6 years, 10 months ago Mike Moyers
Both the Cardinals and the Cubs are pathetic....
As we near July 4th the sounds coming from fans of both the Cubs and Cardinals aren’t the same ones we heard this time last year. Combined the 2 teams are under the .500 mark and going nowhere fast. There are just 2 players hitting over .300 (that’s with the 2 rosters combined, minimum of 100 at bats) and pitching is in short supply. What isn’t in short supply is negative commentary. Here’s what I’m hearing. First, the Cardinals.
They’re awful. How Mike Matheny still has a job is a mystery to most all my friends and co-workers. The Cardinals, under Matheny, have gone backwards even though they’ve made the playoffs each year. “He played with LaRussa’s team for the first couple of years and now we’re seeing the real Matheny,” lamented one long-time fan. “Find a damn starting lineup and go with it,” said another. And both fans, to some extent, are right on the money.
Not even the best Cardinal’s fan can keep up with the number of different lineups Matheny has put on the field. I’m mean really: who hasn’t played first base for St. Louis? The most recent flavor of the moment is a St. Louis native named Luke Voit who just happened to collect his first major league hit against the Reds on Monday. Then there’s Carpenter, Gyorko, Martinez, Piscotty, and Peralta. And don’t forget Matt Adams, who was traded to the Braves. All big Matt has done is hit .299 with 12 homers and 31 RBIS since being traded to Atlanta. Ouch!!!
There’s a revolving door at most every position, with the exception of the position of catcher. The Cardinals have no team continuity even though the team chemistry seems to be there. I’m just not sure that this group will play for Matheny. They haven’t yet. So, we could be seeing a new manager in St. Louis before end of July.
And then there are the Cubs. In the event you haven’t heard the Cubs won it all last year. And they’ve spent the past 10 months reminding us of that fact. Anthony Rizzo and Kris Bryant were great in 2016 but have both failed to show up in 2017. Maybe they made one video too many, don’t cha think?
It’s not the same Cubs’ team. David Ross retired and that, in my opinion, has been a huge blow to this ballclub. Yes, he was the third string catcher last year, but Ross was much more than that. He was Jon Lester’s personal receiver and they were great together. Ross was also the mentor for fellow catcher Willson Contreras who’s really good, but is in need of another year of Ross.
It’s obvious to me that the other young Cubs miss what Ross brought to the table. And they’re not having any fun. The weird stuff that Joe Maddon did last year isn’t working this year. When you don’t hit, don’t field, don’t run the bases and don’t drive in runs, all that cute stuff goes by the wayside. Add all that to the demise of both Kyle Schwarber and Kyle Hendricks, the pitching staff’s inability to keep from giving up home runs and the lack of timely hitting and one can see why the 2017 Cubs continue to hover near the .500 mark.
Both teams are not good. But the saving grace for both the Cardinals and Cubs is the National League Central Division. It’s the worst in major league baseball, but somebody will win the division. Someone, be it the Brewers, Cubs, Cardinals, or maybe even the Pirates is going to go 81-81 or better, win the division and make the playoffs. But that’s about as far as they’ll get. 2017 season it was nice knowing you.
What a difference a year makes. What a difference indeed. 2016 was a great year for baseball. This season, not so much.
