Quote:
Originally Posted by O.city
Need another 6 or 7 game win streak
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I wouldn't hold my breath.
The Cards schedule going forward is brutal; really no chances to relax and regroup in there. And this rotation just isn't a 'winning streak' rotation because they don't have many guys that can go 7. As a consequence, even on good days, you're going to go through 3-4 relievers and invariably one of those guys will have an off night and lose games for you.
Hicks did his level best last night - he was a damn mess out there. Norris was only marginally better. The box score says he walked the leadoff man then struck out the side but he went to 3 ball counts on 3 of the 4 hitters he faced, his cutter was garbage and he simply didn't use his breaking ball. He was playing with fire that whole outing.
It's remarkable how well they've done with their margin for error being as small as it is. This pitching staff truly is held together with duct tape and any stumble (especially from Mikolas) could be all it takes to really snowball into a 2-4, 3-7 kind of stretch that just wrecks the season.
And frankly, there wouldn't be anyone to blame for it. This just isn't a championship caliber starting pitching staff at the moment.