The Bob Broeg Chapter’s fearless preseason predictions are in; members filled out their ballots at last night’s meeting at Crusoe’s with unusual assiduity. Let’s start with the 25-man roster:

Will Tony La Russa keep a third LOOGy — Rincon — or a third LeCO (Lefthanded Corner Outfielder) — Johnny Rocket? The chapter was split on the matter. And if the chapter has any sense of TLR’s leanings, it looks like Josh Hancock is Memphis-bound.

Or is Hancock headed somewhere else? In addition to asking the chapter to fill out the roster, we also asked them to pick some firsts and team leaders for 2007. Here’s what they came up with:

First to get traded: It would appear that voters figured that between J-Rod and Rincon, whoever doesn’t make the team is getting traded, as they tied for the most votes in this category. Others receiving votes: Tyler Johnson, Braden Looper, Brad Thompson, Josh Hancock, Dennis Dove, Chris Narveson and Colby Rasmus (!).

First to get sent down: Figuring that Skip Schumaker will repeat his April act of last year when Juan Encarnacion returns, the chapter overwhelmingly picked Schu to be the first to exchange his STL cap for an M version. Others receiving votes: Johnson, Rincon, Hancock, Dove.

First to be called up: The chapter may have been voting more with their hearts than their heads when they chose Rick Ankiel to be the first callup. Either that, or they expect the team to be amazingly injury-free and won’t need anyone until September. Others receiving votes: J-Rod, Hancock, Marrero, Dove, Jiminez, Ludwick and Brendan Ryan.

First to be released: Tony La Russa isn’t the only one unimpressed by Wilson’s sluggish spring — by a landslide, voters picked Preston Wilson to be the first Cardinal released in 2007, though perhaps they were weighing in on who should be rather than will be released. Others receiving votes: Hancock, Ryan Franklin, Rincon, J-Rod.

Next to go on the DL: After Mark Mulder, Josh Kinney and Juan Encarnacion, who is the next most-likely player to go down? Chapter members said Jim Edmonds’s health won’t hold out. Others receiving votes: David Eckstein, Jason Isringhausen, Albert Pujols (perish the thought!) and Wilson.

Most Games Played: If Pujols plays the most games this year, the Cardinals will certainly be in good shape. But with most of his fellow regulars either nursing (including Pujols) or with a history of injuries, he doesn’t have much competition. Others receiving votes: Eckstein, Molina, Rolen, Spiezio

Second-most Runs Created: Presumably, Pujols will lead the team in RC — the real question is who will be second. Voters overwhelmingly thought that would be Rolen, who was second on the team in 2006. Others receiving votes: Chris Duncan, Edmonds, Pujols.

Second-best OBP: Again, The Great Pujols would’ve gotten everyone’s vote to lead the team in OBP, so we asked about the runner-up, which voters surprisingly said would be Adam Kennedy. Given that Kennedy’s lifetime OBP is .332 and his high is .354, that’s either a really good thing or really bad thing for the Cardinals. Others receiving votes: Rolen, Edmonds, Eckstein.

Second-best FIP: The team’s perennial sabermetric triple-crown candidate Chris Carpenter is the odds-on favorite to lead Cardinal pitchers in just about any positive category; the chapter figures Adam Wainwright to be the team’s second-best in fielding-independent pitching. Others receiving votes: Kip Wells, Anthony Reyes, Braden Looper, Randy Flores.

Second-most Strikeouts: Again, after Carp, Wainwright is the man, edging the team’s other young fireballer, Iron Cap Reyes. Others receiving votes: Preston Wilson (that’s funny because it’s real).

This entry was posted by Pip on Tuesday, March 27th, 2007 at 10:05 am and is filed under announcements. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.