5 ways the Cardinals can keep the momentum going

They've pulled themselves out of the playoff picture rubble, but St. Louis must keep their eye on the ball.

With July right around the block and the halfway mark of the season just about reached, the St. Louis Cardinals have a pulse. It’s a real turnaround, not some muted winning streak that gets forgotten by the next false start. After starting the season in the same manner with which they finished the putrid 2023 campaign, they’ve gotten their crap together and have pushed their way into the playoff picture.

Cool and fun fact: A year ago, the Cardinals were 33-47, sitting in fifth place and 9.5 games out of first place. No pulse at all. Adam Wainwright made that start against Houston, and St. Louis was beaten 14-0 by the Astros. Skip forward to today, and they’re coming off an impressive series win over Atlanta and a nail-biting 1-0 win on Friday night. Starting today, they’re 42-39 in second place, good for 6.5 games out of first place. One wouldn’t label the comeback as baby steps, but there’s plenty of work to be done.

Now, in order to keep the momentum going, a few things can be done. Oliver Marmol won’t suddenly become Tony La Russa and a few of their struggling superstars won’t morph into their 2022 bodies, but some cleanup is in order. Since the number five is sexy and easy to stack opinions behind, let’s get into it.

Drop Paul Goldschmidt down in the lineup

I don’t give a damn if Bill DeWitt Jr. likes superstars in his lineup or if Goldy has been there before, it’s time to move him down permanently to the 6th or 7th spot in the lineup. He’s not what he used to be, and I am talking about just last year. The power is there on occasion, but it’s not enough to give him prime cuts in the lineup.

He’s slashing .227/.298/.357, a soft output for someone getting cleanup at-bats Friday night. There’s an inability to completely turn on the engines, a surefire sign that he is this guy now for the rest of his career. The double-digit home run total is the only sexy thing about his stat line in 2024. Move him down, or you appear weak. You could put Luken Baker in that spot, and he’d do more right now.

Move Nolan Arenado to the disabled/injured list

I appreciate the single last night and two-run homer in a 5-0 deficit on Thursday, but Arenado is still hitting and performing below league average. A forearm injury that has persisted for the past couple of weeks will only hinder his power more. Hitting sixth in the lineup last night is an improvement from the 3-4 spots, but it’s still an area where he will come up short.

In the same game against the Cincinnati Reds that he clubbed a two-run homer, Arenado struck out woefully earlier in the game with the bases loaded. Once again, if you’re the highest paid player on the team by a healthy margin, one has to get a big hit there when the game still matters. He was hitting like a one-handed Matt Holliday before the injury; he’s gotten worse since. Sit him down, and let him heal up.

These are seemingly easy matters that an experienced manager would have already executed. If Marmol can’t make these decisions and do them faster than a six-year-old makes a ball out of play-doh, there’s something wrong. Wins are the most important thing right now, not mad respect for a former elite player.

Keep Andre Pallante in the fifth spot or get another top rotation arm

Something Randy Karraker said on 101.1 ESPN this week resonated with me. If the Cardinals are to dip into the free agent market for pitching, it shouldn’t be for a typical fourth or fifth starter. They have that already, so acquiring a #1 or #2 type would be more prudent and put them over the top.

Two days after Matthew Liberatore hurled six shutout innings against the Reds to split a doubleheader, Pallante helped shut out the Reds Friday night. He gave the typical A.P. line: five innings pitched with five strikeouts and three walks. That’s all a fifth starter needs to do. Instead of replacing him with an acquired low-hanging fruit, Bill DeWitt Jr. and John Mozeliak need to think higher of their potential trade deadline targets.

Pallante has given the team something Steven Matz could not: a reliable and healthy fifth starter.

Keep using John King and Ryan Fernandez in high leverage spots

If the rotation isn’t touched and the group stays as is, Marmol and his staff need to do their best to keep the bullpen arms durable and ready for a second half push. It can’t just be Andrew Kittredge, JoJo Romero, and Ryan Helsley closing down games. Lately, we’ve seen King and Fernandez step into more of those seventh, eighth, and ninth innings.

Since they play so many close games and don’t have five arms that can take a game into the late innings every night, getting trustworthy arms to take on those innings is vital. While the offense is hitting more over the past six weeks, the team still leans on its pitching to win games. The roster isn’t good enough to blow out teams, so the bullpen has to be versatile and loaded.

In 29.1 innings pitched, King has a deft 1.05 WHIP and amazing 7:1 strikeouts to walks ratio. He’s missing bats and doesn’t put runners on base. Fernandez has a slight problem with walks, but he averages nearly 10 strikeouts per nine innings and induces a lot of weak contact. He also has a WAR that nearly matches Arenado and bests Goldschmidt. Lean on these two guys more, even with the talented Gordon Graceffo being called up Friday.

Give Nolan Gorman a few days off

Some things pass you by when you’re working a day job and only writing about the team in a part-time capacity, especially a hitter’s batting average. While I don’t put a ton of stock in batting average for certain players, it helps if the other teams like getting on base or slugging the ball are higher. When it comes to Gorman, all his numbers are down.

Instead of merely jogging into Dan Uggla town, Gorman smashed his car through the hotel lobby. He’s hitting .188, slugging only a hair over .400, and has 106 strikeouts to his season name. The 16 home runs and improving defense at second base help, but he’s stuck in an awful slump. In his last 60 plate appearances, Gorman has only two hits and three walks. During that time, he has struck out 28 times.

Now would be a good time to rest him. Moving him down in the lineup along with Goldschmidt would help, but turning off his baseball brain for a couple (or few) games would be good for the team and a still young player. Weeks ago, I labeled him as a talent who couldn’t be traded. While he’s still an asset, Gorman has to be able to eliminate the 2-3 week periods of play where his bat disappears. No one’s paying for his defense right now, so the bat is a premium tool for him.

St. Louis doesn’t have an extremely hard schedule the rest of the way. They can get into the playoffs and win this division if a couple moves and decisions are made promptly. Picking themselves out of the gutter is one thing; maintaining success through the dog days of summer will be a test. Are they a contender or pretender? Talk to me in a month.

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