5 takeaways from a surreal week of Cardinals baseball

Baseball has a sense of humor, one that can reward and punish.

Baseball likes to kick our ass on occasion, but we know it’s coming and welcome it. Emotion plays a part whether you like it or not.

Think of Jim Carrey kicking his own ass in “Liar Liar,” or Dwayne Johnson kicking any human. Baseball plays mind games, makes us drink, steals sleep from right beneath our eyes, and leaves us hanging like a bad TV show cliffhanger.

But it can also reward the loyal souls with a week of baseball like the St. Louis Cardinals just enjoyed. August began with a day of rest for the Birds, right before the Chicago Cubs and New York Yankees came to town. If fans were being practical, expectations sat around a series win over Chicago and a series loss to the *previously* 70-36 Yankees as a plus homestand. New York left town Sunday with 70 wins.

In an effort to coherently recap the action and plug my thoughts into the equation, let’s look at five takeaways.

Good for you, Mr. DeJong

Paul may not have as many lives as Loki just yet, but he’s proving to be a formidable force for the Cardinals in the second half. While his average and overall stats since returning from a two-month Memphis sabbatical aren’t much to write home about, DeJong’s impact hits have dug some dirt out from underneath the team’s fingernails on at least two occasions.

The game-winning David Freese in 2011-esque double that plated two runs and sent Busch Stadium into a similar state of shock as when Matt Adams cranked a two-run homer off a seemingly cruising Clayton Kershaw back in 2014. It’s players like DeJong that are going to be needed for the long haul for this team to have success. Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt would do it all themselves if they could, but they need help.

Player effect is a tangible thing. Look at Yadier Molina stabilizing a pitching staff with the little things over the past week. According to The Athletic’s Katie Woo, Giovanny Gallegos has the ultimate confidence in Molina. Think off the well-framed pitches Molina stole over the weekend. For a guy who stops thefts, he commits a few himself with sheer skill and convincing methods.

DeJong’s effect on the team is a 7-1 record since his activation. It’s almost like making a trade as they commonly say and joke.

The Nado is just starting to spin

Arenado went berserk over the weekend against the Yankees. While they brought a Judge and Carpenter (good for him, too) to downtown St. Louis, the Cards had their own Hulk in the third baseman. Watching him play now for a couple years, there’s never a doubt that a two-homer night is the goal for him each game. After popping out on Friday night, he looked like Christmas got canceled.

After his towering, game-igniting homer on Sunday, Arenado looked like a poker player who doesn’t have to count cards if he’s playing for them. He is locked in, and that is coming right as the dog days of summer take effect. In his last 15 games, Arenado’s slash line is as crisp as the crust around your toasted ravs from Imo’s: .334 batting average/.422 on-base percentage/.727 slugging percentage.

The guy the team acquired to do things at this exact time is doing those things. He just outslugged Aaron Judge over the weekend, before going back to his Colorado stomping grounds starting tomorrow night. The “Nado” effect is in motion.

Nicely done, Noot

If there’s an unsung hero from the homestand, it’s Lars Nootbaar. Since the Juan Soto trade to San Diego confirmed the Cards outfield alignment, one now equipped with Tyler O’Neill and without departed fan favorite Harrison Bader, Nootbaar has enjoyed some extra exposure at the plate and in the lineup. In his last 15 games, he’s reaching base at a .389 clip with two home runs and nine walks. Look at the stress he’s carrying out there:

But it’s his play in the field that’s saving runs. Running catches to the bullpen or a rushed-in dive, Nootbaar is all over right field. The defensive drop from Bader’s departure is unavoidable, but the play of the outfielders since that late trade on Tuesday has shown a new leaf isn’t so bad. “Noooootttt” is this close to a candy bar deal in St. Louis. A good story that just gets better as the season, and opportunity, roll along.

The offices of Montgomery and Quintana deliver early dividends

Newly acquired starting pitchers Jose Quintana and Jordan Montgomery delivered exactly what the team needed so badly over the past two months: level ground. Instead of the floor splitting beneath their lack of innings and depth, the rotation did a nice job on the homestand. Quintana shut down the Cubs to assure the sweep on Thursday, and Montgomery stymied (love that word) his former Yankee friends on Saturday for five efficient innings.

These guys, along with bullpen everyman Chris Stratton, don’t have to be baseball heroes. Just produce and perform as needed. Innings, assurance, and consistency. John Mozeliak’s trade deadline moves were about need and not want.

Helsley strength

If the Cards closer was a type of coffee, he’d be a macchiato. Extra strong with just a little froth on top to stay sophisticated. The young pitcher is still getting his legs back under him after 2021 was shut off due to injury and overuse. Now he’s the last man standing in that bullpen, and the team is better for it.

Helsley’s stuff is extra strength, as shown by the triple-digit heater that Judge couldn’t catch up to yesterday. He fired another offering that resulted in a foul tip nearly knocking Umpire Ed Hickox to the ground. Bad strike zone or not, he doesn’t deserve that. As Iceman once told a shorter Maverick, this guy is dangerous in the ninth or whatever inning the team chooses to use him in.

If he gets beat, you tip your cap.

After this kind of week-six wins in seven days-Cardinal Nation should tip their cap to the team. It hasn’t been an easy ride so far (what season really provides that, though?), but there’s still lots of baseball left. The Cards are now 60-48, two games ahead of Milwaukee instead of the four game deficit they faced last Monday. A lot can change in baseball. With few off days and extra intrigue as the summer ages, fans in St. Louis are once again in for the ride of their lives.

(Photo Credit: AP/Jeff Roberson.)