KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Wheels break. That's not the thing. On the trail of tears that is a summer in The Show, where ligaments and egos go to die, wheels break all the time.
The thing is this: When a wheel breaks, no one on the St. Louis Cardinals' big red wagon panics. No one frets. No one resigns themselves to setting up camp or starts conversing about having to eat their young in order to survive. Out comes a new wheel, and the wagon rolls merrily along, like nothing ever happened.
"Well, I think that every story is different when it comes to individual players," Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak says when the subject of his rookie starting pitchers gets broached. "But you know, I do think our player development (department) deserves a lot of credit for having these young men prepared for the big leagues.
"And you know, I think about what (minor league pitching instructor) Brent Strom has done in our organization — these guys have been prepared, and they've been ready. And a lot gets to be made of how they were drafted, or the background of that, but I really think it's the guys in uniform that get them ready and understand what's expected when they get here."
The names change. The numbers don't. Since the start of last season, Cardinal rookie starters lead the majors in winning percentage (29-14, .674), collective ERA (3.34) and collective WHIP (1.24). As a group, they're third in The Bigs in opponent batting average (.240) and fourth in wins above replacement (WAR, 5.0).
It's not just quantity; it's quality. FanGraphs.com charts a stat called "Clutch," which assigns a rating that ranges from 2.0 (excellent) to negative-2.0 (awful), a figure that attempts to quantify, as the site describes it, "how much better or worse a player does in high leverage situations than he would have done in a context neutral environment."
Whatever. The Cards' rookie starters checked in with a 1.02 Clutch since April 2012, second in The Show to only Seattle (1.55). Rookie Tyler Lyons kept the conga line moving by limiting the Kansas City Royals to two hits in a 4-1 victory Tuesday night.
One man falls, another man picks up the rope. And runs with it.
"I think that a lot of it is our continuity with our minor league clubs," pitching coach Derek Lilliquist says. "A lot of things are being preached to them early on. And so when they get to us, they have a pretty good feel of what they need to do to get it done at the big league level."
Ah, yes. The book. A lot has been written about "The Cardinal Way" as of late. Sports Illustrated even devoted a cover story to it. The guide that bridges the Gibsons and Shannons with the Ozzies and McGees and the Carpenters and Wainwrights. Two parts fundamental, one part fraternal. We'd call it hokey, if it weren't so obscenely effective.
"At the end of the day, it's not about what your batting average is, it's not about what your stats are," explains Shelby Miller, another one of those rookie wonders (5-3, 2.02 ERA) running with the rope. "It's just getting wins for the team, finding a way to win."
Names change. The prime directive doesn't.
"You know what? If you produce, they're not afraid to move you up at any time," rookie reliever Michael Blazek says. "So you pretty much just have to do what you keep doing every day. And some crazy things can happen."
This spring has already been crazier than most. Longtime ace Chris Carpenter has sat on the disabled list since February 22. And he has been joined by Jake Westbrook (elbow, on May 9), Jaime Garcia (shoulder, May 18) and John Gant (shoulder, May 26) in rapid succession, forcing Mozeliak to cobble, patch or dig deeper into his farm system than he'd like.
"They're not afraid to move guys up multiple levels in a year," says Blazek, a recent arrival from Double-A Springfield. "And I think certain guys see that and take that as an opportunity that they could be given, and you pretty much have to be prepared to possibly be somewhere where you weren't expecting to be, no matter what."
Which begs the question: Is it talent? Philosophy? Or some sun-kissed combination of both?
"I think it's everything," counters Lance Lynn, who totes a 25-8 mark since the start of the 2012 campaign. "It can't be just one. I think you see a lot of talented guys that don't have success when they come up right away; it takes them a while. And then you have guys that maybe aren't as talented and have a good philosophy and have a good feel for what they're doing and they have more success earlier, but it takes talent to sustain that success. And that's kind of what we have here.
"We have guys that are very talented, very smart, and they're also very good at learning what they need to do to be better every time out. And that makes it where it's easier to keep going and keep having success."
Lynn has another theory, too: Familiarity. Old arms and young, sharing the field at spring training. When Wainwright came up, he picked Carpenter's brain. When Lynn came up, he did the same with Wainwright.
"The way we do it in spring training is that everyone is involved with everybody; it's not segregated into older and younger pitchers," Lynn says. "And that's why guys come up and they know people, and they feel comfortable talking to guys, and things like that.
"They were really gung-ho on making sure that I knew everything that I need to know, and they had me working out with those guys, throwing with those guys and their group, and their hitter group and their (fielding) group, to show me the right way to do things. We don't push the young guys on the back field and the old guys on the other field. Everybody's mixed in together, because that's how it's got to be. Because if you have younger guys together, they're going to create bad habits that they don't even know are bad habits at the big league level."
Lilliquist extends the love to veteran catcher Yadier Molina, whose calming influence — and confidence — rubs off on the newbies once they're shoved onto center stage.
"We preach that, 'You know, you've got to go out and relax for your best ability to come out,'" the pitching coach says. "And if they're uptight, nothing ever works in that scenario."
Two more Lilliquist mantras that stick:
1. Just do what you do, kid. Do what got you here.
2. The cathedrals are bigger. The hymns are the same.
"I was (telling) my parents (Monday) night, 'The biggest thing was the atmosphere at the stadiums and stuff; that's the only true difference I can see,'" Blazek says. "It might change after I get out there, obviously.
"It just goes back to (the fact that) you've got to be ready. It's the same game. Whether you're here or in Double-A, it's the same game."
And the same expectations, passed like a baton, generation to generation. Michael Wacha is up next; last spring, the tall right-hander was throwing BBs at Texas A&M. In June, the Cardinals drafted him in the first round. Thursday, after just 11 minor league starts, he's slated to make his big league debut against slumping Kansas City.
"Now (Wacha) will be an interesting test, because his stay with the Cardinals has been very short," Mozeliak says. "But in Michael's case, we believe he's a fast learner, and one that has the ability to adjust quickly. But he will be tested."
And if recent history is any harbinger, he'll be ready. The names change. The wagon doesn't.
You can follow Sean Keeler on Twitter @seankeeler or email him at seanmkeeler@gmail.com.
