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Few things went as expected for the St. Louis Cardinals in 2010.

A team built on seasoned veterans that was supposed to take the NL Central division crown with ease found that they couldn’t overcome injuries and poor hitting enough to catch up with the energetic Cincinnati Reds, finishing just five games out of first place.

Yes, it was a tumultuous season to say the least.

Brendan Ryan, a Gold Glove-caliber shortstop, struggled to keep his batting average above the Mendoza Line for much of the season; Skip Schumaker regressed both offensively and defensively in his second full season as a second baseman after spending his career patrolling the outfield; rookie third baseman David Freese, after a hot start to the season, suffered a series of ankle injuries that required major surgery, which ended his year; Kyle Lohse and Brad Penny both missed significant amounts of time due to various ailments.

All in all, it led to a very long fall and winter at Busch Stadium.

With the disappointment of failed goals and unmet expectations hovering over the team like a cloud, there was, at least, one bright spot for the team this year. Overlooked by many in baseball, though not by the Cardinals or their devout followers, was the emergence of rookie pitcher Jaime Garcia.

The pride of Reynosa, Mexico burst onto the scene as one of the Cardinals’ best pitchers last season, essentially replacing the departed Joel Piniero as a member of the rotation’s “Big Three”, posting a record of 13-8 with a 2.70 ERA in 28 starts and 163.1 innings. Add to that that his win-loss record would be even better if the team hadn’t often been so futile during his starts, and it’s all the more impressive.

The funny thing is, had all gone according to plan, Garcia wouldn’t have even been on the Major League roster this past year until sometime around the beginning of September, if at all.

Going into the 2010 season, the Cardinals had a vacancy in the fifth spot in their starting rotation. Pitching Coach Dave Duncan had been championing reliever Kyle McClellan for the spot, while GM John Mozeliak brought Former Cubs/Orioles lefty Rich Hill in to compete for the job.

Garcia himself, while also a candidate, was more or less included in the competition as a way of motivating McClellan and Hill. Barely a year removed from the dreaded Tommy John surgery, the organization’s preference was to have Garcia start the year in Triple-A Memphis so as to conserve his innings. 

However, what the organization wanted to do and what actually happened ended up being very different things.

McClellan was pretty much as Duncan had advertised in the spring. He attacked hitters early on, showed stable, compact and easily repeatable mechanics, and all of that led to being very dominant; Hill, on the other hand, followed a track record of having an inability to properly locate his pitches with any semblance of consistency.

Between the two, it looked as though K-Mac was obviously the man for the job.

The only problem? Garcia was lights out.

Whereas other young rotational candidates, like Blake Hawksworth and Mitchell Boggs, had begun to drop from what was quickly becoming a two man race to the finish, Garcia refused to be discounted. When all was said and done by the end of the spring, McClellan was back in his setup role and Garcia was the clear victor in a competition that he had entered as little more than someone being showed a polite courtesy.

From there on, all Garcia did was win 13 games, strike out 132 batters, throw a complete game shutout against the eventual World Series champion San Francisco Giants, finish third in the National League Rookie of the Year ballot and even garnered some All-Star buzz.

The question for Garcia now is simple: What’s next?

We’ve all seen rookies at any position, and in any sport for that matter, burst onto the scene, dominate for their inaugural season and then disappear off the face of the map. Ben Grieve, anyone?

The key is how Garcia approaches the upcoming season, both physically and mentally. Throughout the course of the 2010 campaign, Garcia showed the poise of a seven year veteran while on the mound.

Yes, there were nights when he simply didn’t have it. A raging clunker in Kansas City and an early exit against the Los Angeles Dodgers both come to mind as times when Garcia showed his inexperience. Yet, and this is the impressive part, Garcia never made back-to-back poor starts.

Whenever he would take the mound and basically lay an egg, he always rebounded with a strong outing the next time around. Like his idol, New York Mets ace Johan Santana, Garcia showed a stoic tenacity on the mound, keeping calm in the face of adversity and never letting his body language betray what his emotions were.

The other aspect is how much stronger Garcia will be after being over two seasons removed from surgery. It generally takes a full year to completely recover and with more time and innings under his belt, he should be that much less susceptible to recurring issues that tend to pop up post-TJ surgery. Still, you have to wonder how his body will hold up from throwing all of those off-speed pitches.

Garcia is certainly no power pitcher, his fastball usually topping out in the 89-91 mph range and he has to rely on the secondary stuff to compete. While a change-up and a two-seam fastball aren’t necessarily strenuous pitches, a cutter can be.

Add to that the stress to his arm caused by his curveball (which was ranked second in the organization behind ace Adam Wainwright’s) and Garcia will definitely have to make sure that he takes his conditioning seriously.

How will Garcia fare in his second full Big League season? Well, that’s yet to be discovered. Undoubtedly, it will get tougher for him now that hitters have faced him before, and scouts have had an extra year to rack up information on the young southpaw.

However, if he continues to trust in his mechanics and pitches, as well as Dave Duncan and catcher Yadier Molina, there is no reason to think that the newly revamped Cardinals lineup couldn’t help him reach 15, 16 or 17 wins.

As long as Garcia puts the effort in and shows that quiet tenacity on the mound, there’s no reason to think that the sky isn’t the limit for the lefthander from Reynosa, Mexico.

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With a greatly improved starting rotation, the Milwaukee Brewers have become contenders in 2011. But do not mistake that for “division winners.”

In 2010, the Brewers ran out a consistently strong offense, while the pitching kept them in the trenches. This coming season, expect the offense to be more or less the same, but the additions of Shaun Marcum and Zack Grienke may not completely change the Brewers’ recent fortune.

The main issue is not talent, they have plenty, but rather competition. Do not forget that last year’s division winners, the Cincinnati Reds, may not even be the favorites in 2011. In addition, the St. Louis Cardinals, who underperformed in 2010, have many returning pieces that rival the Brewers.

In terms of offense, the Brewers have plenty of power in the middle of the order, but first, they need men to get on base. Carlos Gomez, a speedy center fielder, only had a .298 OBP last season, while new shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt also had an OBP below .300. By comparison, neither the Cardinals nor the Reds had a single starting position player with an OBP below .321. 

The Brewers’ biggest star, Prince Fielder, isn’t even the best first baseman in his division. In fact, he’s the third best behind the Cardinals’ Albert Pujols and Joey Votto of the Reds. With those two sluggers, the division’s best teams in 2010 will be hard to surpass.

In the pitching department, the Brewers made significant upgrades to run out a “big four” in 2011 that includes Marcum, Greinke, Yovani Gallardo and Randy Wolf. In 2010, Marcum’s 3.64 ERA was the best of the bunch, but Greinke’s 1.07 WHIP proves he’s the true ace. It’s hard to figure that the aging Randy Wolf can be included in the “big four” which is really a “big three.”

The St. Louis Cardinals’ top four starters include a former Cy Young winner in Chris Carpenter, whose 3.22 ERA last season was better than any of the starters in Milwaukee. Then you include Adam Wainwright with an ERA of 2.42. 

The Reds’ rotation is solid, but they lack a true top of the rotation starter. With pitchers like Bronson Arroyo, Johnny Cueto and Mike Leake, however, the Reds will run out a quality pitcher every day. 

Overall, the Brewers’ rotation projects to be the second best in the division behind the seemingly forgotten St. Louis Cardinals. Their offense, however, may prove to be the wild card. With established power, they can score runs in bunches, but consistency may be an issue without proven hitters at the top of the order. 

The St. Louis Cardinals are the best team in the NL Central division.  

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Now entering the cold month of January and with February just a month away, we find ourselves talking more about the 2011 St. Louis Cardinals. Pitchers and catchers will be reporting to spring training in the early month of February to prepare and get into playing shape for Grapefruit League play in March, then on to a long 162-game season.

There are still a few roster signings, although position availability will be scarce as of the start of the 2011 season. The Cards roster looks set, with very little opening for rookies and bench players that are looking for an ever day starters role on opening day.

Albert Pujols will be one of the Cardinals’ top signing priorities as the teams head to Jupiter, Florida.

Pujols’ contract is up at the end of the 2011 campaign, so we are expecting a contract signing before spring training or if not, sometime this fall, as Pujols has refused to negotiate a contract during the season in the past.

We do suspect the two sides are talking, but nothing has yet been put to pen and paper.

The two sides have kept negotiation private up to this point and we can only speculate as too what kind of contract, if any will be signed.

There are many questions as to how many years and how much money will be dished out. I would be very surprised if he signs for less then the $17 million per year that Matt Holiday is making now.

Would it be crazy to speculate that he could get $30 million a year? And for how many years: Five? Six? Maybe seven?

The Cardinals’ payroll, which was around a $100 million last season, will possibly increase to well over a $100 million this season when Pujols is finally signed.

Will the Cards be able to sign the three-time MVP, two-time Hank Aaron winner, six-time Silver Slugger and two-time Rawlings Gold Glove winner? We shall soon find out in the coming weeks; if not, it will be at season’s end.

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With the Phillies signing Cliff Lee, they create an unstoppable rotation that seems poised to steamroll the competition in 2011 to a World Series title.

Few teams will be able to stand in their way, but one team poses the greatest threat to them: the St. Louis Cardinals.

The Cardinals have the pieces in place that could help them stand up to the Phils and beat them in a five- or seven-game series.

Here are the top 10 reasons why.

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The Cardinals made what’s likely their last addition of the offseason on Tuesday, adding backup catcher Gerald Laird to the fold with a one-year, $1 million deal. Laird will back up All-Star catcher Yadier Molina.

Laird represents an upgrade over former backup Jason LaRue, who retired during the 2010 season after experiencing post-concussion symptoms after receiving a kick to the head from Reds pitcher Johnny Cueto.

Laird, who has started at least 76 game each of the past four seasons, is a change from the norm when it comes to Cardinals backups. Generally, Molina starts almost every game, but Laird can give Molina a rest.

He’s also a significant defensive upgrade over LaRue. Laird leads all major league catchers over the last five years in throwing out 142 would-be base-stealers, nearly 36 percent over that time.

He’s still seen as an outstanding defensive catcher, although his offense has been on the decline in recent years. He holds a career line of .242/.300/.358. His best year came in 2006, when he batted .298 with the Texas Rangers. He batted .207/.263/.304 for the Tigers in 2010.

Laird is also the first backup catcher to join the team before the age of 34 since Einar Diaz in 2004.

However, the Cardinals farm system is flush with capable catching prospects—Bryan Anderson, Robert Stock and Steve Hill, to name a few. And Laird isn’t exactly a great influence on those guys, either. He and his younger brother, a Yankees minor leaguer, were arrested on suspicion of assault and disorderly conduct after attending a Phoenix Suns game.

If they weren’t going in-house, though, Laird was probably the best options. The market for backup catchers was very thin. Bengie Molina fielded offers from the Cardinals, but wanted starter-type money. Other options included Josh Bard and Ramon Castro.

With Laird added, the Cardinals will likely carry 13 batters into the season: Molina, Laird, Albert Pujols, Skip Schumaker, Ryan Theriot, David Freese, Matt Holliday, Colby Rasmus, Lance Berkman, Allen Craig, Jon Jay, Tyler Greene and Daniel Descalso.

The Cardinals will probably carry 12 pitchers: Chris Carpenter, Adam Wainwright, Jaime Garcia, Jake Westbrook, Kyle Lohse, Ryan Franklin, Jason Motte, Kyle McClellan, Trever Miller, Mitchell Boggs, Fernando Salas and Brian Tallet.

Pitchers Brian Augenstein, Maikel Cleto, David Kopp, Adam Reifer, Francisco Samuel and Eduardo Sanchez, as well as catchers Tony Cruz and Bryan Anderson, and batters Zach Cox, Mark Hamilton, Pete Kozma and Adron Chambers round out the active roster.

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The Cardinals sent offensively anemic shortstop Brendan Ryan to the Seattle Mariners on Sunday, receiving fireballer Maikel Cleto in return.

Ryan became dispensable earlier this offseason when the Cardinals added shortstop Ryan Theriot.

This past season, Ryan delivered on defense—leading the league in several categories—but was a black hole on offense, batting just .223 with 11 steals. After acquiring Theriot, it just didn’t make sense to keep Brendan around off of the bench.

Cleto, who is just 21 years old, spent last season in the California League and had a 6.16 ERA in 23 appearances, 21 of which were starts. He received an invitation to the Arizona Fall League, and has been known to hit 100 mph on radar guns.

Despite his struggles, the Cardinals believe he can be a successful pitcher.

“Cleto has a power arm that at times has reached 100,” Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak said. “He’s someone that could project as a back of the bullpen talent with additional development and experience.”

Cleto, a Dominican native, struck out 7.3 batters per nine innings during the regular season and went 2-1 with a 7.91 ERA with the Peoria Javelinas in the AFL.

The worst case scenario for the Cardinals is that this turns into the reverse of the Ozzie Smith deal. The Cardinals acquired Smith, who one of the worst offensive players in baseball but a very good defender, from the Padres, and Smith went on to improve his offensive game to go along with a fantastic glove.

However, that’s not the case with Ryan. His offensive issues have been called “uncoachable”. He constantly fidgets at the plate, despite the insistence of hitting coach Mark McGwire. Smith had far more speed than Ryan, stealing 580 bases over his career. And, Ryan is two years older than Smith when he was dealt.

Simply, Ryan will probably continue to struggle, now that’s he’s been traded to the worst offensive team in baseball, with one of the least friendly parks in the league.

I’m glad that the Cardinals give Ryan a fresh start elsewhere, but I’m pretty surprised that the Mariners—who had the worst offense in baseball last year—decided to take a chance on a no-hit, good-glove 29-year old shortstop.

If Cleto develops into any kind of major league pitcher, this will be a successful deal for St. Louis.

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When the Cardinals acquired Ryan Theriot from the Dodgers and proclaimed him their staring shortstop, the question arose of what to do with former starting shortstop Brendan Ryan.  

Cardinals GM John Mozeliak, has explored trade options for Ryan to get either a big leaguer or depth for the minors.  Teams that were looking for shortstop help like the Orioles, Padres and Pirates, filled their needs through other acquisitions of more established players.  

The other option is keeping Ryan as utility infielder for the 2011 team.

Ryan’s play has lead to me yelling out loud at my television on a number of occasions. 

Often in awe.  Just as often in anger.  

So many times I’ve wanted Ryan to just put the ball in his pocket instead of trying a difficult, unnecessary throw.  He has great range and a strong arm, but is erratic.  

For too long, his default throwing motion was a sidearm, slinging action.  His thinking was, if his throw was off, he’d be better off missing to the side rather than throwing over the first baseman.  I never liked that theory, as it incorporates planning to fail.  

Last year, he took his troubles at the plate into the field.  He searched for the proper feel at plate instead of sticking with an approach and just locking in on the ball.  

Much has been made of how his quirky, hyperactive personality blends in the clubhouse.  I’m personality more bothered how personality leads to his unfocused play on the field.

I would think he’s probably a great guy and fun to hang out with, though it may be difficult to be around that kind of personality 162-plus days in your workplace.  I’d most likely be one of his teammates that has told him to sit down and shut up at some point.

Tony La Russa says his personality and maturity level is not the reason for him being on the trade block, and that he’s matured. 

And I believe him. 

Ryan has grown up quite a bit, and has mellowed out. 

It just takes a while to come down from a sugar buzz of Ryan’s magnitude.

But his game hasn’t fully matured either, as he’s slowly grown as a player.  

That, however, is part of his upside.  He’s still a young player. It’s one of the reasons him being a Cardinal in 2011 isn’t a bad option at all.

The parts of his game he needs to fix, such as plate discipline, smarter decisions in field, and base running, are things a young, part-time player usually improves on if he becomes a regular.  

He has the range and strong arm, good speed, and has hit well every other season in the bigs.  And he’s most likely going to remain inexpensive this season.

If Skip Schumaker or Theriot struggles during the season, he’s there to fill in.  Schumaker is a clubhouse—and La Russa—favorite.  He’s a hard worker and smart player who normally gets on base and makes good contact.  

But he’s still new to second base.  He needs to shuffle his feet more on his throws instead of planting and throwing like and outfielder and he must improve on bending down to get grounders.

Though I like the acquisition of Theriot, he had his worst year at plate last season, and doesn’t have the defensive range of Ryan.  So there’s a need for a backup plan at both of these positions.

Spring performances can’t be ignored either if one of the starting middle infielder struggles mightily and Ryan plays well.

He would also be very helpful to a Cardinal team that had an uncharacteristically poor year in the field last season.  Based on the reputations of the players added during the winter meetings and the positions they will be playing, the Cardinals have downgraded defensively.  

Picture a La Russa-style, late-inning defensive change while ahead by a couple runs.  Ryan can come in to play short, with Theriot moving to second, and Skip heading out to right field for the newly-acquired Lance Berkman.  It’s a lot better than bringing in Aaron Miles, right?

I felt shortstop was the higher priority for an upgrade this offseason.  Schumaker has at least hit consistently at the major league level.  Last year was his worst full season in the big leagues, and was probably an aberration.  

Schumaker can play second base and all of the outfield positions.  He also and makes more money, so it wasn’t as important or as feasible to jettison Skip.

I’ve been pretty hard on Brendan Ryan in the past. 

He’s frustrated me with his inconsistent play and poor decisions.  

But he can bring value for the Cardinals as a player on the 2011 team, and I’m certainly in favor of him sticking around—as many Cards fans probably are.

This relegation to a utility role could be just the motivation, and kick in the pants he needs, which makes Ryan a nice option for the Cards to keep in their pocket.

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On the one hand, it is almost unthinkable. The idea of Albert playing anywhere other than St. Louis. However, if you look at contracts to Ryan Howard and, more recently, to Jayson Werth and Carl Crawford, the insanity out in the baseball market is making that Cardinals nightmare dangerously close to becoming reality.

I know they play different positions, but if Werth and Crawford can command 7-years, $100 million plus contracts, just what is the best hitter in baseball worth on the open market?

Well, for starters, take the Howard deal…please. The Phillies donated $125 million over five years, which comes to $25 million per year and that was not on the open market.

If the Cards fail in their current efforts to extend Pujols now, he will almost assuredly wait for free agency and test the market. He has said that he will not negotiate during the season.

If that happens, look out. Hell may freeze over, there could be peace in the Mideast, heck, the Cubs could win the World Series!

In other words, it would be unprecedented. Unless I missed it and Babe Ruth, Ted Williams and Stan the Man ever hit free agency, there is simply no comparison to a guy like Pujols hitting the street.

If his current value is $25-$28 million per year now, his value as a free agent could easily top $30 million annually and that is something that the Cards just can’t afford, if they want to contend without breaking the bank.

If St, Louis harbors the real desire to have Albert long-term, he must be signed this winter. If he is allowed to go beyond that time frame, he is gone. Pure and simple.

What, you say, there are only a handful of teams that could afford him and also have an opening at first base? Well, that may be true on the surface, but I guarantee you that if a player like Pujols becomes available, and assuming he has a typical 2011 season, teams will make exceptions.

Remember, the Red Sox do not have a long-term deal in place with A-Gon, though that is certainly expected. And even the Yankees, who have Tex locked up forever, could make a play for Albert. Remember, he could play another position.

You think a team can’t fit a .331/.426/.624/1.050 bat into their lineup? Hello, Washington Nationals, New York Mets. Hell, maybe even the aforementioned Cubbies might be willing to wade into that pool.

According to ESPN, “Bryan Burwell of the Post-Dispatch hints Wednesday that the Cardinals could bow out if Pujols is demanding $28 million to $30 million.”

“The longer you listen to Cardinals officials who carefully broach the subject, the more it sounds like they are either trying to get you to start getting comfortable with the possible reality of life without Pujols in the not-so-distant future, or at the very least take the concept out for a little public stroll for their own prospective negotiating benefit,” Burwell writes.

So while life without The Machine may seem impossible to fathom for Cardinals fans, perhaps they should be getting used to the idea. I still believe they will sign Albert to a long-term deal, but it had better happen in the next 10 weeks.

Or he could be wearing pinstripes in 2012.

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I guess the St. Louis Cardinals figured if they won the World Series with Chris Duncan starting 59 games in the outfield in 2006, they can do the same with Lance Berkman in 2010.

In a surprising move, the Cardinals signed Lance Berkman to a one-year, eight million dollar contract on Saturday. The 34-year-old switch-hitter will play left field for the Cardinals in 2011. Matt Holliday will move to right, and Colby Rasmus will remain in center.

This is a surprising move, because Berkman hasn’t played the outfield since 2007, and even back then he wasn’t very good at it. And on top of that, Berkman has two bad wheels, and Holliday has never played an inning in RF in his Major League career.

Perhaps with four groundball pitchers in the rotation, the Cardinals are banking that a limited amount of flyballs will be hit.

While the Cardinals have statistically gotten worse on defense with the acquisitions of Ryan Theriot and Berkman, their offense should be better with these acquisitions in 2011.

As much as Berkman fell off last year, he still was good for a .368 combined OBP with the Houston Astros and New York Yankees. His BB Percentage and K Percentage were right in line with his career averages.

Where Berkman really fell off in 2010 was his performance as a right-handed batter. He only hit .171/.261/.256 with one HR as a right-handed batter. One would think he could only improve on that in 2011.

With Berkman, the Cardinals now will feature a lineup that looks something like this:

1. Schumaker, 2B

2. Berkman, LF

3. Pujols, 1B

4. Holliday, RF

5. Rasmus, CF

6. Molina, C

7. Freese, 3B

8. Theriot, SS

9. Pitcher

For a National League lineup, it’s not that bad. It’s still very top heavy, and if Berkman can’t stay healthy, this lineup doesn’t look nearly as good.

Berkman only played in 122 games last year, and that was with him playing first and DH. So it will be interesting to see how healthy he can stay trying to track down fly balls in left on a daily basis.

If Berkman can stay on the field, Berkman can still be productive enough to give the Cardinals a solid bat in front of Albert Pujols. Of course, that’s a big if.

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Today, the St. Louis Cardinals reached a one-year deal with first baseman and outfielder Lance Berkman worth $8 million.

For years, Lance Berkman was the centerpiece of an Houston Astros lineup that consistently battled with the Cardinals for supremacy in National League Central. Now, Berkman will try to help the Cardinals reclaim the Central division crown.

The Cardinals have seen their fare share of Berkman in the past. He’s hit seven home runs with 17 RBIs in 28 career games at Busch Stadium, amounting to a .284 average.

After years as one of the most fears hitters in the National League, Berkman has shown signs of age in recent years. Last year, he batted .248 last season in time split between the Astros and the New York Yankees. He hit 14 home runs and had 58 RBI in just 122 games.

Sources say that the Cardinals plan to play Berkman in left field, while moving All-Star Matt Holliday to right.

“We are extremely excited to have added Lance to our ballclub,” general manager John Mozeliak said in a press release. “He’s an impact player who not only helps solidify our everyday lineup, but he also brings a wealth of experience to our team.”

Although Mozeliak placed the chances of signing Berkman at 10 percent just last week, the Cardinals were able to strike a deal based on Berkman’s desire to build on the long Cardinal legacy.

“He’s a winning player, and he brings tremendous leadership and respect to the clubhouse,” Mozeliak said. “I think he has a great appreciation for the sport of baseball and the history of it. He looks at the St. Louis Cardinals as a premier place to play. It’s always nice to have people who have great admiration for the history of the organization.”

Berkman has played both first base and the outfield before. He has 871 career outfield starts and 717 at first base but has played mostly first in recent years.

However, first base is home to three-time MVP Albert Pujols, who won’t be moving anytime soon.

The last time Lance had a full season in the outfield was 2004, when he played 160 games at the corner outfield spots. It remains to be seen if, or rather how much, his defense has diminished since.

“Obviously, it’s a question,” Mozeliak said. “But he looked to be in great shape. He lost some weight and is running real well. So we have a high level of confidence in him.”

However, Berkman has remained adamant that he can still play the outfield.

“You look at his year last year, and he hurt his knee in Spring Training and just never got going,” Mozeliak said. “He feels he just never got 100 percent. He’s used this offseason to energize himself and heal.”

By signing Berkman, a switch-hitter the Cardinals have added a powerful bat to complement a lineup already stocked with right-handers Pujols and Holliday.

Berkman was strongly pursued by the Oakland A’s, and the Cardinals were a surprise destination. Berkman said that he preferred not to spend another season in the American League, playing mostly DH. He also heard offers from the Pirates, Blue Jays, Cubs and Rockies, but the Cardinals’ legacy and chance to win now were deciding factors for the 34-year old.

St. Louis seemed ready to head into 2011 with youngsters Jon Jay and Allen Craig platooning in right. Now, it seems, Craig and Jay will be reserved to the bench.

It’s clear that Berkman is a serious upgrade for the Cardinals offense. Among active players, he ranks fourth in on-base percentage, and 10th in slugging percentage. He holds a career batting percentage of .296 with 327 homers and 1,099 RBI, almost all with Houston.

If Berkman, who holds the National League record for single-season RBIs by a switch-hitter, as well as six seasons with 100 or more RBIs and eight with 25 or more home runs, can even return to a shade of his former self, the Cardinals should have a very formidable lineup in 2011.

“This took two parties [to complete],” Mozeliak said. “I think he had greater opportunities out there, financially, and I think he felt that this was just a place he wanted to play. Based on his desire to be here, that’s when we started to realize we had a chance to get this deal done.”

It was the second deal the Cardinals got done in under a week to improve what seemed like a punchless lineup at times last season. Earlier this week, the Cardinals added middle infielder Ryan Theriot, an above-average bat, who spent most of his career with the Cubs.

After acquiring another former rival in Berkman, says Mozeliak, the Cardinals are “pretty much a set club”, but they will continue to explore trade options with shortstop Brendan Ryan, who lost his starting job to Theriot, but may hold value with a team looking for a strong defensive shortstop.

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