Uncustomed Heroes of 2018: Cardinals

I never thought the Cardinals would respond to the loss of Mike Matheny by...performing better than they did with him as manager. I never could imagined how insane their August was, and how inexplicably they rose to, and fell from, power. They were the A's, only without the stability.

And...truth be told, they weren't a bad team. Granted, they weren't good enough to sneak into the playoffs, and lost too many crucial September matchups to land on a WC spot. So...they just have some accolades.

One of them is still having Carlos Martinez, one of the most notorious strikeout artists, and one of the perennial leaders in walks, in baseball. He had a down year by his own standards, but...he's still Carlos Martinez, and he's still one of the closest things the team has to an ace.

Well...aside from...

...oh yeah, their ACTUAL ACE.

Adam Wainwright, who's been fairly hit-miss in his last few seasons, decided to use his late-year return from the DL as a way of reminding people he can still throw hella hard. 40 strikeouts in 8 starts hard. Granted, his W/L ratio still isn't back, but the Cards are definitely banking on a return to form in 2019.

The numbers may not completely illuminate this, but Kolten Wong had another strong season at second, being one of the primary offensive leaders for the Cards with a 3.5 WAR. I'd put this year down a few pegs from his 100+ hit 2017, but he's proved his ability to be consistent in a constantly-shifting Cardinals environment.

The more consistent infield option is still Jedd Gyorko, who has proved to be an insanely crafty presence in the lineup, giving another 90+-hit season, and playing some top-tier defensive infield. He's got one more year of St. Louis mayhem before being released onto the general public of the MLB, so expect either some tricky postseason stuff for the Cards, or...a midseason trade sending him to Atlanta or something.

 Michael Wacha missed a portion of the season due to injury, but after his return he was back to his old tricks, improving on his 2017 season with a 3.20 ERA, an 8-2 record, and some general dominance. He'll likely be relied upon quite a bit during the 2019 run.

If not for Harrison Bader and Jack Flaherty, Tyler O'Neill would be the team's most powerful rookie. He only finished with a .254 average, but his 1.5 WAR, his 23 RBIs and defensive versatility speak for itself. Guys like O'Neill make me feel like St. Louis is gonna continue their roster interchangeability of late. O'Neill, while primarily an outfielder, can also be used off the bench, and can be swapped with Bader, Gyorko and Paul DeJong, all multi-positional guys.

 Daniel Poncedeleon's story is a nice pick me up- he comes back a season after being hit in the head with a line drive, his first start in the bigs is a near no-hitter, with multiple strikeouts and a ton of promise. Poncedeleon's stuff varied from starting and relieving duties, but he was an intriguing extra arm to have in the pitching staff, and might have an even more impressive 2019.

 Matt Adams landed in St. Louis in September, after a nice year benching in Washington. He proceeded to shed all of his good bat mojo from DC, and return to the effeteness he displayed in St. Louis before being dealt to Atlanta. Hopefully he'll find his stuff again soon enough.

Of all people to hold the fort in the ninth this year....Bud Norris? Former Houston and Baltimore starter Bud Norris? Well...okay then! Norris had 28 saves in 32 opportunities, with a 3.60 ERA, which made for a nice comeback year for the man. He's a free agent now, so hopefully someone will take a chance on this man for the ninth...hell, maybe it'll be Boston.

Coming Tomorrow- They went from being in control of the division to watching the playoffs from the sidelines...in a week's time. That's the kind of luck that used to get fans of this team down.

Human Cardinals

Oh, what fun, the Cardinals are terrible again.

...Look, I know that I evoke my all-too-present hatred for the Cards on the blog a bit too much. I'm aware of this. Most of this is based on something that happened over five years ago, and yet I'm still very bitter about it. I'm...trying. Believe me. I'm trying to move on from hating the Cards...but seeing them flounder this season makes it so much more fun to hate them. I can't resist.

Carlos Martinez...whether they were in last or not, I'm gonna hate him. He makes it seem like he's having a bad day, by throwing a ton of early balls...but he throws more strikeouts than most people. He doesn't really give up hits, but he still advances runners- he just doesn't let them get very far, because he strikes out everyone that could get them over. He's very crafty, very tricky...and gaaaah, he was making it hella difficult for my Yankees last Saturday. Not fun.

The rest of the team is a mixed bag. Players who used to be great that aren't doing so hot anymore (Matt Adams, Matt Carpenter, Jhonny Peralta, Yadier Molina), players who are trying to be great but don't have a support system (Stephen Piscotty, Mike Leake, Aledmys Diaz), and players who just aren't on the right club (so sorry, Dexter Fowler...) It's just a bleak mess, and it's not amounting to much on-field success.

In this division, it might be tough for them to completely bottom out- the Brewers and Reds might make it a bit tricky, but the Cards just don't have a ton of momentum left. They're gonna try, and there might be a moment in, like July, where they actually win games and look professional...but it's not gonna last long.

Coming Tomorrow- Last year he was catching for a last place team. Now he's...okay, a slightly different last-place team, but one that won't be in last for very long.

The Return to Yankee Stadium (4/15/17)

My dad turned 50 today.  I figured I should probably start with that, only to embarrass him. 

As a birthday present for him, and as a Christmas present for me, I wound up with Yankee tickets, and it couldn't have worked more perfectly. CC Sabathia...starting against the St. Louis Cardinals, my least favorite team ever...on a generally nice day...on Jackie Robinson Day.

Can't get too much better than that. 

I hadn't been to the Stadium in eight years, so it was nice to see that they'd cleaned up that area of the Bronx, as well as how cool the stadium looked. My main problem with Yankee Stadium now is that it's trying too hard to be the original Yankee Stadium, and it just feels artificial, and fake in a way. It's not really genuine if you have to try hard to please people, and while having everything souped up is a nice touch, it's a very corporate executive way of enjoying a game, which is to say it's not the most relaxed park out there.

Our seats were nice. On the first base line, closer to the outfield, so that the bleacher creatures were within earshot. After last night's later victory, as well as some injuries, the roster was a bit depleted- no Aaron Judge, no Matt Holliday, and obviously no Didi Gregorius or Gary Sanchez. While some of the backups were nice, like Aaron Hicks and Ronald Torreyes, others...like Chris Carter and Kyle Higashioka, were a little less tested.  Still, at least the general core of Castro, Gardner, Ellsbury and Headley were there, so it wasn't all backups.

Carlos Martinez started off for the Cardinals, and...his stuff is interesting. He only throws walks and strikes, and his delivery is pretty long-winded, like Jose Quintana style. He barely allowed any hits, and while his barrage of walks led to an early run (thanks to some stellar base running), he wound up with a TON of strikeouts, which is probably why people love him so much in St. Louis. He does, however, rack up a big pitch count after only a few innings. 

CC, meanwhile, was CC. He only allowed one or two hits, and while he wasn't the strikeout artist he came up as, he still shut down the Cardinals for most of the game, and established some of the dominance that made him a hero in the bronx. 

The Yankees weren't doing a great deal, other than striking out or stealing bases. Jacoby Ellsbury had a couple of nice hits, but our main power-suppliers kept striking out. It wasn't until the Cards brought in Brett Cecil that we raised the lead to 3-0, and we actually started chalking up in-play runs.

Still, as pathetic as the Yankees' offense was in the early part of the game, they were no match for the ALL-AROUND SHEER INEPTITUDE OF THE ST. LOUIS CARDINALS. I mean it. They were pitiful. They couldn't field. They couldn't hit. They couldn't run. They couldn't pitch. Even Yadier Molina was letting too many balls go by behind the plate. They were a SHELL of the team that won a World Series in 2011...and as a hater of all things Cardinals, I say this with a smile on my face.

Even if the Yankees weren't hitting, they were still playing great baseball- they stole a number of bases, the outfield of Ellsbury-Hicks-Gardner was PHENOMENAL, making a number of amazing catches in the outfield, stuff that could never have been caught with mere mortals playing the position. This is still a nice team, even if they were admittedly flawed today.

My dad and I had to leave by the 7th, but the Cardinals couldn't manage to stop the Yankees, and the final score was 3-2 on a MOMENTOUS Jackie Robinson Day. This was their sixth straight win, and it was the EIGHTH straight baseball game I had been to since 2015 where the home team had won. But I think it's really more about the Yankees.

Heck of a game, and a solid enough day at Yankee Stadium. 

It Probably Won't Happen: Cardinals Edition

Last night I talked about how prepared the Detroit Tigers are for some potential playoff berth. Today, I talk about a team that isn't prepared for the playoffs...even if they are technically in Wild Card position, and that's the St. Louis Cardinals.

Right now, it's between the Cardinals, Giants and Mets for the Wild Card. Or, as I would have put it in April, the most predictable choices for the playoffs. I mean, yes, the Mets squeaking in under these circumstances would be great, and I still see the Giants potentially working some even-year magic, but...the Cardinals are stalling.

It's become obvious, from the state of the pitching staff to the number of injuries to the main lineup, that they're not fit for the playoffs, and don't have the team to make a serious effort in the playoffs. But there they are, still going for the Wild Card spot.

Yes, there are people that are having nice seasons, like Carlos Martinez and Steven Piscotty, but this is not the squad they had in 2013, or even 2015. They're beginning to age out of legitimacy, and the guys that were once surefire successes are beginning to fall apart. I'm predicting they're gonna go through a serious rebuilding period in the near future.

Unless something miraculous happens, we're looking at a Giants-Mets WC game.

Coming Tonight: The rookie standout for a falling Astros team.