Always a favorite, Cardinals face tough questions

The St. Louis Cardinals are the team to beat in the National League Central until they aren't.

That's just the way it is.

Even with a half-dozen or more things going wrong last season, the Cardinals again won the Central and advanced to the championship series.

As the new Baseball Prospectus points out: "The Cardinals, the most successful team in National League history, just completed four straight seasons in the postseason. That's never happened before. Not with Rogers Hornsby, not with Dizzy Dean, not with Stan Musial, not with Lou Brock and Bob Gibson, not with Vince Coleman and Willie McGee."

The Cardinals head into the 2015 season as the favorites in the Central, but they're not without questions. Here are a few of them to consider:

Is Wainwright all right?

Ace pitcher Adam Wainwright didn't make his first spring-training start until Saturday, but he threw 4 scoreless innings as he shows he has recovered from an abdominal injury. The Cardinals say Wainwright is on tap to start Opening Night against the Cubs and Jon Lester, who missed his latest scheduled start with a "dead arm," an ailment the Cubs say shouldn't prevent him from starting against Wainwright on April 5 at Wrigley Field.

"Opening Day - that's a great thing, but it's not worth risking weeks of the season by reaggravating something," Wainwright told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "If I'm ready, that's great. I can now clearly say to everyone there is for sure going forward no question in my mind. Out of the woods, for sure."

Last season, Wainwright went 20-9 with a 2.38 ERA and a WHIP of 1.03, one year after winning 19 games.

He missed the 2011 season because of Tommy John surgery, but he came back stronger than ever. At age 33 he shows no signs of slowing.

Do they have enough power?

The Cardinals were last in the NL in home runs in 2014 with 105. They were tied for ninth in runs scored, but neither of those stopped them from winning the division.

Even so, the Cardinals felt the need to add some punch this off-season by trading for Jason Heyward and signing Mark Reynolds.

Heyward could be a one-year rental because he's eligible for free agency after this season. (The Braves brought him up at the start of the 2010 season, a situation the Cubs don't want to replicate with Kris Bryant this year.)

Heyward's homer total fell to 11 last season. Reynolds is a big-power, big-strikeout guy, but the Cardinals believe they need another longball threat.

Matt Holliday hit 20 home runs last year, and Jhonny Peralta led the team with 21. Catcher Yadier Molina's power has dropped, but he remains perhaps the best overall catcher in the game.

Is Matheny a good manager?

What's not to like about a guy who took over for Hall of Famer Tony La Russa and guided his team to one World Series and two NLCS?

Still, Matheny's in-game moves get picked at by some.

Cubs fans might like this from Baseball Prospectus: " ... Matheny has succeeded Dusty Baker as the winningest, most-oft-second-guessed manager in baseball."

Baseball Prospectus also acknowledges Matheny's alleged shortcomings but adds: " ... For the Cardinals to continue to employ him suggests one or two of three things: 1. They're ignorant of his abilities and mistakes; 2. They believe his qualitative value outweighs those missteps or; 3. They think his on-the-field skills can mature with more experience. Odds are, the answer lies somewhere between the second and third choices."

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