)
FIP: 3.65 (3rd)
xFIP: 3.96 (4th)
ERA-: 91 (11th)
FIP-: 90 (5th)
xFIP-: 96 (4th)

The Cardinals were 78-84 (x-W/L: 74-88) last year with basically a top-10 (or better) bullpen. So you're going to have to find other sources of "surprise to the upside" beyond the bullpen to have a "way more competitive 2026."

hugeCardfan wrote: ↑12 Feb 2026 06:30 am 60 to 80 wins.... Anything is possible. I don't care. I'm much more interested in which starters can nail down a rotation spot this year. As a minimum, I want to see Liberatore giving us 150 plus quality innings. McGreevy 140 plus. 130 plus from May and Fitts would be a godsend. 110 plus from Leahy. Who will emerge to fill in the shortcoming? Mathews, Graceffo, Pallante, Curtis Taylor?

I want to see JJ make a ROY run. I want to see more offense from a healthier Winn. I want to see a .30 to .50 point OPS jump from Burleson. Can Gorman become a credible infielder with 30 HR power? Who will emerge as a credible infield utility player? Saggesse...Fermin?

Will Walker find traction? Can Lars be healthy and productive? Will Scott and/or Church hit?

Will Crooks and Herrera begin to assert themselves as bonafide catchers?

These are the issues that are actually important. Not, how many wins in 2026.

rockondlouie wrote: ↑11 Feb 2026 14:47 pm I've been saying the 2026 Team > 2025 Team all Winter.

Here's why:

I think they can shorten games to 5 - 6 inning affairs and it's the BULLPEN that will make the difference.

If they can get the ball to Svanson/1.94 ERA--O'Brien/2.06 ERA--Leahy/3.07 ERA (I keep him in the pen')--and JoJo/2.07 ERA (I'm keeping him), then they can win many low scoring games.

The BULLPEN is the key to the Cardinals having a way more competitive 2026 season than many of the naysayers believe.

Keep an eye on the pen', it's going to be THE KEY to the 2026 team surprising to the upside.

JMO

bccardsfan wrote: ↑11 Feb 2026 14:59 pm

rockondlouie wrote: ↑11 Feb 2026 14:47 pm I've been saying the 2026 Team > 2025 Team all Winter.

Here's why:

I think they can shorten games to 5 - 6 inning affairs and it's the BULLPEN that will make the difference.

If they can get the ball to Svanson/1.94 ERA--O'Brien/2.06 ERA--Leahy/3.07 ERA (I keep him in the pen')--and JoJo/2.07 ERA (I'm keeping him), then they can win many low scoring games.

The BULLPEN is the key to the Cardinals having a way more competitive 2026 season than many of the naysayers believe.

Keep an eye on the pen', it's going to be THE KEY to the 2026 team surprising to the upside.

JMO

Well Rock, they are also going to have to score some runs and have starters that can go 6 innings most days and not put them out of the game by the third inning. They should have pretty good D up the middle. The corners and C may be suspect. I look forward to watching JJW debut and to seeing what sort of rotation they will have. Also to seeing if Walker or Gorman can salvage their careers, if IH and Burely can improve, if Winn will improve with his knee not barking, etc.... I suspect around .500 if things go well, and 70-75 wins if they don't.... but what do I know..?