Now is the winter of our disconnect.
Major League Baseball and its players are divided by numerous issues as the collective bargaining agreement soon expires. And while free agency gets going this week, along with the annual general managers meetings, the Dec. 1 deadline for a new CBA looms. A work stoppage seems unavoidable.
And so, this is a trajectory-affecting winter for the game of baseball. And also for the St. Louis Cardinals. Both need to come out of this winter rejuvenated, reinforced and, really, reestablished.
One is our national pastime. The other a crown jewel of the National League.
Baseball is invigorated with more dynamic and diverse stars than in quite some time. There’s flair. There’s personality. There are great showmen. And of course, they want to be compensated.
And then there’s the show itself. Overall, it lags and it lacks. The games are slow. And redundant. Strikeouts and homers and walks and homers. When the showmen provide action, the show is insatiable. But there’s just not enough of the action.
So, yeah, just a couple minor tasks at hand — fixing the finances of an industry and the flow of a sport. There will likely be a lockout, and as the sides talk it out, it might take months and not just weeks. But the goal for baseball in 2022 should be to make this a Roaring '20s redux, a time of stars illuminating and growing the game nationally and internationally.
The two sides will ultimately agree on contractual parameters — hopefully without the cancellation of any 2022 games — but moreover all involved this dreary winter must springboard things this spring. Because they shouldn’t just look at it as preserving the game, but also catapulting it.
And here’s hoping that new streaming opportunities will develop for fans (which, wouldn’t you know, would help develop more fans). It is ridiculous that every person can’t watch every game.
And hopefully for those devotees wearing birds on the bat, they’ll get to watch the Cardinals return to the top perch in the division.
That must be the unmistakable goal of the 2022 Cardinals. Restore glory. Avoid the wild-card game. And, if there are expanded playoffs, avoid any postseason pitfall that comes with not winning a division.
This can be done. All of the optimism is funneled into this 2022 season: The momentum of a 17-game winning streak and 90-win finish; the return of healthy pitchers Jack Flaherty, Dakota Hudson and Jordan Hicks (and even fireballer Ryan Helsley, whose fielding independent pitching (FIP) was more encouraging than his ERA); the breakout of Tyler O’Neill to complement his new contemporaries, Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt; the golden defense; the golden years of Adam Wainwright and Yadier Molina; the available money to spend in free agency.
As for free agency, should the Cardinals try to make a splash before December? Depends on what the splash is. If it’s signing a current player to a long-term contract to buy out arbitration years, then they should wait. It’s a contractual strategy that has worked in previous years, but it’s too early to know how the new CBA would affect all of this. If the splash is locking in a free agent, then, yes, if a target is interested, why wait?
Infusing the lineup with some lefties is imperative. Signing shortstop Corey Seager would be impressive, but we know it’s not the M.O. of “Mo” to do something like that. John Mozeliak, the president of baseball operations, traditionally trades for the biggest talent St. Louis acquires. But there are so many free agent shortstops available — the Cardinals should pounce on one of them. There are only a couple possible places to improve the lineup in the first place. Shortstop is the most realistic.
As for the offense, St. Louis finished middle-of-the-pack in the National League. Of course, the ballpark in St. Louis favors pitching. On the road, the Cardinals’ OPS was .752, second in the entire league to only San Francisco (which won 107 games) and just ahead of Atlanta (which won the World Series). The Cardinals, interestingly, were 45-36 at home and 45-36 on the road. Still, if adding 2022 OPS “only” costs money, then why not spend it to get it?
Which leads us to the (very likely) NL designated hitter and the allure of Kyle Schwarber. He’ll be 29 next season, and he’s coming off an All-Star season. The lefty launched 32 homers in 113 games. And he tied for the 16th-highest walk percentage in baseball for players with 300-plus at-bats. As is the case with, well, every player, he comes with question marks. Can he stay healthy? Can he catch a baseball hit or thrown near his glove? Still, he could boost the offense and be a DH delight.
Four of the starting pitching spots go to Wainwright, Flaherty, Hudson and Miles Mikolas. Jake Woodford and Alex Reyes are could vie for No. 5. We also know that these days, a rotation continually rotates guys in and out. Those clubs that best survive attrition get additional games in October. The flip side is that if you sign a proven guy, then is that giving up on Alex Reyes as a starter forever?
But one way or another, the Cardinals must spend the money they have available. Get a big-name guy. Or get a couple guys that can maximize your dollar. Be aggressive. Realize that just making the playoffs would cut it in most towns, but in St. Louis, it’s about making noise in the playoffs.
They’ve made the postseason in each of the past three seasons, but in two of the three postseasons, they lost in the wild card round.
In the past six years, they’ve won the division once.
In the past seven years, they’ve won a playoff series once.
This coming season should be when the Cardinals reestablish themselves — and do so on the heels of a great baseball rejuvenation. First, we’ll just need to get through one little lockout.
