After a disappointing series loss to the lowly Pittsburgh Pirates, the Cardinals dropped to 3-7 in their last 10 games.  The starting pitching is starting to come back to earth after a hot start and the troubles in the bullpen have been well documented.  I believe that the inability of the offense to drive in runs and pile on after early scores are just as much to blame for the Bird’s current slump as the pitching.  In order for the Cardinals to compete for the Central, the team needs to develop a killer instinct and put opponents away when they have an opportunity.

The Cards are leaving too many runners on base.  Over their past 20 contests, the Birds are leaving an average of over 9 runners on base per game.  Last season, the Phillies led all of baseball with an average of 7.99 runners left on base per game.  Numerous times this season the Cards have jumped out to early leads only to have the offense stall and the team falter in the late innings.  Thursday, the Cards jumped out to a 5-1 lead before the bullpen blew another win.  Lost in the frustration over the performance of Jason Isringhausen is the fact that the Cardinals stranded another 13 runners on base in the 11-5 loss.

The Cardinals rarely jump out to an early lead and continue to put pressure on the opposition throughout the game.  They have already played 22 games decided by two runs or less.  When you play that many close games you are putting immense stress on your pitchers every day.  Add in the fact that the Birds have only had two off days in the season’s first 40 games and fatigue from exerting maximum effort every day begins to affect performance negatively. 

Poor AB’s with runners in scoring position help to account for some of the Card’s problems scoring runs.  A prime example of this took place Tuesday night during a tied ballgame in the bottom of the ninth.  Pirates rookie reliever Mariano Salas was chucking balls all over the place, walking three batters in the inning.  In steps Ryan Ludwick with two outs and the bases juiced, what does he do?  He bails out the wild rook by swinging at the first pitch and weakly flying out.  Unless you’re Albert Pujols, you have to take at least one pitch in that situation.

It’s not all bad.  The Cardinals lead the majors in walks and it’s a good sign that they are showing the ability to get on base.  Last season, players left on base was a deceiving stat.   Four of the best offenses in baseball, Philly, Boston, Colorado, and New York, were included among the league leaders in runners left on base.  The only difference is that those teams were scoring runners prior to leaving men on base.  A few timely hits could go a long way towards helping the Cardinals reverse the funk they’re in. 

There is a lot of reason for concern in Cardinal Nation.  The pen is in chaos and the offense is struggling to deliver the knock-out blow.  This should be expected from a young team with a lot of inexperienced players, but the necessary killer instinct must be developed in order for the Cardinals to win the Central.

slippery11pete@yahoo.com