Losing ugly is becoming a Cardinal tradition in 2023

Wednesday’s loss was a gut punch to a struggling team.

The last time I checked the phone, the score was 7-5, St. Louis. The Cardinals were mounting another winning streak, and the outs required were shrinking. But it had to pass through bullpen customs before getting to closer-reborn Jordan Hicks.

This year’s pen is like shopping at a gas station for more than a snack. You may get a solid roast beef sandwich, or the taquito may kill you. It’s a grab bag this summer, but the chaos had cooled off somewhat in the last couple weeks-as in they were freezing bats more than aid them.

But the road to Hicks was blocked by the Gio canal, which has flared up and taken away a few wins this season. However, like the unit as a whole, he had fared better lately. In other words, his screwed up rate was falling. Well, it was. The days of Giovanny Gallegos being untouchable entered their glory phase years ago, but he can still befuddle hitters.

Is it a matter of the opponent faced? Is he not good on certain Tuesdays, after dark? Something makes Gio go boom, but what is it? The Houston Astros have been smelling red on teams for years, a skill that reaches to half cold/half hot bullpen arms. If it needed to be Gallegos tomorrow, are you not pouring a drink first?

Most nights, the end of the game eludes me, as my eyes get heavy after 9pm. If I’m somehow up at 11pm on a night before working the next morning at 6am, it’s not baseball. Hey, those plumbing supplies won’t deliver themselves. Last night’s short cushion heading into Doomville didn’t provide a lot of promise.

Every loss stings as spring turns to summer officially, but the harsh losses must deflate these already-out-of-answers players. A game like last night, where Miles Mikolas put on a replay of opening day by spotting an American League team three early runs, could have empowered a struggling team like St. Louis if the result were a victory. A loss propels them deeper into the abyss of looking way up in the standings with time running out.

Every loss hurts double, because they’ll have to rebuild the confidence (and winning percentage) after Tuesday’s impressive win. It’s just like the Cardinals to act more than useless against a better team.

The New York Yankees roll into town tonight after Houston departs, another huge challenge to a lumbering baseball team with a little pulse, zero identity, and no savior waiting in the wings.

No matter what happens, the team should sell off a few pieces in a month. Unload salary or potential salary while retaining pieces in a deal that pull you out of the gutter, starting pitching wise. It’s not a rebuild; more like a retool.

That’s the bane of this team’s dwelling pulse: tons of leaks in the pitching department. They need horses in the rotation, and bullpen answers that don’t walk a plank each night. It’s out there for John Mozeliak to grab in a trade; he just has to get for real with a proposed roster that bombed on him.

For a team with two top 5 MVP candidates healthy and plowing, it’s a little Angels-like to come in worse than the .500 mark. Without evening knowing it, the front office is wasting the premium years of their biggest lineup threats in Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt.

St. Louis has won a total of four playoff games since trading for Goldschmidt before the 2019 season. Don’t take that as a shot against the players. They literally fought over the MVP award last year.

It was wasted when the team couldn’t muster a win against Philadelphia. That’s not the work of a team truly going for it. That’s a team acting like a contender with a couple shiny toys outside their front door.

The Cardinals’ prized athletes can’t help a team from starting 33-46. The ugly losses so far (16 blown saves) make it seem much worse. With 83 games remaining, I’d buy more bourbon with this untrustworthy squad.

Just don’t feel sorry for them. The checks are still clearing.

Picture Credit: Jeff Curry/USA Today Sports