The moving vans have arrived in Jupiter, Florida. Day by day, players, coaches and front office personnel are making the trek South to the eastern coast of Florida. Jupiter will be the center of the universe for the St. Louis Cardinals during the next seven weeks.

It will be an unusual atmosphere for the Red Birds this spring. In prior years, Gateway City sports fans have looked at mid-February as a time for purge the football season out of their systems. This year, though, is different as the Rams' Super Bowl success provided the fans plenty of interest during November, December, and January.

In prior years, the St. Louis Blues have played games in February and March only to get in shape for their annual Stanley Cup marathon starting in mid-April. In early, 2000, the Blues are competing for the best record in the NHL and stimulating talks of a back-to-back St. Louis championship in football and hockey.

The Cardinals cannot ignore the success of these local teams. Some argue that the success of the Rams and Blues have "raised the bar" for the baseball team. To a degree, I agree with that assessment. The Cardinals were far from thrilled in the summer of 1995 when the Rams made their Gateway City debut. If you recall, the baseball team retooled in that off-season which resulted in a National League Central Division Title.

Yet, taking nothing away from the success of the Rams or Blues, the baseball Cardinals is still the most revered sport franchise in this town. This baseball team is marketed to the region most effectively than any other franchise. Seven weeks from the first pitch, the Red Birds, who finished eleven games below .500 in 1999, have sold over 2.3 million tickets.

Although, out of town baseball fans flock to Busch Stadium in the summer to take in Cardinal baseball, Missouri is still the Show Me State. Fans want to be shown an attempt to improve. To that end, it has been a lively off-season at 250 Stadium Plaza.

The Achilles' heal for the Cardinals during the past three seasons has been their starting pitching. Over the winter months, St. Louis acquired veteran pitchers Pat Hentgen, Darryl Kile, and Andy Benes. With those moves, the Red Birds have not only replenished their starters, but more importantly, have obtained pitching depth that can provide many innings. Theoretically, the bullpen pitchers should not be overworked.

These new starters, plus last year's ace Kent Bottenfield, now allows rookie Richard Ankiel to be penciled in as the Red Birds fifth starter. This is a very good thing. Anything that can lessen the pressure Ankiel would be beneficial. Plus, with these new veteran starters on the staff, the young left-hander will only benefit from their experience.

(A quick suggestion to Tony La Russa: For what it's worth, I hope that Kent Bottenfield will be the opening day starter for the Cardinals. In 1999, when pitching was a sore subject, Bottenfield parlayed eighteen wins and an all-star appearance. Let #37 open up in Game One against the Cubs as a thank you for a job well done in 1999)

For the first time in several years, the St. Louis infield appears solid. The newly acquired Fernando Vina not only strengthens the second base position, but also provides the Red Birds their first legitimate leadoff hitter in several seasons. Fernando Tatis and Edgar Rentaria should continue to stabilize the left side of the infield. Mark Mc Gwire will start his fourth St. Louis season as the center of attention/First Baseman.

(Incidentally, it is starting to become folly among some of the local media to compare McGwire with Super Bowl MVP Kurt Warner. I have heard many of my colleagues refer to Warner as the "anti-McGwire". Where Mc Gwire is painted as "testy and arrogant", Warner is described as cordial.

To those colleagues: take a pill! Quit trying to insert a round peg into a square hole. Kurt Warner is one of the best stories in this town in many years. His kudos are very well deserved. Good things do happen to good folks.

But don't try to make Big Mac into something he is not. Even Kurt Warner would agree that McGwire is still the number one sports celebrity in this town.)

The Red Birds biggest concern to me is the outfield. You can pencil in veteran Ray Lankford as a given in either left field or center.

The other two outfield spots are not as clear-cut.

1999 Rookie of the Year favorite J D Drew was a disappointment. Despite what we heard from his agent, Drew at times seemed highly unmotivated and confused. His finest spurt last year may have been those games in Philadelphia against a hostile crowd.

I have to believe that the Red Birds will not be as understanding to Drew in 2000. Perhaps that is why both Shawon Dunston and Brian McRae have been invited to the Jupiter camp and why Adam Kennedy has been asked to bring an outfielder's glove to camp. This is still J D Drew's job to lose. He will open in Center Field in 2000. The only question is whether it will be in St. Louis or Memphis.

Eric Davis is penciled in as the St. Louis Right-Fielder for 2000. Will Davis remain healthy for the entire season? This has the Cardinal brass concerned. They should be. It is risky at best, and foolish at worse, to put your hopes on a veteran player with health problems. Right Field may turn out to be the Red Birds biggest concern in 2000.

That brings us to the Manager's office. Tony La Russa is starting his fifth season as Red Bird skipper. 2000 will be the most important season of his St. Louis tenure. #10 has said that he has a veteran pitching staff that he likes. The Red Birds must be in contention this season in order for La Russa to survive. The starting pitching problems/quality have been addressed. It is now up to him and Dave Duncan to make this group work.

A slow start may force the Red Bird ownership to explore other options in the Manager's office. A strong finish could make Tony La Russa the Dick Vermeil of the fall.

Bottom line: this is a make it or break it year for the manager.

2000 will be a difficult season for the St. Louis Cardinals. Their chief foe will be the Cincinnati Reds. All the Reds did in 1999 was win 96 games and acquire the best player in baseball in the off-season. Despite losing a 22 game winner, Houston must still be considered stronger than the Red Birds.

The first exhibition game will be in two weeks, with opening day a month later. Baseball is a long marathon that needs to be paced one step at a time.

That is one of many reasons why Baseball is God's most perfect game.

Time will tell whether the 2000 Cardinals can run with the big dogs. That is why the games are played. But the Red Bird fans have the luxury of knowing that in the wild and wonderful world of professional sports, strange things can indeed happen.

Just ask the Rams or perhaps the Blues.