St. Louis Cardinals continue to be class of National League
In 2011 the St. Louis Cardinals were without their ace and one of the premier pitching talents in the game, Adam Wainwright, because he underwent Tommy John surgery in February of the same year. The club then went onto win the World Series in seven games over their American League counterparts, the Texas Rangers.
The Cardinals continue to overcome adversity and remain a consistent competitor in not only the the NL Central, but within the entire National League. Why should 2015 produce any drastically different results?
Going back to 2000, the Cardinals have only missed the postseason in four of 15 possible seasons. From those four seasons, they finished with a winning record in all but one of them (2007, 78-84). Since 2000, the Cardinals have led MLB in total wins three times, ranking second behind only the New York Yankees who have accomplished the feat four times. That trend is continuing again this season as they are tied with the Houston Astros for the league lead in wins as of May 3 with 18.
Again faced with the long-term loss of Wainwrigh — this time to a torn achilles tendon early in the 2015 calendar year — it still seems that all St. Louis does is win. Wainwright last pitched on April 25 and the club has gone 6-2 since that date and are currently riding a six-game win streak. Three of those most recent wins came impressively over the division rival Pirates, all outcomes ending in extra innings.
It has been three full seasons since future Hall of Fame first baseman Albert Pujols and legendary manager Tony La Russa departed St. Louis. Mike Matheny and Co. have since assembled a 275-211 (.566) regular season record from 2012-14 that included an NL pennant in 2013.
St. Louis Cardinals
Despite the turnover to such essential leadership positions within the organization and the more recent loss of Wainwright, the Cardinals continue to roll. Michael Wacha (4-0, 1.93) is emerging as a front-end starter to the rotation. Carlos Martinez (3-0, 1.73) is proving to be one of the more sweet success stories in 2015 for bullpen pitchers transitioning to the rotation. Veterans John Lackey (1-1, 3.69) and Lance Lynn (1-2, 3.07) are also holding down the fort rather well.
Closer Trevor Rosenthal is tied for the second most saves in the NL with eight in only nine opportunities. His ERA of 1.42 is a vast improvement over where it was at this same time last season (5.02).
One can only wonder how much more a strength the pitching staff of this team would have been had they not traded Shelby Miller to the Atlanta Braves for Jason Heyward in the offseason. Miller is currently 3-1 with a 2.17 ERA and 21 strikeouts through 29 IP for the Braves.
Heyward, meanwhile, is struggling. A notoriously slow starter, the 25-year-old outfielder is only a career .225 hitter in April and .240 hitter in May compared to a collective .275 hitter in the latter four months of the regular season. He’s been bumped from the No. 2 spot in the lineup to as low as six in the batting order, where has resided for four of his last six games. But where Heyward is struggling, the Cards have a number of players picking up the slack.
Third baseman Matt Carpenter looks like an early front-runner for NL MVP votes. He’s slashing .365/.431/.656 with four home runs and 16 RBI and is first in MLB with 14 doubles and third with 35 hits.
Along with Carpenter, the Cardinals have four other everyday starters hitting better than .290 and have the third best team batting average in the NL.
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27-year-old Tyler Lyons looks like the best fit to replace Wainwright in the rotation. He’s currently pitching in Triple-A with a 2.91 ERA through four starts.
Reliever Carlos Villanueva is currently on the 25-man roster and could also be an option. He’s pitching exceptionally well out of the bullpen right now for St. Louis going 3-1 with a 0.87 ERA, but he has started in the past. From 2011-14 he started 49 games between the Toronto Blue Jays and Chicago Cubs.
While the St. Louis Cardinals are again facing familiar adversity in 2015, it certainly must be welcoming news to the Cubs, Reds and Pirates. But those clubs should not hastily think the division is theirs for the taking now. Since losing Wainwright, the Cards are not slowing down. Much like they have been doing for the better part of the 21st century, in 2015 St. Louis’ organization again proves to be the pinnacle of class and consistency in baseball’s National League.