What a season. For the longest time the Cardinals had a bizarre inability to break from the adhesion of .500 baseball. And now, in this sensational September, they are leading the faithful to a bazaar of baseball delights.
On this first official day of autumn, the Cardinals have curveted out of the turbulent summer winds with a 10-game winning streak that’s part of a 12-1 surge through the final month of the regular season.
For much of 2021 the Cardinals were staring at a Bad Moon rising, ominous and daunting. But they’ve found their game, and they have found their Harvest moon. Both are beautiful and stunning and much easier on the eyes and the heart.
On July 4, the Cardinals closed a four-game series at Colorado by losing for the third time in four days. I don’t know if this was the low point — but it was close. As the Redbirds headed to San Francisco for the second stop of a three-city trip that would lead them into the All-Star break, they lugged a 41-44 record that ranked 11th among the 15 NL teams in winning percentage, .482.
Since July 5, however, the Cardinals are 40-25. Their .615 winning percentage over that time ranks third in the NL and fifth in the majors behind the Giants (.662), Rays (.662), Dodgers (.657) and Yankees (.623.)
Say what you want about how that record is distorted and makes them look a heckuva lot more handsome than they are. Or should be.
I mean, think about it. As recently as the seventh day of September the Cardinals were only one stinking game above .500 after losing six of their previous seven matches. A 10-game winning streak doesn’t suddenly make the Cardinals a super team. Winning 12 of the last 13 doesn’t make the 2021 team a replica edition of the 1942 Cardinals, who went 106-48.
So how in the world can we say the Cardinals have been the fifth-best team in the majors since July 5? Well, that’s an easy answer. As Pro Football Hall of Fame football coach Bill Parcells famously said: “You are what your record says you are.”
Yes, coach.
And fact is, only four MLB teams have a superior record than STL over the last 79 days. And this is also a good time to recall the words of the late Baseball Hall of Fame manager Earl Weaver: “This ain’t a football game. We do this every day.”
Indeed. You want to know how good, or bad, a baseball team is? After playing 162 games, you count the wins and the losses and that’s your conclusion. Your final judgment. It’s as simple as that.
You are allowed to overreact during the 162-game journey. During unhappy times — losing times — you may growl and bark about firing managers, coaches or front-office people. You can — and this is a particular favorite of disgusted Cardinal fans — declare that it’s time to go into the seller’s mode and trade off pieces to begin a rebuilding project.
And when your disappointing team gets rolling, you can replenish your heart with happiness and embrace the wonderful possibilities — at least until the ballclub fades into another stupor. Then it’s hell-raising time again.
There are many cycles in a baseball season, and the emotions whirl accordingly. There is no need to stay calm. There is no reason to apologize for your criticism, or feel stupid for offering praise that went sour. You can oscillate as much as you’d like — a team goes one way, suddenly spins in another direction, and your passions stream accordingly.
We are human. So are the baseball players and managers and staff. And humans have plenty of good days, bad days, optimistic days, despairing days. Humans can be calm, or hot-headed or goofy. Mistakes are made. Redemption is sought. Fall down. Get back up. Push forward. Try to do your best, fix the flaws. And then do it all over again. All of this is natural and normal.
But at the end of the trail, when 162 games have entered into history, this is the reality for every baseball team: You are what your record says you are. Period.
As the Cardinals go into Wednesday’s game at Milwaukee, their record is 81-69 for a .540 winning percentage that’s now fourth-best in the NL. Only the Giants (.649), Dodgers (.642) and Brewers (.603) have succeeded more often than the Cardinals in 2021. And standing at No. 4 in the National League is fine — especially considering that the Cardinals were No. 11 in the NL circuit after losing to the Rockies on July 4.
With their resources and consistent support, the Cardinals should aspire to be No. 1 and not settle for No. 4. I agree. And after this season we can have another conversation about that as we look ahead to 2022. But this isn’t the time for that. This is about the fate of the 2021 Cardinals. And they’ve given us much to talk about. They’ve given us heartburn. They’ve given us reasons to cheer.
And now they’ve given us a 10-game winning streak — the longest by the franchise since 2001. Appropriate, because this has definitely been a space odyssey. The Cardinals lead the Reds — talk about a bad moon rising — by four games in the competition for the second wild-card.
“The morale is great, given the 10-game winning streak and having been playing really well,” second baseman Tommy Edman said after Tuesday’s 2-1 win over the Brewers. “Obviously, we got to keep it going. We got some teams behind us that we know can get hot, so we can’t let up, and hopefully we can just put those other teams away in the next week or so.”
So let’s just hang on and wait to see what happens next on this curving road to 162 — and possibly beyond. Each day will be different in some way, so stay on your toes.
As the post-Impressionist artist Cezanne said: “Genius is the ability to renew one’s emotions in daily experience.”
In other words:
Take it one game at a time.
Only 12 to go my friends.
–Bernie
Bernie invites you to listen to his opinionated sports-talk show on 590-AM The Fan, KFNS. It airs Monday through Thursday from 3-6 p.m. and Friday from 4-6 p.m. You can listen by streaming online or by downloading the “Bernie Show” podcast at 590thefan.com — the 590 app works great and is available in your preferred app store.
The weekly “Seeing Red” podcast with Bernie and Will Leitch is available at 590thefan.com
Follow Bernie on Twitter @miklasz
* All stats used here are sourced from FanGraphs, Baseball Reference, Stathead, Bill James Online, Fielding Bible, Baseball Savant and Brooks Baseball Net unless otherwise noted.
For the last 36 years Bernie Miklasz has entertained, enlightened, and connected with generations of St. Louis sports fans.
While best known for his voice as the lead sports columnist at the Post-Dispatch for 26 years, Bernie has also written for The Athletic, Dallas Morning News and Baltimore News American. A 2023 inductee into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame, Bernie has hosted radio shows in St. Louis, Dallas, Baltimore and Washington D.C.
Bernie, his wife Kirsten and their cats reside in the Skinker-DeBaliviere neighborhood of St. Louis.
