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Jumping On The Cardinals

by Dan Buffa

I’ll try not to sound too negative about the Cardinals here. The one pure setback of writing articles for the Best Fans in Baseball is dealing with their inability to deal with what’s right in front of them. A problematic baseball team with lingering problems.

I have expressed caution, promoted optimism and made general alerts about calming down and letting the season take its course. However, after the Cards recent turn of play, it’s time to bring out the guns. Losing 3 out of 4 to the Kansas City Royals is pathetic. There is no better way to put it. After a 9-3 stretch that seemed to jolt this team out of oblivion, they have followed it up with these performances.

*Losing 2 of 3 to the Yankees. Problematic but not terrible.

*Losing 3 of 4 to the San Francisco Giants. Bad timing, ugly and Waino gets bashed but still unfortunate.

*Losing 3 of 4 to the Royals in a home/away series. Bad baseball. 

They finished off the homestand 2-7 and then split the two games in KC but this team isn’t playing well and how much longer will Mike Matheny and John Mozeliak watch it? Theories have been tossed around about the areas of need but who knows if a trigger will be pulled.

Let me run down a fresh list of problems for you so this can be clean cut enough to know I am not taking empty shots at the team.

This team lacks an identity on offense.

They can’t hit with runners in scoring position.

Their main power bats are not slugging for power. Look at Thursday. Their two runs were manufactured from the 8-9-1 spots in the lineup.

The bullpen is crumbling.

Their rotation has started to buckle in the past 8 games, blowing 3 leads. Michael Wacha showed he was human last night in blowing a 2-0 lead in the 6th inning. Adam Wainwright has been beaten up 3 times this year.

The Cardinals can’t take advantage of bad teams, but then again, look at their record. Taken on its own, the 2014 Cardinals can’t be considered a good team or strong force right now.

Matt Holliday has warning track power and one home run since April 28th. He gets on base, improved his defense but his slugging percentage is gone. He was never a home run threat but 20 long balls have come to be expected and doubles are nice. Holliday isn’t improving like he was the last 2 seasons.

Jhonny Peralta had a dreadful May and hasn’t started June off that hot either. Where is his power? Will he ever get on base more than once a game and can he produce a hit with RISP?

Allen Craig quietly put together a potent May but he slumped against Kansas City. Will his streaky bat ever find its footing?

Matt Adams returns soon, which only begs the question. Where does Oscar Taveras play? Memphis, spot starts or center field? Or does Matheny go with a platoon at first base? Oscar in center and a first base platoon are highly unlikely at this point.

The Cards don’t steal enough bases and don’t hit home runs. Where is the identity? The regression back to normal from the mad men RISP hitting of 2013 was expected, but is this what fans are left with? A problematic .500 floating team.  Go ahead and reach for the meds.

Thank the Brewers for not running away with the division. The Cards are only 5 games out of first place after a 3-7 stretch. Thank the Pirates and Reds for staying put for the time being. The once strong NL Central has turned into a group of teams in a holding pattern.

Looking ahead, here come the mighty surprising Toronto Blue Jays in their own homer friendly park. Three of their hitters not named Jose Bautisita have 10 home runs apiece. Think about that. The Cardinals as a team have 32 home runs and three hitters on the Blue Jays have 30 home runs combined. A whole team and 3 players. Baffling. The Blue Jays are 37-25, sitting in first place and are 8-2 in their last 10 games. They have won 5 in a row. They will get to face HR dispenser Shelby Miller, the shaky confidence of Lance Lynn and the inconsistent arm of Garcia.  This is a buzzsaw similar to the Giants series last weekend.

The Cards will either sink, swim or be slaughtered. It’s hunting season in Canada.

Do I sound too negative? Well, blame the Cards. I didn’t think they would lose the series to the Royals. I keep writing with a hope of one day writing completely optimistic articles on this team. I am waiting for the flip. The shift in momentum. The launch. The story about a player flipping a table over in the clubhouse and sparking this team with an Al Pacino speech.

Is it time to panic? I still say NO but with an extra comment. Get mad. Do it. Get very mad. This fanbase deserves better. The fans in St. Louis are spoiled by this team and expect winners. That is the reality. This team has a big payroll, tons of talent and should be playing better. That can’t be denied or defended.

It’s a stressful condition to wait on this team. It’s throwing off my days. It makes me extra tired because I watch, became enraged by, and write about this team every day. I feel like I am writing these words with bloody knuckles.

When will the Cardinals launch? Their series of games against inferior opponents is starting to rest now. The Blue Jays, Rays, Nationals, Mets, and Phillies await. The last three teams aren’t great but with this Cardinals team it doesn’t matter if the opponent has a good or bad record. It’s a hard hill to climb no matter what and for the first time this season, I can’t tell you when this team will start to play better baseball.

The Cards aren’t at a dead end. There are none in baseball. You play every day and on the off days you train. A dead end doesn’t exist right now. All the Cards will do is keep playing.

Sure, the wild card is there but almost every team in baseball is within reach of a wild card spot. Sure, it happened in 2006, 2011 and 2013 but man this one seems extra painful and this team is different.

All I know is this. Oscar Taveras didn’t spark anything in this lineup. Jason Motte didn’t spark anything in the bullpen. Jaime Garcia has been good and bad since rejoining the rotation.

Where does the spark exist? Who launches this team?

I would suggest having Chris Carpenter coming down to the clubhouse, flipping over a few tables, screaming at his former teammates while swinging a hockey stick and wearing a goalie mask. I doubt that will happen. The general stepped down from the player environment and put on a suit. Losing Carlos Beltran hurt a lot. Losing Chris Carpenter hurt even more. Where is the enforcer on this team?

This was a bit of a rant and for that I am not sorry. It had to be done. This team is starting to drive me nuts. I may switching from coffee to whiskey tonight. I may need a long walk in my South St. Louis neighborhood.

The dose has been delivered. Feel free to contact me or sound off in the comments below.  I’ll be waiting in the pharmacy.

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6 comments

Bob Cranston June 6, 2014 - 11:33

Almost time for a few moves to be made . . . upgrades are necessary and a message needs to be sent throughout the system. Start with hot pursuit of David Price . . . whatever it takes, this teams needs another innings eater and someone who can dominate in the post season while taking pressure off the inexperienced bullpen. Adrian Beltre would be the second one to go after . . . we all love Matt Carpenter but Beltre is a serious upgrade and a big-time clubhouse presence. Yeah, I know this means adding $31M to next season’s payroll but that’s how the big-boys roll. You see what happens when you entrust key positions to minimum salary players . . . a rudderless ship.

Dan Buffa June 6, 2014 - 12:15

Price is a good option but if you went after Beltre you would move Carp to 2B because losing your best overall hitter right now wouldn’t be wise.

Matt Sharrock June 6, 2014 - 17:32

One of my favorite articles you have written. Simple truths

Dan Buffa June 6, 2014 - 18:05

Thanks Matt. I appreciate it. I try to be blunt and informative. Hope the others weren’t so bad.

Karol Wilcox June 6, 2014 - 18:16

I am a die hard Cardinal fan and agree with the rant, we need the fire and we need it soon! Yadi needs to team lead instead of throwing his helmet. I love Yadi but we do need a driver!

Tony Ellis June 6, 2014 - 21:58

To me Holliday has been a waste from day 1, he’s never clutch and is over paid, I would trade him Wong, Jay, Martinez, Cruz, Bourjous ( who has been a waste also) Robinson and Descalso. Hell go after Stanton, the Marlins trade everyone and maybe another infielder and a top starter. Were suppose to have all this young potential but if there not producing, trade them. All the young arms are not living up to the hype, ship them out. Sorry for venting but it’s hard seeing the Cardinals this bad!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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