The Cardinals’ record is below .500 for the first time since 2007. This season, they finished last in the division for the first time since 1990. Fans predicted the demise of the season before it even started due to poor management, pitching issues and the decline of play for superstars.
Some of the issues that the Cardinals are facing right now include poor staffing decisions. Oliver ‘Oli” Marmol is the losingest manager since before 2000.
Controversy has stemmed from Marmol’s managerial decisions, including keeping pitchers in too long. However, Cardinals fans believe Marmol’s biggest mistake this season was publicly going against outfielder Tyler O’Neill. Marmol publicly criticized O’Neill for his lack of effort. O’Neill plays hard and to criticize him publicly over that game was unfair.
It wasn’t just Marmol that made the season bad, but the poor leadership from President of Baseball Operations, John Mozeliak. He did not sign any of the options that Cardinals fans wanted. Notably, Nathan Eovaldi would’ve been the perfect fit for the Cardinals. With the season that Eovaldi is having, he would’ve been the ace of the Cardinals with a stellar 3.26 earned run average through his first 24 starts. Besides Eovaldi, this offseason had free agents like former Cardinal José Quintana and Michael Wacha. Neither were added to the roster leaving the Cardinals with a subpar pitching staff yet again for 2023.
The ace that the Cardinals ended up with from last year was Miles Mikolas. While Mikolas isn’t a bad pitcher, he still only has 122 strikeouts in his first 33 games with an ERA nearing 5.00. Veteran Adam Wainwright, who surprised fans last year, had a skyrocketed ERA of 7.40 in just 101 innings.
The inevitable happened at the trade deadline, trading four pitchers including Jordan Montgomery, Jack Flaherty, Chris Stratton and Génesis Cabrera.
Another downside of the season was the lack of repetition for the Cardinals’ best players Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado. After finishing first and third respectively in the 2022 MVP race, both players have struggled this season. While they’re still above-average hitters and excellent defenders, Arenado is not predicted to win the gold glove this year after making more errors than anyone else on the team.
This has been an atrocious season, but there have been some bright spots. The biggest accomplishment this season came when Wainwright achieved his 200th win. Wainwright will go down as one of the most well-known pitchers in Cardinals history. The all-time Cardinal great ended his career only playing in St. Louis.
Overall, the Cardinals have had a terrible season, but there is no need for Cardinals fans to panic. Despite Goldschmidt and Arenado’s slump, they have been reliable hitters for the team, and with players like Jordan Walker, the Cardinals’ offense will have some young talent, too.
Before next season, Mozeliak needs to sign some pitching. There are several starters on the free agent market that could be the ace of the 2024 Cardinals roster. Signing two starters and some bullpen arms could help the team make it to the postseason in 2024, and who knows, maybe win another World Series ring.
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