Underestimating St. Louis is a Cardinal Sin

Underestimating St. Louis is a Cardinal Sin

The New England Patriots have always been the benchmark for sports franchises looking to sustain excellence and put a winning product on the field not just now, but in the future as well. They have a smart front office, an owner willing to spend money and take chances, and a coach who knows how to put it all together in order to get the best results.

In baseball there is a team who does all those same things but doesn’t get nearly enough credit as deserved. That team is the St. Louis Cardinals. Unlike the Patriots, who have had one owner, general manager, and coach during their run of excellence, the Cardinals have had two each, which speaks volumes of their ability to maintain consistency.

This season the Cardinals are running through league en route to the best record in all of baseball. Mike Matheny, who is only in his second season managing, is the front runner for Manager of the Year. Allen Craig, who has the enviable task of succeeding Albert Pujols at first base, is among the league leaders in RBI. Yadier Molina and Matt Carpenter are number one and number four respectively in batting average. Carlos Beltran is fifth in the National League in home runs. Offensively there is not an easy out on this team, and despite a deficit, they are never out of a ballgame. The team is batting .339 with runners in scoring position which is absolute unheard of and will surely come back to Earth, but for now, this is a team to be reckoned with. However, despite all these offensive accolades, pitching is what makes the Cardinals the team to beat.

Despite injuries to Jake Westbrook and Jaime Garcia, two guys penciled into the starting rotation at the beginning of the season, the Cardinals have not missed a beat. St. Louis ranks at the top of the league in wins, ERA, shutouts, and have given up the least amount of walks. They have gotten great contribution from rookies Shelby Miller and Michael Wacha, Miller a top candidate for Rookie of the Year, and second year player Trevor Rosenthal has helped stabilize the back end of the bullpen and been one of the top relievers in the game.

All this being said and we still haven’t gotten to Matt Adams or Oscar Taveras. Adams sees limited playing time because of the depth of this team but he is a big masher capable of 30 home runs in a season if given steady at bats. Taveras, who may very well be the best hitting prospect in all of baseball is still in Triple-A because of a lack of room at the major league level.

The scouts for this team do amazing work not only recognizing talent, but also character. See, not just any player can put on the Cardinal uniform. You never hear stories of bad character guys or clubhouse cancers being a part of this organization. The days of Jocketty, Duncan, and LaRussa may be gone but the winning ways continue and show no signs of slowing down. Get ready for another winning summer in St. Louis, it’s the Cardinal way.