I'm at the tail end of a series of grueling projects, plans, and schemes that have kept baseball burried in the deepest parts of my mind. I havn't looked at a single statistic this spring, watched half of one game, and havn't looked at a box score. I havn't read any baseball books, and my BP subscription lapsed.

But yesterday on the way home throngs of people were discorging from Scottsdale Municipal stadium and, despite their making the traffic really bad, seeing all those pasty old folks in Giants gear sparked my enthusiasm. So it's time to get aquainted with the 2005 Cardinals!

The Cards this year are a pretty set team heading into spring training. There are no position battles, the rotation is set, and the only action is at the margins of the roster. For reference the Cardinals Spring Training Stats are here.

So Taguchi has more at bats than anybody save Roger Cedeno (39) and he's used those at bats to go .333 with 3 doubles and a home run. Everyone says Taguchi is the best defensive outfield option the Cardinals have so I expect he'll stay. Since he's going to make the team it's nice to see him have some success with the bat. Remind me in a few months when he's struggling to out hit Molina how he looked good in spring.

Roger Cedeno is also getting a lot of at bats, but he's only managed .205 and 2 doubles with them. If Cedeno had a good spring he'd make the team and get a lot of playing time. Now he'll just make the team. But with Taguchi around to cover defensivly I'd rather see John Gall make the team. He's been given a chance with 29 at bats so far, but he's only managed .241 with a single double. He probably needs a better showing to convince La Russa to take the plunge.

David Eckstein, whose defense has been much discussed, is hitting .400 with 3 doubles and a home run. Ecksteins value will come from his being on base. Remember last year the Cardinals shortstop got on base at a .327 clip, so Eckstein should improve on that. (The Cardinals shortstop sounds cold and impersonal, but Edgar Renteria was one of my favorite players, and going to ESPN's home page and seeing him in a Boston uniform has left me cold).

Scott Rolen and Larry Walker are in danger of losing their jobs: .148 and .182 respectivly with 2 home runs and a double between them.

Albert Pujols will probably make the team. .342, 2 doubles, 4 home runs. Pujols is so consistently excellent that it's hard to describe him. He doesn't have a signature skill like mammoth home runs, Vlads freaky hand eye coordination, Ichiro's speed, he just keeps hitting. And hitting and hitting, and damn he's good.

Cody McKay still sucks.

Wilton Guerrero isn't getting much of a look, he's only got 9 at bats so far this spring. Bo Hart has double that number but has only managed a .222 average. Hector Luna is seeing more time than both of them combined with 28 at bats and a .321 average to go with it. On one hand I think Luna is better than both of those guys so in the short term it would be better if he were with the team but on the other, I think theres a real chance he could develop into a major league starter. To do that he needs to get AB's and he won't (and shouldn't) get them at the Major League level this year.

Tomorrow I'll take a look at the pitchers.