Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
The St. Louis Cardinals won their 20th game of the season last night against the Chicago Cubs, becoming the first MLB team to reach the milestone this year. Once Adam Wainwright was lost for the season, everyone outside of The Gateway City thought the Cardinals’ season was doomed. Those pundits couldn’t have been more wrong. The Cardinals are playing the best brand of baseball of any team in the league and look to be the favorites represent the National League in the World Series once again.
The rest of MLB needs to look at the way the Cardinals’ roster is built and try to emulate them. Offensively, every single batter has the potential to hit home runs, but once there are runners in scoring position, each guy shortens their swing and tries to make any type of contact. There are so many offenses in MLB built with hitters who strikeout too frequently with the opportunity to produce a run. The Cardinals currently have the seventh-lowest strikeout total in the league, with 179.
The starting pitching staff is still loaded even with the absence of Wainwright. Lance Lynn, John Lackey, Michael Wacha and Carlos Martinez is still one of the best 1-4 rotations in all of MLB. All four are going to give the Cardinals an opportunity to win every time they take the mound, and with the offense this team has, that’s all that’s required of them. Currently, the No. 5 starter is Tyler Lyons, but it’s certainly within the realm of possibility that general manager John Mozeliak brings in another pitcher before the trading deadline to fill the final spot.
Looking at the talent on the offense and starting rotation, one would think that their bullpen would be a weakness. That line of thinking couldn’t be further from the truth. The Cardinals’ bullpen is the most dominant group in the National League, second in all of MLB, with a 1.44 ERA. The premier pitcher in the pen is closer Trevor Rosenthal. Rosenthal is as close to automatic as it gets for a closer nowadays, and he allows the Cardinals to play an eight-inning game with the lead.
The Cardinals have zero weaknesses this season and have more playoff experience on their roster than any other ball club. That formula adds up to name them the World Series favorites for 2015 season.
