Kuzul

It’s difficult to imagine where the St. Louis Cardinals would be without their rookie pitchers.

Between Carlos Martinez, Seth Maness, Trevor Rosenthal, Kevin Siegrist and Michael Wacha, the Cardinals’ young hurlers have individually and collectively played a crucial role in the team’s success this October.

However, one very important name has been absent from the mix: Shelby Miller.

Miller wasn’t just one of the top rookie pitchers during the first half of the season, he was one of the top pitchers in the game. Over his first 18 starts, the 22-year-old posted a 2.92 ERA and .225 opponent batting average with 112 strikeouts in 104.2 innings.

The Cardinals wisely offered Miller additional rest surrounding the All-Star break after he showed signs of wearing down in late June and into July. Although he had an up-and-down second half, the right-hander completed the final month of the season on a positive note by going 3-0 with a 2.76 ERA over five starts.

Miller’s season highlight came on May 10 in his home start against the Colorado Rockies, when he surrendered a leadoff single to Eric Young Jr. before retiring the next 27 hitters in order.

Since the beginning of the postseason, however, Miller essentially has been a non-factor for the Cardinals. With fellow rookie Wacha thriving in the starting rotation after a strong finish to the regular season, manager Mike Matheny relegated Miller to the bullpen for the NLDS, mostly due to his season-long struggles against the Pittsburgh Pirates. 

But with the beginning of the NLCS against the Dodgers, it seemed as though Miller stood a chance at starting one the latter games of the series, especially when considering right-hander Lance Lynn’s struggles in the NLDS. Starting Game 2 of the series against the Pirates, Lynn allowed five runs on seven hits over 4.1 innings as the Cardinals dropped the contest, 7-1.

Besides the aforementioned start, Lynn did pitch well out of bullpen in Game 1 of the NLCS, picking up the win in the 13-inning affair while tossing two scoreless frames.

While Miller has gotten loose in the bullpen on several occasions this October and seemed destined to get in several games, the 22-year-old right-hander has made only one appearance in the postseason thus far.

In Game 2 of the NLDS, the same game in which the Bucs chased Lynn after only 4.1 innings, Miller logged one inning out of the Cardinals bullpen, allowing one run (a solo home run) while notching a strikeout.

Even though Miller is as well rested as he’s been this season, Cardinals manager Mike Matheny decided to go with Lynn and his experience for Game 4 of the NLCS.

During Monday’s press conference, Matheny expanded on the decision:

Experience is one of your greatest teachers if you’re paying really close attention. And Lance is a guy that’s paying attention. He’s a competitor. His stuff is right. When he’s throwing the ball well, it’s fun to watch him. So hopefully he goes out there with a lot of confidence.

It’s hard to blame Matheny for going with what’s worked to this point. Plus, it’s not as though Miller helped his case to start in the series after two uninspiring starts against the Dodgers during the regular season. His second start lasted only two pitches, as he was forced to leave the game after getting smoked by a comeback line drive on the second pitch of the game.

In his only non-two-pitch start against the Dodgers during the regular season, Miller allowed three runs on seven hits and a walk while striking out three batters over 5.1 innings. Between both outings, Dodger hitters batted .296/.367/.481 against the right-hander.

Despite his lack of success against the Dodgers and limited workload in October, I can’t help but think that the Cardinals are underutilizing Miller.

When he’s at his best, he has proven to be capable of shutting down the game’s top offenses. During the regular season, 12 of Miller’s 31 starts were of the quality variety, and he struck out six-plus batters on 15 occasions.

Furthermore, Miller turned in six starts this year in which he pitched into the seventh inning. In those games, he posted a 6-0 record with a stellar 0.21 ERA and 48/5 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 43.1 innings.

Matheny seems to be reserving Miller as the team’s safety net in case one of its starters is chased from a game earlier than expected. If that scenario were to arise, then the talented rookie would undoubtedly serve as a weapon in the role.

However, if Lynn struggles in Game 4 against the Dodgers, then Matheny will be forced to consider starting Miller in his place should the Cardinals advance to the World Series.

Though Miller’s underuse this October may suggest he isn’t qualified to start a postseason, it’s more appropriate to view right-hander as the Cardinals’ non-literal ace in the hole.

The one knock on Miller is, as a pitcher who throws his fastball 70.82 percent of the time, per Brooks Baseball, he can be hittable when his command of the pitch isn’t sharp. The right-hander surrendered six or more hits in 13 starts this year and allowed 12 home runs—he gave up 20 home runs overall on the season—in those games.

However, every young hurler who throws mostly fastballs will be shelled on occasion. Therefore, it’s important to keep Miller’s success with the pitch this season in perspective.

According to Brooks Baseball’s PITCHf/x leaderboards (via Baseball Prospectus), Miller was one of four starting pitchers to throw more than 2,000 four-seam fastballs during the regular season. The others? Clayton Kershaw, Chris Tillman and Justin Verlander. Among those players, Miller ranked second with a .236 opponent batting average (against the fastball) and .387 opponent slugging percentage.

Even if Miller were to last only five or six innings in a start, he still has the potential to be highly effective and keep his team in the game. During the regular season, Miller rarely worked deep into his starts, exiting the game in the fifth or sixth innings 24 times. However, the right-hander managed to hold the opposition to three or fewer runs in 20 of those outings.

Plus, with the ongoing excellence of Cardinal relievers this October, there’s no reason for concern about handing the game to the bullpen in the sixth or seventh innings.

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Carlos Beltran was the center of the story in last night’s 13-inning NLCS Game 1 between the St. Louis Cardinals and Los Angeles Dodgers.  He drove in all three of St. Louis’ runs.  He provided the postseason heroics that fans have come to expect from him.  In the 10th inning, Beltran made the defensive play of the night, calling off Jon Jay on a fly ball and throwing out Dodgers’ second baseman Mark Ellis at the plate.

The play was set up by strange managerial decisions on both sides of the field.  For Don Mattingly, his decision to send Dee Gordon to pinch run for Adrian Gonzalez in the 8th inning led to Michael Young being the hitter at the plate with runners on first and third and one out in the 10th.  Mike Matheny would counter that move with the decision to leave his closer, Trevor Rosenthal, in the game for a second inning to try and keep the game tied.

The result was one of the most exciting moments of this year’s postseason thus far.  Young lifted a fly ball to right field, Ellis tagged from third to try to score and Beltran executed a flawless throw to the plate.

Many across the internet immediately began to question the call at the plate, wondering if catcher Yadier Molina actually tagged Ellis or just blocked the base path causing the collision.  It led Alyson Footer of MLB.com to ask Ellis about it directly after the game:

“It was pretty obvious I got tagged out,” said Ellis, who hit a one-out triple before the play. “There was a collision at home plate. They’re going to call you out every time. You run into it, you’re out. That’s how they’re going to call it.”

Obviously, a tag must be made to record the out.  Equally obvious is that a runner is not going to get a call in his favor when the ball beats him by a significant amount of time and he collides with the defender.  Expecting an umpire to determine if the tag was truly made during that amount of body contact is absurd.

That being said, I agreed with the many fans that pointed out the missing tag.  Watching the play from various angles—and even in real time—it did not appear that Molina tagged Ellis, and the Cardinals caught a bit of a break in a very important situation.

The important view is the one from the first base side, where the viewer can have a clear view of the glove of Molina and the contact with Ellis.  The Facebook page for fan site STL Cardinal Baseball pointed out the point of contact very clearly early this morning:

To #Dodgers fans and everyone else still questioning, this is what a tag looks like in baseball. He was out. #STLCards

It appears that next season will see the arrival of Instant Replay and the ability to review plays of this nature.  The impact on the game will surely be significant.  Plays that have become a routine call will now have to be executed in a more deliberate way.  The outcome of games may be impacted greatly in the future.

This was not one of those games.  The tag was made.  Game 1 of the NLCS belongs to the Cardinals.

More specifically, it belongs to Carlos Beltran.

The above referenced Facebook page and the subsequent website that it represents is a fan site and bears no official connection to the St. Louis Cardinals or Major League Baseball.

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The St. Louis Cardinals have something special in Michael Wacha.

The 22-year-old rookie introduced himself to a national audience earlier this week when he flirted with a no-hitter and saved the Cardinals from elimination in a must-win Game 4 of the National League Division Series against the Pirates.

And now, with Wacha set to take the mound Saturday in Game 2 of the NL Championship Series, it’s seemingly only a matter of time until the right-hander becomes a household name.

Boasting a unique combination of electric stuff, mature command and veteran-like poise, Wacha arguably has been as important of a big-game pitcher for the Cardinals as Adam Wainwright. Basically, if Wainwright is the team’s staff ace, then Wacha should be considered the ace-in-training.

After joining the starting rotation in early September, Wacha was 2-1 with a 1.72 ERA, .198 opponent batting average and 28/10 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 31.1 innings (five starts) over the final month of the season. More importantly, he played a vital role in the club’s incredible 19-8 record in September and eventual clinching of the NL Central title.

Meanwhile, Wacha ended his impressive rookie campaign in dominating fashion, coming within one out of a no-hitter before allowing an infield single to Ryan Zimmerman. As a result of his overwhelming late-season success, the right-hander was named to the Cardinals’ starting rotation for the NLDS.

NLDS Game 4: A Quick Review

Facing a potential elimination with a loss in Game 4 of the NLDS, Wacha’s performance was everything the Cardinals could have asked for and then some. The right-hander allowed one run on one hit and two walks with nine strikeouts over 7.1 impressive frames, and he carried a no-hit bid into the eighth inning before surrendering a solo home run to Pedro Alvarez with one out. 

Wacha’s command of his entire arsenal was superb, as he registered a strike with 60 of his 96 total pitches and threw a first-pitch strike to 16 of 25 hitters.

As I noted after that start, Wacha’s effectiveness with the fastball was the key to his success against the Pirates. Per Brooks Baseball, the right-hander used it 72.5 percent of the time in the outing, throwing 44 of them for a strike. Due to his advanced command and feel for locating the pitch throughout the strike zone, Pittsburgh’s hitters were unable to sit on a specific location. As a result, Wacha’s fastball generated 11 whiffs over the course of the game and was responsible for five of his nine strikeouts.

Wacha’s effectiveness with his secondary arsenal also played a major role in the rookie’s historically good postseason debut. The right-hander used his plus-plus changeup 11 times (12.1 percent) in the game, throwing it for a strike seven times and inducing one swing-and-miss. However, Wacha’s breaking ball proved to be an even greater weapon, as he threw nine of his 14 curveballs for a strike while generating three whiffs (all strikeouts). 

NLCS Game 2: Preview

After flirting with a no-hitter in each of his last two outings, manager Mike Matheny wisely elected to go with Wacha for Game 2 of the NLCS over Lance Lynn.

However, Wacha will have a more challenging assignment when he takes the mound Saturday against a red-hot Dodger offense that collectively posted a .962 OPS with 18 extra-base hits and 26 RBI over four NLDS games against the Braves.

Of the potential NLCS starters for St. Louis, Wacha was the only one not to face the Dodgers during the regular season. For a young pitcher with his combination of stuff and command, that’s usually an advantage.

Wacha kept his response simple when asked at Monday’s press conference whether his lack of experience against the Dodgers might serve as an advantage, via MLB.com.

“I’m not real sure,” he said. “I’d sometimes like to see a lineup a couple of times, then you really know if they struggle against a certain pitch or not.”

Though the Dodgers will be forced to rely on advance scouting reports and video as they prepare for Wacha in Game 2, the team can find solace in the fact that it hit the ball well during its only trip to Busch Stadium during the regular season. Taking three of four games from the Cardinals in early August, the Los Angeles offense batted .306/.373/.396 with 44 hits and 22 runs scored in 164 plate appearances.

Additionally, by designating Wacha as the Game 2 starter, Matheny will have his young right-hander available to start Game 6 (also at home) if necessary. And it would only be fitting to see Wacha take the mound for the Cardinals with a World Series berth at stake.

What Wacha’s Success Means for the 2014 Season

At this point, it’s a foregone conclusion that Wacha will open the 2014 season in the Cardinals rotation. The only question is whether he’ll be their No. 2 or No. 3 starter.

Other than Adam Wainwright, the rookie has been the Cardinals’ hottest pitcher over the last six weeks, continually thriving on the big stage and with the season on the line. For a pitcher with only 71.3 innings of experience at the major league level, Wacha’s lack of an exploitable weakness is remarkable. While there have been countless young pitchers to reach the major leagues this season behind big fastballs and nasty secondary pitches, none have matched his polish and pitchability.

The fact that Wacha has already figured things out at a young age is scary in the sense that he’s only going to get better moving forward. And if his performance this year during both the regular season and playoffs is a truly sign of what’s to come, the right-hander should enjoy a long and illustrious career at the front of the Cardinals’ starting rotation.

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Already a borderline Hall of Famer based on his regular-season performance, Carlos Beltran has made a habit out of flipping the switch from formidable to unstoppable in the playoffs.

This October has been no exception. The veteran switch-hitter followed a productive NLDS by carrying the St. Louis Cardinals to a 3-2 victory in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series. His contributions included a clutch throw to home plate in the 10th inning and a walk-off hit in the bottom of the 13th.

Although Beltran is making a tremendous impact in 2013, history has taught us that his individual dominance doesn’t guarantee a trip to the World Series.

See for yourself in the table below. 

St. Louis was an offensive juggernaut this past summer, leading the Senior Circuit in on-base percentage and runs scored. That’s because Matt Carpenter, Matt Holliday and Allen Craig, among others, complemented Beltran’s power hitting with elite production of their own.

However, Carpenter has totaled only two hits through the first six postseason games (.087 BA) after an All-Star-caliber year atop the lineup. Holliday is being way too aggressive, as evidenced by his one walk in 25 plate appearances. Craig continues to rehab from a foot injury, but he still hasn’t started running. He won’t be a factor unless the Cardinals advance to the Fall Classic.

Meanwhile, Beltran has single-handedly driven in nine of his team’s 24 playoff runs, including all three on Friday night.

The Los Angeles Dodgers send Clayton Kershaw and Hyun-jin Ryu to the mound in Games 2 and 3, respectively. Those lefties will force Beltran to swing from the right side, and he posted an underwhelming .252/.281/.448 batting line under those circumstances this season.

Even assuming that he elevates the quality of his play under the bright lights, it’s unrealistic to expect the 36-year-old to maintain a superhuman pace against them.

Above all, the Cardinals’ chances of clinching the NL pennant hinge upon their pitching staff overcoming its inexperience. Half of Mike Matheny’s arms are rookies, and bullpen veterans like John Axford and Edward Mujica haven’t been particularly trustworthy lately.

In 2004, 2006 and 2012, Beltran was sent packing following losses in Game 7. For that to change, Adam Wainwright will need to live up to his rotation-leader reputation if that scenario presents itself this time around.

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The St. Louis Cardinals find themselves in Game 5 of the National League Division Series yet again this year.

Just like 2012, they will turn to Adam Wainwright to lead them to victory and on to the National League Championship Series.  Wainwright hopes to put the team in a position to win instead of the team overcoming a poor start like what occurred last year.

The Cardinals are no stranger to elimination games.  They are even more familiar with playing the fifth game of a NLDS.  Over the past two seasons, the Cardinals have produced a dominant pitching performance and a come-from-behind victory in Game 5.  

The dominant pitching performance belonged to Chris Carpenter, the former ace of the Cardinals who now finds himself a spectator and cheerleader from the dugout.  His 2011 performance against Roy Halladay, the ace of the Philadelphia Phillies and Carpenter’s good friend, was an instant classic.  

Wainwright was unable to follow in his mentor’s footsteps the following season, however.  Wainwright took the mound against the Washington Nationals in 2012 and would exit the game in the third inning.  Three home runs, six runs, and seven hits would chase the ace to the dugout to watch the remainder of the game. The rest of the team refused to give up and the Cardinals fought their way back to take the game and move on to the NLCS.

Derrick Goold of StlToday.com checked in with Adam Wainwright during a Tuesday afternoon optional workout at Busch Stadium.  Wainwright made it clear that he was feeling relaxed when he took the opportunity to joke about last year’s disastrous outing:

“I’m a motivator, so I knew that day that I was going to need to go out and pitch bad for our team to really get some mojo flowing,” Wainwright said, grinning.

Adam Wainwright was recovering from Tommy John surgery and finding his way in 2012.  At times, his season would show the flare of the ace pitcher the Cardinals hoped would return.  At others, he reminded the team and the fans that he was still finding his groove.  He shared some thoughts on that with Goold as well:

This year is completely different than last year. I learned some valuable lessons last year. I persevered through some hard times. The fact of the matter is last year I pitched a good Game 1, a terrible Game 5, and a good Game 4 of the NLCS. There is no guarantee my stuff would have returned in the World Series had we even got there. That’s just the truth of the matter. My stuff was hit or miss all year long.

Wainwright seems to have found that groove in 2013, posting a Cy Young-worthy season and being the leader the young pitching staff desperately needed throughout the season.  

He now finds himself poised to lead this team one step further, into the next round of the playoffs and possibly beyond.  He finds himself in position to exorcise the Game 5 demons from last season.  He finds himself in the position to put the exclamation point on the statement that Michael Wacha made in Game 4.

The Cardinals and Wainwright wouldn’t have it any other way.

Statistics in this article are sourced from Baseball-Reference.

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Albert Pujols didn’t define the St. Louis Cardinals franchise.

Sure, he was one of many cornerstone players to ever don the birds on the bat. But this rich and historic organization won before him and with him, and now they are winning without him.

From 2001-2011, the Cardinals won 40 postseason games, including two World Series championships with Pujols in the middle of the lineup. Following the Cardinals’ most recent title in 2011, Pujols walked as a free agent and signed a 10-year, $254 million deal with the Los Angeles Angels.

Life without this franchise’s most coveted star was surely going to be rough, right? Only the completely delirious believed such a notion.

Matter of fact, Pujols continues to help the Cardinals win crucial postseason games.

Think of it this way: had Pujols decided to stay under the Arch, owner Bill DeWitt and general manager John Mozeliak would have their hands tied for the next decade with such a monstrous contract making it nearly impossible to land key free agents and take on additional contracts.

With Pujols long gone, DeWitt and Mozeliak were able to keep the Cardinals core intact for years to come.

Yadier Molina, the best catcher in the game, signed a five-year, $75 million deal in March of 2012, pitching ace Adam Wainwright signed a five-year, $97.5 deal last March and Pujols’ current replacement, Allen Craig, agreed to a five-year, $31 million deal last March.

Behind the plate, Molina is the driving force behind the Cardinals’ pitching staff. His chemistry with each pitcher and overall knowledge of the game are second to none.

Wainwright closed out the 2006 World Series when the Cardinals extinguished the Tigers in five games, and he has another ring from the 2011 championship season.

Craig’s .454 average with runners in scoring position led the National League this season.

This is the same core of players that are annually displayed each October. 

Most importantly, when Pujols bolted for Los Angeles, the Angels dealt the Cardinals the 19th overall selection in the 2012 Amateur Draft. With the pick, the Cardinals took a young lad by the name of Michael Wacha out of Texas A&M.

For the second time in as many starts, the 22-year-old rookie flirted with a no-hitter. He made history Monday afternoon when he took his no-hit bid into the eighth inning of Game Four of the Division Series against the Pirates. It was the longest no-hit bid by a rookie pitcher in postseason history. In the biggest game of his life with his team on the verge of elimination, Wacha stood tall on the mound en route to forcing a decisive Game Five at Busch Stadium Wednesday night. 

Without Pujols, the Cardinals are continuing to venture down their illustrious postseason winning path. They’ve won nine playoff games games without him and are looking for their 12th World Series championship.

Thanks, Albert.

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If St. Louis Cardinals fans partied it up on Thursday night in celebration, it’s likely that on Friday night they’re hitting the bottle.

What happened at Busch Stadium Friday afternoon was the polar opposite of Game 1 of the National League Division Series between the Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Pirates.

On Thursday, the Cardinals hit well, pitched well and fielded well while the Pirates did absolutely nothing. On Friday, the Pirates hit well, pitched well and fielded well while the Cardinals did absolutely nothing.

Just like with a win, it’s important to keep things in perspective. What happened Friday was just one game. The same was said about Thursday.

Obviously a split isn’t the ideal situation, but this team has been good at putting a bad day behind them. Manager Mike Matheny said he doesn’t see this as different from any other loss.

While he can’t control their approach, he is confident that they have the mental tools to do what needs to be done to keep the season going.

“They’re going to do what they want to do and think how they want to think, but it would surprise me if they’re doing anything different than just getting ready to go out and put their best effort forward,” Matheny said.

With that said, the Sunday game likely won’t be an easy one. They’ll have to contend with a crowd that is beyond energetic and Francisco Liriano, who has owned the Cardinals in 2013.

During the regular season, Liriano was 3-0 with a 0.75 ERA against the Cardinals. He’s surrendered only 10 hits and two runs over a span of 24 innings pitched.

There are two ways to look at this for the Cardinals. The pessimist would likely say the Cardinals are doomed to go down 2-0 in the series. The optimist, on the other hand, would say that Liriano is due for a bad start against the Cardinals.

A look at his success against other teams shows that Liriano—despite his current appearance—is not Cy Young. He has been shelled by the Milwaukee Brewers (5.52, 14 IP, 9 ER in three starts), the Colorado Rockies (9.64, 10 ER in two starts), the San Francisco Giants (7.20, 8 ER in two starts) and the Cincinnati Reds (0-3, 3.70, 10 ER in 24.1 IP over four starts.)

Each of those teams’ batting averages against Liriano is double (the Giants are triple) what the Cardinals have done when they faced him.

While the Cardinals have struggled badly against left-handed batters, Liriano is beatable. Matheny continues to remind them of that.

“Hope the mindset is they can’t wait to get back out there and compete regardless of who they throw out there against us,” Matheny said. “We’ve had some matchups with some guys that have had success against us in the past, and they’re able to get past what the projections are and just play the game.”

“So, that’s what I’ll be encouraging.” 

The reality of the situation is that because they are tied, what the Cardinals face now is basically a three-game series where they don’t have home-field advantage. However, the first pitcher they will face is more mediocre than his numbers against the Cardinals indicate.

If the Cardinals can keep their heads on straight, focus on what they can change and ignore their history with Liriano, they could turn this series around in a hurry on Sunday.

Hang in there, Cardinals fans.

Stats are from Baseball Reference and are current through Oct. 4, 2013.

All quotes obtained firsthand by the author.

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Having already clinched its first National League Central division title in four years, St. Louis completed a three-game sweep of division rival Chicago Sunday to secure the NL’s best record and home-field advantage throughout the 2013 playoffs.

With 11 World Series championships, the Cardinals will venture into October hunting for their second title in three years.

The NL’s No. 1 seed, the Cardinals don’t boast an unstoppable rotation or an influx of power hitters with 30-plus home runs or 100-plus runs batted in. Rather, the youngest team to reach the postseason in 2013 has been ignited by green faces. Twenty rookies to be exact, including 12 rookie pitchers.

As always, questions surround youth and inexperience. The same can be said of injuries. And St. Louis is no stranger to the latter.

Here are five questions facing the Cardinals as they prepare for the postseason: 

1) How will the young rotation hold up?

Staff ace Adam Wainwright heads a rotation lacking postseason experience, but one full of raw talent. Wainwright finished with 19 wins, tied for the most in the NL. Backing Wainwright will be Lance Lynn, who completed his second season as a starter and rookies Shelby Miller, Michael Wacha and first-year starter Joe Kelly.

Lynn, who posted 11 wins to four losses prior to the All-Star break, struggled in season’s second half. In 14 starts, Lynn was 4-6 with a 3.93 ERA in 84.2 innings pitched.

Miller, a highly coveted prospect, shined en route to a 15-win campaign. But the 22-year-old hurler worked 173.1 innings, the most he’s ever pitched, including the minors. (Miller pitched 139.2 innings in 2011 while spending stints in Palm Beach and Springfield).

Kelly is relatively new to the starting role, though he was in the mix for the fifth spot in the rotation during spring training. The hard-throwing right-hander owns the third-best record (8-2) in the NL following the All-Star break.

Wacha, another touted prospect, has just nine major league starts under his belt.

Of the five starters, only Wainwright and Lynn have started postseason games.

Will the young guns continue to grow and rise up to the challenges of the postseason, or will they skitter and fall into decline?

2) How will the bullpen hold up?

At times the bullpen has been vulnerable, especially with the late-season struggles of closer Edward Mujica. Five relievers will be making their postseason debut, including Kevin Siegrist, Seth Maness, Sam Freeman, Carlos Martinez and Tyler Lyons.

According to Fan Graphs, Cardinals rookie relievers are a combined 14-7 with five saves and a 2.74 ERA over the course of 256 appearances and 265.2 innings pitched. Those numbers rank in the top five in the NL. More impressive, Cardinals rookie hurlers own an NL-best 3.6 wins above replacement.

On the other side, the Cardinals boast six pitchers who have postseason experience, including Mujica, Trevor Rosenthal, Randy Choate, Fernando Salas, John Axford and Jake Westbrook. Combined, the group is 3-0 with a 2.195 ERA with three saves in nearly 50 innings of work.

Will the rookies continue to shine in October? If not, the Cardinals will be in trouble.

3) Will the offense carry over into October?

This is perhaps the biggest question looming over the club. The Cardinals scored the most runs (783) in the NL over the regular season. They also boasted the most doubles (322) and RBI (745).

However, the Cardinals struggled at the plate during the 2012 playoffs. In comparison to the other four NL teams that reached the postseason last year, the Cardinals ranked fourth in average (.234), third in on-base percentage (.312) and last in slugging percentage (.367).

Will Matt Holliday, Carlos Beltran, Yadier Molina and Matt Carpenter continue to rip the cover off the baseball? Will rookie sensation Matt Adams continue his power surge?

After a slow start to the season, Holliday posted a .348 clip with nine homers and 47 RBI following the All-Star break. 

4) How will the Cardinals cope without Allen Craig?

There’s no question the Cardinals will miss their best clutch hitter in Craig, at least for the Division Series. Craig, who continues to nurse a sprained foot, posted monumental numbers with runners in scoring position, hitting .454 with four homers and 83 RBI and scoring 57 times this season. The 29-year-old, who signed a five-year extension last offseason, also led the league with runners in scoring position with two out, accumulating a .448 mark with 38 RBI and a pair of homers to boot.

However, rookie Adams aka “Big City” has crushed the ball since taking over for Craig at first base. The rookie left-handed slugger ended the regular season with a .284 mark to go along with 17 home runs and 51 RBI. As a left-handed hitter, those figures are mighty impressive.

Imagine the Cardinals offense in the postseason with both Craig and Adams in the lineup. For now, they’ll have to do without the former. 

5) Will manager Mike Matheny and the Cardinals learn from last season’s disappointment?

The Cardinals defeated the Cubs and clinched the NL Central Division title last Friday night, but this team has been in a similar situation before. Revert back to last season when the Cardinals squeaked into October as a Wild Card, defeated Atlanta in the one-game playoff and rallied against Washington to advance to the NLCS before coughing up a 3-1 lead in the series to eventual World Series champion San Francisco.

Manager Mike Matheny and his club are happy to own the division crown, but the Cardinals aren’t slowing down. They’re hungry for more.

Why stop now?

“People have asked me why we’re not emotional,” Matheny said last week, courtesy of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “They say we look subdued, always intense. That our actions are methodical, robotic at times. That’s what got us here. This isn’t the time to change it.”

Veterans like Beltran, Molina, Holliday and Wainwright haven’t forgotten the sour taste left behind after last October’s monumental collapse with a World Series berth one game away. This is the makeup of a championship-caliber team, a group never satisfied, always hunting for more.

“It’s kind of our personality,” Matheny said, courtesy of the Post-Dispatch. “There’s a whole lot of unfinished business. And these guys go about this game as professionally as you can. They realize that there’s a lot of work to do.”

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The St. Louis Cardinals, having won their division for the seventh time in the past 14 years, head into the playoffs facing some fierce competition. The Pittsburgh Pirates, Cincinnati Reds and Atlanta Braves have all taken very different routes to this year’s postseason, but it is the Los Angeles Dodgers that pose the biggest threat to another World Series in St. Louis.

The Dodgers Were Built for This

This season has proven that the Dodgers were built to run deep into the postseason. They were early favorites to win their division. Adding Zack Greinke to their rotation this year was a calculated move to both get them to the playoffs and make them that much stronger once they got there. The duo of Greinke and Clayton Kershaw gives the Dodgers a distinct advantage in the short series that lies ahead.

The Cardinals Are Beat Up

The Cardinals are headed into the playoffs with a team built to play close games and manufacture runs, which is much different from how the season started. Carlos Beltran has slowed in recent weeks, Matt Holliday has missed playing time and the run machine that is Allen Craig has now been ruled out of the opening round, and possibly the entire postseason, due to an injured foot.  

Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post Dispatch took a look at the Allen Craig situation, including the diagnosis that the team has provided, earlier this week on StlToday.com:

Switching to a more cautious approach for an injury that, if pushed, could collapse Allen Craig’s left foot and cost him playing time next season, the Cardinals announced their cleanup hitter will not play in the division series and won’t be available until later in October, if at all.

Ultimately, the team is going to look to take advantage of mistakes made by the opposing pitchers, and the Dodgers simply do not make that many mistakes.  

Close Games Are Not the Cardinals’ Strength

Defeating the Dodgers will require the Cardinals to perform well in close ballgames, which has not been the team’s strong point this year. The Cardinals have 20 wins in 36 games this season decided by one run, while they have won 35 of 52 games that were decided by five runs or more.  

Don’t Count the Cards Out

While the Dodgers provide the biggest challenge for the Cardinals, the team should not be counted out. They are a strong and deep club that has overcome many challenges to be the best team in the National League this season.

In comparing the two clubs, MLB.com’s Mike Bauman had this to say about the Cardinals in relation to the Dodgers:

The Cards, meanwhile, are less publicized, but more tested at this late-season, postseason line of work. They lead the NL in runs scored, even though they are 13th in home runs and 15th in stolen bases. What the Redbirds are, in their lineup and in general, is relentless. They are hitting with runners in scoring position at an historic level.

The team is poised for a substantial postseason run. Should they get past the Dodgers, the Cardinals may be unstoppable.

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A 7-0 rout of the Chicago Cubs on Friday night assured the St. Louis Cardinals of an NL Central title, their first since 2009.

Despite dominating for most of the regular season, they face a whole new set of challenges in their pursuit of the 2013 World Series Championship.

Here are three reasons why St. Louis may succumb to an early playoff exit.

Allen Craig’s Absence

It was a bittersweet day for the Cards considering their announcement regarding Allen Craig.

Still bothered by a foot injury, general manager John Mozeliak has ruled out the star run producer for the upcoming NLDS, tweets Bob Nightengale of USA Today. There’s also doubt about Craig’s availability should St. Louis advance to the NLCS. He hasn’t played since Sept. 4.

In 134 games this summer, the California native boasts a .315/.373/.457 batting line with a team-best 97 runs batted in. He’s most valuable when at the plate with runners in scoring position. Craig has a jaw-dropping 1.138 OPS through 152 plate appearances in those situations.

Meanwhile, 25-year-old Matt Adams is receiving increased playing time. He has started 18 of 21 games since Craig went down with the injury, flourishing with a .325 batting average and six home runs in that span.

Unlike the All-Star he’s replacing, however, Adams lacks the athleticism to occupy a corner outfield spot. He also struggles against left-handed pitching, whereas Craig was effective regardless of whether or not he had the platoon advantage.

Uncertainty at Closer

St. Louis opened 2013 without much confidence in its ninth-inning options. Six months later, the same statement applies.

Edward Mujica was largely effective in the interim, but he has admittedly been dealing with fatigue lately, per Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Notice how his performance has deteriorated in September:

Trevor Rosenthal is next in the pecking order.

The flamethrower recorded the final out on Friday to clinch the division, and unlike Mujica, he isn’t reliant on balls in play. In fact, his 108 strikeouts this season rank third among MLB relievers, according to FanGraphs, behind only Aroldis Chapman and Kenley Jansen.

Even so, he’s not an ideal candidate to save games. There have been two recent appearances—Aug. 10 and Sept. 16—in which Rosenthal surrendered three or more earned runs despite less than an inning of work. Those implosions cannot happen in October.

While the Birds undoubtedly benefit from great bullpen depth, they won’t make that trip to the White House unless somebody suddenly solidifies the all-important closer’s role.

Clayton Kershaw

The Los Angeles Dodgers are locked into the No. 3 NL playoff seed. That means this club will likely oppose them in the NLDS. The Atlanta Braves hold the tiebreaker over the Cardinals as a result of winning their head-to-head series, and they both enter Saturday with 95-65 records.

Kershaw, the best pitcher on the planet, is projected to start Game 1 of the matchup on regular rest, so he’ll also be available for a potential winner-take-all Game 5. In case you’re unfamiliar, the left-handed workhorse has started his career on a historically significant pace, and he’s peaking right now (1.83 ERA, 0.92 WHIP in 236.0 IP in 2013).

The Cards have faced him only once during the past 14 months (Aug. 6 at Busch Stadium). Neither Adams nor Yadier Molina started that evening. It’s obviously a problem when two of your middle-of-the-order hitters aren’t well acquainted with the opposition’s superstar.

Just like in 2006 and 2011, this proud franchise has slim-yet-realistic odds of overcoming adversity and raising another championship banner.

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