As Dizzy Dean Might Say, “Who Woulda Thunk It?” – St. Louis Cardinals 2012
The Cardinals are In.
Those might have been the exact words of former St. Louis Cardinals pitcher and former TV announcer Dizzy Dean. After all, he butchered the language but got his point across to mainstream America and was loved for it.
Why was this short of amazing?
- The Cardinals Hall of Fame manager, Tony LaRussa, retired from baseball and took all the knowledge with him. If you ever read “The Odyssey” by Homer, that is why Odysseus was not killed by the Cyclops because they would lose all that was in his brain.
- A rookie manager that has never been in the professional ranks as a coach or manager was hired to run the team. Mike Matheny only had experience coaching some youth. Check out his letter he wrote to the parents before the season began.
- The ace from last season went down. Chris Carpenter was fantastic in the 2011 season and pitched most of the big games to lead them to the Championship. He got hurt and only pitched in three games the entire regular season.
- Lance Berkman wasn’t able to give the Cardinals anything this year due to several injuries. He was one of the catalyst last season. It appears his career may be over.
- Another injury late in the year had us all concerned. Rafael Furcal went down and no one was in sight to take over on a full-time basis. The Cardinals turned to their AAA shortstop that hit about .225 in Memphis to fill in. He proceeded to hot over .300 in the major leagues and handled the defensive side rather well.
- A new pitching coach, a new first base coach, a new system all incorporated in 2012.
So the season is amazing. Don’t blame the Cardinals for the system that was enacted to put a second playoff team in. That came from higher up. Many players and coaches and managers would love to be in their spot.
“It’s not the car you drive to the playoffs. It’s that you have a place to park.”
