An abysmal start has a way of putting a damper on any subsequent success. A sprinter who clips the first hurdle will struggle to make up time. A student who rallies late in the semester after skipping class all year may still not graduate. And a baseball team who sleepwalks through the first month-plus of a season might be playing golf in October. If that team has the level of expectations that the St. Louis Cardinals do, then no amount of turnaround will suffice for ownership.
Winners of five of their last eight games, including back-to-back thrilling comebacks versus the Boston Red Sox, the Cards have finally started to show signs of life after their mind-boggling troubles to start the year. They still possess the worst record in the National League at 15-25. In fact, they have passed zero teams despite playing their best stretch of baseball. That is a terrifying realization to have in the month of May.
St. Louis' massive ineptitude means the postseason will be a steep climb, even in a middling division. Despite having the 15th highest payroll in the league, per USA Today, the playoffs are expected for this club. This year was supposed to be about taking that next leap into serious World Series contention. Instead, the Cardinals have taken a giant step back into the same sphere as the Colorado Rockies and Washington Nationals. Yikes.
When there is that big of a gap between expectations and reality, blame can justifiably be assigned after game No. 40. And so it will be.
Here are the 3 Cardinals most to blame for a brutal start to the 2023 season.
3. Jack Flaherty
Right-handed pitcher Jack Flaherty was a high-end prospect, whose potential has not been fully realized in part because of frequent trips to the IL. In his only full season in 2019, the 27-year-old posted a dazzling 2.75 ERA and had 231 strikeouts in almost 200 innings of work. He finished fourth in CY Young voting.
Fast forward to this season, and Flaherty has a ghastly 6.18 ERA with 27 walks in just over 39 innings pitched. He is visibly a shell of his former self. His velocity has been a problem, but even more concerning is his defensive response to questions about it. The first step in Flaherty's resurgence is accountability.
There is no room in this clubhouse for anything but complete self-awareness. It has been a tough road for him, but 2019 does not have to feel like ancient history.
Jack Flaherty: "I'm going to play with the velocity on my fastball based on what the game calls for. I can get outs at 90, I can get outs at 95. … That's the way that you go about the game." #STLCards pic.twitter.com/J2nXVGKKtA
— Bally Sports Midwest (@BallySportsMW) May 10, 2023
2. Nolan Arenado
After struggling to put up the same blistering batting averages he did with the Colorado Rockies in his first season with St. Louis, Nolan Arenado re-established himself among the very best players in baseball in 2022. He led the NL with a 7.9 WAR, right above teammate Paul Goldschmidt and finished third in MVP. Sadly, that momentum has not stayed with him to begin this season.
His elite fielding still makes him an asset at third base, but his bat is also needed. While it is true that Cardinals' offense has been quite competent, Arenado's .301 on base percentage and .371 slugging percentage falls too far below the standards set for him to not be included in this list.
He is certainly not the only star that is slumping right now and will not be the last. That's baseball, after all. The early indicators, though, show that this lineup will have to compensate for bad pitching. That may be an unfair burden to put on Nolan Arenado, but he is more than capable of carrying it.
1. Miles Mikolas
Full disclosure, I considered putting catcher-turned-DH-turned-catcher again Willson Contreras on this ignominious list, but felt the only one to best represent the Cardinals pitching woes is the man entrusted to be their ace.
Miles Mikolas has yet to regain his dazzling 2018 form in which he posted a 2.83 ERA and pitched over 200 innings, but he has always been fairly reliable. This season has been a mixed bag. The 34-year-old was lit up in each of his first three starts and has just one truly impressive outing under his belt- a 6 1/3 innings shutout against the San Francisco Giants.
Although Adam Wainwright is back and expected to add more stability to the rotation, Mikolas has to be sharp. A concerning 5.40 ERA and frightening .324 batting average allowed is simply unacceptable. Regardless of who is behind home plate, the right-hander must give his team a chance to win games.
If these players do not quickly step up and the rest of the team's issues are not eventually fixed, the St. Louis Cardinals are going to be labeled something rarely uttered in Busch Stadium. A dysfunctional organization.
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