Jeff MooreA Change of Balance in the NL?
August 20th 2009 00:54
St Louis Cardinals
The St Louis Cardinals today added 21 year veteran John Smoltz to their pitching staff. The original thought behind the signing was to bring right handed help to the bullpen in front of closer Ryan Franklin. Now that the signing has happened though, Cardinal's General Manager John Mozeliak has said that the 42 year old Smoltz will start Sunday's game against the San Diego Padres.
I for one think this signing is a big deal to the National League. Since the acquisition of Matt Holiday from the Oakland A's, the Cardinals have stratched their division lead to 6 games over the fast fading Cubs. Factor in that Los Angeles is only 14-17 since the All-Star break, and the Cardinals are only 3 1/2 games from the top spot in the NL. There is no doubt that the Cards offense has no problems. In fact it is loaded. The pitching has always been the biggest question. From not really having a reliable 5th starter, to a less than stellar bullpen, the pitching staff was in desperate need of a make over.
Let's all sit back and watch the last month of the season and see where it leads. It will be interesting to see where the National League ends up and how the balance of power in the NL shakes out. As it stands right now though, I have the Cards!
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