The Numbers

2001 record: 93-69, .574 (tied for 4th overall) 2001 expected record*: 95-67 Runs scored: 814, 4th in NL Runs allowed: 684, 3rd in NL Run differential: +130 (4th overall) Starters' ERA: 3.97, 3rd in NL Bullpen ERA: 3.93, tied for 8th in NL Payroll (Opening Day): $77.3 million (9th overall) Local broadcast revenue: $11.9 million (22nd overall) Attendance: 3.11 million (7th overall) 3-year record: 263-222, .542 (9th overall) 5-year record: 419-390, .518 (12th overall) * based on runs scored and runs allowed

2001 in review
What went right?
Thanks to a hamstrung hamstring, Bobby Bonilla started the season on the DL, which led to the promotion of somebody named Albert Pujols to the 25-man roster, which led to the greatest rookie season since Ted Williams. Matt Morris, who spent the 2000 season primarily as a reliever after Tommy John surgery, became a bonafide No. 1 starter who dueled with Curt Schilling in the playoffs. The August trade that shipped clubhouse nightmare Ray Lankford to San Diego brought in Woody Williams, who won seven of eight decisions and strengthened the rotation.

What went wrong?
A 9-2 loss to Houston on the season's final day that cost the Cardinals the division and forced them to play at Arizona to open the playoffs. Rick Ankiel only won one of six starts and finished with a 7.12 ERA in only 24 innings pitched. In what would be his final season, Mark McGwire played in only 97 games and hit .187.

In retrospect, the critical decisions were:
1. Trading underachieving 3B Fernando Tatis for Dustin Hermanson and Steve Kline. Hermanson (14-13) had the second winning season of his career and Kline, a one-man bullpen, was the most valuable pitcher on the staff.

2. Bringing up Pujols in spring training.

3. Moving Ankiel to Florida and then Johnson City, where he was free of pressure and helped put his career back in line after 17 walks in 4 1/3 innings and a 20.77 ERA after his demotion to Memphis.

Looking ahead to 2002
Three key questions
1. Who will be the No. 5 starter? Will it be Ankiel, who has been throwing smoke practicing in Florida this winter with Morris? If not, can it be Garrett Stephenson, who's coming off Tommy John surgery?

2. Can So Taguchi, a 32-year-old star and former teammate of Ichiro in Japan, start in left? If not, he'll go back to Japan since his contract won't allow him to play in the minors.

3. Can J.D. Drew stay healthy after missing 58 games with neck, knee and hand injuries?

Stats Corner
Matt Morris (above) won 22 games, the most wins by Cardinals pitcher since Bob Gibson won 23 in 1970. Albert Pujols set an NL rookie record with 130 RBI and finished sixth in the NL in batting (.329) and seventh in slugging (.610). Steve Kline's .149 average against left-handed hitters led all major-league relief pitchers. J.D. Drew didn't have enough plate appearances to quality for league leaders, but if he had, his 1.027 OPS would have ranked eighth in the NL, just ahead of Pujols (1.013).

Can expect to play better
Edgar Renteria, a.283 hitter before 2001, never overcame a slow start and finished hitting .260, the worst of his career.

Can expect to play worse
Pujols, as a rookie, only led the team in average (.329), home runs (37), RBI (130) and runs (112). For those numbers not to sink a little is asking too much.

Projected lineup
2B Fernando Vina
LF So Taguchi/Placido Polanco
RF J.D. Drew
3B Albert Pujols
CF Jim Edmonds
1B Tino Martinez
SS Edgar Renteria
C Mike Matheny

Rotation
RHP Matt Morris
RHP Darryl Kile
RHP Woody Williams
LHP Bud Smith
LHP Rick Ankiel/RHP Garrett Stephenson

Closer
RHP Jason Isringhausen

A closer look
This winter, for the first time in a long time, Jason Isringhausen was No. 1 on someone's list. Isringhausen is best known as the boy wonder who had Tom Seaver written all over him, the point man in a Mets rotation of young guns whose careers melted away in the '90s. Two years ago, after major surgery on his throwing arm, Isringhausen reinvented himself as a closer in Oakland. After saving 67 games in two years, Isringhausen is returning home to Missouri to reinvent himself again.

The Brighton native who tied for the major-league lead with nine blown saves last year, signed a four-year, $27 million deal, with an option for a fifth year. Why? He has an upside. He's a true closer. His fastball sniffs around 98. He's only 29 and in his prime. And after being raised to start games, he's content finishing them. "As a closer, all you really need is a fastball and a slider that looks like a fastball," says Isringhausen, who used to sport a curve that bent like a boomerang. "When you're starting, you have to think about setting hitters up with different pitches for later on. Now I just think about getting them out."

Cardinals GM Walt Jocketty says that Isringhausen was his top choice all offseason, but in reality, he didn't have many other options. The price for Troy Percival was too high, and Billy Koch didn't have any experience closing in the playoffs.

The Cardinals would welcome the success Isringhausen had. Injuries to Dave Veres and Mike Timlin forced Tony La Russa to scramble and use Steve Kline more than he wanted. Kline did what he could, leading the NL in appearances and converting nine out of his 10 saves chances, but the Cardinals wanted a true closer.

"I talked to a position player and he rated Jason just behind (Mariano) Rivera," La Russa says. "The guy I talked to said he was tipping his pitches, but he wasn't tipping them at the end of the season."

Isringhausen was tipping his pitches by how he was holding his glove, and when he realized that he was letting the cat out of the bag, he nearly dented his forehead slapping it. "It was just so stupid," he says.

Isringhausen struggled in the first half of the season, but converted 21 of his final 24 saves and shut the Yankees down twice in the Division Series.

Isringhausen wanted the Cardinals as badly as the Cardinals wanted him. He reportedly received a higher offer from Texas, but thanks to some prodding by his family, he landed in St. Louis. "My grandmother always wanted me to play for the Cardinals, so I thought I'd grant her wish," he says. "You grew up watching the Ozzie Smith home run and the way they played the game. There's a lot of tradition here."

If he is everything the Cardinals expect, more tradition might be on its way.

Seth Wickersham is a senior researcher for ESPN The Magazine.