For three of the past four seasons the National League has owned Major League Baseball. But after collectively opening its wallet this past winter, the American League could see a return to dominance in 2012.

The American League bought two of the National League’s biggest stars this offseason when the Angels signed Albert Pujols and the Tigers added slugger Prince Fielder. The Halos also kept C.J. Wilson (the top pitcher on the market) in the AL West while the Yankees beefed up their starting rotation by acquiring promising young right-hander Michael Pineda (now injured) from the Mariners and signing the underrated Hiroki Kuroda (formerly of the Dodgers).

Granted, there are still plenty of quality teams in the National League. The Phillies, Giants, Brewers and Braves all have solid starting rotations and the Marlins bolstered their roster with the additions of Jose Reyes, Heath Bell and Mark Buehrle. The Reds and Diamondbacks have plenty going for themselves as well.

But all of the teams listed above have significant question marks heading into the season, which includes the defending World Series champion Cardinals. Ace Chris Carpenter, outfielder Allen Craig, and second baseman Skip Schumaker will all miss significant time this offseason and there’s added pressure for guys like Matt Holliday, Lance Berkman and David Freese to produce without No. 5 in the lineup.

When you factor in Pujols and Fielder have jumped leagues, it’s no wonder the odds currently favor AL teams like the Tigers, Yankees, Angels and Rangers when it comes to winning this year’s World Series. The American League rosters are simply more talented right now than their National League counterparts.

Now, I’m certainly not suggesting that the American League is a shoe-in to win the Fall Classic. Get into a seven-game series when pitchers reign supreme and you cannot count teams like the Phillies, Braves and Giants out of contention. If you think offense overpowers pitching when it comes to the postseason, then you haven’t been paying attention the last two years.

But as of April 1, there’s no question that the balance of power has tilted in the American League’s favor. There’s a lot of baseball to be played but it’s hard not to look up and down the Tigers’ roster and not think, “Wow, this is a potential World Series winner right here.”

There is an exclusive, invite-only club whose membership is limited to heart-stopping, history-making World Series home runs. That prestigious roster now includes David Freese and his 11th-inning leadoff, walk-off home run that provided a fitting finale to a spectacular Fall Classic.

In Game 6 of the 2011 World Series, on the edge of elimination, the St. Louis Cardinals trailed five times, including by two runs in the ninth and in the 10th, each of those two times down to their last strike. The Cardinals comebacks were triggered by Freese, Lance Berkman and a resilient lineup. From Freese’ two-out, game-tying 9th inning triple, to Berkman’s 11th-inning game-tying single, to the final wondrous walk-off, all the drama, thrills and exhilaration of this Fall Classic masterpiece are here to enjoy for the first time in high definition on the new “Baseball’s Greatest Games: 2011 World Series – Game 6” Blu-ray!

Direct from the Major League Baseball archives, this extraordinary television broadcast includes the quintessential making of an iconic moment, and one unforgettable baseball game available for the first time as both a DVD and Blu-ray!

In support of its release, The Scores Report is giving one lucky winner a copy of the new Blu-ray. Click here to enter for your chance to win, and then be sure to follow us on Twitter and Facebook for updates on new contests and giveaways.

CONTEST ENDS: April 18th

There’s always a price to pay in life. Success doesn’t come without failure and often times, elation doesn’t come without desolation.

For the St. Louis Cardinals, the price of their miraculous 2011 championship wasn’t losing Albert Pujols (like many had thought), but perhaps ace Chris Carpenter.

You could certainly make a case for Pujols or World Series hero David Freese being the most valuable player on last year’s Cardinals team. But in my eyes, it was hands down Chris Carpenter. Nobody threw as many innings in the big leagues last year than Carpenter, who was marvelous in the postseason. He won five of the six games he pitched, with his only loss coming in a 4-2 defeat at the hands of the Rangers in the World Series. In that game he pitched seven innings of two-run ball while striking out four and allowing just two earned runs. He wound up pitching just four days later and beat the Rangers for the second time in the Series, limiting Texas to two runs on six hits over six innings while helping St. Louis win its 11th championship.

Now, with just two weeks before the start of the 2012 MLB season, Carpenter is dealing with a nerve issue in his right shoulder. The initial diagnosis was that he had a bulging cervical disc in his back and there was actually some positive news on his condition earlier this week. But it has been discovered that the discomfort he has experienced in his shoulder is actually nerve damage and nobody knows how long it’ll take for him to recover – or if he even will.

The word “retirement” and Chris Carpenter don’t really go together. He’ll be 37 years old at the end of April but it would take an army to pull him off the mound. But it really isn’t up to him on how his body will react over these next couple of days, weeks, and months. He rejected surgery on Wednesday because quite frankly, it wouldn’t help. It’s not like he has a tear – he’s dealing with nerve damage. All he can do now is wait for the nerve to heal itself (which could take some time), test his arm out, and then go from there. The nerve could essentially heal itself next month but then become damaged again when he attempts to throw. It’s just hard to predict what will happen next.

For the Cardinals’ sake, hopefully the nerve does regenerate quickly and he can get back on the mound at some point this season. But the news out of St. Louis right now isn’t good and there’s a chance that 2011 was the last we’ll see of Chris Carpenter in a baseball uniform. And if that is indeed the case, at least he and Cardinal fans will remember him for being the warrior he was in the 2011 postseason.

The Giants paid their World Series debt in the form of losing Buster Posey, Freddy Sanchez, Pablo Sandoval and Brian Wilson for extended periods of time last season, which prevented them from qualifying for the postseason. Now the Cardinals are paying the price for theirs and it’s a shame that it has to come in the form of Carpenter.

The St. Louis Cardinals knew they weren’t going to be able to replace the most productive player in franchise history in one fell swoop. But netting Carlos Beltran at least somewhat softens the blow of losing Albert Pujols this winter.

According to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Cardinals have reached a two-year, $26 million contract with Beltran. The free agent outfielder batted .300 with a .910 OPS and 22 home runs in 142 games this past season for the New York Mets and San Francisco Giants. He was traded to San Francisco at the deadline for top pitching prospect Zach Wheeler, but he suffered a wrist injury that kept him out a few weeks and the Giants stunk down the stretch. (On a related note, it’s perplexing why the Giants didn’t even attempt to re-sign Beltran when they foolishly gave up their best minor league pitching prospect for what turned out to be a three-month rental.)

Beltran is expected to start in right field but he could move to center once Allen Craig recovers from offseason knee surgery. Craig told reporters earlier this week that he expects to be back by opening day, but the Cardinals will just have to wait and see how his recovery goes. The club also has John Jay, who will start in center when Beltran is playing right and will provide depth once Craig returns.

Considering Beltran was also fielding offers from the Indians and Blue Jays, this is a nice short-term risk for a St. Louis team that badly needed a bat with the departure of Pujols. Again, Beltran isn’t going to make anyone forget about the former St. Louis superstar, but at least he fills a void in the middle of the lineup. The biggest concern is whether or not he, Matt Holiday, and Lance Berkman can stay healthy. If they can – and if Adam Wainwright can recover from Tommy John surgery – then there’s no reason to think the Cardinals won’t make another run at the postseason this year.

Losing Pujols dramatically alters the club’s lineup, but give general manager John Mozeliak credit for landing one of the top names on the free agent market this winter.

To many, it was shocking that Albert Pujols decided to leave familiar territory in St. Louis and sign with the Angels on Thursday. But maybe even more shocking is the fact that the Halos’ offer wasn’t even the biggest that Pujols received.

Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported that the Marlins were actually the highest bidders for Pujols, who will earn $254 million over the life of his new 10-year contract with the Angels. Miami offered the slugger $275 million but Pujols ultimately decided to head out to Southern California, which is presumably where he’ll finish his career.

With ownership trying to attract fans to a brand new stadium in Miami, the Marlins have been linked to many big names since the start of the winter meetings. They’ve already locked up shortstop Jose Reyes to a new six-year deal worth $106 million and also signed closer Heath Bell to a three-year, $27 million contract. In the end though, the club couldn’t catch the biggest fish of all (no pun intended), as Pujols heads West to play with the Halos.

The Angels seemingly came out of nowhere to not only outbid the Cardinals but also impress Pujols enough for him to take less money to sign in Southern Cal. Alex Rodriguez was the only player to secure a contract worth more than $200 million before Pujols signed his deal, although it’ll be interesting to see how much Prince Fielder eventually signs for once he chooses a destination. He’s now the most attractive name left on the market, and should receive plenty of high-priced offers over the next couple of days.

As for the Cardinals, they fell nearly $50 million shy of the Angels’ offer for Pujols, who said back in spring training of last year that he wasn’t going to take a hometown discount to stay in St. Louis. His previous contract was very club-friendly, so the Cards knew they would have to pony up this time around if they wanted to keep his services. In the end, it obviously wasn’t enough. Now the defending World Series Champions are left to pick up the pieces from an offseason that not only saw their long-time manager Tony La Russa retire, but also their best player and most marketable star leave for a bigger contract.