George Carlin once said, "stop living in the past!"
So, in order to resist the urge to toss this laptop out of my office window, I am going to resist the urge to live in the past and complain incessantly about Friday's pitiful loss by the St. Louis Cardinals at the hands of the Chicago Cubs. I mean, it got so bad that Jordan Hicks actually got mad and screamed at somebody.
I will try to sustain that promise by pointing out five ways that the Cardinals can starve off elimination on Saturday afternoon at Wrigley Field. Five ways that keep their 2018 playoff hopes alive, because at this moment, they are quite scarce and far-fetched.
Coupled with the Cardinals' brutal 8-4 loss to the Cubs yesterday, the Los Angeles Dodgers beat Madison Bumgarner and the San Francisco Giants, 3-1. The Dodgers now lead the Cardinals by two games for the second wildcard spot, so the Cards need to win out and need the Giants to do the same. Unlikely, but in the world of sports, you never know.
Here are five ways the Cardinals can win and ensure that the Dodgers-Giants game later this afternoon means something.
5) NO ERRORS PLEASE
In other words, no groundballs can be hit at Jedd Gyorko that make him come in or go to his right. Overall, the guy is solid, but he makes errors in bunches, and committed two costly ones on Friday. The Cardinals lead the Majors in errors with 423. I am exaggerating of course, but you get the idea. The Cardinals' defense gives the other team more outs and puts more pressure on a pitching staff that is coming apart at the seams as it is. Clean defense could go a long way. Act like professionals for once.
4) 2017 OZUNA FOR A DAY??
Ozuna's performance against Cole Hamels speaks for itself. The slugger has three home runs in 29 at-bats against the former Philadelphia Phillies ace pitcher, so it sure would be nice if Ozuna cleaned up today. When you hit fourth, that is your job. Mash, drive in runs, and so it repeatedly. The former Marlin is having a good finish to the season. With an ailing shoulder, he has managed to put up decent numbers. He sure got the ball rolling on Friday, driving in a key run. Today, he needs to do more damage and do it early. Be the guy in the R-rated movie, Marcell. You're a bad man.
3) BIG GAME FOR MIKOLAS
Let's be honest, the Cardinals' bullpen is an overworked ER staff right now. They have come into so many games recently in the fourth, fifth, and sixth inning that they don't know what a day off means. It seems like every day the starter can go five innings and provide edible service, but that's it. It sure would be something for MIkolas, who owns one of the few complete games this year, to produce a big boy performance. In other words, don't put the team down 2-0 in the first inning. Don't let the Cubs get up and get the crowd roaring. Silence those bats, give your team a chance, and go chase win #18.
2) BIG GAME FOR BADER
First, it would be nice to see the young man, or "Sonny BRO", shut Keith Olbermann up quick with a home run early on or a diving catch. More so, the Cardinals need a big day from Bader, because he has been struggling at the plate. He is 6-24 in his last 10 games with a .683 OPS, and it only gets worse when you look at the last 15 and 30 games. Bader has just one multi-hit game since Sept. 7, so he needs a big day at the plate. He puts pressure on the pitcher, has 15 steals in 18 attempts, and creates havoc on the bases. He also makes up for the lackluster defense from the corner outfield spots. If a fly ball gets near Bader in any way, he needs to call off Ozuna and Jose Martinez. Rule that field like Carlos Beltran in 2013, fella. Rise up, silence the doubters, and dismiss the haters.
1) A CARPENTER EXPLOSION
It's very clear at this point in the season: Where Matt Carpenter goes, the offense follows with him. He is the catalyst for the Cardinals, setting the tone at the top of the order. He's slashing .163/.318/.233 in September with only one home run. After leaving August at the top of the MVP race, Carpenter has brought back the April and May woes at the worst possible time. He can still draw a walk, but the man needs to erupt. The Cardinals need a little late July Carpenter in order to stay alive. Leave the salsa, take the double to the gap. For some reason, he has lost his way at the plate. It could be the hand, or it may simply be a regression from greatness. In the next 48 hours, the Cardinals need Carpenter to rediscover the ability to destroy pitching.
That's it. It's simple. The Cardinals' backs are against the wall. There's no time left to waste out there. You can either fight back or drift away for the third offseason in a row without playoff baseball. Scoreboard watching isn't required if you are going to sleepwalk through another game, and let's be honest: the Cardinals have looked dizzy since Monday's heartbreaking loss to the Milwaukee Brewers. Since that loss, the team can hit, field, or pitch perfectly enough to win. It's time to shake that off.
A loss on Saturday would give the Cardinals their first five game losing streak of the season while effectively eliminating them from playoff access. They may no longer control their destiny, but they sure can go down with some dignity restored.
Stop embarrassing yourselves and play better baseball. What was once destined for 90 wins and playoff baseball has crashed into a wall. Can the Cardinals get back up one more time? The answer arrives in less than 12 hours.
Goodnight...or morning, Cardinals fans.
