Redbird Ruminations: Cardinals are Contreras level hot at the moment
Let’s talk baseball as the work week hits the first lap.
If the St. Louis Cardinals win their game today against Washington, they’ll have a record of 48-42 and be 7-3 in their last ten games. Overall, they’ll carry the best record in the National League since Mother’s Day, that May 12 getaway game against Milwaukee where Oli Marmol got into a shouting match with the umpire, and physically showed how much his strike zone stunk.
Let’s talk about a few semi-burning thoughts and takes in regards to this team as more rain falls on the St. Louis area. When this town gets rain, the weather sticks around like Cousin Eddie.
~Miles Mikolas, aka Wyatt Earp 2.0, is Jekyll and Hyde in pitching form. He can be so good if the slider is working, or he can be ripped if it’s not and the fastball/curveball combination is getting clubbed. He’s like the perfect #3 for a rotation, because he can sometimes be more and also be much less. He was locked in against Washington today, going 6.1 innings and striking out three without allowing a run. Mikolas was also sharp against Pittsburgh after getting shelled by Cincinnati.
~Lance Lynn’s ass is still burning from the beating he took on Saturday. Ten earned runs and a pair of homers. Everything he threw seemed to be smacked or crushed, and he couldn’t even last three innings. That’s what I get for writing a feature length article on him. Keeping the player portions smaller is much better for the ball club. Lynn will bounce back. All fastball throwers do.
~Lars Nootbaar is a nice player. He owns a decent slash line, has a great eye, and can provide some pop. He’s a fun personality to have in the dugout for a long season. But he’s hurt a ton, and that hinders his overall value. Yes, the 3.3 WAR was swell last season, but can he do it again? Any criticism of a popular player always gets met with personal roasts on Twitter (never calling it X), but in reality it’s a simple question of worth. Until Lars can stay on the field, he doesn’t rise above Harrison Bader and Tyler O’Neill territory. The name definitely plays.
~Cheers to Andre Pallante for firing off seven solid innings. He’s moving from a patchwork band aid who seals the drain of the rotation to a guy who can be as or more dependable than anyone not named Sonny. He took the time to stretch out, and had enough pitches to get a lineup out during their third trip to the plate. Cheers to that kind of league minimum production, something that the team can easily lock in for 2024. So far, count Pallante as a genuine nice surprise.
~I’ll have what Alec Burleson is having. Like, whatever he’s been having. If there’s a Cardinal who is anti-streaky this season, it’s the outfielder with a smile. People may love Noot’s attitude and passion, but I like Burly’s sense of humor and place. Like Brendan Donovan, he’s a pure ballplayer. No bullshit in the assembly. He went from having six home runs in 107 games to 13 in 82. Burleson has struck out just 43 times, and can spray the baseball around. Like Pallante, another league-minimum above average production. Burleson will be a free agent in 2029.
~Speaking of Donny baseball, he is a player the team should attempt to extend. Barring an unfortunate injury last season, he’s been a plus player for the Cardinals all over the field. He plays certain defensive positions better than others, but doesn’t look out of sorts anywhere on the diamond. He takes a good at-bat, sprays the baseball around and has 28 extra base hits already. It wouldn’t be premature to think about an extension that doesn’t take out all of his remaining years of control, but erases arbitration worries next spring. He’s good for it.
~Ryan Helsley being the lone Cardinal wolf at the All Star Game next week is fine. Completely fine, actually. It allows the team to catch a break and hit pause. Masyn Winn gets to rest his back, and Nolan Arenado (who has picked up his hitting a little lately) can give the forearm a rest. Bodies need time over the course of a job that fires up in February (not including offseason training) and doesn’t let up until October, at the earliest and most unfortunate. Helsley hopefully comes in for a strikeout, or doesn’t pitch at all.
Minds rest, bodies heal, time passes and fans shift down on the rage.
-If Willson Contreras hadn’t missed a few weeks (remarkably only a few) with a broken bone in his arm, he’d have MVP-type numbers. He didn’t miss a beat since returning, powering up with big, late game home runs. Talk about a contract only getting better as time wages on. If the team were to adopt
The Cardinals are up on Washington, 6-0. They win that series, and head home for a series with Kansas City and the Cubs. They have an easy shot at 50 wins before the break, which is saying something considering where they were at the end of May. A lot can change in baseball due to the number of games, which helps make it one of the most compelling sports in the world.
Have a nice night. St. Louis is winning, Monday is dying, and I have a movie tonight. Take luck, friends.