The sequel to the Year of the Cardinals makes its debut next month at Legion Memorial Park.
The season opener for the 2014 Baseball Canada silver medallists and provincial midget AAA Tier I champions is the May 2-3 homestand against Fort McMurray in the NorWest league.
“Expectations are high again,” said Cam Houston, head coach of last year’s 47-16 Cardinals. “We’ve got a good core returning so we have the opportunity to do exactly what we did last year. Hopefully the new guys can come in and buy into the system that helped those guys get there last year.”
The Cardinals returned home from their first trip to nationals since 2008 with the first U18 medal for the St. Albert Minor Baseball Association since 2004, when the Red Birds were awarded silver as the host team at nationals.
The Cardinals were also national finalists in 1984 in Moncton, N.B. and 2002 as the host team and bronze medallists in 1985 in Windsor, Ont., 1999 in Red Deer and 2000 in Stonewall, Man.
“Hopefully the guys have that desire to try and do the same things we did last year. If we come out and work hard and do that all year and take care of the little things we’ll be in good shape come the end of the year,” Houston said. “Right now it’s back to the grind and get these new guys to buy into the system. Hopefully we’ll keep things similar to what we did last year.”
There is a long line of teams determined to knock the Cardinals off their perch of greatness.
“We definitely have a target on our back this year after being provincial champions but as long as we can rise up to the challenge we should do well,” said catcher/outfielder Matt Quartel.
The third-year Cardinal is among 11 returning players on the 19-man roster.
“We have a lot of new faces this year but we’re looking to hopefully follow up with the same type of performance that we had last year,” Quartel said. “Our goals are definitely the same; winning a provincial championship and then try to win a national championship.”
In league play the Cardinals finished 26-5 as the top seed at provincials after going 18-10 for sixth place in 2013, en route to placing second at provincials and winning westerns.
“We’ve got to get back to the same mentality that we had last year. There is work to do every day at the diamond,” Quartel said. “We have to show the younger guys how we got to where we got to last year and try and carry that over into this year.”
Houston is confident the team’s talent level is on par with last year’s juggernaut squad.
“We have some good arms coming back, we have power in the middle of the lineup and definitely some guys that can run so I think the team stacks up similar to last year,” said Houston, who rejoined the Cardinals last year and in 2008 was the dugout boss when the team placed sixth at the nationals.
There is no shortage of pitchers with 13 players who can throw strikes.
“Last year we had a lot of depth on the mound so hopefully some of the new guys can come in and fill that role, just like last year,” said Houston, the co-head coach and director of baseball operations for the Prospects Baseball Academy, an instrumental program that’s benefitted several Cardinals over the years. “Half the team has seen involvement in the program so they should have a good idea how we do things around here.”
Quartel, 18, believes the Cardinals have the right pieces in place to build another winning season.
“We definitely have a strong hitting team. We should be putting more balls in play and putting up more runs this year compared to last year,” said the Cardinals’ top hitter in the Norwest circuit last year with a .389 average in 54 at-bats in 21 games. “Our depth won’t quite be there pitching-wise but I definitely think the guys we have will do the job.”
FOUL BALLS: Jackson Wark, a six-foot-six righty, was among 31 players, including 15 pitchers, invited to the Canadian junior team’s extended spring training camp in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.
The pitching rotation for the eight-game exhibition series against extended spring training clubs from the Atlanta Braves, Detroit Tigers, Washington Nationals, Houston Astros and Toronto Blue Jays listed Wark among the throwers for today’s Canada Red versus Canada Black intersquad and Thursday’s game against the Astros.
