Here are five reasons Yadier Molina has earned the honor of being my favorite Cardinal:

(1) Let’s start with the predictable reason shall we? Yadi’s arm is amazing. He threw out 64% of would be base stealers in 2005, which was of course the best in MLB. He is just a few less passed balls away from being an unquestioned Gold Glover. Soon…very soon! (By the way I call him Yadi not because I know him, and we’re friends but because I wish we were!)

(2) The next thing I love about him is even though his offensive numbers were…umm…not great (.252, 49 RBIs, 8 HRs in 2005), I still feel like he’s going to get a hit every time he’s at the plate. Originally, I figured this was a combination of my optimistic outlook for all Cardinals and the fact that he’s my favorite player, but when I looked into his numbers I found something that might actually validate my belief. Amazingly, Yadi struck out only 30 times in 114 games and 385 at-bats last season. That means he struck out only once every 12.83 at-bats. (By comparison Albert Pujols, who is known for having low stike out totals, struck out once every 9.09 ABs in 2005.) In fact, in 165 career games (or just three games more than a regular season) Yadi has struck out a grand total of 50 times. So, in the end, I think my belief that he’s going to get a hit is the result of him consistently hitting the ball. I’m surprised that no one has ever brought this to my attention before…I honestly don’t remember a TV announcer or writer commenting on Yadi’s ability to make contact although someone was bound to have done so. (And just for the record I think he’s going to have much better numbers this season.)

(3) His eternal happiness is uplifting. Alright, he’s probably not actually happy all the time, but it sure seems like it. The amount of joy he seems to get from playing the game of baseball is parallel to the amount of joy I get from watching him play.

(4) For such a young guy the way he handles the pitching staff is unbelievable. Last year, he had a ridiculously low CERA (Catcher’s Earned Run Average) of 3.39, and even more impressively the Cards’ pitchers never seemed to have any reservations about trusting him in his first full year in the big leagues. I remember reading this quote in Tim Kurkjian’s column in ESPN The Magazine from an anonymous Cardinal’s pitcher before the season in even started last year…”We will lose nothing, and I’m president of the Mike Matheny Fan Club.” Wow. Just wow.

(5) Darn it…he’s cute, even adorable. Sorry if you saw this one coming, but I can’t help myself. The guy’s smile (as illustrated in the picture above) could soften even the hardest of hearts. I’m going to leave it at that…

The single negative thing I have to say about Yadi is that I’m extremely disappointed that he changed his uniform number from 41 to 4. Last year my step-dad surprised me with a sweet Molina jersey/t-shirt that is now out-dated. Oh well, I’ll have to get a new one in Jupiter! (Insert huge smile here.) Check out the picture below…he still has 41 on his chest protector.

Obviously, one of the biggest questions that needs to be answered in camp is whether or not Scott Rolen’s shoulder is completely healed. Already there have been many articles written on the subject, and pretty much all of the conversations I’ve had on the upcoming season have ended up focusing on the topic. This is understandable since Rolen is the best third baseman in the league, and the Cardinals will defiantly need his offense this year with Reggie Sanders and others gone. However, I have a problem with the popular question, “Will we see the old, MV3 Scott Rolen of the 2004 season, or will we see the injured, brittle 2005 Rolen.” I’ve heard many different forms of this question, and I just don’t think it is fair.
The first problem I have with the question is the assertion that 2004 was a typical outstanding year for Rolen. In fact, 2004 was anything but typical for him:
(1) He hit over .300 for the first time in this career. (He ended up at .314.)
(2) He had 14 more RBIs (124) than his previous high in fewer games (142).
(3) He surpassed his season-high for home runs with 34.
(4) He also struck out less (92) in 2004 than in any other full season he has spent in the big leagues.
(5) He slugged .598 which was over 40 points greater than his previous best.
In short, Rolen experienced a career year offensively in 2004 that many players would envy, and it was hard to imagine him repeating that performance even before he was injured. It is even more unfair to make his 2004 numbers the measuring stick for judging his upcoming season. Rolen will still see plenty to hit thanks to Albert Pujols’ presence in the lineup, but the rest of the Cards order will look dramatically different, and he is coming back from an injury! I still expect Rolen to put up great numbers this year and help the Cards into the playoffs yet again, but I don’t want to hear complaints if he hits .285, with 26 HRs, and 110 RBIs. (Plus his gold-glove defense…)

The second thing that irks me about this topic is people questioning Rolen’s durability. He’s missed extended time twice since joining the Cards, but in both cases he was hurt playing extremely hard and as a result of extremely hard hits. Remember last year’s collision? It’s not like he’s showing up to the ballpark with a suddenly sore hamstring or missing time with a sore ankle he tweaked in batting practice. The one injury he had that resembled that situation came at the end of 2004 when his calf muscle was causing him problems. He took time off then only because the Cards had a 54-game lead in the division, and he had the opportunity. (Whether or not this explains his performance in the playoffs is debatable.) Heck, he tried playing last year with a shoulder so hurt he screamed in pain when he took a big swing. This resulted in dismal offensive numbers, but his defense was still unbelievable. Scott Rolen is as tough of a player as you will find in MLB.

Rolen has said it will take time for his shoulder to heal, and that he’s not sure when he’ll be playing at 100 percent. I, for one, plan on giving him the time he needs before making judgments about the 2006 season, and when he is back full strength I’m going to judge him by the number of games he helps the Cardinals win instead of by his 2004 stats. I going to TRY to get my friends and family (and you reading this) to do the same.