St. Louis Cardinals indecisive about pursuing a new shortstop – MLB News
The St. Louis Cardinals had another strong run this year, finishing strongly albeit not with the World Series title. The stellar performance throughout the regular season, their decisive win in the Wild Card game and the National League Division Series, was an apt commentary on their competitiveness.
It was the San Francisco Giants that outshone the Cardinals in the National League Championship Series, and eventually clinching the World Series title. While the Giants incontrovertibly had edge over their rivals in certain aspects of the game, it was in the infield where the Cardinals felt the absence of their experienced shortstop, Rafael Furcal.
While the St. Louis Cardinals will find a replacement for him, it was during the post-season games that the otherwise seasoned shortstop had to have an equally strong substitute so as to compensate his absence.
The Cardinals' shortstop was put in the disabled list on August 30 after he had a ligament strain in his right elbow. Since then, he has not thrown. As his return seemed uncertain during the season, there were rumours of the Cardinals looking for a shortstop.
But the news that his ligament was healing properly as the head physician George Paletta had endorsed, hopes were being expressed that Furcal might well be the part of the Cardinals prior to the commencement of Spring Training. However, it all depends on how things go from here.
Joe Strauss, who happens to be a sports columnist, associated with St. Louis Post-Dispatch, only recently reported on November 18 that Furcal’s right elbow ‘is not out of woods’ and that he may be going for an ‘additional MRI later this month’.
Now the topic that has entered the discourse is whether or not the Cardinals should pursue a shortstop considering the necessity and the ultimate inevitability of it. If assessments now suggest the Cardinals to not go for it, things may change dramatically afterwards if Furcal fails to get his fitness and form.
Furcal appeared in 121 games this past season, having had 477 at-bats. The 2000 NL Rookie of the Year held .264 average with 49 RBIs and scoring 69 runs.
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