One of the great things about the St. Louis Cardinals' illustrious history is their consistent appearance in the playoffs. October-less baseball in St. Louis is simply an odd setup, and with 12 games to play coming into tonight's action in Atlanta, the Cardinals find themselves gunning for a playoff spot.
I love everything about September baseball, because it embodies the various aspects of the game that make it great and truly stand out in the world of sports. How the merciless schedule can hit a team hardest in the final month, and the roster and coaches must dig deep to win games. How the games seem to be longer, because of the expanded rosters, constant chess moves from the manager and teams finding new ways to win. How the weather starts to change just a bit, mixing more autumn breeze into the humid summer heat, giving the mood a more wary look.
Here's the reality for the Cardinals: if the playoffs had started tonight, they'd have a share of the second wildcard spot in the National League. However, looks can be deceiving, because September has been anything but kind to the Cards. Weeks after being unbeatable in a series and disposing of teams good, bad, and ugly, the Cardinals now find themselves salvaging a series. They have avoided two sweeps in the past two weeks and were blown out 17-4 at Busch Stadium on Saturday afternoon. Like a boxer who landed flush punches to the head and body early, now the Cardinals are on the receiving end, constantly living on the ropes.
Once destined for 90 wins, the Cardinals have to win eight of their final 12 games to reach the mark, and that won't guarantee them playoff entry. With the Chicago Cubs pulling away with the division and the Brewers throwing their anchor into the water on the first wildcard spot, the Cardinals are locked in a battle with the Los Angeles Dodgers for the second wildcard invite. The team that beat them three games out of four over the past weekend, with a throwback Adam Wainwright performance on Sunday keeping the brooms from being taken out in the opposing dugout.
The Cardinals aren't making it easy, because they simply don't know how. Instead of riding Carlos Martinez's arm in the rotation to a comeback, they have him closing games. Instead of employing the powerful bat of Tyler O'Neill in right field, the Cardinals are leaning on everyman Yairo Munoz to play every position known to man. Rather than use their deep bench to pinch-run in games, Mike Shildt sometimes likes to use a pitcher. It's weird. It's unorthodox. It's baseball, ladies and gentlemen.
You have a team that stood a better chance of finishing near the bottom of the National League with a chance to engage in October baseball. It's an annual hunt for the Cardinals. While the last two years saw St. Louis finish without a playoff berth, the drive to the postseason was active around these parts until the end of September. What you won't see that often is a September where the Cardinals are packing it in and collecting seasonal kudos in the final month. Septembers in St. Louis carry the allure of postseason activity, rather the team makes it or not. A precedent has been set.
Unlike most teams, the Cardinals won't take five years off to rebuild, alienate a fanbase, and stock up on talent. They have plenty of talent to make a quick turnaround, which they have proven this summer. When President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak cleaned out the roster and reset the coaching staff, the true talent of the Cardinals has shined bright for the entire league to see. While that's a prideful way to finish a season, it will mean little if the Cardinals don't at least grab a wildcard berth.
Few teams want to face the Cardinals in a one-game playoff. You will get either Jack Flaherty or Miles Mikolas to start, with the other coming in as backup. The bullpen will be stocked with names known and others that are still downloading, while the lineup will be layered with powerful options to make the sixth inning seem like the first frame. All the Cardinals have to do is get there.
The Braves and San Francisco Giants stand in the way this week, before the final week of the regular season commences with a visit from the Brewers and a season-ender at Wrigley Field up on the North Side of Chicago. The Cardinals will duke it out on the streets of Wieland Avenue to figure out their playoff fate. You couldn't ask for a better way to end a brutally uneven season.
Septembers are great because the air smells fresher, the sport without a clock starts gets a timer, and the games mean everything. There are no special prizes for a good August or a semi-comeback in baseball. You either get a chance to contend for a World Series or you inform a fanbase that next year's forecast looks better from a glance.
For the Cardinals, it will be the third year in a row without postseason games or a new beginning. They get to decide their fate. Yes, they could have made it easier. Winning another game or two against the Dodgers would have pushed them further away, but the Cardinals don't do anything the easy way. Look at their last two World Series runs. A barely-got-there entrance in 2006 and a late-season surge aided by the Atlanta Braves in 2011. All this team knows is resilience and hardship.
Here's the thing. If an 83 win season is the worst this team can do, I like the chances of another World Series arriving before my son starts middle school (for the record, he just turned 7).
The Cardinals topped the Atlanta Braves, 11-6 tonight. That win paired the fact that the Dodgers and Rockies are going head to head means the Cardinals will wake up tomorrow morning with sole ownership of the second wildcard spot. While it doesn't make one too confident heading into the final 11 games, you can't argue with when looking back at where the team was in mid-July.
The Cardinals may have stumbled in September, but they can erase the turbulence with a happy flight through the rest of the season.
For the 16th time since the 2000 season, the Cardinals will enter September with a probable chance to play in October. No one can tell you what's going to happen and that's the best part about this game.
Man, I love baseball.
