The St. Louis Cardinals - A Perfectly Cromulent Team

In the "Lisa the Iconoclast" episode of the Simpsons, Lisa sets out to prove that Jebediah Springfield, the beloved founder of the town of Springfield, was actually a brutal pirate named Hans Sprungfeld.  Upon hearing Lisa's theory, Homer states that he believes Lisa, telling her "[y]ou're always right about this sort of thing, and for once I want in on the ground floor."

So what does this have to do with the the St. Louis Cardinals?  Well, during this past season, I scoffed at several of the Cardinals' player personnel moves.  You guys think Lance Berkman can hold up as an everyday right fielder?  You think Ryan Theriot is an everyday shortstop?  Edwin Jackson has been traded three times in less than three years, but you can figure out what's wrong with him?  It seemed to me as if the top decision-makers in the Cardinals' front office had crayons lodged in their brains.  But of course, like Lisa, the Cardinals ended up being right about everything they did, and to my dismay they won the 2011 World Series.

Now, I like to think that I know a little bit about baseball, so I've decided to adopt a new strategy this off-season.  Whatever the Cardinals do, and no matter how ridiculous it seems, I'll go on record as saying it's a brilliant move.  For example, if I heard that Rodrigo Lopez joined the Cardinals starting rotation in 2012, I'd predict 17 wins and a sub-3.00 ERA.  If Albert Pujols were to leave via free agency and the Cardinals made Bryan LaHair their starting first baseman next year, I'd guarantee LaHair would hit 35 home runs.  If the Cardinals were to decide that Mike Quade should be the one to replace Tony LaRussa as manager, I'd still expect nothing less than a second consecutive championship.  In other words, for once I want in on the ground floor.

To be clear - I'm not saying that I'm going to abandon the Cubs and become a Cardinals fan.  But it's worth acknowledging that Aristotle's quote "no great genius has ever existed without some touch of madness" is right on the mark when it comes the maneuverings of our I-55 rivals.  And it's also worth recognizing another baseball truism.  As Jebediah Springfield himself might have said (had he known about baseball):  "[a] noble redbird on the jersey embiggens the statistics of the crummiest ballplayer."