Amidst all of the amazing Olympic competitions and news, the Cardinals have been quietly reporting to Jupiter, Florida for spring training. Pitchers and catchers reported last Wednesday, and the first spring training exhibition game is scheduled against the Mets for March 4. Yes, it’s baseball time, folks. Hard to believe when the temperatures are still floating in the 30′s here in St. Louis, I know. But I can remember a few opening days of years past where I’ve made it through the game with hot chocolate in my hands. Ahh, the joys of the Midwest!

Here’s a little rundown of what we can expect to see for the 2010 Redbirds season:

Odds are, you’ve at least heard something about Mark McGwire coming back to the Cardinals as the new hitting coach. This is not a rumor, it is a fact. Mac is back and this time he’s in a teaching position. Thankfully McGwire made the announcement before spring training, which, in my opinion, helped get all gossip and finger waving out of the way before the players and coaches reported to spring training.

Speaking of spring training, the Cardinals will have a month of games in sunny Florida, before having to head back to the midwest for their away-game season opener. On April 5, the Cardinals will be in Cincinnati to take on the Reds to kick off the 2010 baseball season. Their home opener will be April 12, when the Astros are slated to arrive at Busch. The Chicago Cubs and the Cardinals don’t square off until Memorial Day weekend, and the first series of the summer will be in Chicago on May 28 (which could be relatively chill in Chi-town). The first I-70 rivalry match will be June 25-27 when the Cards head west to Kansas City. This year’s All Star break will be July 12-14, and the festivities will be held in Anaheim (no, we don’t get the All Star game every year!). The Cubbies finally make it to the ‘Lou for and August 13-15 series, and the Birds will round out their regular season at home against the Colorado Rockies the first weekend of October.

As far as faces go, most of them will be familiar. Matt Holliday, who the Cardinals acquired mid-2009 season, re-signed with a sizable contract a few months back. He will be joined in the outfield by fan favorites from last season like Ryan Ludwick and Colby Rasmus. Nick Stavinoha, Joe Mather and Shane Robinson, who all had bounced back and forth between the big show and AAA last season, are all on this year’s active roster.

Our infield, of course, still boasts Albert Pujols, Skip Schumacher, Brendan Ryan and Yadier Molina. Tyler Green and David Freese seem to be in the battle for a main stay position at third base, but, with the way manager Tony La Russa likes to juggle his players (and his recent statement that he’s not even thinking of retiring), there’s no telling when (or if) there will be a main stay in any position other than first base and catcher.

On the mound Adam Wainwright, Chris Carpenter, Kyle Lohse and Brad Penny make up four of the five starting rotation spots. And Ryan Franklin returns as our trustworthy closer, while several of our middle men remain on the roster.

There are lots of numbers that could be thrown out and talked about and predicted, but in a season as long as baseball’s and with as many ups and downs as teams go through in a season, I’m not sure they are all that important at this stage of the game. What’s more important to me is a team fusing together and getting mentally and physically prepared for the season.

Will the Cardinals be able to claim another National League Central Championship? And if so, will they perform better in the next round of play offs? Will having Matt Holliday for an entire season prove to be enough protection for Albert Pujols? Will beers continue to get smaller at Busch? We have an entire season to find out.

Image Credit: Sport.Desktopnexus.com

Annie is the Sports and Fitness Editor for Girls Guide. She writes about all kinds of sports related topics and then really goes out and plays sports almost every evening. You can contact Annie by emailing her at annie [at] girlsguidetothegalaxy [dot] com, and we are still trying to talk her into getting a Twitter account – no success yet.