It's Only The First Week, Right?

Certainly we shouldn't make too much of the first week...or so I keep telling myself. But then I keep seeing the Cardinals' pitchers doing so well, see the 5-1 start...and it is hard not to think, "Well, they could actually do this, they could keep this up." It just feels like their old winning ways. It feels right.

Of course, if I were a Tigers fan (I'm watching the game right now...1-1), Red Sox fan, Phillies fan, etc I would be telling myself it is just a slow start, things will turn around, this is not who we are...and there is good reason to believe those things. It is harder on the other side of things--being pretty sure the team is playing over its head right now (Baltimore or Kansas City anyone?). But those are the kinds of things people said about Detroit and Milwaukee before. "Sure, they're off to a great start, but it won't last." Most of those surprise starts that continued were aided by young guys maturing sooner than expected. I don't see much of that happening with STL, but I'm more than willing to be wrong.

What can we really know or tell at this point, then?
I would say some of our suspicions (whether weaknesses or strengths) can be reinforced...like my question of whether the Cardinals really have enough bats to win over the long haul, knowing that their pitching is not likely to carry them. They have won games by pitching well, not so much with hitting. Ankiel and Molina have been huge so far, but I still don't see much happening with Schumaker, Glaus, Izturis, Kennedy...there are a lot of holes in the lineup. So, if they don't pitch like this all the time...ouch.

And then some of those teams like the Phillies (sorry Shunta) are showing that questions about their pitching, and bullpen especially, may be valid. Not to say that should keep them from competing for or winning their division. They'll be there despite that. Still, maybe just a few weeks into the season, if those questions are still there, it should be enough to prompt a move of some sort.

So, let's see what happens!