It's the sort of thing where you forget that at one point, the Cardinals were 10 games over .500, electric and commanding the fanbase. The 'tarps off' thing was this year. Tons of fans taking off their shirts in outfield seats and beckoning on walk-offs and rallies. That was this season. It feels like it was years ago, because the Cardinals haven't really been too electric in the second half. Maybe a decent week or two in late July and early August, but they evened out once it became clear how perfunctory the rotation was.
Which is why it feels like such a shame that Jordan Walker and Alec Burleson, both of whom have 100+ RBIs, didn't lead this team further. Burleson's been good as a contact bat before, but this was a new high, with a .285 average, an .824 OPS, 23 homers and 111 RBIs, which still leads the league. Walker's home run totals fell a bit after the derby, but he still has 28, 100 RBIs and 160 hits. This was, at long last, a breakout season for Jordan Walker, after so many years where he could have done something and didn't seem to want to. And beyond that, it was the arrival of J.J. Wetherholt, who's excellent at 2nd and has a contact bat that's just picking up steam. I think that core gets them to the playoffs.
And it shouldn't discount Nathan Church, who made the team as an also-ran and eventually usurped Victor Scott as the starting center fielder. Church is a great contact guy, he's got 50 RBIs and 10 homers, and he's handy in a pinch. Considering that the cavalcade of homegrown Cardinals outfielders has run its course [Nootbaar's done, Carlson and Bader and O'Neill and Edman are all elsewhere], Church is a nice trade-off, an unsung bench guy who can be the hero when he needs to be. Not sure what legs he has on this roster, or if he can do it again next year, but he did what he needed to this year and definitely has a place.
What excites me is the fact that the Cardinals now feel the need to move beyond this year's rotation mediocrity, where Michael McGreevy and Andre Pallante were really all they had. Quinn Matthews is up, and through 7 starts he has a 3.62 ERA, 26 Ks and a 0.7 WAR, which already puts him on the team leaderboard. Matthews is expected to be a nice rotation piece, and I like the sound of that. Both Brycen Mautz and Cooper Hjerpe are fundamentally starters, and are only working relief spots because there isn't room. I think there should be room. Those two have been excellent in minor league play and need to be stretched out. Similarly, despite the 37 saves, we might need to see if anyone other than Riley O'Brien can close games next year. The blows are adding up.
The Cardinals are good enough, and have been good enough, that they're never really expected to land in last, and next year could be the year where their 'legit' stretch lasts more than a month or so. I just feel like once it gets going we're gonna forget this period where the Cardinals didn't really compete. I've been kind of enjoying this honestly, not to really bag on the team or anything. They made like 4 straight NLCSs and now it's just been nice not worrying about that all the time. But perhaps soon...
Coming Tonight: With all the injuries and struggles in the A's rotation, he's pretty much all they've got left right now.
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