From the "City by the Bay," to the "Gateway to the West," we have reached the second playoff team in our series, as today's report card will be issued to the St. Louis Cardinals.
St. Louis Cardinals:
Record: 91-71 (First place in the NL Central).
Batting Leaders:
Batting Average: Albert Pujols (.327)
Home Runs: Albert Pujols (47)
RBIs: Albert Pujols (135)
On-base Percentage: Albert Pujols (.443)
Pitching Leaders:
Wins: Adam Wainwright (19)
ERA: Chris Carpenter (2.24). Bullpen- Ryan Franklin (1.92).
Strikeouts: Adam Wainwright (212)
Innings Pitched: Adam Wainwright (233)
WHIP: Trevor Miller (0.96). Starters- Chris Carpenter (1.01).
Saves: Ryan Franklin (38)
Highlight of the Season: After nobody really believed in the Cardinals at the beginning of the season, they took their sixth division title of the decade on September 26, following a 6-3 victory over the Rockies.
Lowlight of the Season: A truly heart-breaking loss in Game Two of the Division Series in Los Angeles, when Matt Holliday's error with two outs helped pave the way for a comeback 3-2 victory for the Dodgers. Instead of going back to St. Louis tied at one game apiece, they were heading back home down 0-2 in the series.
The Lowdown:
The Cardinals proved everybody wrong once again this year, as they raced to their sixth division title of the decade, doing it the way they usually do, by featuring a strong offense supported by Albert Pujols, and by featuring a strong pitching staff. At the beginning of the season, many people believed that the division was all for the Cubs' taking once again. However, once the Cubs stumbled out of the gate, the door was left open for St. Louis to come storming through, and they did just that, as their 42-29 record after the All-Star break indicates. Their acquisition of outfielder Matt Holliday just before the trade deadline also helped push St. Louis across the finish line, as he would become a great compliment to Pujols in their lineup. Also, the return of a healthy Chris Carpenter helped the Cards out a great deal, as he returned to the form that helped him win a Cy Young in 2005. With that being said, let's take a look at how the Cardinals shaped up in 2009, beginning with their offense.
Offense:
As noted earlier, the Cardinals offense became much stronger and more potent with the arrival of Matt Holliday. Before he arrived, however, it was a considerably different story, as Rick Ankiel and Ryan Ludwick each regressed from their 2008 production. Ludwick, who hit a whopping 37 home runs and drove in 113 in 2008, would hit just 22 this year, to go along with 97 RBIs. Ankiel also watched his power numbers drop, as he fell from 25 home runs and 71 RBIs in 2008 to 11 home runs and 38 RBIs this year. The Matt Holliday trade was obviously a vital one, since the Cards needed someone to replace the lost production of those two. Holliday proved to be up to the task once he arrived, as he hit .353, with 13 home runs and 55 RBIs in just 63 games with the team.
Certainly a big reason for Holliday's success has to be because he has the best hitter in baseball protecting him in the lineup. Albert Pujols was simply phenomenal once again in 2009, as he hit .327, with 45 home runs and 135 RBIs. Among all major-leaguers, Pujols would finish sixth in batting average, first in home runs, third in RBIs, and second in on-base percentage, as he would get on at a clip of .443. This fantastic season was good enough for him to earn his third-career MVP award, as he was elected unanimously this time around.
Overall, the Cardinals finished 18th in runs scored (730) and would tie for 16th in home runs with 160. They also tied for 11th in batting average (.263) and for 16th in on-base percentage (.332). If Holliday was in the lineup for the entire season, these numbers would definitely be much higher. However, he wasn't, so I have to give the Redbirds a grade for how they were during the whole season, and not just half of it.
Final Grade: B
Pitching:
Their staff was led by the strong performances of Adam Wainwright and Chris Carpenter, who were both Cy Young candidates during the season. Wainwright was absolutely fantastic, as he would feature a 19-8 record, to go along with a 2.63 ERA and a solid 212 strikeouts. His win total tied CC Sabathia and Felix Hernandez for the major-league lead, and he would finish sixth in ERA and eighth in strikeouts. Since this season was following great performances in 2008 and 2007, Wainwright is certainly making a case for himself to enter the pitching elite of MLB. In fact, he may already be there.
Chris Carpenter also put together a great season, as he went 17-4, with an absolutely sick 2.24 ERA, which was the second-best in MLB behind only Zack Greinke. His 1.01 WHIP was also the second-best in MLB among starting pitchers, trailing only Dan Haren of Arizona. The only thing that possibly hurt his chances at winning a second Cy Young Award was the fact that he made only 28 starts, as he did not start on a regular basis until around the end of May, due to injury. Joel Piniero also had a fair year in the rotation, going 15-12 with a 3.49 ERA. However, his WHIP was actually one of the better ones in baseball though, coming in at 1.14.
Their bullpen also did a great job this past season, as Dennys Reyes, Trevor Miller and closer Ryan Franklin are all worth mentioning. Reyes made the most appearances on the staff this year with 75, and he made the most out of it, as he recorded a team-high 18 holds along with a 3.29 ERA. Miller also had a fantastic year out of the 'pen, as he was arguably the best pitcher out of the bullpen for St. Louis. In 70 appearances, he recorded a 2.06 ERA, to go along with a ridiculous 0.96 WHIP. He also received some work in the set-up role, as he recorded 13 holds as well. His performance in relief is only rivaled by closer Ryan Franklin, who recorded 38 saves in 43 chances, to go along with a WHIP of 1.20 and a 1.92 ERA.
The staff, as a whole, would go on to finish fourth in ERA (3.66), 28th in runs allowed (640), last in walks (460) and tied for ninth in opponents' batting average (.258). I think it goes without saying that this staff was pretty good in '09.
Final Grade: A
Wild Card: Tony LaRussa and Dave Duncan
These two have been together since their days as a manager/pitching coach tandem for the White Sox in the early 1980s. While managers have a marginal influence in the outcome of games, there is no doubt that having Tony LaRussa as your manager will give you a better shot at reaching the postseason. I don't know if it is his managerial genius, or the fact that players play harder for him, or both. All I know is that he has managed consistent winners with the Cardinals this entire decade, along with a considerable amount of turnover on his roster. Also, kudos to pitching coach Dave Duncan, as the guy clearly knows how to turn pitchers around. Just look at the results for yourself. Heck, there are two on this year's staff alone in Carpenter (who was nothing more than a mediocre pitcher in Toronto in the early part of this decade) and Joel Piniero (who was pretty mediocre after two decent seasons in Seattle in '02 and '03). Even though it is the players who ultimately win the games, having these two on your coaching staff certainly makes things better.
Final Grade: A+
Overall:
Once they arrived in the playoffs, many people thought that this team was the favorite to win the NL Pennant, simply because they featured a stronger overall pitching staff than Philadelphia. However, Carpenter and Piniero were disappointing in their playoff starts against the Dodgers, and Wainwright had his good start ruined by an unfortunate ninth-inning rally that was largely the bullpen's fault. Put all three of those together, and you have an embarrassing three-game sweep. If the Cardinals decide to re-sign Holliday, and if Carpenter can stay healthy, there is no reason as to why they can't return to the NL Central penthouse in 2010. Maybe then they can make up for this year's disappointing finish.
Final Grade: A
Check back soon for the report card on the Colorado Rockies!
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