September 14, 2004
A GOOD WEEK FOR THE CARDINALS(?)
Not unlike my golden retriever with his nose in the trash, the Cardinals got thumped on their collective noses this past week on their West Coast swing to San Diego and Los Angeles. Some of the Cardinal fans I’ve encountered have been singing the St. Louis blues and nearly sounding like Cubs fans with their “wait until next year” attitude. My perception, buoyed by eternal optimism and filtered by my intellectual simplicity, is that despite a 2-4 record on the trip, the Cardinals had a good week.
This past week represented a regular-season glimpse into possible post-season on-the-road play against two tough opponents, the Padres and Dodgers. Both of those teams are fighting like mad for a play-off berth either as wild card or division champions. Neither has secured anything yet. They are playing frenetically to continue their seasons into the post-season. The Cardinals, in contrast, are in the rocking chair. While not fully relaxing, Tony LaRussa is beginning to rest his regulars on an increasing basis. Clearly, the Padres’ and Dodgers’ goals are completely different than those of the Cardinals. This past week was not necessarily an apples-to-apples comparison.
If one were to consider these match-ups as play-off previews, the Cardinals win in either case. Two weeks ago, the Redbirds stunned both visiting squads by sweeping them at Busch Stadium. Last week, they won one of three games in each city. It is reasonable to expect tougher competition on the road, especially against two teams struggling to make the post-season. Likewise, one would expect the Cardinals to do well at home as they have nearly all season. A play-off series would simulate the home-away characteristics of the past two weeks and again, the Cardinals prevail having won four games against each.
Regarding the Cubs, they dropped from second to third and now into a tie with Houston 17 games behind Cardinals at this writing. While they may still make the post-season via the wild card route, that is only going to get tougher for the baby bears. When the week started, the Cardinals magic number was 9. It is now 5 and counting down. Cub fans and the Chicago media are turning on their North Side darlings like swarming packs of wolves sensing a crippled lamb. The only redeeming factor may be that the Bears’ season has started, providing Chicagoans with an additional pin cushion and source of sporting agony.
During the past week, Cardinal hitters got to see the best pitchers the Padres and Dodgers could throw their way. The results were mixed, but they will be better attuned to the strengths and weaknesses of those pitchers come play-off time. This is a smart bunch of hitters. They have learned much this week and will be better able to meet the challenges presented by Padre and Dodger pitchers should they face them in October.
The Cardinals have been on a torrid winning pace since the first of June. I haven’t seen any signs of overconfidence, but a little humility can go a long way this time of year. The experiences of the past week have been a healthy reminder that the Cardinals are indeed human, that they can be beaten, and that every day they must bring their best performances to the ballpark. No dedicated fan enjoys seeing their team lose, but these few injections into the “L” column might be a good vaccination against overconfidence going into the play-offs.
These west coast road trips are always tough on the Cardinals and this was no exception. Yet I can’t help but see that important lessons were taught and learned, good progress continued to be made toward clinching the division title, and that in the run-up to October the Cardinals remain extremely competitive. Every cloud has that silver lining, and even though that lining isn’t readily apparent, it may be more so come the play-offs and the march to the World Series.
Rex Duncan
