***OFFICIAL*** 2013 STL Cardinals Thread

[BigRedChief]

From Bernie's column:

People have asked me why we’re not more emotional,” Matheny said in his office after Sunday’s game. “They say that we look subdued, always intense. That our actions are methodical, robotic at times. That’s what got us here. This isn’t the time to change it.”

It’s hard to argue with the manager’s assessment. The Cardinals finished with 97 victories, most by a Cards team since 2005, and tied with Boston for No. 1 in the majors this year.


Their 54-27 showing at Busch Stadium matches the 1985 team for the best single-season home winning percentage (.667) by the Cardinals since 1944.

A postseason theme has emerged, and it echoes the mantra that surfaced before the start of 2013: remember the fall of 2012. Remember falling to San Francisco in the NLCS.


The Cardinals’ veterans still haven’t forgotten. They still aren’t over it. It’s why Matheny resists GM John Mozeliak’s urgings to smile and put on a happier face.


Here's the most impressive aspect of the Cardinals' division championship: they prevailed over two other outstanding teams, Pittsburgh and Cincinnati.



The 97-win Cardinals were better this year (regular season) than they were in 2011, when they won 90 games, and 2012, when they won 88.
Here are a few numbers that help put the Cardinals' Central title and No. 1 NL seed in perspective:



* Since MLB switched to a three-division format in each league in 1994, this was only the sixth time that a division had three 90-plus win teams. St. Louis won 97, Pittsburgh 94, and Cincinnati 90.
* Since the format change, this was only the second time that an NL division had three 90-win teams. In 2002 the NL West had Arizona (98 wins), San Francisco (95) and Los Angeles (92).
* The 2013 Cardinals faced more esteemed and difficult competition at the top of the division than any of the division-winning teams managed by Tony La Russa.

The Pirates were hardly pushovers; the Cardinals had to work like mad and kick in with a strong finish to put the division away, and didn't clinch until Game No. 160.



The Cardinals went 9-10 against Pittsburgh this season and were 11-8 vs. Cincinnati.


The Cardinals won only three of 10 games at PNC Park in Pittsburgh and split the 10 games at Cincinnati. The Cardinals were 6-3 against both teams at Busch Stadium.


The Cardinals (1st), Pirates (3rd) and Reds (5th) ranked among the top five in wins in the NL. The three teams were among the top 11 in wins in MLB. All three teams finished in the top five in the majors for best overall ERA, and each were in the top five MLB for best starting-pitching ERA.


The original purpose to this piece was to point out that the Cardinals managed to finish with the league's best record while competing in a division that had three 90-win teams for only the second time in the last 19 years of National League baseball.



The Cardinals really earned this.
Thanks for reading ...
— Bernie

[Pepe Silvia]

Originally Posted by frazod

Against those annoying bastards, I'll take anything.

**** the butt Pirates.

[O.city]

Now we can't go get swept in chicago or lose 2 of 3

[Rams Fan]

The Cardinals had more walk off wins in this series than they did all season up to that point.

Mind=blown

[BigRedChief]

Originally Posted by 'Hamas' Jenkins

This is an awful feeling. I have no faith in this team to do anything other than disappoint, and there's no break from it. It's just day after day after day of failure and ineptitude. It's a ****ing death march.

[Mi_chief_fan]

Maybe the spark this team needs?

@dgoold: This is happening. #Cardinals mum RT @HawaiiAthletics Former #HawaiiBSB Rainbow Kolten Wong called up by the Cardinals.

['Hamas' Jenkins]

Originally Posted by Mi_chief_fan

Maybe the spark this team needs?

@dgoold: This is happening. #Cardinals mum RT @HawaiiAthletics Former #HawaiiBSB Rainbow Kolten Wong called up by the Cardinals.

He was coming up in two weeks anyway. I wonder how they are planning on using him? Does Carpenter start playing more at third while Freese sits?

Surely they aren't so desperate that they force him to learn SS at the ML level.

[BigRedChief]

Originally Posted by 'Hamas' Jenkins

He was coming up in two weeks anyway. I wonder how they are planning on using him? Does Carpenter start playing more at third while Freese sits?

Surely they aren't so desperate that they force him to learn SS at the ML level.

They ain't bringing him up for a bat off the bench.

It's either playing 2nd and batting 2nd(eventually) or making him learn SS on the fly at the major league level (highly doubtful and foolish)

Has to be Freese is going to sit more often. Carp moves over or Molina plays 3rd and rests his knees?

[DJ's left nut]

Why are we still chasing David Freese with pitchforks?

Y'all are aware that he's had a really good August, yes?

Honestly, the only rationale I can see for this is that they're moving Descalso to SS for the remainder of the year and Wong ends up as the backup 2b with Danny D moving over.

Maybe that's just wishful thinking because I cannot handle another AB from Pete Kozma. I've never seen someone give so many terrible ABs. It's not even the results, his approach is just miserable. He's clearly a raw guess hitter and would do a better job of guessing if he flipped a coin.

[BigRedChief]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

Why are we still chasing David Freese with pitchforks?

Y'all are aware that he's had a really good August, yes?

Honestly, the only rationale I can see for this is that they're moving Descalso to SS for the remainder of the year and Wong ends up as the backup 2b with Danny D moving over.

Maybe that's just wishful thinking because I cannot handle another AB from Pete Kozma. I've never seen someone give so many terrible ABs. It's not even the results, his approach is just miserable. He's clearly a raw guess hitter and would do a better job of guessing if he flipped a coin.

He is still in the lineup regularly because of 2011.

This offense needs help. I think the Cardinals have a better offense and defense with Wong in the lineup than Freese.

I will always love Freese for 2011. But, he is just not producing. He is dragging the team down.

['Hamas' Jenkins]

Originally Posted by BigRedChief

He is still in the lineup regularly because of 2011.

This offense needs help. I think the Cardinals have a better offense and defense with Wong in the lineup than Freese.

I will always love Freese for 2011. But, he is just not producing. He is dragging the team down.

Freese has actually been about 10% above league average at the plate this year. The biggest issue with him is his absolutely atrocious defense.

Wong will not be a better hitter than Freese, and Descalso at short makes this the worst defensive team in the league, but it's still a move that absolutely has to happen. Kozma just cannot be allowed to play anymore.

It also allows you this option:

If you want to insert a defensive replacement for Freese late in the game you can shift Carpenter to third and put Wong in at second, keeping Descalso at SS.

This team was kneecapped by two Kozma ABs late in the game.

And DJ is right--he's a complete guess hitter, like Rick Ankiel. The only difference is he has absolutely no power. If Ankiel guessed right the ball was getting hit with authority. If Kozma guesses right it's a hard grounder to short.

[O.city]

This was just a huge series that I'm really not sure how we won. We were a hairs length from being 6 games out of this thing.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by BigRedChief

He is still in the lineup regularly because of 2011.

This offense needs help. I think the Cardinals have a better offense and defense with Wong in the lineup than Freese.

I will always love Freese for 2011. But, he is just not producing. He is dragging the team down.

What?

Again, in August he's had a .400+ OBP, a .900+ OPS and has already had as many doubles this month than he had in any month up to this season. He's dragging this team down? Like hell - black holes like Pete Kozma and untimely slumps from throughout the order have been the cause of our offensive decline. Also a problem is that nobody on the team is hitting HRs; it's not just Freese. With zero speed and sub-par power, it's just hard to put crooked numbers up with any regularity.

Getting beyond just this month, In 2012 he had an .840 OPS and again a very good .370 OBP for the entire season.

He's still in the lineup because he was a good player with a great post-season in 2011 that then improved on his 2011 season with a very good 2012. He's still in the lineup because even in a year where he's struggled to hit the ball with authority, he's managed a strong .350 OBP.

I'd be shocked if Wong was a comparable offensive player. Moreover, Carpenter's a pretty cruddy defender in his own right at 3b. Moving him to 3b mid-season (thus shifting him down the defensive spectrum) is just not what a winning team does.

Hamas is right though - his defense has gone from adequate to flout out abysmal this year. But the kid's a solid offensive player. And in the end, he's been playing very well of late. We've seen him perform when the lights were brightest. We've seen him perform over a full season. We know that the skills are there and right as he's starting to come around, you folks are looking to bury him.

Like trying to hammer Rosenthal into the 9th, folks have been looking to supplant Freese with Wong all season and it just doesn't make sense.

[DJ's left nut]

For further example, look at Holliday. He struggled mightily for the first 1/2 of the year but ultimately the skills re-surfaced and he's been among the best players in the NL since the AS break.

Freese will do the same. Players usually play to the back of their baseball card until the skills erode. I don't think Freese's skills have eroded. He, much like Holliday, seems to finally be finding his groove a little bit. I don't think the power will come back because I don't think he can get the leg drive off that bad ankle, but he's still a solid hitter with a good approach and strong nerves. It's too early to bury him

[O.city]

Freese starts driving it to right center, I think the power will be back. Thats where his power has always been.

But if the ankles are gone, he's probably never going to be much of a power guy again (though he never really was).

[whoman69]

I can see Wong getting some starts at short just to make sure he gets in the lineup. I don't think they completely shut down Freese. They may think giving him more rest will revive him. If Freese is in and Carpenter at second, they might put Wong at short so he can get at bats.