The Rockies open defense of their 2007 NL Pennant on the road against the Cardinals who were the 2006 NL winners. Cash in on Colorado behind Jeff Francis in St. Louis on Monday.
St Louis went from a World Series title to a 78-84 record last year. The drop off in '08 might be just as significant, if not more so, as the Cardinals look very much like one of the worst teams in the NL heading into the regular season.
[articleBanner]who2beton[/articleBanner]Let’s not forget how the Cards started off 2007, getting outscored 20-2 in a three-game sweep at home at the hands of the New York Mets, part of a 1-7 start to the season at Busch Stadium. There’s little reason to expect this season to start any differently.
The Cardinals' offseason was nothing short of an unmitigated disaster. Among the departed are many of the key cogs in their 2006 World Series run: shortstop David Eckstein, third baseman Scott Rolen and center fielder Jim Edmonds among others, without acquiring adequate replacements. Make no mistake about it – this isn’t a mediocre team, it’s a bad team, not yet priced correctly by the betting marketplace.
Jeff Francis was the Rockies' undisputed ace last year, carrying the starting rotation for a good portion of the season before other guys stepped up in September to allow Colorado to go on their record-setting late season push into the playoffs. Francis won a career high 17 games last year, going 9-4 after the All-Star break and 2-1 in the playoffs.
Francis has completely shut down the Cardinals in six previous career starts against them: 4-1 with a 2.28 ERA. And with Luis Vizcaino signed to set up for closer Manny Corpas, six strong innings from Francis should be more than enough to earn the Rockies their first victory of the 2008 campaign. Take Colorado.
Free Pick: Rockies -106