I admit it. I’ve taken the St. Louis Cardinals for granted.
Since the year 2000, the Redbirds have been one of the premier teams in Major League Baseball. In that span, the Cardinals have earned two world championships, four World Series appearances, nine division titles and 12 playoff appearances. As a fan, I began expecting excellence from the Cardinals. Regardless of who was sent to the plate, thrown on the mound or out in the field, it was always a safe bet that the Cardinals would be appearing in postseason play and could be a legitimate threat to the title.
Before fleeing to Los Angeles, the football team that formerly resided in St. Louis rotated between awful and awfully mediocre for a decade. I closely watched the drafts, hoping the team would finally find a breakthrough player. I tuned in at the start of the season, knowing the team could sneak in a few early victories before the rest of the league remembered it was the league’s most-reliable punchline.
Even though it was a virtual certainty that St. Louis’ former football team would be left out of the postseason each year, something about the NFL drew me in close. Perhaps it was the 16-game schedule that meant each game was important. Perhaps it was the inclusion of fantasy football, which is leaps and bounds ahead of other fantasy sports because nearly all of the games occur over the course of one day. Regardless, I was dialed in deep with the NFL and then it was gone.
Following the NBA season, it’s time to shift back into St. Louis sports mode. The good ol’, reliable Cardinals are right where I expected them to be – in playoff contention. No, the Cards aren’t the bullies of the NL Central anymore. The team currently sits 8.5 games behind the Chicago Cubs in the division standings. However, the club is only a half game out of the second Wild Card spot. With 76 games remaining in the regular season, it seems like the perfect time to get plugged into the day-to-day of baseball.
After a rough start to the season, it appears that Adam Wainwright is back to being Adam Wainwright. Waino posted a 1.77 ERA during the month of July. In five starts, he gave up just seven runs the Cardinals were victorious every time Wainwright was on the mound. It’s clear that the 34-year-old Wainwright hasn’t been the dominant pitcher that we’ve known him to be for most of his career. However, his outstanding July performance shows that he’s still capable of stringing together some gems.
It’s (almost) time to get my introduction to Aledmys Diaz, the Redbirds lone All-Star and Rookie of the Year candidate. The rookie shortstop is currently on the 15-day DL with a fractured thumb. However, he leads the team in batting average (.316) and hits (110) and total bases (183). He’s no wizard in the field, but as long as he continues to be the team’s best lumberjack, he’ll be an important asset for the ball club. Diaz’s injury could be a blessing in disguise. Rookies are known to hit a wall during the latter stages of the season. Diaz is expected to miss a month or so, which could enable him to be fresh during the club’s stretch playoff run.
Surprising turns of my mid-season reintroduction to the Cardinals are that former Rookie of the Year candidate Randal Grichuk has been optioned to Memphis for the second time this season. The 24-year-old has been lost at the plate with a terrible batting average (.216), OBP (.280) and OPS (.694). Grichuk’s demotion means that center field will now be handled by committee, which is never a good thing.
Unlike in recent years, the Cardinals seem to be led by a strong offense. The team leads the National League in both batting average (.257) and home runs (147), and is second in runs scored (538). The pitching has been middle-of-the-pack, but Wainwright can and should continue to show improvement over his so-so first-half. The addition of relief pitcher Zach Duke at the trade deadline should help to solidify the bullpen.
While the Cardinals organization is often criticized for the moves it didn’t make, it should be applauded for continually producing a playoff-caliber roster. We’ve watched greats come and go through St. Louis and have all been spoiled by success. However, I’m now coming to appreciate the success of the franchise. It’s a wonderful thing to know that I can tune in during late July/early August and know the Redbirds will always be within striking position.
Love for the Blues too
The St. Louis Blues are also underrated in St. Louis. Outside the brief Mike Kitchen and Andy Murray eras, the Blues have been a perennial playoff team since the team’s inception. The elusiveness of the Stanley Cup is understandable frustrating. The team often fields a championship-caliber roster ‘on paper,’ only to watch the paper get crumbled and crushed by a familiar foe during playoff time.
Yes, the Blues watched captain David Backes and Troy Brouwer skate away in free agency, but who really believes Head Coach Ken Hitchcock won’t guide the Blues back to the postseason in 2017? The Blues will retool the roster and be back in contention this season.
Follow Ishmael and In the Clutch on Twitter @IshmaelSistrunk
