They’re only five games into the 2019 baseball season but the Cardinals continue negative trends that should be cause for alarm. Starting pitchers are giving up home runs by the bushel, hitters are flailing away at just about any and everything opposing hurlers are throwing towards home plate, striking out at disturbing rates. Lastly, the bullpen, which many thought would be a major strength of the team, imploded in the finale against the Brewers in Milwaukee Sunday, costing the club a split in the opening four-game series, a missed opportunity that made manager Mike Shildt a very unhappy man whose post-game demeanor was a stark contrast from his perceived norm.
St. Louis avoided a more disastrous start by overcoming a 4-0 deficit to defeat the Pirates 6-5 in Pittsburgh’s home opener. The Redbirds managed to push the eventual winning run across on a passed ball in the eleventh inning in a game in which Cardinal batters struck out seventeen times! Yikes! They improved to 2-3 on the young season but could just as easily have gone 4-1, having twice blown 3-run leads in Games 1 and 4 versus the Brew Crew. Miles Mikolas, Jack Flaherty, Dakota Hudson and Adam Wainwright all had horrible outings and if this trend continues, will force, well, should force the front office into making early season moves. Good luck with that. I’ll believe it when I see it.
The Cardinals can ill afford to sit idly by, hoping their fortunes will soon turn for the better, especially when the likes of Madison Bumgarner, Craig Kimbrel and Dallas Keuchel, proven high-caliber Major League Baseball talents, could be had via trade or a free-agent signing. And what in the world is Drew Robinson doing on this twenty-five man roster? Clearly, the Cardinals chose not to bring the best twenty-five players north following Spring Training. Five games may be a small sample size but if the organization stands pat and does nothing in the way of making changes, they’ll set a bad precedent that will run the risk of further alienating an already skeptical Cardinal Nation.
What’s the saying? “He who hesitates is lost” and although a team can’t win a trip to the playoffs in late March or all of April, a team can certainly lose its shot at competing for an opportunity to play in the World Series. If the Cardinals fail to improve this roster in order to really challenge the Brewers, Cubs or vastly upgraded Cincinnati Reds, don’t expect an outcome any different than the past three at year’s end. Thus far, only Paul Goldschmidt and Kolten Wong have gotten off to tremendous starts. They’re both on pace for career years.
Better place a warning label on these Birds and the sign “Management Beware” on the front office because a few more performances along the lines of those fans have witnessed to date will lend to further apathy. It’s painfully clear that the starting rotation needs help. It’s painfully clear that hitters need to have more quality at-bats. It’s painfully clear that the bullpen roles need further definition. It’s painfully clear that the Cardinals players need better. It’s early in the 162-game schedule but can get late in a hurry.
Memo to the folk upstairs – don’t wait too long to pull the trigger to make the ballclub better. “He who hesitates is lost”!
