Cardinals’ disappointing 2023 season can and must be turned around in 2024; is John Mozeliak up for the task?

That brings us to the front office helmed by president of baseball operations John Mozeliak. There’s no assailing his broader record of success as the Cardinals’ lead operator. First as general manager and then in his current role, Mozeliak has guided the Cardinals since the fall of 2007, and they’ve enjoyed a tremendous level of success during his tenure - 10 playoff appearances and a World Series title in 2011. One lost season doesn’t meaningfully tarnish those prior achievements, especially in light of the Cardinals’ market size and (somewhat self-inflicted) payroll limitations, but it does raise questions about the future. That’s especially the case since Mozeliak failed to address the rotation last offseason, and that flawed rotation was the prime mover in the Cardinals’ 2023 failures.

It’s hard to imagine that team owner Bill DeWitt Jr. is pondering a change at the top of baseball ops based on the current season, but Mozeliak has some things to prove in the coming winter. The Cardinals, according to Mozeliak’s own words, are committed to adding multiple starting pitchers to the rotation (presumably at the front end), which amounts to an opportunity to correct the mistakes of the 2022-23 offseason. Whether he does so via free agency or trade or some combination thereof, there’s a great deal of pressure for these additions to succeed and drive a return to relevance in 2024. If that doesn’t come to pass, then change may be afoot.

‘Not how I wanted to go out’: Can Adam Wainwright’s quest for 200 revive fuming Cardinals?

One day past reaching precisely 18 years of service time in the majors and one start away from possibly reaching that elusive 199th career win, Cardinals veteran Adam Wainwright came one pitch, maybe one play away from a briefer fifth inning.

But this is the 2023 Cardinals.

Whatever can go wrong will go worse.

The two narrative threads of these late-season Cardinals — their losing season and Wainwright’s quest for a winning finish — tightened Tuesday night into a rope around their ankles and tugged them ever deeper into the standings, ever faster into an undertow of frustration. A 6-3 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park dropped the Cardinals to 17 games beneath .500 for the first time this season. They’re 0-5 in Pittsburgh this season with one game remaining there. A sideways fifth inning meant Wainwright would go a ninth consecutive start without a win, two months and counting since win No. 198….

“It’s been a weird year. It’s been a funky year. We haven’t had a year like this since I’ve been here,” Wainwright said. “If you have only one of these every 18, that’s not a terrible ratio. I know everyone in here — it’s just driving them crazy. It’s driving me crazy. It’s not how I wanted to go out.”

Hochman: Jose Oquendo earns red jacket with earnest dedication to improving Cardinals players

Legend has it that after Jose Oquendo’s playing days, he was asked to teach at Harry Potter’s alma mater, the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Instead, Oquendo chose to impart defensive sorcery upon the next generation of Cardinals players and prospects. And for decades, the coach Oquendo has taught fielders the magic of single-stealing, in-the-hole bolting and glove-goldening.

Regarding wizardry, Ozzie Smith might’ve been like Harry, but Oquendo was Dumbledore.

And on Sunday, Oquendo will be inducted into the Cardinals Hall of Fame as an organizational selection, which honors a significant figure in team history.

“I think his impact on the Cardinals is — not every organization has something like this, right?” said John Mozeliak, the Cardinals president of baseball operations, about the invaluable player-turned-fabled instructor.

Mozeliak: Cardinals’ Deadline Focus Will Be On 2024 Club

Mozeliak says that the club won’t be “waving the white flag” but admits that “all decisions or all moves we do really will try to set us up for next year.” He goes on to say that they won’t just give players away but that they “want to get some return that’s going to help us for 2024 and that’s going to be, really, our focus as we enter the trading period.” He also admitted that there’s not really such a thing as a player who’s “untouchable” because anything can happen, but also states that “The fact is we hope we can keep our core together and then, you know, supplement it properly.”

To hear him take such a stance is hardly surprising, given their current place in the standings. They are 11.5 games out in the division and 11 back of the final Wild Card spot right now. FanGraphs currently pegs their playoff odds at just 6.3%. A hot streak between the All-Star break and the deadline could change those odds, but it seems the club is accepting that their best path forward is to make decisions with their eyes set on a fresh start next year.

The club could have also considered committing to a more significant rebuild with their sights set even further into the future, but there are reasons why it makes sense to take a more measured approach. The club came into this year with a strong roster than many predicted to win the division and that could easily be true of 2024 as well, especially since every position player on the club is still under club control for next year. The pitching staff is a different story, but some modest selling could still leave the club with a solid core for next year.

Marlins stun Cardinals with wild win after pitcher Jordan Hicks’ brutal error

Joey Wendle hit a short bouncing ball right at Hicks in the bottom of the ninth inning at Loan Depot Park with the Marlins down 9-8. Hicks had a very simple chance to just toss the ball over to first base, where he would have recorded the second out of the inning and stop the Marlins from tying up the game.

Instead, Hicks completely sailed first base and sent the ball flying way past the bag and into the outfield. That allowed Garrett Hampson and Yuli Gurriel to score and take the 10-9 win, and sparked a huge celebration on the field.

HOW DO YA LIKE THAT?!?!?!??!?!?!

THE MARLINS WALK IT OFF AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!@Marlins | #MakeItMiami pic.twitter.com/QPsFitCWmT

— Bally Sports Florida: Marlins (@BallyMarlins) July 6, 2023

Cardinals could be surprise seller of 2023 MLB trade deadline, so what is St. Louis willing to move?

If the Cardinals want to cut bait on the current season without harming their chances next year, then they’ll look to trade players in their walk years and those deemed not especially essential to the team’s 2024 fortunes. Walk-year trade candidates include lefty starter Jordan Montgomery, right-handed starter Jack Flaherty, and right-handed relievers Jordan Hicks and Chris Stratton. Yes, franchise legend Adam Wainwright is also technically in his walk year, but the Cardinals aren’t going to put him in another team’s uniform for the first time in his MLB career mere months before his retirement. Of these, Montgomery would probably net the heftiest return package. Hicks, thanks to his huge fastball and vastly better results since changing where he stands on the rubber and altering his warm-up routine, could also be attractive as a high-leverage relief option for a contender. Speaking of which, Hicks picked up a pair of saves during the weekend series against the Mets.

Others in this category include shortstop Paul DeJong, who’s an excellent fielder with occasional pop. He has club options for 2024 and 2025 that aren’t likely to be exercised regardless of who’s employing him after Aug. 1. There’s also Tyler O’Neill. He’s on the 60-day injured list with lower-back problems, and he may be on the outside looking in when it comes to the Cardinals’ crowded-when-healthy outfield situation. If he returns to the active roster in time to get some pre-deadline run, then he could be moved. Injuries and inconsisntency at the plate diminish his value, but he’s still got the tools to dream on. O’Neill isn’t eligible for free agency until after the 2024 season. For some time, the Yankees have been rumored as a possible fit for O’Neill. On that front, it’s worth recalling that last season the Yanks and Cards paired up for the noteworthy trade that landed fly-catcher Harrison Bader in the Bronx and sent the aforementioned Montgomery to St. Louis.

World Series hero David Freese declines Cardinals HOF invite

David Freese, whose heroics in the 2011 postseason led the St. Louis Cardinals to the World Series title, has decided after “an extreme amount of thought” to decline an invitation to join the team’s Hall of Fame, he announced Saturday.

“This is something that I have given an extreme amount of thought to, humbly, even before the voting process began,” Freese said in a statement. “I am aware of the impact I had helping the team bring great memories to the city I grew up in, including the 11th championship. ...

“I feel strongly about my decision and understand how people might feel about this. I get it. I’ll wear it. Thank you for always being there for me, and I am excited to be around the Cardinals as we move forward.”

BenFred: A sinking Cardinals season touches a new low

Even Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol has stopped publicly challenging his players. His signature bluntness is now dulled down. I’m sure he will be shredded for his positive postgame comments Tuesday. Hard to blame him for taking that route. He got crushed for challenging Tyler O’Neill to run harder at the season’s start. He took arrows for taking on something players on the team should have handled in the clubhouse but did not, leaving it to him to address. O’Neill is back to being hurt, always seemingly a week or so away from being ready to start getting ready, and Marmol is giving people the happy talk they wanted. Now he will get criticized for that, too.

He’s not the only one getting criticized, though, and no one with fingerprints on this team gets to avoid it.

As Tuesday’s losing outcome became inevitable, a beer vendor up near the ballpark’s press box was peppering his offers of cold, frosty ones with commentary about Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak. Drinking more of these beers, the vendor suggested to fans, would make fans think better of Mozeliak. Bold slogan for a ballpark employee.

In a section over, a man wearing a Stan Musial uniform had it unbuttoned to display a T-shirt he wore underneath. “Fire Mo,” it read. He attempted and failed to lead a chant: “Mo has got to go.”

Cardinals reverse Willson Contreras’ demotion from catcher after … 6 days

Willson Contreras must be the world’s fastest learner. Either that or the St. Louis Cardinals have lost the plot.

Per MLB.com, Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol told reporters that the team has decided Contreras is ready to resume his normal catching duties, six days after demoting the prized free-agent acquisition due to the team’s struggles on the mound.

Contreras will get his next start behind the plate Monday against the Milwaukee Brewers, when he will catch starting pitcher Jack Flaherty. Marmol reportedly said Contreras has spent much of the past week working to get more in sync with the Cardinals’ game plan for attacking hitters and that Flaherty pushed for Contreras to be restored as catcher.

From MLB.com:

“We felt really good about the progress that we’ve made, and it lines up really well for him to catch on Monday with Jack on the mound,” Marmol said of the decision for Contreras to return to a catching role. “This is what [Flaherty and Contreras] wanted. They both wanted it, and Willson wanted to be behind the plate on Monday. And we felt really good about lining it up that way with all the progress that we’ve made.”

Cardinals’ Willson Contreras shifting to DH, outfielder: What it means for his playing time - The Athletic

This is crazy. The team already has a thousand outfielders and has sometimes struggled to fit Nolan Gorman into the lineup. The last thing they need is to force another square peg into their lineup. Whoever was the decision-maker for the Contreras signing needs to be relieved of that responsibility.

When the Cardinals signed Contreras this offseason, they did so under the pretense that he would be their primary catcher. However, with the Cardinals reeling and the pitching staff struggling, manager Oli Marmol and the front office came to the conclusion that the rotation could benefit from some familiarity. Knizner will now catch the bulk of the starts, with Barrera serving as the reserve catcher.

Cardinals’ starters lack strikeout stuff: Why MLB’s new rules could spell trouble [$]

The Athletic sub required.

St. Louis starting pitchers enter the 2023 season with one of the lowest swing-and-miss rates in baseball. Despite the sport’s rising emphasis on strikeouts, whiff rate and swing-and-miss percentage, the Cardinals have been able to stick to their trusted methods of pinpointing pitchers who profile for weak contact. They were able to do so because of their aforementioned elite defense — which will feature five Gold Glove award winners this year — but also because of smart and effective defensive positioning.

The problem? MLB’s shift restriction — set to come into effect this season — will greatly impact how the Cardinals position their infield. That leaves a larger probability window for ground-ball pitchers to become exposed.

The Cardinals’ pitching staff finished the 2022 season with the lowest strikeouts-per-nine-innings ratio in baseball (7.38) and the lowest number of total strikeouts (1,177). That’s a far cry from the Mets, who led the majors in total strikeouts with 1,565 and who topped all of baseball with a 9.48 strikeout-per-nine-inning ratio. Heck, St. Louis wasn’t even close to the median in those categories. The Mariners represented the league average for strikeout ratio (8.64) while the Rays were the middle of the pack in total strikeouts (1,384).

Mike Shannon, longtime St. Louis Cardinals broadcaster, dies at 83

Born and raised in St. Louis, Shannon sign with the Cardinals as an amateur free agent in 1958 and reached the big leagues at age 23 in 1962. He was the club’s starting right fielder during their 1964 World Series championship run before moving to third base in deference to new addition Roger Maris in 1967. Shannon started at the hot corner during the Cardinals’ 1967 World Series run.

In Game 1 of the 1964 Fall Classic, Shannon hit a game-tying two-run home run against New York Yankees lefty Whitey Ford. St. Louis went on to win the game and series.

Shannon’s playing career was cut short by kidney disease. He played his entire nine-season career with the Cardinals from 1962-70 and retired as a .255/.311/.387 hitter with 710 hits and 68 home runs. Shannon finished seventh in the 1968 NL MVP voting and had his best season in 1966, when he slashed .288/.339/.462 and set career highs in homers (16) and stolen bases (eight). He won two World Series titles (1964, 1967) plus another NL pennant (1968).

Following his playing career, Shannon joined the Cardinals front office in 1971 and then moved into the broadcast booth in 1972. He retired following the 2021 season, after 50 years of calling Cardinals games. Shannon also worked NBC’s Baseball Game of the Week and called St. Louis Cardinals NFL games on radio during his career.

Cardinals cite logjam, lack of ‘rhythm’ behind Jordan Walker’s return to minors

In somewhat of a shocking move, the St. Louis Cardinals optioned promising 20-year-old rookie outfielder Jordan Walker to the minor leagues on Wednesday.

Walker burst onto the MLB scene less than a month ago after an impressive spring training run. He made his debut on Opening Day and began his career with a record-tying 12-game hitting streak.

Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol told media members Wednesday said the decision was made, in part, due to a logjam of outfielders and young hitters, an opportunity he hopes will provide those at the top level more frequent opportunities.

“There is a need for some of these guys to go out there more often and get into a little bit of rhythm, and they just haven’t been able to do that because we do have five guys that are all deserving of playing every day,” Marmol said, pointing to guys often rotated like Alec Burleson, Dylan Carlson and Tyler O’Neill. “But we didn’t have a chance of sending the same guys out there often enough for them to get into a rhythm based on that logjam.”

Cards’ Oliver Marmol rips Tyler O’Neill’s ‘unacceptable’ effort

Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol questioned outfielder Tyler O’Neill’s effort after he was thrown out at home during a 4-1 loss to the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday night.

With St. Louis trailing 4-1 with two out in the seventh inning, O’Neill attempted to score on Brendan Donovan’s pinch-hit liner to right. But O’Neill was cut down by Ronald Acuna Jr. at the plate.

Marmol took issue with O’Neill’s turn around third on the sharply hit ball to Acuna.

“That’s not our style of play as far as the effort, rounding the bag there,” Marmol said. “It’s unacceptable.”

O’Neill, who was hampered by leg issues throughout the 2022 season, acknowledged a tense conversation with Marmol about the play but disagreed with the criticism of his effort.

Masyn Winn’s confidence high after sublime camp with Cardinals: ‘I think I belong up here’

I watched a bunch of Cardinals games this spring. Winn was impressive.

This spring, Winn appeared in 18 games and made 17 starts (13 at shortstop, four at second base). He batted .333 (18-for-54) with two doubles, two triples, two home runs, nine RBIs, four stolen bases, a .393 on-base percentage and a .556 slugging percentage, on top of dazzling defense in the field.

Winn, who turned 21 last week, entered spring training as the fourth-youngest player in the Cardinals’ camp behind Jeremy Rivas, Tink Hence and Walker.

“I think it’s always good when a player gets a taste of it and goes, ‘Wait a second. I can do this up here,’” Marmol said. “He’s locked-in in a way where he’s going to continue to get after it regardless of where he goes. That’s just part of his personality. But he’s one where giving him a taste of it and also him looking around and going ‘I can play with these guys,’ is a really good thing for the big picture.”

Cards top prospect Jordan Walker makes Opening Day roster

Jordan Walker, the 20-year-old, elite-level outfield prospect who became the talk of the Grapefruit League with an early power surge and invoked memories of a young Albert Pujols from 22 years earlier, is headed to St. Louis and Major League Baseball.

The 6-foot-5, 220-pound Walker was informed on Saturday afternoon that he had made the Cardinals’ Opening Day roster and would be added to the team’s 40-man roster. Later Saturday, the club announced its expected 26-man Opening Day roster, including Walker, who will be a fixture on a Cardinals team that has designs on winning a 12th World Series crown this season.

As of right now, Jordan Walker will make our club,” president of baseball operations John Mozeliak said. “We were always very high on him coming into camp and he did a lot of things to impress a lot of people. He’s obviously a very mature player and has a great understanding of the game. He opened up a lot of eyes here in this camp, and he is someone who benefited from other people not being here [due to the World Baseball Classic].

“It created a lot of at-bats and innings for him, and he made the most of it.”

IT’S THE CUBS’ WORLD NOW

Not to spoil the ending, but:

But the Cardinals aren’t doomed. They still have a solid lineup, a solid rotation and a solid bullpen, and you’d have to think they’ll add somebody. But for years, some fans have claimed, wrongly, that Cardinals-Cubs isn’t a real rivalry because the Cards have always been so much better than the Cubs. This, not coincidentally, is the same thing Yankees fans used to say about the Red Sox, before Epstein took over there as well. Now, some have said, in the wake of the Cubs’ signing of Heyward, that this ratchets up the rivalry.

But if anything, I believe it dampens it. Even before Friday, the Cubs were a better team than the Cardinals in just about every way. Now that the Cubs took the Cardinals’ best player, the gap between these teams have widened. If anyone needs to prove this is a rivalry, it’s the fading Cardinals.

Pujols, La Russa absent as Obama honors Cardinals

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama on Tuesday dubbed the St. Louis Cardinals the “greatest comeback team in the history of baseball” thanks to their thrilling late-season charge into the playoffs and death-defying, seven-game triumph in last November’s World Series.

[...]

Two key figures of the championship season were absent. Manager Tony La Russa retired after the series. And star Albert Pujols signed a $240 million contract with the Los Angeles Angels in the offseason.

Classy!

Retrosimba: An interview with former Cardinals pitcher Al Jackson

Q: You began the 1967 season in the Cardinals’ rotation and in April pitched a one-hit shutout, beating the Astros, 4-0, in Houston. Bob Aspromonte broke up the no-hitter with a leadoff single in the eighth. Do you recall what happened?

Al Jackson: Yes, I do _ big-time. It wasn’t so much the no-hitter. I just wanted to maintain the stuff that I had that night, the control that I had. I wasn’t throwing as good as I was earlier in the game but I also knew that when I got a little tired, I was a better pitcher because I could keep the ball down. Against Aspromonte, I got the groundball I wanted. The pitch may have been down the middle because it was hit in the hole between short and third. If I had thrown it a little further away, the ball may have gone to the shortstop. I wasn’t worried about losing the game. I just wanted to stay on top of mine.

I also had pitched a one-hitter with the Mets against Houston. Joe Amalfitano got the hit. Boxscore Later, I was asked to speak at a dinner in New York. I began by saying I disliked Italians. The room was full of Italians and they looked at me like I was crazy. Then I had to explain: the two guys who broke up my no-hitters are named Amalfitano and Aspromonte. It got a laugh.

Q: Musial was 4-for-5 in his career against you. He batted .800 against you. You were smart to put him on with the walk…

Al Jackson: I’m glad I had a place to put him. I was asked after the game, “Why would you walk him? He’s a left-handed hitter.”  I said, “Why? That’s Musial.” Just look at his record. He’s known for beating teams. And here I am in that small ballpark _ just 250 feet down both lines. I know he can hit for power down both lines. And I never thought about striking him out. That wasn’t on my mind at all.

Thanks to Heck.

MLB.com: Wainwright expresses admiration for Tebow

ST. LOUIS—Hours before taking the field against the New England Patriots on Saturday night, Tim Tebow found himself the center of discussion in the Cardinals’ interview room. Yes, these days it seems as if there is no setting that the Broncos quarterback can’t effectively infiltrate.

Putting his Southeastern Conference allegiance aside, Adam Wainwright spent several minutes expressing his admiration for Tebow, particularly for the fearless the University of Florida product shows in expressing his religious faith in a public forum.

“I am obsessed with Tim Tebow,” Wainwright said. “I’m not afraid to say it. It’s almost embarrassing to us athletes that this much emphasis is put on Tim Tebow because that means we aren’t living our lives as we should. If we did that more often, the way he is living wouldn’t be as big a story. I’m so proud of him for living out his faith.”

MLB Trade Rumors: Bartolo Colon Agrees to Sign With Unknown Team

Bartolo Colon has agreed to a deal with an unknown club reports Bob Nightengale of USA Today (on Twitter). The right-hander wouldn’t divulge the team because he has not yet passed his physical.

Pretty sure it’s either the All-Stars or the Champs.

Neyer: Who Will the Cardinals Miss the Most?

Rally squirrel, obv.

Thursday, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s website ran a poll:

Whose departure will have the biggest impact on the Cardinals?

The choices: Dave Duncan, Tony La Russa, Albert Pujols…

What I found most interesting about the poll wasn’t that Pujols finished last, but that Dave Duncan finished first, with 42 percent next to La Russa’s 30 and Albert’s 28… I’m intrigued by the notion that Cardinals fans might actually give more credit to Duncan than La Russa for the team’s recent successes. Partly because I’m not completely sure they’re wrong.

But hey, let’s make this about the Hall of Fame, since we could never get tired of that.

This isn’t an original thought, either for me or the rest of the Internet, but I believe Dave Duncan deserves, if not more credit than La Russa, at least some real Hall of Fame consideration…

In the five years before Duncan got hold of Dave Stewart, he went 30-35 with a 98 ERA+. In the next five years, he went 93-50 with a 118 ERA+.

I don’t know how much of that was Dave Duncan, how much was Tony La Russa, and how much was just Dave Stewart getting a chance to pitch. But if I were somehow involved with the Hall of Fame, I would like to know.

I would like to know that, and a lot more.

Robothal: Cards’ Duncan taking leave from team

Dave Duncan, one of the game’s most respected pitching coaches, is taking a leave of absence from the St. Louis Cardinals, general manager John Mozeliak said Thursday night.

Duncan, 66, is leaving the team so he can be with his wife, Jeanine, who underwent surgery to remove a brain tumor on Aug. 21, the team announced in a news release…

The team said that Mozeliak will meet with new manager Mike Matheny in the near future “to determine the team’s course of action to fill Duncan’s position during his absence.”

Duncan missed more than a month after his wife’s surgery last season, but rejoined the team for the final day of the regular season and remained with the club through the Cardinals’ march to the World Series title.

Bullpen coach Derek Lilliquist served as pitching coach while Duncan was away from the club…

Duncan is under contract to the Cardinals through 2012 with a club option for the 2013 season.

Cybermetrics: Why Didn’t The Writers Vote Johnny Mize Into The Hall Of Fame?

Being that he saw his whole career…I once asked Madden the same exact thing.

He got in, via the Veterans Committee, in 1981. So it might seem a little late and silly to complain about it.

But he never he even got 50% of the vote from the writers (he topped out at 43.6% of the vote in 1971 and he got 41.3% in 1973, his last year of eligibility). If we went strictly by WAR, it seems like he should definitely be in. Even now, about 50 years from when he first became eligible, he is 55th in career WAR among position players with 70.2. He had 8 top 5 finishes and one first place. He was in the top 5 each year from 1937-40.

So he had very high career value and peak value. In Win Shares, he also had 8 top 5 finishes among position players, including 3 first places finishes. He was 104th through 2001 in career Win Shares (338) including pitchers. He also missed 3 seasons due to WW II. Bill James ranked him as the 6th best 1B man in the 2nd Historical Abstract.

...In his first year of eligibility, 1960, he got only 16.7% of the vote. Click here to see the voting that year at Baseball Reference. Twelve guys got more votes than he did that year and he had more WAR than all of them. He beat 8 of them buy 20 or more WAR. Edd Roush, Sam Rice and Eppa Rixy all got over 50% of the vote that year, a level Mize never achieved. None of them had even 52 WAR (Mize had 70.2). All but one of the 12 got in before Mize (except Lazzeri). Most were by the Veterans Committee. So they too, did not give Mize the credit he deserved.

I think the writers, and to a lesser extent the Veterans Committee, did a poor job in evaluating Mize. I hope the writers have been, and are getting, better. But when I see the voting for guys like Raines and Bagwell, not to mention Lou Whitaker being gone after just one year on the ballot, I am not sure.

Jayson Stark (ESPN): Strange stuff … in the 2011 postseason

The postseason edition of trivia and oddbits that Jayson Stark excels at collecting and presenting…

Here’s one I didn’t know:

All four teams that advanced to the LCS—the Cardinals, Brewers, Rangers and Tigers—got outscored by the teams they played in the Division Series … and won.