Happy Hollidays!

What could be better in late April? It’s a long Easter Weekend. I watched yesterday’s Kyle Lohse whitewashing of the Nationals from the Budweiser Suite at Busch Stadium. Now the Cincinnati Reds are in town for an early season first place showdown with the Cardinals. The Birds are playing good baseball with solid starting pitching, some young guns in the bullpen (now that Tony LaRussa is on board with my ABF plan), and the offense is close to firing on all cylinders. My children will all be gathered in the same town for the weekend, and I have tickets to two more of the three games in the series! It’s Fireworks night at the Stadium tonight after the game, and with the Reds making their first appearance in town this season, it may be fireworks during the game too. You never know with these two teams, as the bad blood as been boiling over since a mid-season kick fight last year involving Reds’ pitcher Johnny Cueto injuring Chris Carpenter and backup catcher Jason LaRue. And my son Matthew and I also have tickets to Easter Sunday night’s ESPN game which includes a Stan Musial bobblehead giveaway! Wow, what a weekend! What could possibly ruin these festivities??

We interrupt this happy-go-lucky blog with the latest weather forecast … Rain. Followed by more rain. And then when that rain is done, it’s going to rain some more. And finally, as the weekend starts winding down, it’s going to . . . you guessed it . . . rain! Some forecasters are saying that all three games could get postponed. Unheard of. Arrrggghhh.

While we look out the window and watch the rain, let’s talk offense. What is propelling this club now and why has it had a dramatic turnaround after starting 2-6 and struggling at the plate?

1. Matt Holliday. Ok, I confess. I said the Cardinals were being foolish by not putting Holliday on the disabled list due to his appendicitis. The Cardinals gambled on him returning well ahead of the 15 day injury period, and I thought they should have disabled him and brought up an extra bat. Score one for LaRussa and GM John Mozeliak. Holliday returned after 8 days and the offense took off the day he returned. He sparked the team in his first game back against the Giants, and he hasn’t stopped hitting yet. Holliday has only played in 12 of the 19 games for the Cards this season but is batting .455 with 2 homers, 5 doubles and 11 runs batted in. He’s also worked 10 walks, giving him an on-base percentage of .571. He’s been involved in almost every Cardinals rally.

2. Lance Berkman. He has been a welcome addition and he took off with his player-of-the-week performance at just the right time. During the team slump he was out in front, talking daily to the media, and letting everyone know that this was a good team, and they would eventually hit. He’s been loose in the clubhouse, and you can see him in the dugout during the broadcasts holding court, telling jokes and cracking up his teammates. That is not to be overlooked in this turnaround. Lance has been there, easing the pressure and helping everyone find their focus.

3. Colby Rasmus. The emerging star has quietly put together an outstanding first month. Even when the team wasn’t scoring, he wasn’t the problem. He was getting on base, but was regularly being erased by the rash of double plays that were being hit into by the third place hitter. Rasmus is batting .351, with 11 walks, 5 doubles, 2 triples and 3 home runs. He has been one of the main instigators, getting on base in front of the big boys.

4. Speaking of instigators, one of the main reasons the team has turned around offensively has been their leadoff man, Ryan Theriot. After a slow start, he’s now batting .300 with an OBP of .349. Last year, the first two batters in the lineup were often a black hole. Skip Schumaker, Brendan Ryan, Felipe Lopez took most of the top-of-the-lineup at bats and they struggled all season. John Jay was the only one who provided any spark up there at all in 2010. So far this year, Theriot and Rasmus have been a very good one-two punch. And with them setting the table, it’s hard to keep the runs from eventually scoring with Pujols, Holliday, Berkman and Freese all hitting well behind them.

5. David Freese. With him in the lineup in the 6th position this season, it makes the lineup so much deeper. Last year the 6th place at bats were often being taken by Molina or Lopez. By pushing Yadier down a spot or two, it takes a little pressure off of him and puts a true run-producer in the 6th hole. Freese is off to solid start (.328, 2 HRs, 10 RBIs), and his surgically repaired ankles appear to be holding up well.

6. And finally, Albert Pujols. After his torturous start, he’s now among the league leaders with 6 home runs and 14 RBIs. And his .250-ish batting average has come up over 100 points in the last two weeks. Is there anyone who doubts he won’t clear .300 in the next few weeks? He’s squaring the ball better and elevating it better than he was earlier. The line-drives are jumping and the fly balls are carrying. With Albert back to being Albert, and the strong supporting cast around him, the Cardinals have climbed to the top of the offensive leaderboard in the National League. St. Louis is first in batting average (.292), first in OBP (.360), first in slugging (.451), second in homers (22), RBIs (98) and runs scored (104).

With the starting pitching carrying their load, and the bullpen providing strong support; if this offense sustains it’s depth and strength, the Cardinals will stay at or near the top of the division all summer.

Now, can we do something about the weather?