Kuzul

The St. Louis Cardinals face a few questions during the offseason as they prepare for 2015. The team has found a successful formula by cultivating talent in their minor league system. General Manager John Mozeliak has also shown that he is not afraid to go out and find a complimentary piece on the free agent market or in trades.

The recent tragedy that cost Oscar Taveras his life has shaken the foundation of the Cardinals. While players, coaches and front office staff continue to struggle with the loss of a friend, the team also looks to the future and the struggle to move on without a talented individual.

Recently, the United Cardinal Bloggers (UCB) shared their thoughts via i70baseball on building an outfield without Oscar Taveras. The thoughts were varied and diverse. They provided a snapshot of the fans’ thoughts.

Each suggestion has merit, but five of them stood out as honest possibilities. Those options are listed here, ranked from least likely to most likely.

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The St. Louis Cardinals and San Francisco Giants will face off in Game 3 of the National League Championship Series on Tuesday with the series tied at two games apiece.

The matchup between the two Senior Circuit heavyweights figured to be an even one, and it’s lived up to that billing through two games so far.

The Giants took Game 1 on the back of a dominating performance from Madison Bumgarner, shutting out the Cardinals in St. Louis. Then, the Cardinals enjoyed a walk-off solo homer from Kolten Wong in the bottom of the ninth inning in Game 2 to even the series.

For Game 3, the Cardinals will throw Boston Red Sox import John Lackey against the Giants’ Tim Hudson in San Francisco in a battle of two veteran right-handed starters. It’s another fairly even matchup in what promises to be a very competitive series.

With the Cardinals and Giants so evenly matched, what does each team have to do to gain an edge in Game 3? Let’s take a look at a few keys for success for both teams, as well as what the NLCS has taught us about the Cards and Giants so far.

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Of all the ways the 2014 St. Louis Cardinals could have launched themselves into a fourth straight National League Championship Series, breaking out the thunder didn’t seem very high on the list.

But then, as it usually does this time of year, baseball happened.

It was surprising enough that the Cardinals gave the Los Angeles Dodgers more power than they could handle in the first three games of the National League Division Series, but it really wasn’t until Tuesday’s series-clinching 3-2 win in Game 4 that things got truly nutty.

After heroically—and I mean that—shutting out the Cardinals on one hit through the first six innings of Game 4 on only three days’ rest, Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw gave up back-to-back singles to Matt Holliday and Jhonny Peralta to open the seventh inning.

Thus was the stage set for Matt Adams, who promptly went boom:

Now, this home run should not have happened.

Seriously. No way. No how. Not with the kind of splits that were at play, as Ace of MLB Stats was kind enough to highlight:

Yeah, sorry. A matchup like that should not have resulted in a home run. It’s science.

And that’s not even the half of it. The pitch that Adams hit out was Kershaw’s curveball, aka “Public Enemy No. 1.” Before St. Louis’ burly first baseman poked it over the right field wall, here’s a list of left-handed batters who had taken Kershaw’s hook deep (via Brooks Baseball):

• ERROR 404: NOT FOUND

In other words: Nobody. Adams was the first. 

So, no, that home run should not have happened. It was simply too improbable.

But then…that fits, doesn’t it?

Adams’ dinger put the cap on a series in which the Cardinals hit for quite a bit of power. And coming on the heels of what their offense did in the regular season, that in itself was improbable.

It wasn’t hard to look at what last year’s Cardinals were packing on offense and conclude that they had the goods to hit their way through October.

The Cardinals led everyone with their .330 average with runners in scoring position, giving their offense the “clutch” factor. And though they didn’t hit for a ton of power, they hit for enough to fall into a four-way tie for ninth in the NL in isolated power, according to FanGraphs.

As such, maybe it was inevitable that this year’s Cardinals offense would be the polar opposite.

The 2014 Cardinals only hit .254 with runners in scoring position, bolstering the notion that clutch hitting is not a repeatable skill. Worse, they finished second from the bottom of the NL in isolated power. Worse upon worse, they finished dead last in home runs.

So it’s no wonder many considered St. Louis’ bats to be a concern heading into its NLDS matchup with the Dodgers. I sure did, and so did Rob Neyer of FoxSports.com:

They’ve not been able to plug a big hole in right field, with first Allen Craig and then rookie Oscar Taveras struggling. In fact, the entire lineup’s been missing a big bat all season, with Matt Holliday and Jhonny Peralta providing the only real punch and the whole bench failing to add much at all.

With this offense going up against Kershaw, Zack Greinke and the rest of a Dodgers staff that posted a 3.40 ERA in 2014, simply hitting was going to be tough. Never mind hitting for power.

Shows what we know.

Before the Cardinals got a big homer from Adams in Game 4, they got big homers from Kolten Wong and Matt Carpenter in Game 3, a big homer from Carpenter in Game 2 and homers from Carpenter, Matt Holliday and Randal Grichuk in Game 1.

That’s seven homers in four games, or only nine fewer than the Cardinals hit in 26 September games.

Based on the regular-season numbers, this power surge was highly unlikely. And typically when we speak of highly unlikely things happening, the next thing to say is that they’re not likely to happen twice.

But that’s what’s weird about the Cardinals’ power outburst. Though they came into October as a team that didn’t hit for power, the NLDS was a reminder that they at least have guys who can hit for power.

That’s most obvious with Holliday, who has thunderous raw power. As evidenced by the 17 homers he accumulated in only 319 plate appearances last year, Adams also has good raw power. Carpenter’s home run power comes and goes, but his 2013 season is evidence that he at least has enough power to be a doubles machine. Wong, meanwhile, hit homers at nearly a 30-homer pace in his last 68 games.

Then there are the particulars who weren’t heard from in the NLDS but belong in the “Yeah, but he can hit for power” discussion. Peralta is one, and Yadier Molina is the other.

Looking ahead to the NLCS, the Cardinals’ power potential is therefore something that should be taken about as seriously as their NLDS fireworks show says it should be.

And that, naturally, makes them look like a more complete team.

Outside of Adam Wainwright in Game 1, each of the three starters the Cardinals threw at the Dodgers pitched well. That makes it easier to swallow a report from Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that Wainwright has an angry elbow. What makes that even easier to swallow is CBSSports.com’s Jon Heyman’s report that Wainwright’s elbow may not be bad enough to sideline him.

If so, the Cardinals are approaching the NLCS with a strong starting rotation. From there, you can factor in a bullpen that allowed only four earned runs to the Dodgers. And then include a defense that, according to Baseball Prospectus, finished seventh in defensive efficiency in the regular season.

Oh, and don’t forget the fortitude.

“The mentality that we have is that we never give up,” Molina told Bernie Miklasz of the Post-Dispatch after Game 3. “We have a good team and we’ve been here before. We know what this is all about.”

It’s talk like this that gives non-Cardinals fans fits. But Molina is right about this not being the Cardinals’ first rodeo. He’s also right about the Cardinals having a good team, one that we already knew could pitch and play defense.

And now, just in time for a run at a third National League pennant in four years, it has a brand-new bang.

Note: Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com unless otherwise noted/linked.  

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The St. Louis Cardinals are looking to go into the playoffs as healthy as possible, but this could be a problem with Matt Holliday coming out of Saturday’s game early.

Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com noted the roster move in the team’s matchup against the Arizona Diamondbacks:

The team’s official Twitter account later reported the problem: 

Considering he was able to play six innings before coming out, it does not seem like this situation will be too serious. Instead, this is likely a precautionary measure to make sure he is healthy before the start of the postseason.

Holliday has been one of the Cardinals’ top hitters this season, drilling 20 home runs and a team-high 90 RBI. Although his .272 batting average will likely end up being a career low for the veteran, he is still a key member of a lineup that has been inconsistent in 2014.

The outfielder hit four home runs last postseason and will need to come through again if St. Louis plans on making another run to the World Series.

If he is forced to miss time, the Cardinals will likely continue to put Peter Bourjos in center field and Jon Jay in left field, where he has played 20 games this season.

Follow Rob Goldberg on Twitter for the latest breaking news and analysis.

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A prospect-churning player development system is a luxury every organization throughout Major League Baseball would like to have. In St. Louis, the pipeline begins in Palm Beach, Florida, and ends under the Arch in front of the best fans in baseball. The Cardinals are loaded with prospects. 

Ranking all of them would be impossible. However, ranking the most major league-ready prospects for 2015 is doable. Based on stats from this season coupled with raw talent and need, here are the Cardinals’ top five prospects that will compete for a roster spot in February.

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Baseball in September represents a time when teams on the outside looking in make one last effort to secure a playoff spot. Other clubs fight for positioning. And yet, roster spots for the playoffs remain up for grabs in St. Louis, where a few of the Cardinals’ call-ups are making their case.

Some of the late-season call-ups have already displayed the ability to provide this club with a spark. Starting pitcher Marco Gonzales heads the group. 

Here are three things we’ve learned about the Cardinals’ September call-ups:

Manager Mike Matheny has something special in Gonzales, the young left-hander with a filthy changeup. Since being recalled, Gonzales has made four appearances, including one start.

Two of his starts have come against Colorado, the team he grew up rooting for. It was his most recent start against the Rockies that carried more importance, and the 22-year-old delivered with an outstanding effort that earned him the win on Sept. 14. Gonzales pitched into the sixth inning, surrendered one run and struck out nine in the process.

“It was a terrific outing,” Matheny said, according to ESPN.com. “We needed that. He really came up big”

Gonzales will surely be a member of the roster when the playoffs begin.

There was a lot of optimism when the Cardinals promoted power-hitting first baseman Xavier Scruggs earlier this month. Scruggs, a minor leaguer for the majority of his playing career, finally earned his chance in the big leagues.

So far, Scruggs hasn’t done much at the plate to really impress (.231 average), but he’s certainly capable of making an impact off the bench.

Scruggs hit 27 home runs and tallied 87 runs batted in at Triple-A Memphis this season before being promoted. It was good to see Scruggs come through with an RBI single that tied the game 1-1 against the Reds Sunday night. That will do wonders for his confidence going forward.

While we haven’t been able to get a good read on Tommy Pham or Greg Garcia, left-handed reliever Tyler Lyons is trying to build confidence, while fellow reliever Nick Greenwood remains a long-relief option for Matheny. Greenwood worked 1.2 scoreless innings Sunday night against the Reds, which was an encouraging sign. 

Not so encouraging is the performances of right-handed reliever Sam Tuivailala. He’s is simply not ready for the big leagues, which comes as no surprise.

No disrespect to the kid, his stuff is nasty, and he has a lot of upside to his game. He’s a hard thrower (97 strikeouts in the minors this season) who needs to tune his mechanics and work on a secondary pitch to accommodate his heater. By the way, according to FanGraphs, Tuivailala’s fastball averages 96.9 mph.

His fastball lacks movement, which was evident Sunday night against the Reds. Tuivailala worked a third of an inning, allowed two runs off three hits, walked a man and watched his ERA soar to 36.00 in two combined relief appearances. 

The Cardinals will need the presence of Gonzales and Scruggs in the playoffs. They have the luxury of waiting on the development of their other September call-ups.

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With less than a week until rosters expand from 25 to 40 on September 1, the St. Louis Cardinals will welcome a handful of reinforcements as they enter the final month of the regular season in a jam-packed National League Central Division race. 

A club looking for an extra jolt will benefit from the added depth and talent when rosters expand. 

Manager Mike Matheny isn’t going to balk at an opportunity to fortify his roster. 

“I think everybody is pretty clear in our system what the priorities are, and the priority is winning here,” he told Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com. “If we have need, we go get players who can come and help us. They do a great job of adapting in our system to fill holes.”

The Cardinals certainly have need for players who can provide a spark of energy. The most glaring void is the bench, where Cardinals pinch hitters rank 13th in the majors (sixth in the NL) with their combined .234 average. 

That said, here are five players the Cardinals will promote come September based on their success at Triple-A Memphis this season: 

Randal Grichuk, Outfielder

Randal Grichuk spent nearly a month with the parent club and never found his groove at the plate. He hit just .136 in 19 games. However, the 23-year-old outfielder has made the most of his time in Memphis this season. He’s hitting .259 with 71 RBI and a .311 on-base percentage in over 100 games with the Redbirds. More impressive is Grichuk‘s team-leading 25 home runs this season.

The Cardinals could use Grichuk‘s bat in late-game situations. Matheny could also utilize Grichuk by giving him a chance or two to keep starting outfielders Matt Holliday, Jon Jay and Peter Bourjos fresh. 

Pete Kozma, Shortstop  

With Jhonny Peralta, Matt Carpenter and Kolten Wong eating up innings in the Cardinals infield, Pete Kozma was the odd man out. He eventually landing in Memphis. 

But with Mark Ellis on the disabled list with a strained oblique muscle, the Cardinals need depth in the infield. 

For the season, Kozma has 30 extra-base hits to his credit, including eight home runs. 

Kozma may only be hitting .253 at Memphis this season, but he brings playoff experience. And that’s always a plus for any team. 

Stephen Piscotty, Outfielder

Stephen Piscotty is the most major league-ready outfielder in the Cardinals organization, and he’s more than deserving of a promotion in September. 

The 23-year-old has a knack for getting on base with his .348 on-base percentage this season. He’s also gone deep eight times and driven in 65. 

When it comes overall production at the plate, the Cardinals need Piscotty‘s presence on the bench, if not in occasionally in the lineup. 

Xavier Scruggs, First Base 

With Matt Adams the everyday Cardinals first baseman, Xavier Scruggs won’t be called up permanently for the foreseeable future. However, his overall stats this season at Triple-A Memphis warrant a well-deserved promotion. At the very least, the Cardinals should give the 26-year-old minor leaguer a few at-bats in September.

Scruggs, who is hitting .280 for the Redbirds this season, has launched 20 homers and driven in 83. Moreover, over his last 10 games, Scruggs is hitting .297 with a pair of homers, four RBI and eight runs scored.

Tim Cooney, Pitcher  

You can never have enough pitching, which is why the Cardinals need to take a long look at 23-year-old lefty Tim Cooney.

Cooney (13-6, 3.55 ERA) is having a stellar season for Memphis. He leads the team in wins and innings pitched (152).

The Cardinals could utilize Cooney by putting him in the bullpen to eat up innings in order to keep the other relievers fresh. 

“We just push forward with the best that we have,” Matheny told Langosch. And these five players will certainly help the Cardinals in the final month of the regular season. 

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Because they inhabit a playoff position at the moment, the St. Louis Cardinals are postseason contenders. But for most of 2014, the club hasn’t played up to preseason hopes and expectations that included visions of a second straight World Series run. The prime culprit? The lineup.

The Cardinals are in good shape at 64-56 and right there with the division rival Pittsburgh Pirates (64-57) and San Francisco Giants (63-57) for the two National League wild cards. They’re also 2.0 games behind the Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Central.

So, yes, the Cardinals are in it. But until the offense starts clicking, they’re not necessarily in it, at least relative to expectations.

Just how offensive has St. Louis’ offense been? Here’s a rundown of where the unit ranks in several significant statistics:

That’s a far cry from 2013, when the team was third in the majors in runs scored (783, 4.8 R/G) and sported an aggregate triple-slash line of .269/.332/.401.

Things haven’t gotten any better since the All-Star break, either. St. Louis has averaged 3.5 runs per game in the second half compared to a better, but still bad, 3.8 in the first.

So where have the Cardinals been coming up empty? Well, for one thing, they’re not getting nearly the run production with runners in scoring position (RISP) after their historic 2013 performance in that department. Last year, St. Louis hit a ridiculous—and unrepeatable—.330 with RISP, setting an all-time record by nearly 20 points in batting average.

In 2014? The club is batting just 243, which checks in as the ninth-worst mark in the majors.

Another consideration? The Cards hitters are much worse against right-handed pitchers (.677 team OPS, 10th-worst in MLB) than they are against lefties (.729 OPS, 10th-best).

There are two other big problems. The first is that, as bad as the overall numbers have been, the Cardinals actually don’t have many positions that are in obvious need of an upgrade.

The league-wide weighted on-base average (wOBA) for non-pitchers is .316. Going by that, the Cardinals actually have received solid, above-average production from Matt Holliday in left field (.350 wOBA, 126 wRC+), Matt Adams at first base (.346 wOBA, 123 wRC+), Matt Carpenter at third (.345 wOBA, 122 wRC+), Jhonny Peralta (.342 wOBA, 120 wRC+) at shortstop and Jon Jay (.332 wOBA, 113 wRC+) in center.

Are all of those players performing up to their previous career standards? No. But none has been a flat-out disappointment either.

That leaves catcher, second base and right field as the biggest problem spots. Except, backstop is only an issue for now because Yadier Molina is on the disabled list for another few weeks after tearing a ligament in his right thumb on July 9.

“[Molina] still hasn’t picked up a bat, hasn’t gripped a ball without a brace,” manager Mike Matheny told Tom Timmerman of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “We can’t get too far ahead.”

Second base and right field, though, currently are manned by rookies Kolten Wong and Oscar Taveras, two highly regarded youngsters who have been disappointing to various degrees so far.

As Scott Wuerz of the Belleville News-Democrat writes: “It has a negative cumulative effect on the team that it is required to play two inexperienced players in the same lineup almost every day.”

Wong has been better since a three-week demotion back to Triple-A in late-April, hitting .261/.297/.454 with 30 runs, nine homers and 14 steals in 57 games from mid-May on. His .307 wOBA and 96 wRC+ are at least on the upswing.

Taveras, however, has had quite the struggle adjusting to the majors since debuting at the end of May, even though he was a better prospect than Wong and one of the very elite ones in the sport entering the year.

Just 22, the lefty hitter is batting .206/.247/.284 in 45 games. Yes, it’s a teeny-tiny sample size of 150 plate appearances, but even if it’s a lot of pressure to put on a player who has only been in the bigs for a couple of months, Taveras has to do better than a .239 wOBA and 49 wRC+. Especially because he’s now getting everyday playing time after general manager John Mozeliak freed up right field for him by trading Allen Craig in what was a risky move, but one that also could pay off in a big way.

What does Matheny have to say about his rookie right fielder? “Just try to get him going, but more importantly get our offense going,” as he said via Christina De Nicola of MLB.com. Clearly, the skipper sees a link between the potential Taveras has and the possibility of what that could mean for his sluggish offense.

The other problem St. Louis has? The Cardinals can wait on Molina to make it back and find his rhythm again, and they can hope that Taveras figures it out sooner than later, but both of those are passive routes that could leave them in a too-little-too-late situation.

Time is running out to pull off any kind of trade to address the lineup. Not that it’s easy to pull off an impact swap in August when players have to pass through waivers before being traded, but there’s at least the possibility.

By the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline, the team added some pitching help in right-handers John Lackey and Justin Masterson, but there was no deal to bring in a big bat, or even any bat. In fact, St. Louis traded away Craig, who—despite a terrible 2014—had hit .311/.364/.488 across 2012-13.

Some hitters who could be candidates for a waiver trade include outfielders Marlon Byrd of the Philadelphia Phillies, Alex Rios of the Texas Rangers and the Los Angeles Dodgers‘ Andre Ethier, as well as Arizona Diamondbacks second baseman Aaron Hill. Whether any of those would be a definitive upgrade—and worth the cost of acquisition—is something Mozeliak has to weigh heavily before month’s end.

Otherwise, there’s not much the Cardinals can do other than get healthy and get better from within. That still could happen, but it needs to start. And soon.

Statistics are accurate through Aug. 14 and come from MLB.com, Baseball-Reference.com and FanGraphs.com, except where otherwise noted.

To talk baseball or fantasy baseball, check in with me on Twitter: @JayCat11

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The St. Louis Cardinals were active at the non-waiver trade deadline this season.  The moves shook up the clubhouse by sending two clubhouse favorites, Allen Craig and Joe Kelly, to the Boston Red Sox in exchange for John Lackey and Corey Littrell.  News reports quickly surfaced, such as this one from Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal, that players were unhappy with the deal.

The Cardinals have struggled at the plate.  One of the most glaring examples was Craig, who saw a dramatic decline from his former production.  Meanwhile, the team’s top prospect, Oscar Taveras, continued to struggle in a part-time role.  General manager John Mozeliak saw the opportunity to eliminate the platoon in right field while also bolstering his pitching staff.  

Many assumed it would be Taveras who would be on the move.

Joe Buck suggested during a Fox Sports 1 telecast this weekend that Taveras is not well liked among Cardinal players.  Joe Strauss, who covers the Cardinals for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, echoed those sentiments when he joined local CBS Sports Radio 920’s morning show, “The Morning After,” via Brendan Marks.

Strauss states that players don’t appreciate the lack of work ethic from the youngster.  He also casts stones at Taveras’ sense of entitlement, which appears to be based on his pedigree.  Each of these things are concerning for fans.

Lost in the shuffle is the throwaway comment from Buck and Tom Verducci that the Cardinals lack the leadership of someone who can say something directly to Taveras.  Indeed, that is the major difference between this Cardinals team and those of years past.

The veterans on this club are a bit different.  They are players, like Adam Wainwright, who show tremendous support to each other.  They are the strong and silent types, like Matt Holliday and Yadier Molina.  Gone are the Chris Carpenters and Lance Berkmans.  

Most significantly, gone is Albert Pujols.

Pujols, possibly more than most players, seemed to be the leader who would pull guys aside.  He would address their work ethic.  He set the example, and he expected players to follow it.  He was often the voice of reason within the clubhouse.

Molina needs to be that player now.  A protege of Pujols while he was in St. Louis, Molina blossomed under the tutelage of Albert.  He has proven to be the field general the young pitching staff so desperately needs.  

The Cardinals need a leader.  The Cardinals need someone willing to get in the face of the young guys and tell them what is expected of them when they wear the Birds on the Bat.  The Cardinals need someone to step into that role.

That someone likely needs to be Yadier Molina.

Bill Ivie is the founder of i70baseball.com
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After losing his job with the Boston Red Sox, A.J. Pierzynski is ready to return to the major leagues. The team announced the deal on Saturday:

Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch first reported the St. Louis Cardinals were attempting to sign the veteran catcher:

Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports later confirmed that the move was completed and Pierzynski will join the team immediately:

George Kottaras was claimed by the Cardinals off waivers on July 11 in an attempt to improve the position after All-Star catcher Yadier Molina went down with a thumb injury. However, the journeyman only got five at-bats with the team and will reportedly be released, per Brandie Piper and Frank Cusumano of KSDK.com.

The organization is hoping Pierzynski will be a better replacement after a solid career of production behind the plate. In 17 seasons, the catcher has posted a .282 batting average with 176 home runs.

The 37-year-old player struggled a bit this season, though, posting a career-low .254 batting average with four home runs in 72 games with Boston. He was eventually designated for assignment by the club before being released in mid-July, according to Jason Mastrodonato of MassLive.com.

Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington explained the problem to Mastrodonato:

The offense wasn’t there. I’m not trying to be critical of him. It wasn’t any lack of effort on his part. It just wasn’t there. When you sign A.J. Pierzynski, that’s what you’re hoping: You’re hoping for left-hand offense at a premium position, and we thought that was important to the team. If we got that, it would complement the team.

Fortunately, the talent is still there for the veteran to provide an offensive boost to a team that remains in the playoff hunt. Although the Cardinals are a few games back in the NL Central race, they have the players to turn things around in a hurry.

Jason Goch of Yahoo Sports Radio likes the move for the team:

Tony Cruz is likely to continue getting playing time behind the plate, but Pierzynski will provide a nice complement as a quality left-handed hitter.

Follow Rob Goldberg on Twitter for the latest breaking news and analysis.

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