After St. Louis won the 2011 World Series, they lost their world class 1B Free Agent player in Albert Pujols. It was the right move (10 YRs/$250 MIL is too much), and Michael Wacha was the compensation pick, so one wouldn’t even make the trade for the Cardinals former legend. However much like the Mariners in the late 90′s lost Johnson, Griffey and Rodriguez, that team had a league record 116 wins in 2001. The Cards have back to back NLCS Appearances, and lost the World Series in 2013, however despite being chalked with young talent, is that they still have lost several key components to their team in the last 3 years. Somewhere the franchise might have to slow down for a brief spell.
In no way am I going to slag the best run franchise in the MLB. We are talking about the quintessential template of how to run your team in the modern world of baseball.
All I am projecting in this article is that every team goes through a stretch of play where they may not be performing to capabilities.
Some of these problems may even persist for a whole campaign.
The 2011 Cardinals won the World Series, and then after losing their future hall of fame legend in Albert Pujols, were able to bring in Free Agents Carlos Beltran to help offset the power headed out the door.
The move paved the way for another final four finish. In fact, St. Louis held a 3 – 1 NLCS lead before the Giants won 3 straight.
2013 saw their young players come to fruition at the same time, and it mixed perfectly with their cagey Veteran core.
The organization had 6 players in the top 100 prospects as listed by http://www.mlb.com – and most of them have seen time with the big club thus far.
Carlos Beltran was a perfect signing for the Cards the year after they lost Pujols. The veteran OF played admirably, and added to his Post Season folklore as a modern day Clutch player, with several game winning hits, and defensive plays. One can’t dismiss the type of player, and the veteran leadership Beltran brought to the squad in 2012 and 2013. The Cards were wise not to sign him for 3 YRs/$45 MIL, but his absence in the lineup has definitely affected the production of the 2014 offense.
Michael Wacha, Kolten Wong, Trevor Rosenthal and Carlos Martinez all played pivotal roles in the 2013 squad going to the World Series.
Still left on the farm was their best young commodity in Oscar Taveras.
In the offseason, everyone praised John Mozeliak for adding a Veteran Shortstop like Jhonny Peralta, while trading David Freese for Peter Bourjos.
The club also brought in Mark Ellis for 2B backup.
The most noteworthy player leaving the fold was Carlos Beltran. While the aging OF has been off to a slow start with New York, his presence in St. Louis is greatly missed.
Matt Holliday and Yadier Molina are about the most consistent tandem of players in the NL, and will probably have seasons that resemble the back of their bubblegum cards.
Craig had a .300 Avg through his first 3 years and he had 3 HRs and 5 RBI in the 7 Game World Series win vs Texas in 2011. He helped soften the blow with Prince Albert leaving with his steady year of 2012 of .305/.354/.876 with 22 HRs and 92 RBI in just 469 AB. In 2013, he took it to the next level before a SEPT injury slowed him down. Still he posted a .315/.373/.457 3 slash with 97 RBI in just 508 AB. Among the totals he had, was a ridiculous .454/.500/.638 mark with Runners in Scoring Position, accounting for 83 of his RBI In 130 AB worth of work. 2014 hasn’t been as kind to the Veteran, with a 3 Slash Line of .221/.278/.362 with 4 HRs and 16 RBI. If Craig can turn it around, it should help the overall offense. .212/.250/.333 is the mark so far for the guy with RISP for 2014.
So far Allen Craig has not hit his stride in 2014, like in 2013 when he was a world beater – hitting almost .450 with Runners in Scoring Position.
Matt Adams is showing a better approach at the plate, but he is not putting the fear of god into the opposing chucker by his power display either.
Matt Carpenter is not on the same clip of 2013, where he was a legitimate MVP candidate, and was leading the league in Doubles, hits and Runs Scored.
Peter Bourjos is not providing the kind of offense the team had counted on either.
Trevor Rosenthal has not found his 2013 like stuff as well. Carlos Martinez is not faring much better.
Chris Carpenter is one of four pitchers to have had a Cy Young Award win under their belt before having Tommy John Surgery. CC finally retired at the end of the 2013 season. Yes the team still has ace Wainwright, and one of the best young staffs in the game, but they have also watched several other veterans retire, or walk away with Free Agency, after contributing solidly to the Cards the last few years. Carpenter was 95 – 44, with a 3.08 ERA, and was a dominant ace for the St. Louis franchise for the years of 2004 – 2012. Carpenter won the World Series in the 2006 and 2011 (3 GS , 2 Wins and a 2.84), Seasons, won a Cy Young Award, with a runner up and 3rd place finish as well.
Add in injuries to Jaime Garcia (again), the retirement of Chris Carpenter, and Jason Motte still recovering from his 2013 TJ surgery, and the depth is not there as it has been in the past.
All of us still are aware these are the ‘Zombie Cardinals.’ It is almost impossible to kill them off.
As another writer here once said: ” You can always count on death, taxes and the Cards making the playoffs. If there was nucleur bomb set off, cockroaches, silly puddy and the Redbirds – would be all that remained on earth afterwards.”
The core of the club has not suffered any setbacks to speak off like some of the veterans.
It also stands to reason that every team has spent countless hours breaking down the nuances of and skillset of the Cardinals – as the road to the NL Pennant quite likely would go throw them.
I think the team that St. Louis was last year actually surprised me more than their 2012 campaign.
Wainwright has been money in the bank since the club acquired him. He is 105 – 59 (.640) with a 3.07 ERA. Wainwright finished 2nd in 2013 NL Cy Young Voting which meant a top 3 vote for the 3rd time in his last 4 full years played. The RHP has led the NL in wins 2x (2009 and 2013). He also has a 4 – 3 mark in PostSeason – with a 2.53 ERA in time as a Closer – and as a Starting Pitcher. The 32 Year Old RHP has been filthy dominant once again in 2014, with a 2.11 ERA – and 6 – 2 record in his NL Leading 9 Game Starts. With him in the rotation, the Cards will be a force going forward. He represents the only Starter left from the 2011 Title team.
An 88 win season in 2012, coupled with a Division that featured (the biggest get well card of the last 5 years) the Houston Astros, was not exactly a massive accomplishment.
That year, St. Louis ousted a 94 win Atlanta team in the Wild Card game, then was put to the brink of elimination by the Nationals, only to show their playoff pedigree, and win the series.
Only the ‘playoff battle tested’ Giants prevented them from a World Series date in 2012.
I seriously thought the St. Louis team would have some issues in the 2013 with Houston out of the Division, Chris Carpenter hurt, and also the other injuries they braved through early in the season.
A lot of their success came with hitting in clutch situations, and the young pitching prospering.
Because Mike Matheny did such a great job filling the void after he left,, we forgot how concerning it was to see the iconic LaRussa stepping down from the helm. The transition was as smooth as butter and really eased our minds during what was expected to be a dramatic change in leadership. The key is how Matheny can handle his 1st real adversity,
Gone from the 2011 World Champs are: Tony LaRussa, Dave Duncan, Mark McGwire on the coaching side.
Players gone: Albert Pujols (Michael Wacha – compensation pick), Skip Schumaker (traded for MiLB’er Jake Lemmerman), Kyle Lohse (Free Agency), Chris Carpenter (Retrired), Jake Westbrook (Retired), David Freese (Traded for Peter Bourjos/Randal Grichuck), Mark Rzepczynski (traded for MiLB’er Juan Herrera), Edwin Jackson (Free Agency), Octavio Dotel (Free Agency), Adron Chambers (Free Agency), Edwin Jackson (Free Agency) Nick Punto (Free Agency), Arthur Rhodes (retirement), Fernando Salas (Traded for Bourjos/Grichuck), Mitchell Boggs (Purchased From STL by COL), Gerald Laird (Free Agency), Kyle McClellan (Released), Lance Berkman ( Free Agency), Tyler Greene (sent to Houston as a Conditional deal and Ryan Theriot (Free Agency). Rafael Furcal (Free Agency after 2013).
From 2011, the team has Wacha (roundabout way), Bourjos, Grichuck, and a few MiLB’ers left.
2012 – Carlos Beltran signed and Rafael Furcal have since moved on after having decent stints with the team, with no assets coming back in return.
2013 – Eduard Mujica provided the club with an ALL – Star year in 2013 despite being changed out as the Closer late. He was granted Free Agency for this year.
The team also lost John Axford to Free Agency after acquiring him at the Trade Deadline.
In 2014, the club also has Joe Kelly on the DL with Jaime Garcia and Jason Motte.
Trevor Rosenthal was the 3rd choice for a Closer in 2013. He now has been shaky in the 1st 6 weeks of 2014. Amidst several other young pitchers coming off long seasons, they may struggle more in the 2nd season. Jason Motte is soon to return. Maybe Rosenthal will be replaced?
Young pitchers like Rosenthal, Martinez and Siegrist are also finding it tougher to travel through the league for a 2nd go around.
A factor not brought up enough is how many extra games this team has played collectively from 2011 – 2013 in the playoffs.
This team has carried out 49 extra contests in that time frame.
While it is not a major influence on the guys that have been there for only a year, it has probably help to sneak some injuries on the players who have.
Molina has been a huge part of the Cardinals success since 2004. The team is 12 – 5 in their last 17 Playoff Series. Molina has hit .294/.351/.381 in 313 AB in the Post Season. At 31, Molina will help guide this team through turbulent waters. The ALL – Star Catcher has been just as good in 2014, with a .308/.338/.448 Line. As the season goes on, the club can count on he and Matt Holliday for team leadership to help right the ship.
The departed ‘RedBirds’ are not exactly lighting the world on fire, it is just an illustration of how good they were in the uniforms for St. Louis as a member of the franchise.
You could make up a decent rotation of the guys that have retired or walked away as Free Agents.
They have bulls eyes on their chest from all NL Clubs.
St. Louis will find a way to be a factor when all is said and done in 2014, it is just not as big of a surprise to me that they are experiencing a slow patch of success for this season so far.
While I did compare them to the Mariners before, it was just an illustration that you can play well for a few years – even after losing your franchise player. The M’s were good until 2003, when Lou Piniella bailed out.
The Cards have too much talent not to be a factor in 2014. I am saying they have lost so much veteran talent in the last 3 years that there has to be some reprocussions at some time,
The awesome young core of the Cardinals will prevail in the long run, and this franchise is looking for another generation of great play because of it.
The St. Louis Cardinals are just 20 – 20 after their 1st 40 contests. A lot of tjhis could be attributed to the fact they have only played 14 games at home versus 26 games on the road. But if you look deeper, this team is not receiving the same kind of production with runners in scoring position like they did in 2013. Also, they don’t have the Houston Astros to pounce on in the NL Central anymore, a main reason why they were Wild Card participants in 2012. This team is flocked with young players who have not struggled at the MLB level until now. Overall, they will overcome this, just like they survive everything, and come back swinging.
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