The Cardinals could easily sign Jordan Montgomery and cement playoff status, but they’re stuck in their outdated ways
Their rotation could use some anchoring but never mind.
It’s not even March 21 and the St. Louis Cardinals have already announced that they’re content to play it safe and be average. They did this when it was announced that Oliver Marmol received a contract extension instead of telling the media and diehard fanbase that they were signing another starting pitcher.
With Sonny Gray down due to an injury, Miles Mikolas will start on opening day. That should be about as reassuring as asking the McDonalds drive through attendant for a milkshake. It’s as fun as a burger that looks like a cinder block was dropped on it from four floors above it. He’s not a bad pitcher by any means, but Mikolas is who he is at this point. It’s going to be really good or really bad. Take a glance at last year’s opening day Mikolas start.
It was as great as that first morning alarm on your relentless iPhone, which never misses a beat at 5am. I got off work 30 minutes after the game began, and it was already 3-0 Blue Jays when I got in the car. The last Clydesdale hadn’t even made it off the field yet. It should be Jordan Montgomery, but the front office has already closed up their offseason tune-up shop.
This is happening again in the “We’ll Be Better This Year Sorta” year of 2024. I applauded the offseason moves, even laying down in front of Lance Lynn haters like a live grenade was just placed there. They said he was bad last year, and I asked about 2022. Nope! That doesn’t support the story. However, the Cardinals could have done more. I’ll admit they could have pushed it further. Hitting wise, the outfield is the only spot that needs attention and definition. Pitching is where this team visited shit’s creek a year ago, failing to go 5 innings often, and cooking the bullpen.
John Mozeliak told the fans the team was hitting the higher budget that was the original goal of 2023, but how much higher are they? The answer is not much at all. That’s like saying you’re putting deleted scenes on the DVD back in the day when this team won NLCS games and discs were still hot items, and it ends up being a few reels of the actors messing up lines. You wanted a more cohesive look at the movie, and they just wanted a few more bucks from your wallet.
According to Spotrac, the Cardinals payroll last year hung around $170 million. This sunmer’s team looks to be around the same number: $170 million. What was all the talk about $200 million? It was to ensure that the seats get sold and the money gets made.
They improved the team, but have already lost Gray to a hamstring injury (hence the Mikolas nod) and key reliever addition Middleton to a forearm ailment (try not to think Tommy John there). You add players to guard against injury AND give the team a chance to win more than 85-90 games, and the team stopped short.
Adding a still available Montgomery would nudge the team towards that original payroll goal and show the fans that you’re going for it. For a team that counts on their audience showing up in droves, the front office is quite naive.
Unless they go the extra mile and acquire another pitcher, this team won’t be able to catch the bigger teams in the league. The problem is they seem very content there. The Cardinals can contend for a playoff spot and the division, but that’s where the buck stops. An arm like Monty gives you a pair of #2 arms, and that’s a durable asset to have in an arms race. Everybody is chasing the Los Angeles Dodgers, and St. Louis’s spot in line isn’t glamorous.
Maybe it’s the fact that the team has a legit top starter in Gray and two studs in Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt, and they’re using that talent to sell tickets and not win championships. One is a pure goal and the other is the ultimate prize for the 1%, but why build such a hollow house with such strong wood?
Montgomery isn’t a #1, but he can sure act like one for a few weeks or couple months. Ask the Rangers about that second part. They don’t win a World Series without him. He will always be a solid #2-3 starter, and playoff wins always stack easier on top of a team with more than one top starter. Last year’s team had zero for the record.
The 2024 team could have two top starters, but Mozeliak and Bill DeWitt Jr. don’t want to take risks anymore. They’re lazy and comfy. They were ready years back with big, ridiculous offers to David Price and Giancarlo Stanton, but the chance to lock in a real run seems too far for them. They’re stuck on a standard of salary and performance that makes for a nice little cookout, but never wins anything.
To quote Robert De Niro from the underrated crime film, Copland, the fans give this front office a chance to be the hero all the time… and they continue to blow it.
Financial needs and a changing economic landscape can shift plans, but as far as I’m concerned, they’re making a lot of money. The TV situation is fixed for now, and the future looks bright with Amazon possibly swooping in. The Cardinals will sell 3 million seats again.
So, again, go out and secure Montgomery? It protects you from Gray’s hamstring flaring up, and gives you a cemented chance to claim the division and home field advantage in the playoffs. The reason this is still being said is that Montgomery is the last great arm on the market, and the team has already encountered injury scares. He’s sitting there, waiting for the team to be a hero.
But the front office is content to be DeSean Jackson at the two yard line. 2012 movie fans (and Bobby D) will get that reference. That also marks the last period of time that the Cardinals were a World Series threat. Those were the days.
Honest fans know winning a World Series is incredibly hard, just like having the necessary funds to purchase Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto. The least the front office can do is put together an entertaining product, one that can win a few games--or more than 71. People don’t watch to see grown-ups lose; they want winning, something that makes the rest of their life feel more complete. I do think the Cardinals have put together an entertaining product that is fully capable of winning 85 games.
I just wish they’d do more. Thanks for reading and consider a subscription, free or paid. The latter helps feed my six pets.