CARDINAL NATION: DOWN, BUT NOT OUT

From the picture above it looks as though Albert Pujols is preparing to attempt a headstand. That would make the man in the red polo his spotter...right?? I WISH!
The news came down from the Cardinals front office yesterday afternoon: our first baseman has a broken bone in his left wrist. He will likely miss 4-6 weeks due to the injury. That means that Albert has a reserved spot on the bench until sometime in August. I'm sure Adam Wainwright and David Freese can save him a seat....
As news spread about Albert's date with the DL, one could almost hear the cheers and clapping coming from the other cities in the NL Central race. I'm willing to bet that Brandon "Big Mouth" Phillips had to sit on his hands to keep from tweeting his joy. Prince Fielder, Ryan Braun & company probably threw a party. My take on the situation? Not so fast boys.

Albert joining an already crowded Disabled List is bad news for St. Louis. It figures that he would get injured right when he was heating up at the plate. His batting average was steadily climbing, but it will now sit dormant at .279 until his return.
There is some good news in all of this, I promise. Don't hit the panic button just yet. Hear me out Cardinal fans...
For starters, Albert was hitting .279! He had the worst offensive start of his career in 2011. Because of his dismal start at the plate, other guys had to step up and make things happen. Remember Daniel Descalso? How many late-inning heroics has he come up with so far? Pujols's injury clears the way for more Zeroes to become Heroes.

Another plus to the situation is that Lance Berkman will probably anchor first base in Albert's absence, which in turn gets John Jay's hot bat into the lineup. One thing that people tend to overlook is Albert's gold-glove winning defense on the corner. That will be missed just as much as his bat. It's obvious from the couple of chances he's had at first so far that Lance is a tad rusty: I think a few more reps in practice could work wonders.

As long as Berkman doesn't break a hip and Ryan Theriot remembers which hand his glove goes on, my Redbirds will be just fine. When Albert Pujols returns to the lineup in August, there will still be a lot of baseball to be played. As much as people might like to believe it, one guy does not define an entire team.

I hate to say it St Louis, but we might have to get used to winning without #5. It could be good practice for next year...