Listen to me babble like a creek in the early spring wind
It is Monday night during the last hours of March, around a quarter of the way into the 21st century. Baseball is moving away from the importance of field managers towards predictive data. Everything is becoming streamlined. Pitchers do different things than they used to, over fewer innings. Even something as traditional as a bat has been reinvented with some controversy. The new territory has just begun to emerge.
Territory is too limiting, it’s a whole new world. Awareness has grown multifold. Data is everywhere, as is information. Baseball is becoming optimized. The plot unfolds.
Don’t look now but after 4 games including a loss where we only scored 3 runs, the Cardinals are one of the elite MLB teams at hitting. Brant Brown has been credited for much of the offensive showing, as he is the new hitting coach that began working with players just after the season ended last year. The Cardinals hitting after 4 games is on par with teams like the Diamondbacks and the Phillies, equating to an on base machine. So far!
The Cardinals have been most like the Diamondbacks so far, but a little more extreme with both a higher BB rate and K rate. The power profiles match but the Cardinals BABIP isn’t too extreme. What sets the Cardinals apart here is that they have been playing good defense, making them one of the more valuable teams by fWAR.
The season is but an inkling in our minds at this point but it is nice to know that the team does not look as listless as it has much of the time over the last two years. Last year saw them heading back in the direction of Good Baseball but wasn’t quite there yet. We don’t know if they are back to being those competitive Cardinals we all know and love, but it does appear to be so even this early on. Hopefully it’s not a mirage, but it is. The adventure has just begun and there are many more stories to emerge every game.
The pitching staff has been one of the best in MLB, especially the bullpen. Even after the bullpen got roughed up a little bit in game 4, they still are among the best bullpens so far. The starting pitching has been pretty good too, especially when it comes to ground ball percentage. The Cardinals pitching has been keeping the ball in the ballpark well so far.
The Cardinals are one of ten teams with a net beneficial defense so far. And they have looked the part as well. Solid defense is entertaining. The late inning defensive replacements have been rewarding. Everything seems to be going pretty well. I must say, it was one of the best opening weekends of Cardinals baseball I can remember, if not the best. But I’m sure the details have been lost in time, like tears in rain.
***
Tuesday night, with a slight headache after a long double shift, I feel a bit more humbled about this team but still hopeful. The Cardinals have just lost their first series of the season to the Angels, a team many thought eminently beatable. But they definitely seem better than I and many others expected. It sounds like today will feature a torrential downpour but who knows with the weather these days.
The Cardinals are still hitting well on the season and after a lackluster 4 runs on Monday, they scored 6 runs on Tuesday. But the bullpen cannot be effective in extras, apparently. We really do have a curse of the ghost runner. After 5 games, the Cardinals are hitting really well, and look much better at the plate than in previous seasons.
Lars Nootbaar couldn’t really be off to a better start on offense and even defense, while Nolan Arenado seems resurgent at 227 wRC+. This seems almost too good to be true but they are doing it with confidence and authority. Victor Scott II has a 150 wRC+ and 3 stolen bases. Brendan Donovan has been his reliable self.
But there are two strange, giant 0-fers to start the season with Willson Contreras and Masyn Winn going hitless in 5 games to start the season, and only Winn with a walk.
Album Hall of Fame: Soundgarden – ‘Badmotorfinger’
I will come up with more content this week, ran out of time this week but the season is still very new, and we have the main early storyline: the offense is lopsided towards Nootbaar and Arenado, and against Contreras and Winn… the bullpen cannot be trusted in extras but otherwise looks pretty dang good. The starting pitching is seemingly going to be ok, and the defense better than expected. Jordan Walker and Nolan Gorman are showing signs of being MLB producers, maybe. And the Cardinals can salvage the series and avoid a sweep still. Til next time, I hope everyone is well. Go Cards!