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St. Louis Cardinals 2016 Year in Review

By Tim Haberin

Oct 4, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; Detailed view of St. Louis Cardinals hat and glove in the dugout against the Atlanta Braves in the ninth inning at Turner Field. The Braves defeated the Cardinals 2-0. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 4, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; Detailed view of St. Louis Cardinals hat and glove in the dugout against the Atlanta Braves in the ninth inning at Turner Field. The Braves defeated the Cardinals 2-0. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports /

In our continuing 2016 season review series, we take a look at what caused the St. Louis Cardinals to fall short of the postseason for the first time in six years.

The St. Louis Cardinals are a franchise not used to missing the postseason. Yet that is precisely what happened in 2016. The Cards finished the year with an 86-76 record, a distant 17.5 games behind the Chicago Cubs in the NL Central and just one game off the pace for the league’s final Wild Card spot. For the first time since 2010, they are not participating in the playoffs. An excruciating development to be sure for fans in the Gateway City.

The division rival Cubs began the year with all the fanfare, and the Cardinals didn’t do much to take it away from them throughout the course of the campaign. They pretty much treaded water over the span of the year, never finishing any individual month with a record more than five games over .500. That was in July, when the Redbirds posted a 16-11 mark.

It became clear relatively early that the NL Central crown wasn’t really in play. By the end of May, the Cubs were 20 games over .500 and the Cards were already 8.5 games behind. Fortunately, the Wild Card race remained quite open down the stretch, giving St. Louis a pretty good opportunity to sneak into the postseason that way.

Despite winning five of their last six games, the Cardinals were unable to beat out the Mets and Giants for those final two playoff berths. After winning at least 90 games in each of the previous three seasons – including 100 victories last year – the 2016 campaign was a definite downslide for the perennially competitive club.

So let’s take a closer look at the St. Louis Cardinals’ season. What went right, what went wrong, and where do they go from here?

Next: The Good

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