It’s been just over one month since Major League Baseball has kicked off in 2023! In a year where there were rule changes designed to speed up the clock and get more action in the game, there has been plenty of things that folks did not see coming to start the year. There’s the Tampa Bay Rays who won 13 games in a row to start the year, the New York Yankees that had been severely bit by the injury bug and then some, the Chicago White Sox’s supposed championship window that has been multiple years in the making has blown up in their faces, and of course the Pittsburgh Pirates of all teams are in sole possession of 1st place in their own respective division. However, I don’t think there hasn’t been anything as shocking, flabbergasted and even amusing to watch from the rest of the baseball world than the abysmal start of the St. Louis Cardinals. With the exception of fans of the Oakland A’s who will now be forced to watch their declining team depart for Las Vegas in the coming years, there has not been a fanbase in baseball that has suffered quite as much this season than that of the St. Louis Cardinals.
After today’s 11-7 defeat against the Los Angeles Angels, the Cardinals are now at a dreadful record of 10-22, the worst record in the National League and only behind the Kansas City Royals and Oakland Athletics for worst record in all of baseball. It’s their worst start to a season since 1973, literally 50 years ago, and the first time they’ve finished 12 games under 500. since 1999, the year which saw the movie releases of The Matrix, Fight Club, Toy Story 2, and Star Wars: The Phantom Menace.
The Cardinals has been a fairly consistent and successful franchise since the beginning of the 21st century, having only one losing season to speak off which occurred in 2007, a year after their 10th World Series title. Unless they are able to pull a devil magic fueled run out of their butts for the remainder of the season, this will likely be the first losing season since then. While the Cardinals being this bad at baseball might be surprising (and even delightful) to the rest of the baseball world, if you were to ask fans of St. Louis, this is honestly something you could almost see coming from a mile away.
Despite the Cardinals coming into the season as favorites to win the NL Central for the second straight year and were even dark horse candidates for a World Series run by some, they had some glaring issues that their front office refused to address in the offseason that could hold them back. They had a starting rotation that was projected to be one of the worst in baseball with no ace or notable top pitcher to speak off, they had to deal with a much more balanced schedule and not having as much games against weak division opponents, the banning of shifts which aided them the last few years with their stellar defense backing up their pitch-to-contact starters, and the notable retiring of two faces of the franchise with Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina. And all that President of Baseball Operations, John Mozeliak and crew had to response to those issues during the offseason was the signing of the best free agent catcher on the market in Willson Contreras and literally nothing else. Even with those glaring flaws not being addressed, the Cardinals still believed themselves to be contenders for 2023. After all, they had six starting pitchers, according to Mo himself!
Needless to say, putting blind fate in a severely flawed rotation and expecting the offense to mash their way to six or more runs per game has backfired severely for the Redbirds. This was something that Cardinals fans going into the season were well aware of but for whatever reason, the front office and management were either unaware of or just didn’t care to address. However, this had been a notable problem for at least the last few coming years. I’ve already address the main things that St. Louis was going to be without coming into the season but let’s go over some of them one-by-one to show how the “success” the Cardinals have had in recent memory may not be as impressive as one might think and why their dreadful start seemed like it was years in the making.
A More Balanced Schedule
As much as the Cardinals have had a winning record for the last 16 years, one has to wonder how much of that is credited to how bad the others teams in their division has been and not just how good St. Louis has been. Yes, the Cardinals were able to make successful playoff runs in the early 2010s where they were a legit threat to other teams but how about in recent memory.
Since their early postseason exit to their longtime rival Chicago Cubs in the 2015 NLDS, the Cardinals have only won one playoff series and lost 11 of the 15 playoff games that they have played in, including losing 9 of their last 10. Which again, begs the question of how much of those playoff appearances mostly came from wining enough games against weak division opponents such as the Reds, Pirates, and other teams that weren’t trying to win for the past few years, and not because they are actual legit competitors.
All you had to do was look at the St. Louis Cardinals last year. Despite having an impressive record of 93-69 during the regular season, they were 34-38 (34-40 if you count the playoffs) against teams with winning records and just 47-41 facing teams outside of the NL Central. Which is why their two-game sweep in the playoffs at home against the Philadelphia Phillies should not have been as shocking as it was. Heck, even I mention that the Phillies shouldn’t be underestimated back last October since they have more experience against competitive teams such as the Braves and Mets in their divisions last year and I was right.
Regardless of what you could say about the Cardinals last year, they were no longer gonna be able to beat up on as many crappy teams for 2023 as they’ve done before, due to a more balanced schedule where everyone has to play everyone. It was their chance to prove to the world that they have been real competitors all this time instead of pretenders. Unfortunately for them, they are surely looking like pretenders.
The Banning of Defensive Shifts
I’m honestly shocked this wasn’t talked about more during the offseason than it was as a potential downside for this team in 2023. For a team that had a rotation filled with pitch-to-contact guys and had been relying on gold glove caliber defense to win games, the removing of the shifts was gonna play a HUGE factor to this season. And the Cardinals have SUFFERED as a result.
You would be hard pressed to have seen a team this year that has suffered from giving up hits that always manage to sneak pass the defense because they can’t shift, bloop hits that bounces in the least likely spot possible, and constantly failing to put away hitters when they are down to their last strike within an at-bat. Not having any notable swing-and-miss starters was going to put the defense to the test and that team has not been up to the task whatsoever.
The defense has been one of the Cardinals’ greatest strength for the last few years, most notably in 2021 where the team won a combined total of five gold glove awards, the first team in MLB history to accomplish that. However, one can’t wonder if that had more to do with the defensive shifts being included in prior years that than their actual skills on defense. That’s not to discredit the defense as a whole but they were gonna have to be WAY more affective than they are now to be able to back up their pitching staff.
Losing Legends
It was always going to be a tough hole to fill with longtime faces of the franchises and future hall of famers in Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina heading into retirement after last year. Even when Albert departed in free agency after 2011, the Cards still had Yadi front and center as being an exceptional catcher and leader to carry them ever since then. However, they are now gone and a good chunk of that leadership that was able to carry the team for nearly the past two decades would be gone. Even with the other beloved Cardinal veteran in Adam Wainwright deciding to return for one last season, who has provided great leadership over his career in St. Louis, it was going to be much more glaring than anyone realized.
To give the front office credit, they did go out and get the best possible replacement for Yadi in the offseason with the addition of Willson Contreras, who left the divisional rival Cubs. While his framing of pitches and calling games would be much to desire, his strong arm and elite offense should be enough to overcome these obstacles. It wouldn’t be Yadi but at least it seems like his successor would be a legendary one. However, that does not seem to be the case whatsoever. While the offensive numbers from Contreras have been solid to start the season thus far, his framing pitches, calling games, and chemistry with the pitching staff has been far from it.
Again, it’s hard to hell how much of this is actually Contreras’s fault and more of how Cardinals have just been spoiled by Yadi for the past 18 years. The Cardinals has had a similar pitching staff for years now but they’ve never been as bad as they are now. Is it just that Yadi was just a once in a generation catcher that was so masterful at framing, calling games, and carrying the pitching staff for so long that anyone that follows him was gonna look bad in comparison? Is it that Contreras is just a bad catcher whose only notable strength is his arm and bat? Is it just that this starting rotation was as ever bit as weak as it was projected to be for this season? Regardless of what your answers are to any of these questions, the absence of Yadier Molina has left an enormous impact.
While the noticeable lack of Yadi can be found with what goes on in play on the field, it has also greatly affected what goes on off the field as well. Manager Oli Marmol had a successful rookie season as manager in 2022 by winning 93 wins and winning the Central division. However, with how bad the Cards have been to start the year, how much of last year’s success can actually be contributed to his managerial skills. A big portion of the blame for St. Louis poor display of baseball can be contributed to Marmol’s questionable in-game decision making, outspoken comments on particular umpires, calling out his own players, most notably Tyler O’Neill, and having little to no feel for the game. It makes you wonder how much of last year’s success could be contribute by the veteran leadership from the likes of Albert and Yadi than it does with Marmol.
Even taking away losing two veteran leaders and future hall of famers, this is mostly the same Cardinal team from last year that won their division with only notable differences being the addition of Wilson Contreras and the subtraction of Jose Quintana. Not to mention, Molina had been gone for a good chunk of his final season and Pujols didn’t really take off his swan song surge until after the All-Star break. Even if you take in the fact that they will have less games to beat up on the Reds and Pirates (who they are currently behind in the division), it’s baffling how a team that is mostly young with a handful of well-known veteran players still present could be this bad. Which again goes back to the manger Oli Marmol.
Did Marmol ever form a connection with the players in the past year or was it just the veteran leaders who were on their goodbye tour that motivate the players to play their butts off? Was it actually Albert and Yadi that the players was playing for and not the manager himself? No one has an definitive answer for it but once again, the lack of their presence has made results quite noticeable.
Yes, you can also argue that superstars Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado could be considered veteran leaders as well but they haven’t really been known for having success in the playoffs nor have they come close to winning a ring. Not to mention, they have been on several losing teams over the years with their previous teams they were a part off. While the Cardinals are never comfortable with losing, Goldy and Nolan have been for quite some time during their time with the Diamondbacks and Rockies. After being a part of a bunch of bad seasons with their previous teams, how’s another one going to hurt for them?
It’s not fair to blame it all solely on Goldschmidt and Arenado but it does make you wonder if the two are as quiet and stoic off the field as they are on the field. While there’s a strong argument that those two will be future hall-of-famers due to the success in the regular season, their lack of credible leadership has not made this start for the Cardinals any better whatsoever.
It Was All Leading Up To This
In all hindsight, this honestly feels more than just an ordinary bad season like the Cardinals’ last losing season in 2007. At least, that team was coming off of a World Series win and playoff runs in six of the last seven years. A down year after a championship victory was easier for fans to swallow. Unfortunately, now that we basically live in the age of “What have you done for me lately?”, the 2023 Cardinals have no recent success to look back on that they can be proud off. It’s been 12 years since the team’s last World Series title, 10 years since the team’s last World Series appearance, and even 9 years since their last actual National League Championship series victory. Since then, they haven’t really come close to another successful playoff run and it’s looking like they will not have another one anytime soon. This is mainly because the problems that the Cardinals have right now are ones that have been incredibly obvious in this organization for the past several years, from top to bottom.
Thus far, the 2023 season basically feels like a tribute to every screw-up and mistake this front office has made since the 2011 title. From the awful free agents signings to the dreadful talent evaluation to the poor development of prospects to the inexperience coaching/management to the lack of a plan, vision, or any accountability from the higher ups, reality is finally starting to settle in for the Redbirds. Dread it, run from it, destiny arrives all the same!
The only difference with this season is that there will be NOTHING that can bail them out this time like it has done in previous years. They no longer have weak division opponents to beat off of because they have now improved over the years. They no longer have defensive shifts to back up their pitch-to-contact filled pitching staff because the shifts are no more. They no longer have proven winning veterans that can guide the team through tough stretches because they are now long gone. And I’m fairly certain that there’s NOT gonna be another historic 17-game winning streak or collapse on par with the 2011 Braves and 2021 Padres that will be able to get them in the playoffs because they no longer have the heart, identity, or so-called “pixie dust” they have had over the years. The baseball gods have at long last stop giving the Cardinals their blessings, now it’s payment time. And that payment has resulted in the franchise’s worst start in 50 years and as the season goes on, could be one of the worst seasons in this franchise’s massive history.
Can They Turn It Around?
Of course, some will argue that it’s still early and that there is five more months of baseball left to play. After all, this is a team that just two years ago were able to pull an historic 17-game winning streak to get into the playoffs. You can also look at teams in recent memory that were able to make impressive World Series runs despite having terrible starts to their seasons such as the 2019 Washington Nationals or last year’s Philadelphia Phillies. While that is still technically possible, I just don’t see that happening because of all the faults that are present with this roster that can’t be fixed with a soft patch, most notably the starting pitching.
The 2019 Nationals had a starting rotation filled with Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg, Patrick Corbin (at least when he was good), and Anibal Sanchez. The 2022 Phillies had arguably the best #1 and #2 punch in all of baseball in Zach Wheeler and Aaron Nola. Aside from maybe Jordan Montgomery (who will be departing in free agency at the end of the year), the Cardinals have absolutely no one even close to the level of the pitchers mention. The starting pitching has range from inconsistent to just plain awful and that will likely not change.
They do have Adam Wainwright who is expected to come back soon and perhaps young top prospects such as Matthew Liberatore or Michael McGreevy might add a bit of a spark to the rotation but I don’t think that’s going to be enough. With the lack of a true firearm, swing-and-miss starter, or a notable ace of any kind, any chance of a resurgence like previous teams mentions is incredibly unlikely. And please don’t bring up the 2011 Cardinals, that drum has been beat FAR too many times for nearly the past decade.
Unless there’s a big change in the front office and management or the roster that has underachieved for the first 32 games is able to MASSIVELY overachieve for the remaining 130 games, I do not sense a turn around coming anytime soon. At best, they might finish in 3rd or 4th place in the division and just beat out from being in the bottom 10 in baseball but that’s about it. The glaring flaws from the organization from top to bottom can no longer be controlled and there isn’t enough proven talent that can overcome them the way they have done in the past. If the 2022 Cardinals was the equivalent of writing a bike with training wheels, the 2023 Cardinals is the equivalent of writing a bike for the first time without them and crashing hard into a tree as a result.
The End Of A Dream
As I’ve suffered watching this team consistently finding ways to lose game after game, it doesn’t have me thinking of what’s gonna happen for the rest of the season but more what’s going to happen to this team in the future. And I can’t help but thinking that this season is just a start of a long, rough road ahead. This is basically what has been in the makings for several years now and it’s finally caught up.
As of right now, there is no ace-caliber pitcher in the system, no reliable or proven outfielders, no notable leaders, no proper face of the franchise, and they no longer have as many bad teams to beat up on as they’ve done in the years past. These aren’t problems that can be fixed over the course of a season or off-season, these are problems that are going to take YEARS to fix. I’m talking fresh new philosophies in the hitting and pitching department, experienced coaching and managing that know how to develop their talent and use analytics properly, and a new front office that knows how to observe and evaluate the talent they have without letting an Sandy Alcantara or Randy Arozarena slip away. Unfortunately, that looks like that won’t be the case anytime soon.
Owner Bill Dewitt Jr. is clearly on John Mozeliak’s side every step of the way and has provided him with more job security than the President of the United States. At best, it will take multiple disastrous seasons such as this for there to be a massive change from the people responsible for the construction of this team. And that does not sound like a team that is pleasant to watch whatsoever.
Because of all that and more, this is the first time I can recall as a fan that I just don’t have any hope or interest in this team going forward. They clearly have no plan or vision for the future and have been relying on blind luck to carry them to over 82 wins and wild card clinches since 2016. Now, that luck has officially ran out and as everyone in baseball can now tell, they have no answers or solutions to any of the problems presented. If the people in charge of this mess don’t know or care how to fix this, then why should I bother spending my time with it.
I will always have plenty of memories from this team to fall back on that can never be taken away. I’m grateful to have see this team win multiple times and witness a couple of World Series championships before my very eyes. However, I think now might be a proper time to take a long break from the team. Say for next month where I may or may not go with my family to watch this team on the road against the Texas Rangers, I have no desire to attend another game until something big changes for the future. Everyone involved with the Cardinals FO have had undeniable successes in the past but they have long past their expiration date and it’s time to move on from them. If not, then prepare for seasons such as this one for the foreseeable future, Cardinals fans. We have one dark future ahead of us.
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