World Series bound

 

 

 

By: Peter Lewis

 

 

 

The 2012 Cardinals season ended after failing to capitalize on a three to one lead in the 2012 NLCS against the eventual World Series champions San Francisco Giants.  In those last three games the Cardinals were shockingly outscored twenty to one and finished the year on a very sour note by failing to continue their success from the 2011 World Series season.   With this, the off-season began and Pitcher Kyle Loshe left the team as did Lance Berkman, Skip Schumacher, and hitting coach and Cardinal legend, Mark McGwire.  Other than the signing of Ty Wigginton, the Cardinals were very quiet during the off-season, which both shocked and worried many.  Above all though, there were many unanswered questions, such as: would the young pitching be able to handle the pros, who would be starting, could Adam Wainwright get back to his former glory after his Tommy John surgery, and who would step up and lead the team to the playoffs?  To make matters more troubling, on February 22, Chris Carpenter was lost for the season with numbness in his right shoulder, arm, and neck; just days before the season started, on March 22, both Rafael Frucal and Jason Motte were lost for the season.  With the season approaching, some doubt started to creep in, although, with good players returning, there was faith to be had.   

The first month of the regular season ended with a reasonable record of 15-11; though the bullpen struggled, the Cards looked to be in fair shape.  However, May showed that the Cardinals were still a top tier National League team, as they finished with a 35-18 record.  The bats and rotation improved, but the bullpen still had issues closing out games.  At the All-Star Break, the Cardinals posted a record of 57-36 and looked to be a solid team.  However, their division rivals, the Pittsburgh Pirates and Cincinnati Reds, would provide the biggest obstacle for the remainder of the season.

The remainder of July and into September showed the NL Central become a race between the Pirates and Cardinals, with the Reds close behind, but never quite able to catch either team.  In this time frame the Cardinals and Pirates faced each other fourteen times; it didn’t start out well though.  A five game series with the Pirates in Pittsburgh to close out July saw the Cards lose the series four games to one, but they made up for it by finishing six games to three and secure the NL Central Pennant and tied for the best record in MLB, 97-56, with the Boston Red Sox.

The first obstacle on the road to the World Series was, unsurprisingly, the Pittsburgh Pirates, who made their first playoff in twenty-one years.  Game one saw a Cardinal blowout win of nine to one, where game two was a complete reversal, as the Pirates blew out the Cardinals seven to one.  The Pirates then took game three, but above all odds, the Cardinals won games four and five and advanced to the NLCS.

In the NLCS, the Cardinals faced the resurgent Dodgers, who had made a complete turn around after the All-Star Break.  Game one and two went to the Cardinals, who looked to have all the momentum in the NLCS.  Though the Dodgers awakened and went on to take games three and five.  However, it was too little too late, as game six went to the Cardinals and their ticket to their nineteenth World Series was earned.  A rematch of the 2004 Series against the Boston Red Sox is scheduled to begin Wednesday, October 23, 2013.

What we learned from this year is that the Cardinals roster looks to be capable of winning for the next couple of years.  The starting rotation is at its best as is the batting, but the bullpen still has some work needed to insure wins in the future.  Adam Wainwright is back to top form, Matt Carpenter is the obvious lead off choice, and the young talent will indeed take the team places.  Although a short stop is needed and some players’ futures are questionable, the team showed this season that it is a top contender in MLB.