Nolan Arenado is tired of excuses, isn’t keen on the Cardinals' ‘patience’ plan
The third baseman is tired of trusting a long season to figure out problems.
There may be 128 games left on the schedule; just don’t tell Nolan Arenado.
In speaking with MLB.com’s John Denton before Sunday’s finale with Chicago about the struggling offense of the St. Louis Cardinals, the All Star third baseman seemed to be at the end of the excuse-making rope. Presented with the idea that more games being on the schedule leading to answers at the plate (five months worth), Arenado batted that pitch away. He’s tired of waiting, and being frustrated. Denton asked him about which level of frustration the team should be sitting at, and words weren’t minced.
“It’s high, and it should be high. Guys shouldn’t be OK with what’s going on. I know we have a lot of games left, but that’s an ongoing excuse and we can’t continue to use that.”
Preach! This echoes Arenado’s comments after the 2022 playoffs, one in which the Cards were swept quickly in a best of three game series. He was tired of the wildcard game berths, a shot directly at the front office for pushing past the usual payroll standards. This latest sound bite is more of a shot at the team’s collective struggle and the idea of complacency settling in. In other words, the “we suck and won’t get out of this” mantra.
Being a veteran of 11 years in the league, Arenado knows that feeling. The years of missing out in Colorado and the disappointment thus far in St. Louis have clearly stolen all of his patience. Now, his own playoff performance can certainly improve, but the team has to get back there first before Arenado can prove his worth in that arena again. That goal currently looks like Mount Everest to the Cardinals right now.
The ongoing excuse part of Arenado’s comments really sticks out. It comes off as a reaction to the words of John Mozeliak, who has predictably urged patience amid a tumultuous start to the season. The Cardinals are 86-110 since being ousted by Philadelphia following a 93-win season. The time to wait isn’t now, especially if the team wants to do anything during the end of Arenado’s prime. We’ve seen how quickly it can occur with Paul Goldschmidt this season. He knows it as well as anybody.
Arenado continues to regain his slugging ability, connecting for a home run and a few doubles over the weekend. He did his job, but 70% of the lineup couldn’t follow suit. Whether they’re waiting on time to figure things out or just waddling along, Arenado isn’t having it. He didn’t sign up for a rebuild.
All of this makes me wonder about the conversations that Mozeliak and Bill DeWitt Jr. must have had with Arenado before he waived his opt-out clauses in those two offseasons. What did they tell him, and are they fulfilling that promise? If you bring in a guy who works harder than anyone in the game once the sports turns off for the winter, someone whose biggest goal is to win a World Series, and waste his energy and ability, it’s a disservice to your fans, your team, and the man himself.
Like most operations in the front office, it’s embarrassing. Arenado still has work to do in order to erase a mediocre (by his standards) 2023 season, but he’s turning things around much faster than his teammates. Whether that’s the hours being put into rehabbing a swing or taking more reps in the cage, it’s a bat signal to the rest of the lineup to follow suit. Find some answers, chip away, and get back to scoring more than three runs per game.
Arenado didn’t just flip a switch; he slowly worked his average and on base percentage to a solid spot, and then the slugging percentage rose. Whatever the rest of his teammates are doing, it’s not working. As far as the idea of patience goes, Arenado doesn’t care for it.
He knows as well as the next guy that if you squander May, June and July start to feel like a steep hill. The team quickly fell out of contention last summer, so the urgency can’t really go away for this team. May 6 isn’t a time to sound alarms, but a non-hitting ballclub may as well be playing in quicksand.
Cheers to Arenado for not taking a direct swipe at management, his manager, or any of his teammates in particular. All he is asking for are baby steps, and not to focus on the calendar. When it comes to the Cardinals’ third baseman, it may as well be September.
Dream: While I can only go by boxscores(I am out of town) it appears that this mediocre season is a Team effort, From Owner to Mozeliak to Marmol to The Players.
The fans are failing to show up for the games and so far Ownership seems disinterested-simply advising Patience.
Last in a terribly weak Division; Mozeliak’s legacy.
Fire Mozeliak and Marmol, hire Schildt back as Manager and General Manager and we may just crawl out of the Central basement! Give “Home Run Gallegos” away too.
Carlin Dead but still embarrassed by this Ownership, Management and Team