For the St. Louis Cardinals, everything finally fell into place in 2006.
What people may forget, however, is that last year, the Cardinals posted their worst record since 1999, winning just 83 games. Still, they managed to sneak out of the abysmal NL Central to make the postseason for the sixth time in seven years.
As the new season opens Sunday night, there is one question on everyone's minds: which Cardinals team will show up this time around, the one that barely topped the .500 mark in the regular season, or the one that steamrolled the Detroit Tigers in the World Series?
That question will begin to be answered this weekend, as the Cards take on the New York Mets in the season opener, not coincidentally a rematch of the 2006 NL Championship series.
The Cardinals return superstar Albert Pujols, perhaps the best hitter of his generation, and Chris Carpenter, one of the game's most consistent starting pitchers.
But beyond that, the roster is full of question marks - including whether Adam Wainwright can make the transition from the bullpen to the rotation, whether rookie standout Chris Duncan is the real deal, and whether outfielder Jim Edmonds, pushing 37, can stay healthy for a full season.
Also barely above .500 in the Central are the Houston Astros, who return the power bat of Lance Berkman and have recruited a second one in Carlos Lee. Led by Roy Oswalt and Woody Williams, the Astros' staff is strong, but it would gain an additional boost if Roger Clemens agreed to return to Houston.
The Cincinnati Reds have a pair of quality starters in Bronson Arroyo and Aaron Harang, but a lackluster offense to support them, save for Ken Griffey, Jr. The Milwaukee Brewers similarly have a strong one-two of Ben Sheets and Chris Capuano, but will have to pray for huge offensive seasons from Bill Hall and young Prince Fielder.
The Chicago Cubs were the owners of the league's worst record in 2006, but have since gone on a spending spree to add slugger Alfonso Soriano, pitcher Ted Lilly and manager Lou Piniella. Their climb out of the cellar may leave the Pittsburgh Pirates, proud owners of five-tool threat Jason Bay, in last place.
Hoping to return to the NLCS themselves, the Mets will have to do so without Pedro Martinez, who is recovering from rotator cuff surgery. They may, however, still be in good shape, as few teams have an offense as potent as the one led by superstars Carlos Beltran, David Wright, Jose Reyes and Carlos Delgado.
One team that does boast a strong lineup, however, is the Philadelphia Phillies. The team's answer to Beltran, Wright, Reyes and Delgado is a quartet of Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins and Pat Burrell, and thanks to those four men, the Phillies scored more runs than anyone in the National League in 2006.
Their pitching isn't too shabby either, as they've added Freddy Garcia, Adam Eaton and Jamie Moyer to an already-strong rotation that includes Brett Myers and future superstar Cole Hamels. If Hamels reaches his potential, and his supporting cast stays healthy, the Phillies should make quite a run at dethroning the defending-champion Mets.
After that, however, the excitement in the East dies. The Atlanta Braves won 14-straight division titles before last year, but that streak is unlikely to resume until the Braves find some pitching help for ace John Smoltz. The Florida Marlins shocked the world by finishing in fourth place with a payroll under $15 million, but they won't get any more surprising than that, likely finishing fourth again. And the Washington Nationals, losers of 91 games in 2006, have a lot of rebuilding to do before they can contend.
In the West, the Los Angeles Dodgers may be the team to beat, having added Jason Schmidt to an already-potent rotation that includes Derek Lowe and Brad Penny, in addition to sporting a lineup packed with rising stars Andre Ethier and Russell Martin to support veteran Nomar Garciaparra.
While no one in the West surpassed the Dodgers' 88 wins last year, the reigning division champions are in fact the San Diego Padres, who held off a final-weekend surge from the Dodgers to win the division title via head-to-head tiebreakers. The Padres have a pair of solid on-base men in brothers Brian and Marcus Giles, pitching really makes the team tick.
Former Dodger Greg Maddux joins an already-brilliant rotation of Jake Peavy, Chris Young, David Wells and Clay Hensley, and with those five penciled in to start the season, it's difficult to bet against the Pads.
Either way, it's hard to deny that the NL West crown is headed to Southern California for the fourth year in a row. The division's other three teams - the San Francisco Giants, Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies - all have major holes to fill before they can vie for a pennant run.
The Giants have added Barry Zito to a decent rotation that includes Matt Morris, Noah Lowry and Matt Cain, but it remains to be seen whether San Fran has any offense besides the infamous Barry Bonds.
The Diamondbacks have a bevy of young talent in Stephen Drew, Conor Jackson and Chris Young (no relation to the Padres pitcher of the same name), but they may still be a year or two away from winning. Brandon Webb is the reigning Cy Young Award winner, but there's not much there to support him. And bringing back Randy Johnson won't help much, as the hurler will have turned 44 by season's end.
As for the Rockies, there's little aside from sluggers Matt Holliday and Brad Hawpe to remind us that Colorado still has a baseball team. Those two men will need a lot of help before they can bring the Rockies back to the playoffs - something that has eluded them since 1995.
As for right now, the Mets and Cardinals are the league's two frontrunners, but there are a host of other teams ready to dethrone the league's two titans. The Phillies, Dodgers and Padres should all provide some interesting storylines to watch as April action gets underway.
