5 takeaways from the Cardinals' 7-2 win over Boston

Five wins in six games, folks. It's not bad baseball so far this weekend.

Take it or leave it, the St. Louis Cardinals haven’t shit the bed this weekend against the Boston Red Sox. In winning the first two games by a combined score of 17-8, they’ve shown the tenacity and skill set to hang with and take down an American League thug in the Sox, who came into the series with a 22-22 record.

As Sunday morning quickly switches into a summer hotbox outside, let’s discuss a few takeaways from those pesky, Jekyll and Hyde Redbirds. I know they’re well-paid athletes, but stepping on that field today in full gear at high noon will produce sweaty pits and puddles that Ray King and Todd Stottlemeyer would respect.

Takeaway #1: More baseball, less bullshit from Jim Edmonds would be nice

The former Cardinals outfielder and surefire inductee into the Troy Siade Hall of Fame, Edmonds can be so informative and insightful on the broadcast. He can break down a swing and slump for a hitter better than most and speak from a genuine place of experience. Edmonds played at a high level for a six-year period of time, so his knowledge has weight. But, he then curls off into a rant or story that has nothing to do with the game, only serving his ego. It derails the broadcast and creates an uncomfortable silence from his partner, Chip Caray.

Caray doesn’t handle the Edmonds vain episodes as well as Dan McClaughlin did. Danny Mac had a very quick-moving sense of humor, and he could chirp Jim somewhat if his antics got out of hand. Caray can spin a joke out of it as well, but it’s a safe reaction. Either way, Edmonds should stick to baseball. When he does, his color analyst work shines brighter than Brad “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” Thompson’s up-up-up nature.

Takeaway #2: Masyn Winn plays like a veteran already

One of the key things Edmonds notes Saturday night was how the Cardinals shortstop is showing a lot of confidence on the field. It’s not a showy brand of optimism, but true self-belief and a physical manifestation of his mental approach. Winn scoops up grounders and takes decent-looking pitches with an ease and calmness that doesn’t befit a rookie. He’s not a big deal yet, as he pushes hard to keep his OPS over .715 and maintain the output of hits.

Jeff Curry/USA Today Sports

But Winn is so young and ascending faster than most at the toughest part of the sport: the mentality side. The ability to understand that you belong, and can become great in this league. Rough season or not, Winn is a bright light who will only get better. The 22-year-old has already saved seven runs on defense via Fangraphs, and popped his first homer on Friday. It’s a big stage, but Winn looks very comfortable on it.

Takeaway #3: The Cards need to be careful with JoJo Romero

Remember when the team picked him up from the Philadelphia Phillies a couple years ago? The acquisition was treated like a joke on social media and flew well under the radar. Since landing in St. Louis Romero has been a different pitcher. He strikes out over ten batters per nine innings, holds an excellent WHIP, and doesn’t walk many. He has an Al Hrabosky-type mound presence, showing fire and snapping the ball towards the plate. Last year, righties got to him for a .260 batting average, but a very weak .375 slugging percentage. Romero completely eliminated lefties, holding them to a pathetic .105 slug % and just four hits in 38 at-bats.

2024 has been a continuation of his dominance for the most part, but he’s starting to bust at the seams. It’s not even the end of May, and he’s already appeared in 22 games. Romero has thrown 23.1 innings and faced 86 batters. He’s being used too much by Oli Marmol, throwing 107 pitches over his last five outings.

As Edmonds noted last night, his offerings are catching more of the plate instead of staying down. He allowed the Red Sox to tie the game and nearly take a lead off three straight hits. Marmol needs to find someone else to trust, or Romero will be Seth Manessed before too long.

Takeaway #4: Steady Donny wins the race

Brendan Donovan won’t join the Hall of Fame when his career is finished, but betting hard cash on him putting together a savvy career is a lock. While his stats so far are nothing to write home about, Donovan is starting to show signs of the player who tabulated a 4.1 WAR in 2022, becoming the spark plug for St. Louis. It was his absence last year towards the end that helped short-circuit the offense.

He does a little of everything, from making pitchers work to getting on base to coming up with extra base hits. He has more home runs than Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado, collecting 16 extra base hits so far in 2024. He’s also heating up, going 8-21 with three walks in his last five games. Donovan also threw out a key runner at second base in the eighth inning last night. He’s an old fashioned, get-it-done kind of ballplayer, refreshing in today’s egotistical arena of athletes.

Takeaway #5: Strong home plate work from Mark Wegner

Maybe an uncommon takeaway, but I didn’t see a single problem or flaw with his pitch-calling on Saturday night. A closely contested game for the majority of the night, Wegner’s work received a 95% accuracy grade from Umpire Scorecards, a very good website for tracking their work game-to-game. Strikes were strikes, and balls were balls; for at least one night, Marmol’s temper didn’t flare due to bad calls. Wegner is a young umpire as well, and has put up good grades in his last ten ballgames called. In an effort to stay away from robotic umps or whatever Robby Manfred cooks up, games like these help.

I for one do not want to see a robotic strike zone. Keep some of the old school around.

Final Things:
~Guess who didn’t suck and now has an ERA under 6.00? Miles Mikolas. 5.1 IP isn’t a great amount, but he held Boston in check.

~Alec Burleson is proving himself to be a very capable outfield option for the team. He sweats pitchers down for a .293 BA and .793 OPS, has some pop, and is making nice use of the DH slot being open.

~Busch Stadium actually looked full last night, posting 40k in sales and resembling the sea of red that wasn’t just an empty seat. Friday’s contest was weaker, though. Keep an eye on attendance. The team doesn’t make a ton of money by merely getting you into the stadium; they need people to go and spend money. Lots of money. Think of it as the casino. Free drinks, coffee, and lights--but in the end, they thrive and live on our cash.

Thanks for reading and find a cold pool today.