I’d mentioned that when I returned from my week in Massachusetts, some things
took me by surprise. At the top of that list was the emergence of the St.
Louis Cardinals in the NL Central. In the eight days I was gone, the Cardinals
went 5-2 and took a 4 1/2-game lead in the division. Since then, they’ve gone
6-3, sweeping their last two series. As of this morning, the Redbirds have a
six-game lead that is the largest of any division leader.
The first thing you notice when digging into the Cards’ performance: their
52-32 record is real. They’re not getting lucky in run
elements, in their schedule, or by outplaying their runs scored and allowed.
They are benefiting from the Cubs and Astros underplaying their run elements
and their actual runs, but the Cardinals are just as good a team as their .619
winning percentage indicates.
The Cards have the third-best offense in the National League, led by their
corner infielders Scott Rolen (.346/.420/.616) and
Albert Pujols (.309/.404/.607). Last year, the Cards had four
of the top 10 players in the league; injuries have kept Jim
Edmonds out of that rarefied air this year, while Edgar
Renteria suffered through a brutal May, and hasn’t really hit
right-handers at all in ’04 (.235/.276/.300).
Making up for that deficit is the better performance the Cards have gotten
from some other positions. The surprising Tony Womack has
already created more value than Bo Hart and Fernando
Vina did at second base all last year. Reggie
Sanders has been less effective than J.D. Drew was
on a rate basis, but he’s stayed in the lineup more and provided steadier
defense than the oft-injured Drew/Palmeiro/Robinson/Musial combo did. Ray Lankford‘s .363 OBP in the #2 slot
has been an important cog in the offense.
Sanders’ defense, long an underrated part of his game, has contributed to the
most critical part of the Cardinals’ run prevention. The Cards’ staff is just
12th in the NL in strikeout rate (though it leads the NL in groundout-to-flyout ratio). They’re seventh in the NL in home runs allowed, but just 13th in doubles and triples allowed. The Cards have allowed just eight triples
all year, an indication that their outfielders cut the ball off and save
bases. All told, the Cards lead the majors in Defensive
Efficiency.
Overall, the Cardinals’ rotation hasn’t been anything special, but it has provided a
ton of innings and thrown strikes. The Cards lead the league in innings and
pitches per start, while not raising any abuse flags, and are third in
strikeout-to-walk ratio, thanks to being dead last in walks allowed with 227.
The Cards have used just six starters all season, with one outing by
Dan Haren messing up perfection. Given that Chris
Carpenter has already surpassed his highest workload since 2001, and
Woody Williams fell apart in the second half of last year
while carrying a similar load, caution is warranted. In addition, Matt
Morris‘ collapsing strikeout rate and run at the home runs-allowed
record mean that the Cardinals may be leaning most heavily on the weakest part
of the team.
Tony La Russa may actually be able to shift some of the burden to what is his
best bullpen in years. Ranked fourth in the NL by ARP,
the Cards have five effective pitchers providing a mix of strikeouts and
ground balls, two from each side. Steve Kline and Ray
King have been incredible, two of the top guys in the NL. I think
Kiko Calero‘s emergence as a strikeout right-hander in front
of Jason Isringhausen–something the Cards haven’t had in a
while–has made the pen’s parts fit together in a way that makes La Russa’s
usage patterns work. Losing Calero started the collapse of last year’s
bullpen, but if he stays healthy, this is a complete pen that will be a real
asset in the second half.
Heck, La Russa has gotten such good work from this staff that he’s gone with 11
pitchers for much of the season. Since May 14, the Cards have had a 14/11
split for all but one week, and in that time, they’ve gone 33-15. We can
debate cause and effect, but if nothing else, perhaps this is positive
reinforcement for the man who brought us the seven- (and eight!)-man bullpen?
Despite all the positive things that have happened, the Cards have some
concerns. When Edmonds is off the field–and he’s had a nagging groin
injury–the whole thing tends to fall apart. Putting Lankford or So
Taguchi in center field, and Marlon Anderson in
left, creates a problem defense that this pitching staff can’t cover. Adding a
fourth outfielder who can play center would help alleviate this concern. They
really need Edmonds to be healthy, though.
Beyond that, there’s a nagging sense that the starting rotation is put
together with Velcro and prayer. Speculation persists that Morris’ problems
are tied to a shoulder problem, while every time Carpenter takes the mound he
tests a rebuilt elbow. None of the Cards’ starters has much upside, and as
effective as the strikes-and-flyballs plan has been, it’s much easier to see
this rotation dropping to replacement level than improving by any amount. The
Cards could use a real #1 starter as much as any team in baseball; for all the
talk about Morris being one, he’s just not, and hasn’t been for a couple years
now.
The Tony Womack Resurgence (band name!) notwithstanding, the Cardinals would
also do well to find a leadoff man who can play second base or left field (with Anderson shifting to second as needed). Womack has far exceeded any reasonable expectation, and should he revert to
his .300 OBP level, the Cardinals may have trouble sustaining an offense.
Remember, this team already starts Mike Matheny and low-OBP
slugger Sanders.
The problem, if you’re Walt Jocketty, is that the cupboard is bare. Many of
the prospects in the Cardinals’ thin system have either been injured or
ineffective. Adam Wainwright and Blake
Hawksworth are out for the year with injuries. Brad
Thompson got attention earlier this season for his 58 2/3 shutout
innings at Double-A, but he’s been hammered in a brief stint at Triple-A.
John Gall, a hitter without a position, and Josh
Pearce, an older relief prospect, might be used as chits to bring in some
help, or the team could trade the highly-touted Daric Barton.
Only Barton seems likely to bring in top-tier talent.
A six-game lead is nice, but it’s not bulletproof. As good as this Cardinals
team has been for three months, there’s a lot of recent team history to
suggest that it can be caught. With little internal help–the Cardinals have
done a terrible job of stocking their Triple-A squad with free talent–it will
be up to Jocketty, who has a history of great work in July, to keep this team
from going the way of the last two.
Thank you for reading
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