The State of the Cardinals: Wainwright finally gets run support, Contreras tears up second half
The Cardinals are still shitty, but not completely unwatchable.
A lot can change in a year when it comes to sports. Look at those St. Louis Cardinals, falling hard from 90+ win territory to one of the biggest jokes in the Major Leagues. If you had a bet on the National League Central getting a lot better in 2023, did it include a very bad Cards team? I bet not. Let’s get into the state of this team as pitches fly in Baltimore.
Adam Wainwright is beloved by his teammates, except when it comes to the scoreboard. He’s cobbled together a year to forget on the mound (after you soak the nostalgia from the rag), but the team doesn’t score for him. Finally, last night in Baltimore, they scored five runs en route to their 64th win. Waino did just enough, going five innings and allowing two runs in his 199th career victory.
I don’t lean hard in either direction when it comes to the 2023 Wainwright debacle. The team gave him a deal, hedging a bet that last September was a fluke based off an injury. After we checked in with the narrator, that wasn’t true. The bet bombed, and the team sank $17 million into an arm that carries a 7.95 earned run average AFTER last night’s win.
Please, save me your big Waino speech. I’ve heard, read, and written a few myself. He’s an adult who happens to play a child’s game for big time cash, and only has to work three quarters of the year. A starter pitches, preferably, around 33 starts per season. Wainwright works 33 days a year when you slice all the BS off.
Back up on the “HE DOES CHARITY” rant as well. Several athletes who are having horrible years do charity work in their hometown. Wainwright goes the extra mile, but the wrath can be felt and handled. If I can block close to 100 Twitter accounts for awful things written, he can shoulder the hate mail. It comes with the gig.
He’s a good dude. A great one. That’s the sticking point. No one hates Wainwright; they just hate seeing him get destroyed by teams. Take the Braves game last week for example. The Cardinals bumped him back from facing Cincinnati (who notoriously destroys Waino) so he could take on a powerful Atlanta team instead. He got thrashed.
Celebrate the wins, accept the ugly losses, and understand that this whole tour with one of the most popular Cardinals of all time will end in three weeks. Table the hateful comments, be respectful, and hope to win #200. That way, Brad Thompson and Chip Caray will have something to slobber over later this month.
Willson Contreras stuck it out with Wainwright on Tuesday night. A bruised hand couldn’t keep the starting catcher out of at least half the game. Most pitchers can’t get him out at the plate these days. A season turned around doesn’t begin to explain the comfort that is now finding the big offseason signing.
Imagine that. The unrest and off-field noise quiets down, and he picks it up. With a good chunk of games remaining, Contreras is slashing .262/.354/.462 with 19 home runs and 26 doubles. The second half OPS is .at .939. The .816 season-long OPS is right in line with last season’s final mark. He’s doing exactly (and a little more) what the team paid him to do. Once again, fans point at this and the Wainwright contract as the main blame game in their rants. The team just stopped acquiring players, specifically starting pitchers.
After the April whiny bullshit from the rotation (who couldn’t pitch a tent with 2011 Yadi for most of the year) was washed away, Contreras got to work. His passion has never died down, and that’s saying something. After posting my article on the lack of emotion from Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt in a popular Cards fan group, the backlash on my words was predictably fiery. It’s like walking into Walmart and saying you won’t see something weird; it’s another bad bet.
Fans get too defensive over players. Molina and Wainwright could rob a bank, and the public would spin a yarn about them doing it for charity. Contreras comes into town, steps into Yadi’s shoes, doesn’t do his best early on, and gets roasted. So predictable. Yeah, the 2023 Cardinals are very Walmart-like.
He got his shit together. Can the Cardinals do the same next year? That depends on too many things to get into right now, but there’s a big thing the front office could do. It’ll piss off fans in a glorious fashion, but the truth will indeed make you mad before setting you free. A woman named Gloria wrote that once. She was a rebel.
I’ll write about that *painful* offseason gamble next time. Here are some parting Redbird shots.
~Give me more time with Richie Palacios with Nolan Gorman hitting the Injured List. Palacios is exactly the kind of discovery you can make in a lost season. He’s shown a real knack for power when given some at-bats. Turn him loose.
~Believe in that Jordan Walker outfield defense renaissance. Working with Willie McGee has its perks.
~Dakota Hudson is like McDonalds. The menu picture shows you one thing and makes a promise that the reality doesn’t keep. He’s allowed 13 earned runs in 16.1 September innings. Bye, bye. Give me Zach Thompson over him if the 2024 rotation got tight or needed an extra leg.
~Don’t sleep on that Gorman power coming right back in 2024. He made strides defensively and offensively this year. Like Walker, he’s very young.
~Tyler O’Neill can hit just enough to be traded. That would be fine.
Goodnight and as Brian Regan once said, take luck.