Commish’s Offerings 4-10-2023
Rick Hummel is presented by:
Fast Eddie’s Bon Air
in Alton, Illinois
What’s Wrong with the Cardinals?
St Louis-
So, what's wrong with the Cardinals? Well, there have been some circumstances, some more extenuating than others, to help explain their 3-6 record.
For one, the Cardinals probably had the hardest schedule of any team in the major leagues for the first three series of the season. They played Atlanta and Toronto, both playoff teams last season, and Milwaukee, which missed the postseason by just one win.
Those three teams had a 93-69 average record among them last season, or the same mark as the Cardinals, who won the National League Central Division title. And Atlanta, Toronto and Milwaukee are a collective 19-10 through the first 10 days of this season.
Manager Oliver Marmol, before the season began, said he welcomed playing some heavyweights right at the start. But the Cardinals weren't able to land enough punches in the first three series.
They did not, however, beat themselves. The Cardinals didn't commit a charged error in the first nine games.
On the other hand, the Cardinals did not receive many well-pitched games from the starters nearly the first two times through the rotation. Miles Mikolas had two mediocre starts. Jake Woodford had one bad one and one mediocre one. Steve Matz was uneven in his lone start while Jordan Montgomery, who has two of the Cardinals' three wins, pitched the only truly strong game of the nine, working seven scoreless innings, fanning nine, in Saturday's 6-0 win, at Milwaukee.
Jack Flaherty has had what could only be called two perplexing starts. Over 10 innings, he has given up just two runs. But he has walked 13.
The surest thing that things can change is that the schedule changes. Now. For the next 10 games, the Cardinals will play Colorado, Pittsburgh and Arizona.
Last year, that trio combined for an average record of 68-94 although Pittsburgh, which lost promising shortstop Oneil Cruz with a broken ankle Sunday, has broken quickly this season. There is a good chance that the Cardinals won't go anything less than 6-4 in those 10 games and then suddenly they're 9-10, which doesn't look quite as bad.
For example, the Cardinals were 23-10 against those three clubs last season.
Besides the starting pitching needing more length, the Cardinals could use a lineup tweak or two. Whenever Lars Nootbaar (jammed left hand) is ready, he goes back into the lineup hitting either second or first. In the one game Nootbaar played, he reached base three times in six plate appearances while hitting second and the Cardinals scored nine runs.
Nootbaar could even hit first, where Brendan Donovan is one for 15 over his past four starts hitting leadoff, and getting just two balls out of the infield in that time.
And, maybe, just maybe, it is time to nudge rookie star Jordan Walker a little higher in the order. Batting seventh or eighth in each of his nine starts, the right fielder has hit safely in all nine of them, popping two home runs and driving in eight runs.
The time for the Cardinals to stabilize a bit is now. After the aforementioned 10 games against seemingly more beatable teams, the Cardinals will go on a rugged 10-game road swing to Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles to close out the month.
To illustrate how little the Cardinals have been ahead lately is the fact that All-Star closer Ryan Helsley had to pitch the eighth inning of a one-sided game on Sunday just to get some work.
He hadn't pitched since April 1, having participated in the first two games of the season and then none of the next six.
In losing five of their past six games, the only time the Cardinals held a lead in any of them was when they shut out the Brewers on Saturday. They failed to take any lead against Atlanta in three games and didn't hold a lead at any time in the two games they lost at Milwaukee.
