ST. LOUIS — On the night Adam Wainwright recorded his
first win in 19 months, the defending world champion St. Louis Cardinals
continued to offer a friendly reminder.
No Tony La Russa? No Dave Duncan? No Albert Pujols? No Problem.
The Cardinals had already stormed out of the gate under manager Mike Matheny,
becoming the first defending champion since 1922 to win its first six series.
With Tuesday's 10-7 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates, they improved to 15-8 and
opened up a 3-1/2-game lead in the National League Central.
While the significant changes they endured may have been too much for some
teams to overcome, the Cardinals have continued on seemingly unbothered.
There's been no World Series hangover with this bunch. And the Cardinals show
no signs of slowing any time soon.
"We want more," third baseman David Freese said. "I think every
guy in this clubhouse has that desire. You win one, you want to win another
one. You hear it, but that's the case with us.
"We're focused. You can't let things get in the way. I think what happened
last year only makes you push harder because you understand how special that
was and you want to do it again. We want to win again. It's that simple."
Freese, who burst onto the national scene by winning the NLCS and World Series
MVP Awards last season, is proving he's more than an October hero. He launched
his team-leading sixth home run Tuesday night, a three-run blast that gave him
23 RBI. He's tied for fourth in the National League in home runs and alone in
third in RBI.
Matt Holliday and Rafael Furcal also homered Tuesday for the Cardinals, who
hammered out 10 runs and 13 hits to add to their league-best numbers at the
plate despite losing arguably the game's best hitter over the past decade.
The Cardinals lead the National League in runs, hits, total bases, batting
average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage. And that's despite
offseason acquisition Carlos Beltran hitting .247 and Holliday just .235 while
first baseman Lance Berkman remains on the disabled list with a strained calf.
And the offense figures to get even better with the addition of postseason hero
Allen Craig, who was activated from the disabled list Tuesday and singled home
a run in his season debut. Craig hit three home runs in the World Series while
playing with a broken kneecap, only adding to lofty expectations for what he
can do when healthy.
The Cardinals have lost just one series all year, a three-game set in Chicago
in which they led in the ninth inning in the two games they lost. They've won
14 of their past 15 regular-season series going back to last season, looking
like a freight train that's only beginning to pick up speed.
"That's what we expect," said utility man Skip Schumaker. "We're
in the major leagues. If guys aren't able to play, they will find someone else.
We have a great group of guys, talented guys, so I' not surprised. We expect to
win. That's what we believe in this clubhouse, and when we don't, we get upset.
We have one objective here and that's to win every ball game."
But while the offense has been good, the Cardinals pitching staff has not been
far behind. The Cardinals rank second in the majors in team ERA and have three
starters with at least three wins and an ERA below 2.
Ace Chris Carpenter, a critical part of their championship run last fall, has
yet to throw a pitch and doesn't know when he will. A nerve issue in his neck
has weakened his shoulder and his future is unknown.
But the rest of the Cardinals rotation has picked up the slack, just as they
did when key guys went down last year. Jake Westbrook is 3-1 with a 1.30 ERA,
Lance Lynn is 4-0 with a 1.33 ERA and Kyle Lohse is 4-0 with a 1.62 ERA.
Ticketed for the bullpen, Lynn has been quite the story while filling in for
the former Cy Young Award winner.
"We have a good team," Westbrook said. "We have a lot of things
we've had to overcome but we're still playing well as a team and still getting
it done. We have a lot of young guys who have really stepped in and got it
done. It's good to see.
"We're just trying to play as consistent as we can, even though we have
some key guys out. Hopefully we can keep it going."
Lefty Jaime Garcia is having a fine season as well, going 2-1 with a 2.78 ERA.
Numbers good enough to be the best in some rotations; he's put together the
fourth-best stat line on his own team so far.
And then there's Wainwright, who went seven innings and allowed four runs on
two two-run home runs Tuesday. It's been a rocky start for the former 20-game
winner who missed all of 2011 while recovering from Tommy John surgery.
Wainwright is 1-3 with a 6.75 ERA in five starts but has looked much
better in recent outings. If he continues to progress, the already impressive
Cardinals rotation becomes that much better.
The Cardinals bullpen has been impressive as well, with closer Jason Motte
picking up save No. 4 with a scoreless ninth inning. After becoming the closer
late last season, Motte has picked up right where he left off following an
impressive postseason.
It's hard to find a weakness on the Cardinals roster. With a solid rotation,
bullpen and lineup, the Cardinals look like a team capable of making a serious
run at a repeat — a feat not done in the National League since the Reds won
back-to-back titles in 1975 and 1976.
"I don't think there's any doubt that we can be a 100-win ball club,"
Wainwright said. "I don't see a reason why we shouldn't. We have great
arms in our rotation and bullpen. We have a very, very deep lineup.
"Tough outs all the way down, especially now that Craig is back. He's an All-Star
caliber player and you add another guy like that to your lineup, you're pretty
tough. I think we're potentially a great team, we just have to stay healthy and
go out there and execute."
With Berkman due back in the near future, the Cardinals are getting healthier.
And with the way they are playing, that's a scary sign for the rest of the
National League.
