I held off doing a post on this subject until the season settled in, but after being swept by the Detroit Tigers this past weekend I must ask: What is going on in St. Louis?
As of Monday, the Cardinals are 16-25 and 9.5 games back of first place Milwaukee. The reigning champs are just 7-11 at home, have lost 7 of their last 10 and five straight. Left fielder Chris Duncan is virtually their entire offense, leading the club in batting average (.290), home runs (7), runs (24) and on base percentage (.864). You mean to tell me no other Cardinal is hitting over .290? Albert Pujols has struggled mightily at the plate, although he seems to be heating up after going 4 for 4 day in a 14-4 loss to the Tigers last Friday.
The real issue seems to be the pitching, however. Obviously not having Chris Carpenter (elbow surgery) in the rotation has been detrimental, but Anthony Reyes (5.84), Adam Wainwright (6.34) and Kip Wells (6.75) all have ERA’s well over 5.00, and Brandon Looper (3.27) – the Cards best pitcher thus far – is still over 3.00.
Maybe St. Louis is the Yankees of the NL right now in that things will eventually turn around, but both teams are struggling where it counts the most – on the mound.
