Albert Pujols during the Wild Card celebration.
It’s been said that this team took a magical shift in early September and just started winning.
I object to that point. A lot.
With the exception of a few faces, this is the exact same team, with it’s unique cast of characters that at times has played a heck of a lot better than at other points.
Confusing, I know. But let me explain!
The Big 3
That’s right Albert Pujols, Matt Holliday and Lance Berkman.
Albert has had one difficult year. And that’s probably an understatement. He had an incredibly slow April and May, which included a month longer homer-less streak. The bad start was attributed to him being distracted because he didn’t get a new contract in the off season.
Just in case you haven’t heard, Albert is a free agent at the end of the season. He is sure to get a lucrative contract. He will definitely be shown the money.
Once Albert finally broke out of that streak, something horrible happened. Kansas City Royal Wilson Betemit collided into Albert, causing the star to fall the ground and the collective breath of Cardinal Nation to be held. Reports stated that Albert was going to be out 4-6 weeks with a non-displaced fracture in his left arm, meaning a fan base would be without its star until August and our season was surely however.
Miracles happen, though, and Albert was back with the team at the All-Star break.
It took a while before he was back to normal, but he seemed well on his way to complete his 11th consecutive season of having a .300 batting average, 30 homers and 100 RBI.
Wednesday night, Albert was just one RBI and just tiny points off the average shy of hitting that milestone. He had a .299 average, 37 homers and 99 RBI.
Oh well, maybe next year!
Matt Holliday has had the strangest season by far. On the second day of the season, he had to have his appendix taken out. He’s had oblique strains. He had an incident with a weight in the weight room. A moth flew into his ear. He hurt his hand while waiting to hit. And he was out the last games of the season after re-injuring that hand.
Still, Matt had a .296 batting average while hitting 36 doubles, 22 homers and 75 RBI.
Imagine if he’d been completely healthy!
Lance Berkman was quite possibly the best off-season acquisition for the Cardinals. He was brought in to be that laid-back leader who could lighten up the mood in the clubhouse. And he did just that for the Cardinals. Players that just a year before looked tense or annoyed looked relaxed and like they were having fun in 2011. Any player who just completed a conversation with Lance in the dugout could be seen grinning ear to ear or laughing. After the 2010 season and how uptight that group was, the loose nature of the 2011 squad was nice to see.
Lance had a .301 batting average, 31 homers and 94 RBI.
The Trade Deadline
GM John Mozeliak received a lot of heat after the trade of Colby Rasmus to Toronto for Edwin Jackson, Marc Rzepczynski, Octavio Dotel and Corey Patterson. In addition to Rasmus, the Cardinals rid themselves of Brian Tallet, Trever Miller and P.J. Walters.
A couple of months later, it is safe to say the Cardinals got a better deal than a lot anticipated.
Jackson solidified the starting rotation and has a pretty good bat. His presence allowed Kyle McClellan to return to the bullpen and help with games where the bullpen needs to come in early. Zepper and Dotel proved to be the bullpen additions Dave Duncan and TLR longed for to fit their situation style.
Corey Patterson has had some good moments off the bench.
The Cardinals also got Rafael Furcal at the deadline as well. And what a move that turned out to be! While sometimes you will pull your hair out with him, he is a defensive upgrade at shortstop. He has also been an offense boost for the team as well. He is also the creator of the teams catch phrase on winning get away days … HAPPY FLIGHT!
Who the heck is Torty?
You see, outfielder Allen Craig has this tortoise. He tells FSMW’s Jim Hayes about Torty here! Yes Allen! Doin’ It For Torty works! Keep it up!
The Bullpen?
The bullpen has dramatically improved since Opening Day!
Mozeliak made the moves to dramatically improve the situation while Fernando Salas, Eduardo Sanchez, Jason Motte and Mitchell Boggs got a lot of work done. While no one owns the closer role, the combination of these four along with Dotel and Zepper have assisted and done their jobs.
Others to watch!
David Freese. He’s the Cards third baseman who’s quite easy on the eyes! With a .297 average, 10 homers, 16 doubles and 55 RBI, he is pretty good with the bat as well.
Chris Carpenter. He’s had a rough year after being forced into the lone ace role after his co-ace Adam Wainwright had to have season-ending Tommy John surgery before his season even started. Starting the season with games where he would get no run support, Carp seemed to fall into what role his team needed him for on that day and quite often stepped up to be the needed leader. A hot head with the mouth of a sailor, Carp proved his worth Wednesday night with a 2-hit shut out performance on the night his team would clinch the Wild Card.
Skip Schumaker. He is a clutch hitter who has seen time at second base, the outfield positions and even an inning as a pitcher, striking out some people before giving … giving up a home run … to … Aaron Miles. Sigh. But, Skip!! He’s an awesome role player. He’s clutch. You’ll love him!
Yadi Molina. He may try to be the hero with his tendency to hit on the first pitch, but there have been several occasions where I have had to shut up because that led to monster homers. Other than that, he is an excellent hitter. He is clutch. Hustles a lot more this year than in previous years. And behind the plate, he is THE LEADER for this club. He goes out there and does his job to help the pitchers. He keeps opposing players from attempting to steal with his cannon arm. And if someone stays off first base too long for Yadi, he will rifle a throw to Albert and nail you for even thinking on running.
You Don’t Run On Yadi.
I’ve told you about the main players. But I could go on! This is my team, after all! There’s Jon Jay. Daniel Descalso. I could tell you more on Allen Craig. The Bylaws of the Ryan Theriot Fan Club would require me to go on at length about the greatness of Ryan! And Nick Punto … The Shredder is so awesome and clutch when he is healthy! It’s awesome!
Then there is Jaime Garcia, Jake Westbrook and K-Lo Kyle Lohse. K-Lo gets the start Saturday. He had an awesome start to the 2011 season. He had an issue with his finger and lost some mojo. But his last few performances have been good and I look forward to him taking the mound in the NLDS Saturday!
Go Cardinals!
Miranda Remaklus is lead St. Louis Cardinals contributor to Aaron Miles’ Fastball. She’s also senior reporter for Aerys Offsides over in the NFL section. Follow her on Twitter, @missmiranda.
There are now Torty Craig t-shirts out there somewhere. I say, better Torty than the Shredder! Ha.
Seriously though, what a great group of guys!
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