Well, the Red Birds are in Jupiter getting ready for the season

[The Polack MSgt]

And I know that they will probably suck.

They've been dissappointing for several years and did absolutely nothing to improve in the off season

But...

Allow me to wax optimistic for a minute.

What if:

Arrenado comes back and plays with a chip on his shoulder - putting up numbers more like 2022 than 2024. Something along the lines of 32 HRs, 105 RBI, and ~ 900 OPS

Lars Nootbar stays healthy all year - That's all it would take. When he plays he produces. Here's to wishing for no wall collisions, no starined abdominals, no nothing. Just a solid year of healthy baseball

Jordan Walker rediscovers his swing and becomes the doubles machine he was in the minors

Mikolas and Grey have good years and are joined by one of the highly regarded pitching prospects to give us a solid top of the rotation.

Masyn Winn continues to be an above average hitter and a Gold Glove caliber shortstop, but becomes a threat on the basepaths. With his speed it's a crime how ineffective he was stealing bases.

All that adds up to 95 or so wins and a trip to the NLCS!

But...

More likely, by a mile, is the Cardinals win between 70 and 75 games and are out of contention in August.

Hoping for a return of Cardinals Devil Magic, expecting the return of Cardinals mediocrity