St. Louis Cardinals: 2017 Season Review and Offseason Preview

The St. Louis Cardinals forgot the “Cardinal way”, leading to another postseason absence.

During Mike Matheny‘s first four seasons as manager for the St. Louis Cardinals, he made the postseason in all four campaigns, including three NL Central division crowns, a 100 win season, and an appearance in the Fall Classic. That initial momentum seems to have worn off, with the Cardinals missing the playoffs the past two seasons, stirring an uproar and causing panic within Cardinal Nation. Late into September, the Cardinals looked to be hitting full stride but just ran out of gas.

St. Louis Cardinals fans, you can step down from that ledge, with hope on the horizon in 2018. Tommy Pham had a dream season and looks to build on that success, while the team has found their franchise shortstop in Paul DeJong, who seemingly came out of nowhere. If Alex Reyes can come back successfully from Tommy John surgery, then they’ll really be in business.

Have the Birds on the bat forgotten the Cardinal Way, or is the team just victim to the talent of the surging Chicago Cubs? Management hasn’t flat out admitted as much, but the Cardinals are in a mini-rebuilding mode, with a plethora of young talent on the roster. Even though 2017 had a disappointing finish, 2018 gives Cardinals fans much to hope for, with the team destined to make the postseason, if they pay their cards right.

Let’s take a look back on 2017 (sorry to make you all relive that pain) and look ahead to 2018, which will be much brighter, on a team that has a history like none other. They’ll be looking to return as a mainstay late into October, but will need some fine tuning and additions in the offseason to make that dream become a reality.