Did Anyone Expect This Season out of Carpenter?

Few expected much from Carpenter this year. Look at him now:

As late as that April 14 injury I was convinced that any value he added to the 2009 Cardinals was a welcome bonus. That’s how I wrote him up in the preseason book, and though his first start had gotten me more excited than I wanted to be that squib game was all it took for me to lose the newfound confidence. I know it wasn’t supposed to be serious—I know it wasn’t the result of throwing a pitch—but between the Cardinals’ reputation and Carpenter’s was there anyone out there who wasn’t a little suspicious that he’d be back?

But since then... well, since then he’s thrown 21 starts unabbreviated by injury; 19 of them have been quality starts. 15 of them have gone at least seven innings, nine of them have involved no more than one earned run, and now four of them have brought together 32 scoreless innings, 36 strikeouts, four walks, 13 hits. He’s really good. He’s really, really, really good. He’s not the bonus innings, he’s the innings, qualified, as of yesterday’s start, for the year-end ERA title.

Carpenter being “really, really, really good” could mean another World Series title for the Cards.