LOS ANGELES 鈥 Not too far from this self-asserted center of the baseball universe, within reach of the bright lights of Dodger Stadium and its stars, Nolan Arenado grew up a Dodgers fan because who wouldn鈥檛? He fell in love with the ballpark and, of course, imagined playing there in front of a packed, boisterous house gathered to see the latest, showiest constellation.
Twelve years and 10 Gold Glove Awards into his big league career, Arenado will get a first 鈥 opening a regular season in Los Angeles at Dodger Stadium, and what a party is planned. When the Dodgers unveil for the home crowd their roster, this summer鈥檚 billion-dollar blockbuster, Arenado will have one of the best views.
Facing them.
鈥淥pening day against the Dodgers,鈥 the Cardinals third baseman said. 鈥淲e all saw what they all did this offseason. They鈥檙e stacked. It should be a great opportunity. It is a great test for us right out of the gate.鈥
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On Thursday afternoon in Los Angeles, the Cardinals begin their quest back to being a factor in the National League against the club that committed more than $1.4 billion this offseason to dominate the National League. There is 鈥渁 lot of hype there for a reason,鈥 Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said.
Stymied year after year from expanding their regional dynasty beyond the NL West, the Dodgers signed the best player on the planet (Shohei Ohtani) and the best pitcher yet to throw a pitch in the majors (Yoshinobu Yamamoto). They traded for an opening day starter and budding ace in Tyler Glasnow and for kicks on Wednesday signed their catcher, Will Smith, to a 10-year deal worth a reported $140 million. As the Cardinals slogged to last place and a 71-91 record last summer 鈥 their worst season in 30 years 鈥 the Dodgers even tried to poach an all-world third baseman, wish-casting into print a trade for Arenado that the Cardinals never entertained. He鈥檒l start against them in this four-game series, not for them.
Proving the Dodgers cannot get everything they want.
Just most of it.
As rivals in the West and East secured or added pitching to challenge them, the Dodgers remain the presumptive favorite to win the NL pennant. The Cardinals expect to be competitive in the other division, the NL Central. Besieged by injuries, bruised by last year鈥檚 debacle and beset with an increasingly agitated 鈥 or worse, apathetic 鈥 fan base, the Cardinals no longer have to chew the scenery and act like an underdog. They are one.
鈥淲e could make a great statement,鈥 Arenado said. 鈥淚t is going to be tough. It鈥檚 going to be an absolute grind. There is a statement we could make right away if we come out of this series feeling good about ourselves. It will only be a momentum boost for us.鈥
The Cardinals open the regular season against the Los Angeles Dodgers for the fourth time and first at Dodger Stadium since 1984.
This is not the lineup they planned for the event.
A jarring series of injuries during spring training has left the Cardinals without their announced opening day starter, Sonny Gray; their starting left fielder, Lars Nootbaar; their starting center fielder, Tommy Edman; their replacement at starting center fielder, Dylan Carlson; and their setup reliever, Keynan Middleton. All are expected to miss the season-opening road trip, at least. At the same time, their No. 2 hitter, Paul Goldschmidt, searched for his swing all spring and hit a double Tuesday to keep his average from dropping to .100. The starting rotation was inconsistent through exhibition games, and the offense went through spells with power. Other than injuries to four regulars and struggles elsewhere on the roster, spring went swell. The defense was sharp.
The Cardinals open the regular season with 22 of their first 25 games against teams that had winning records in 2023. In addition to four at LA, they have six games against the past two NL pennant winners: Philadelphia and Arizona. They also have six against managers with ties to the Cardinals: San Diego鈥檚 Mike Shildt and Miami鈥檚 Skip Schumaker. When the schedule is at its toughest, the Cardinals roster is arguably at its thinnest.
鈥淥bviously you want to break camp at 100%, but you also know it is a long year,鈥 said John Mozeliak, president of baseball operations. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 really think that you look at the month of April as make or break. Clearly you want to build with some momentum and see some positives. I think we have to look at it as some guys are going to get some opportunity, see how they run with it. And we know we鈥檙e going to get reinforcements back as the calendar starts to change from week to week.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 just getting back to full strength,鈥 he concluded. 鈥淭he sooner we can do that the better.鈥
The Cardinals will open the season with four starters age 23 or younger and potentially have six spots in the lineup manned by players with two or fewer years of major league experience. The back third of the lineup has a combined 154 games in the majors, all of them last year. With Masyn Winn and Victor Scott II, the Cardinals will have a rookie shortstop and a rookie center fielder, respectively, in their opening day lineup for the first time since 1954, according to Elias research. That summer, Alex Grammas debuted at short and Wally Moon played center on his way to winning the NL Rookie of the Year Award.
Ernie Banks finished second, just ahead of Hank Aaron.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a good blend,鈥 Marmol said of a roster with established vets and youth.
It鈥檚 a roster 鈥 youth-infused lineup, mostly 30-something rotation 鈥 that is heavy at the extremes of age. And that means it鈥檚 a roster that is collected around the most volatile of traits: young players adjusting to the highest level and older players trying to maintain it.
The Cardinals set out to fortify the pitching staff with outside additions and made additions with three new starters, including the injured Gray, who will be replaced on the mound Thursday by veteran Miles Mikolas, and a retooled bullpen. But as the demands from top starters slipped in recent weeks, the Cardinals did not loosen their budget and make a play for Jordan Montgomery as an exclamation point on their offseason proclamation. They insist they are not fading from an era of contention and are, instead, driven to prove last year鈥檚 last-place narrative was a canard, not the canary in the coal mine.
Cardinals officials believe privately the fan base and their business model cannot stomach a rebuild. Still, behind those promises to contend again, the Cardinals have veteran starters Lance Lynn and Kyle Gibson on one-year deals and are entering the final year of Goldschmidt鈥檚 contract as well as All-Star reliever Andrew Kittredge鈥檚. That gives them flexibility.
They may not be in the market for a rebuild, but a few moves put them in that vicinity.
Across the diamond this weekend is another neighborhood entirely. Pending moves made during the season, the Cardinals expect to have their first $200 million payroll by the end of this season. The Dodgers dropped more than half that Wednesday. A hype video that will run before Thursday鈥檚 opener calls the LA team a 鈥済alaxy of stars鈥 and adds how this summer 鈥渢he stars have aligned.鈥 It鈥檚 baseball鈥檚 version of galacticos.
But the diamond-studded Dodgers do have flaws. Ohtani has been dragged into a gambling investigation by his former interpreter, and the two-way MVP alleged this week he had been the victim of 鈥渕assive theft鈥 and pledged he never bet on anything. All their spending, and Mookie Betts, a sublime outfielder, is their starting shortstop. The rotation has injury concerns, and Yamamoto pitched only one inning in his debut as LA went 1-1 to open its season in Korea.
The show comes home this weekend, and Los Angeles is expecting all of the biggest stars and celestial talents to come out at Dodger Stadium this summer. The Cardinals say they welcome the chance to get in the way.
Why have only one eclipse at the start of this season?
鈥淚t always feels different when you play well in LA,鈥 Arenado said. 鈥淲e are going to go in there trying to win a series, and if we do win a series against the Dodgers we won鈥檛 be surprised. We know it won鈥檛 be easy. But our mindset is not on what they have over there. It鈥檚 on what we need to do and how we win.鈥
Cardinals 2024 season preview: Will they reclaim their status as contenders?
The St. 不良研究所导航网址 Cardinals season begins on March 28 with a game at the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Post-Dispatch beat writers and columnists take a look at the 2024 season.
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