I've done a rotation review, defensive comparison, and a lineup comparison, and the last installment of my season preview is a bullpen analysis. Here it is.....
The Cardinal’s bullpen was one of the best in the league last year. They really didn’t add anyone, though, in the off season, and Troy Percival moved on and signed with the Rays.
The bullpen was pretty young last year, and should continue to improve, especially if Cardinals farm hand Chris Perez is in the majors before September. However, Izzy is due for an injury/spurt of ineffectiveness after a very good ’07.
At best, I could see this bullpen being one of the best if not the best in the league if Chris Perez lives up to the hype this year. At worse, they could digress due to over use last year, and be completely ineffective; if that’s the case, the Cardinals could lose 100.
Overall, I expect it to come down to how many innings that starters can put up. If they throw a good amount of innings, and the bullpen can stay rested, they’ll be as good if not better than last year, even without having Percival come over at the trading deadline.
Let me know what you think,
The Purple Iguana
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