Could things get any worse for the St. Louis Cardinals? The season hasn’t even started yet and already one of their aces is out for the year and the other left a spring training game due to a hamstring injury.

The good news is that Chris Carpenter should be fine after leaving Tuesday’s outing with what is being called a strained hamstring. The bad news is that the Cardinals are clearly cursed and I wouldn’t be surprised if red ants invaded the infield grass at Busch Stadium and started attacking the grounds crew.

All kidding aside, I wonder if this scare with Carpenter will force the Cardinals to reconsidering adding another arm before the season starts. There was some thought that 32-year-old minor league free agent acquisition Raul Valdes would be considered a replacement for Wainwright, but the early camp impressions haven’t been good.

Kevin Millwood is still waiting for some team to call, and the Cards seem like a good fit for the 36-year-old. But St. Louis appears to be set on going with internal options at this point, which is surprising seeing as how they’re built to win now (at least they were before Wainwright was injured).

For now, it appears as though the Cards are going with what they have but the injury to Carpenter may have changed their outlook on the pitching situation.

The Albert Pujols contract situation just took a backseat to more depressing news for St. Louis Cardinal fans.

Adam Wainwright suffered what is being called a significant elbow injury in spring training and the early reports are that he’ll need Tommy John surgery.

Make no mistake, this would be a disastrous situation for the Cardinals. As in, hey Milwaukee Brewers, the door is open, why don’t you come in and make yourself at home at the top of the NL Central kind of disastrous situation. Wainwright is one of the game’s best pitchers and has finished in the top three of the NL Cy Young balloting each of the past two seasons. Without him in the rotation, the Cards will certainly struggle to stay afloat in the division.

If he does wind up having surgery, the options are slim for replacements. According to ESPN’s Buster Olney, early speculation is that the Cards will go after Kevin Millwood, which wouldn’t be a bad move. Millwood is 36-years-old and had an ERA of 5.10 last season, but he would benefit from the move to the NL and the pitcher-friendly Busch Stadium. He’s better than a sharp stick in the eye.

But obviously Millwood is no Wainwright. Assuming he’s out for the season, this injury not only hurts the Cardinals but the game of baseball as well. Major League Baseball needs its stars on the field.

Chances are, you need a few pitchers on your fantasy baseball roster that can eat up innings. You know, that silly rule that prevents you from loading up on closers? Well, here is a list you could use, especially if your team if floundering and you need some steady pitchers to deliver quality innings of work. This is the list of active leaders in innings pitched. Some of the names will surprise you, but certainly not all of them:

1. Jamie Moyer, Philadelphia Phillies (3966 innings)—Remember when Jamie Moyer pitched for the Cubs? Yeah, neither does anyone else. He was a rookie in 1986, the year Mookie Wilson hit the ball through Bill Buckner’s legs. I know, most of you don’t remember that, either.

2. Andy Pettitte, New York Yankees (2984)—Though it’s early, Andy Pettitte is having a career year at age 38. And I’m just glad I had the foresight (errr, luck) to draft him for my fantasy team.

3. Tim Wakefield, Boston Red Sox (2980)—Remember when Tim Wakefield pitched for the Pirates? Seriously, he started out there in 1992 and joined the Sox in 1995. And dude is still beloved by the chowder heads.

4. Livan Hernandez, Washington Nationals (2795)—Two things are baffling. One, that Livan’s age is listed as 35. Thirty-freaking-five! Um, no. And two, that this guy is still getting hitters out with that blistering 80 mph fastball of his.

5. Javier Vasquez, New York Yankees (2532)—So this guy has banked $92 million in his career to date for losing as many games as he wins (145-144). That’s proof right there that innings eaters are worth something, but still sounds like highway robbery to me.

6. Jeff Suppan, Milwaukee Brewers (2437)—He’s relegated to the bullpen for the most part, but still racking up innings of work.

7. Kevin Millwood, Baltimore Orioles (2382)—Remember when Kevin Millwood was the fourth starter behind Smoltz, Maddux and Glavine in Atlanta? That was in 1997 but seems like it was 50 years ago.

8. Derek Lowe, Atlanta Braves (2191)—He may have peaked a few years ago, but this guy still has some of the nastiest stuff in the game.

9. Tim Hudson, Atlanta Braves (2124)—Through all of the injuries, it’s truly amazing that Tim Hudson has pitched that many innings. And hey, Javier, put this in your pipe and smoke it—a 153-79 career record.

10. Roy Halladay, Philadelphia Phillies (2123)—This dude just keeps winning, but even he’s only got 154 wins to date. Does that seem right?

Source: Baseball Reference

In order to help get you ready for the MLB season, we’re doing division-by-division rankings with quick overviews on how each club could fair in 2010. Next to each team, you’ll also find a corresponding number written in parenthesis, which indicates where we believe that club falls in a league-wide power ranking. Be sure to check back throughout the next two weeks leading up to the season, as we will be updating our content daily. Enjoy.

All 2010 MLB Preview Content | AL East Preview | AL Central Preview | AL West Preview | NL East | NL Central | NL West

Next up is the AL West.

1. Los Angeles Angels (6)
When I started to do the prep work for the AL West preview, I filled the top slot with the Angels without even giving it much thought. And why should I have? They’ve won the division six of the last seven years and baseball fans have just grown accustomed to the Halos being in the playoff mix every season. But immediately after I slotted them in the top spot, my stomach started to hurt and no, it wasn’t from the fish I ate last night. (Although hey, fish is still good even when it turns green right?) There’s no doubt that the Angels took a hit this offseason. They lost their ace (John Lackey), their leadoff man (Chone Figgins) and their top power source (Vladimir Guerrero), and usually when a team parts with that much talent, it suffers a setback. But this is why I’m not overly concerned about this club: the additions of Joel Pineiro and Hideki Matsui should pay dividends and if Scott Kazmir could ever stay healthy, he would ease the loss of Lackey. Plus, in Erick Aybar (their new leadoff hitter), Kendry Morales and Torri Hunter, the Halos still have a solid offensive core and their starting pitching is still in good shape with vets like Kazmir, Jered Weaver and Joe Saunders. Times are changing in L.A. and the Mariners and Rangers will push the Halos this season, but in the end they should be right back on top.

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