In defense of John Mabry…

Saying the Cardinals are struggling on offense is putting it lightly. One of their biggest blunders this season came during Tuesday’s game against the Giants. With the bases loaded and no one out, Allen Craig, Jon Jay (who actually is doing well this year), and Daniel Descalso all failed to drive in a single run.

The Cardinals would wind up losing Tuesday’s game 5-0, dropping their record to 44-40. Their scoreless drought still extends past 20 innings.

A lot of the blame of the sputtering offense has been put on John Mabry, the hitting coach.

A 14-year MLB veteran, Mabry played for eight different teams from 1994-2007, but his most memorable moments were with the Cardinals, which were in three different stints. He played nearly every position, and was known for his versatility. In 1996, he hit for the cycle against the Rockies. He hit 96 home runs, 446 RBI’s, and had 898 total hits, with a career .263 average.

Perhaps his most memorable moment came in 2005, against the Cincinnati Reds. In the top of the ninth Mabry hit the game winning home run, capping off a comeback in which St. Louis trailed 9-3 in the ninth inning. St. Louis won 10-9.

In 2011, Mabry was hired as the assistant hitting coach to Mark McGwire. Following the 2012 season, Mabry was promoting to hitting coach when McGwire left.

Mabry as hitting coach also is another trend of former players remaining as a part of the Cardinals’ organization, which goes the same for manager Mike Matheny.

The 2013 Cardinals finished in first place in the NL Central, scoring 783 runs. Six Cardinals had over 10 home runs, and they broke the all-time record, with a .330 average with RISP. The lineup was a blend of young stars such as Matt Carpenter and Matt Adams, with veterans such as the now Yankees’ outfielder Carlos Beltran and all-star Yadier Molina.

In 2014, the Cardinals have done a lot of lineup shifting, especially in the #2 spot in the lineup (which now is being held by Matt Holliday). Overall, the team has struggled compared, scoring 307 runs while allowing 289.

Now, despite the lack of offensive consistency thus far in 2014, Mabry isn’t the one to blame. In fact, lashing out at anyone won’t help the cause. But if blame is to be put on someone, it needs to be put on the players in the lineup. John Mabry doesn’t go out there and swing the bats for them. He doesn’t strand double-digit runners per game. He doesn’t waste opportunities that can put the team well ahead in a game. The players in the game do. This falls on them, even if it makes Mabry look bad.

Coaches and managers make mistakes and poor decisions, but they can’t control what the players do during the game. Mabry has proven he can be a good hitting coach, as evident in 2013. Despite losing the World Series that year, the NL champs still played well throughout the season offensively, especially with RISP.

Every athlete has their highs and lows. Allen Craig, who hit .454 with RISP last season, has under-performed so far this year,  struggling to keep his average above .250.

The Cardinals haven’t been bad on offense all season. In fact, many games this year have shown the capability the lineup has when they play consistently and strong overall. But the blend of youth and experience hasn’t worked as well this season so far as in years past.

St. Louis is a team built for the future, with multiple top prospects in the farm system and currently on the big league roster.

It will take time and patience for the full potential of this team to be shown and unleashed. But for the struggles currently plaguing the offense, Mabry is the wrong person to shoulder the blame on.