Why the Cardinals’ insistence on a veteran presence was a bogus offseason campaign slogan
Was Adam Wainwright a non factor in the clubhouse last year?
All this talk about a veteran presence, and nobody can put an actual price or win total on that notion: the idea that older players help teams win championships.
John Mozeliak and the Cardinals have shaped their offseason plays and plans on the notion that last year’s team stunk due to a lack of older players helping the team. In reality, it was a complete lack of competent starting pitching. They also forget that the franchise’s most lovable player ever in Adam Wainwright was on that team last year. If this team needed a veteran boost and he couldn’t deliver it, there’s a problem.
He is the messiah of baseball clubhouse leaders; I picture him dressed like Obi Wan Kenobi, surrounded by his advisors or mini young buck helpers in a baseball hut. There isn’t a Cardinal in history who brought more locker room morale than Wainwright, so how was that a non factor in 2023?
St. Louis radio host Tim McKernan brought this up when breaking down the President of Baseball Operations’ comments on a radio segment this week. Mozeliak was a guest on BK and Ferrario, a fellow show, along with McKernan’s Balloon Party, on 101.1 ESPN. The good thing about Tim is that he’s just flat out honest and doesn’t mince words, or take unnecessary shots, when discussing the team.
McKernan was mystified by the Cardinals, shaping their fixes around the theory that older players will kickstart a comeback. Yes, they signed some old dudes, but the intent is to have 4-5 guys who will take that ball every fifth day. It’s not an old folks home. I like Lynn and Gibson because they are genuine innings, not due to their drivers license facts. But the suits are selling the nostalgia motto like refurbished leather seats. There’s only one problem. Pujols, Molina, and Waino are gone. Carpenter is second tier nostalgia, Mr. Mozeliak. Daniel Descalso is like utility belt harness oil nostalgia, if anyone was wondering.
All of this is spin, and hilariously noted on the show with McKernan referring to the Mozeliak media parlor as “spin spin, sugar sugar.” A chorus that tries to lean on nostalgia plays like signing Matt Carpenter (a move I didn’t hate) can magnify a glaring weirdness like Yadier Molina’s ever changing coaching plans with the team. This team has no idea who they are.
It’s hard to imagine this team putting both feet to the ground and signing another arm for the long season, and that’s an accepted stance among the fan base. It’s not like they like it; that’s the way it’s being operated. The Arenado and Goldschmidt acquisitions throw the general philosophy.
They’re a Midwest team in a content spot financially with their revenue stream, even with a questionable TV situation that will get worked out eventually. I’d just like them to be honest for once. Less bullshit.
Ticket buyers wouldn’t love it and all sane souls can poke holes in the theory. But clarity can be a clever ally to a team in flux.
Every veteran player shouldn’t have to be a leader, but losing Wainwright and thinking you refilled the tank with Carpenter is an odd notion. Explaining their bullish interest in a Lynn revival and Gibson reload would be more refreshing. Just be frank.
Maybe it’s an empty idea or a waste of article space, but something McKernan said sparked a wire in my head and got me thinking about where this team is going.
One place they’re not going is to the World Series. It’s a sad thing to admit, but was easier to deny when the big corner infielders came to town. When they collected two players that finished in the top 5 for NL MVP into the fold, something told me Mo and company had made a sudden U-turn back towards seriousness. Goldschmidt has been here since 2019, and Arenado arrived in 2021.
On the cusp of the 2024 season, a safe assumption would be that many fans don’t know what to make of this team. The bargain bin shopping to finish the rotation, but the big spend with Arenado and Goldschmidt. Make it make sense.
Few will like the answer. Thanks for reading. Opening day is six days away.