The St. Louis Cardinals have a big job ahead of them. They start the second half of the season Friday night, trying to climb out of the basement of the National League Central after winning the division last year. The decline has left fans frustrated, and much like the players, they are searching for answers. Katie Woo, the Cardinals beat writer for The Athletic, spoke with St. Louis Public Radio's Wayne Pratt about the rough season so far and whether the team can rebound.
Wayne Pratt: The Cardinals are at the All-Star break 14 games below .500, their lowest winning percentage since 1990, 11.5 games out of first, 11 games out of a wild card spot. So, Katie, what's gone wrong?
Katie Woo: I think the answer to that question is a little bit of everything. When you are the Cardinals and you're so used to this winning culture they've established for a long, long time in St. Louis, you certainly don't expect to be a last-place team, especially to this degree.
But the Cardinals came into the season, yes, they were the division champions last year, but they had some significant holes in their roster and some players they were betting on. It takes me back to January when President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak identified some of those guys they were counting on.
He mentioned Jack Flaherty, Tyler O'Neill and Dylan Carlson. And the reality is a lot of those guys haven't performed up to the expectations. But it certainly isn't all those guys’ faults. It's a teamwide overall, just complete disappointment. And I think if you ask anyone on that roster, they're just as stunned to be where they are as the fan base.
Pratt: Are there indications this can turn around?
Woo: I think the Cardinals haven't fully given up. Really, Wayne, in my opinion, I think the Cardinals have dug themselves into a pretty big hole, and the best way for them to get out of it is to sort of do the unthinkable in St. Louis, which is to punt on 2023, use the deadline to rebolster the roster and come back in contention for 2024. This has certainly not been a season any of us were expecting in St. Louis, but sometimes drastic times call for drastic measures. And I think that's where the Cardinals front office finds themselves this July.
Pratt: So how drastic does it go? Is manager Oliver Marmol’s job safe?
Woo: I would think so. And I know that might not be a popular answer to the fan base. But really the question that I think we should be asking is, what is that coaching staff supposed to do with a roster that has so many holes? I think this is more of a roster construction problem, and I think the front office has identified that as well.
Pratt: Did you notice any positives from the first half?
Woo: The abundance of young talent the Cardinals have. It's good talent.
This isn't fluke. And their player development, the talents that arrived at the big leagues, can help them get talent that they need. They need some proven veteran presence on that roster. And I think, you know, you have that with Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt, but they need a little bit more players like that.
That can really bolster a team. The Cardinals have that talent, which means they should be in a good position to swing some trades, should they need to. And I would certainly expect them to do that come this trade deadline.
Pratt: What's your assessment of the mood in the locker room?
Woo: You know, I would like to give some of the guys that have been there all season a testament to just how calm and collected they've been during what has probably been one of the most frustrating times of their careers.
I walk in each day and everyone's doing their best to be in good moods. They're pleasant. They're down to talk. They're happy to have any kind of interview or engagement.
And then when the game starts, you can see it suddenly shifts to when they were cool, calm and collected before the game to all of a sudden completely unraveling. And then after the game, it's still the same level of shock and surprise. How can we be this bad? How do we keep finding ways to lose?
I think throughout the organization, whether you're a player, a coach or front office executive, you're adjusting to this overall shock that this team just isn't good.
The Cardinals have not had a losing season under John Mozeliak’s tenure for the entire 15 years he's been at the helm. So I think it's safe to say the organization is moving in uncharted territory.
Pratt: What are the main things you are going to be watching for the rest of the season?
Woo: If the Cardinals are fully out of contention, which it's looking that they will be, I'm looking at some of the younger pitching talent, because the Cardinals don't have any pitching other than Miles Mikolas and Steven Matz in the rotation for 2024. And obviously, you can't get through a baseball season with two starters.
We’ve said this for years, the Cardinals' biggest weakness is their pitching. I think that has plagued them the most this season. So when I'm looking in the second half, I'm looking to see what they can do to shore up that pitching because it's very clear, their current model will not be sustainable in that regard.
