Dexter Fowler is exactly who the Cardinals needed - A Hunt and Peck

It has been a year for the Cardinals. The lost their top free agent target to their rivals to start 2016. Those rivals Cubs have emerged as a new superpower within the division. Meanwhile the team has been accused of being "cheap". While having realistic expectations is a healthy perspective to maintain, pessimism seems to have run rampant within the fanbase.

Then there is Dexter Fowler, he to spread joy and happiness back into our lives:

Goodness do I adore this man. He just makes me so happy and so excited for baseball to start, you guys.

what else is going on in baseball...

• Rangers to retire Pudge Rodriguez number | MLB.com
• Here's what it looks like when you learn you're headed to the Hall of Fame | MLB.com
• 2017 Top 10 shortstop prospects list | MLB.com
• Kershaw tops Top 10 starting pitchers for 2017 | MLB.com
• Dodgers Logan Forsythe to play second base | MLB.com
• Dodgers' Yasiel Puig in shape, wants to start | MLB.com
• That time the Dodgers paused a game to look for Bill Sudakis' contact lens | MLB.com
• South Korea ready for World Baseball Classic | MLB.com
• Netherlands brings strong infield to WBC '17 | MLB.com
• Chinese Taipei looks to surprise in Classic | MLB.com
• Giancarlo Stanton will rep the United States in the World Baseball Classic, and he's stoked about it | MLB.com
• No stranger to speed, Dee Gordon took a spin around Marlins Park in an actual race car | MLB.com
• Rob Kaminsky: An Indians Prospect Bounces Back | FanGraphs Baseball
• Scott Rolen, Ron Santo and the Third-Base Myth | FanGraphs Baseball
• Come Rate Your Favorite Baseball Team | FanGraphs Baseball
• Royals pitcher Yordano Ventura dies in crash | MLB.com
• Posnanski: Yordano Ventura's growth a miracle | MLB.com
• Former Major Leaguer Andy Marte passes away | MLB.com
• Baseball mourns Yordano Ventura, Andy Marte | MLB.com
• Yordano Ventura, Andy Marte pass way too soon | MLB.com
• The baseball world mourns the passing of Yordano Ventura and Andy Marte | MLB.com
• Dominican Republic mourns Ventura, Marte | MLB.com
• Mourners pay respects to Yordano Ventura | MLB.com
• Remembering Yordano Ventura and Andy Marté | SBNation.com
• Baseball mourns the deaths of Yordano Ventura and Andy Marte | SBNation.com
• The hardest pitch Yordano Ventura ever threw | ESPN
• MLB mourns, feels 'powerless' in face of continuing tragedy | ESPN
• Ortiz: Players should heed advice of Ventura's grieving mother | Jesus Ortiz | stltoday.com
• Tragedies on Dominican roads are heartbreaking, but not surprising | ESPN

what the cardinals are up to...

• BenFred: Loss of Ventura, friend of Taveras, stirs painful memories | Ben Frederickson | stltoday.com
• Hochman: Diaz ready to build on rookie success | Benjamin Hochman | stltoday.com
• Which Cardinals are carrying a 'chip' in 2017? | Ben Frederickson | stltoday.com
• The Cardinals' Current Top 10 Prospects (plus a few more) | 101Sports.com

KNOW THINE ENEMY...

the nl central

• Listen to the newest Cubs anthem, 'We, Joe Maddon,' from 'Prairie Home Companion' | MLB.com
• Cubs Add Brett Anderson, Remain Vulnerable | FanGraphs Baseball
• Brewers GM David Stearns had an amazing wedding cake in the shape of Miller Park | MLB.com
• Top 25 Prospects: Milwaukee Brewers | FanGraphs Baseball