Pujols has been a huge part of the Cardinals for the past decade.  But if you look at 2011, you will see that Beltran had a better batting average, better on base percentage, better OPS, and was close in slugging percentage.  He played about the same number of games too.  If he can keep it up, he would be an adequate replacement.

I'm just hoping that age doesn't catch up to Beltran and Berkman and Carpenter.

Pujols is 32.  Pujols will not be worth that contract for probably the last 3 or 4 years.  There are some rumors out there he is 33 or 34, but I don't really believe that.

Wainright will definitely be a plus but Wainright doesn't equal Pujuols and LaRussa IMO. Also, Beltran is often hurt as you said.   I think that they will contend, but come up a tad bit short.  I could be wrong since I often am.

My favorite part: he lasted all of one hour into the team's first workout!

;_;

Oh. You poor, poor bastard. Let me know if there's anything I can do to help. I'm..I'm here for you, buddy.

I think you're being a bit too cavalier about replacing Pujols, especially with a 35 year old, but Beltran did have a good year. I'm with amp, though, in expecting a decrease in performance. I expect them to beat the Reds, though.

And yes, the Pujols contract is going to be an albatross in a few years. I can't wait! ^_^

I think bringing back a potential 20 game winner is more than just a 'plus'.  

I have faith in Mike Matheny.  He was a fantastic leader with the Cards in his playing days and knows the game very well.

I am more worried about Dave Duncan's leave of absence.  It could be tough without him working his magic in the bullpen.  I hope his wife recovers quickly and returns to good health.

The reason I am not super worried is that the Cards had the best offense in the NL by far last year.  They have some room to come back down without it hurting too much.  The pitching will likely be better, so that should help too.

I hated seeing Pujols go, but for that number of years and that much money...I can deal with it.  It would have hurt the Cards in the long run.

It will be interesting watching the rest of his career.

There are a few things that worry me about him from this past year:

• His doubles were way down.  He only hit 29, which is the worst of his career.  He averages 41.4 and the last three seasons he hit 44, 45, and 39.
• He also had the worst RBI total of his career.  I would usually ignore a stat like this, but it is odd considering how much protection he had in the lineup this year.  He had 99 last year.  He averages 120.8 and the last three seasons he hit 116, 135, and 118.  This was the best offense the Cards have had since 2008, so it is just odd.
• His walks were way down.  He only had 61, which is the worst of his career.  He averages 88.6 and the last three seasons he had 104, 115, and 104.  Part of this is that his intentional walks were down quite a bit, but it does not explain all of the decrease.
• He had the lowest batting average of his career at .299.  For his career he has hit .328, and the last three seasons were .357, .327, and .312.
• His OBP was the worst of his career at .366.  Career is .420.  Last three seasons were .462, .443, and .414.
• His slugging percentage was the worst of his career at .541.   Career is .617.  Last three seasons were .653, .658, and .596.  A big part of this is that he had the fewest extra base hits of his career (66 this year, averages 83.2, previous years 81, 93, 82).  
• Of course, that means his OPS is the lowest of his career (OBP+SLG).
• He grounded into the most double plays of his career.
• His ground ball to fly ball ratio jumped to 0.82.  The previous three years were 0.68, 0.63, and 0.60.

Wow, you've thought pretty hard about the Pujols situation, huh? I'd ask for his BABIP, but it's not likely bad luck is in play three years running.

Actually, when I looked at the stats for my last post, I didn't think it would turn out nearly as bad as it did.  I knew he had a down year, but I didn't know it was that bad.  I did not expect to see so many career worsts.

Anyway...

http://www.fangraphs.com/graphs.aspx?playerid=1177&position=1B&page=7&type=full

BABIP is actually favorable for Pujols.  Above average in 2008, average in 2009 and 2010, and then below average in 2011.  It helps explain part of the drop.  He should have a better year as long as...

http://www.fangraphs.com/graphs.aspx?playerid=1177&position=1B&page=9&type=full

...he stops hitting so many ground balls.  If you look at the detail graphs in 2011, you can see his BABIP improves as his ground ball rate drops.

The DH will be good for him, no doubt about that.

Ground balls are bad, especially for Pujols (because he is slow).

"A line drive produces 1.26 runs per out, while fly balls produce 0.13 runs per out and groundballs produce 0.05 runs per out. In other words, batters want to hit lots of line drives and fly balls, while pitchers generally want to cause batters to hit groundballs."

http://www.fangraphs.com/library/index.php/offense/batted-ball/

im not understanding the graph the rangers last game was against the cardinals in the world series