Description
Has the team's heyday gone with Molina? St. Louis is having another disappointing season.
The St. Louis Cardinals had 15 wins and 19 losses in the season until May 6 (Korea time). It has a win rate of 0.441, the lowest in the Central Division of the National League (based on the record of 5/6).
Of course, they are at the top of the list. Among the lowest rank players in the six districts, the Toronto Blue Jays in the American League East are the only team that has a higher winning percentage than the St. Louis Cardinals. Rather, the team ranks first in the district and rides at 5.5 games, which is smaller than the Toronto Blue Jays (7.5 games). They are the most promising players at the bottom.
However, it is not a big comfort. It is none other than the St. Louis Cardinals. St. Louis is a prestigious team that has won 11 World Series titles. In the history of the Major League, the New York Yankees (27 times) are the only team that has topped the list more than the St. Louis Cardinals.
Until just two years ago, St. Louis was a natural team to make the postseason. It reached the postseason for the fourth consecutive year in the 2019-2022 season and recorded 15 consecutive winning seasons from 2008 to 2022. During that period, there were six district wins and 10 postseason appearances. The last time St. Louis recorded a luge season for the second consecutive year was in 1995.
St. Louis, which won the Central Division title with a winning percentage of 0.574 in the 2022 season, only posted a winning percentage of 0.438 last year. It ranked first in the league and was the lowest in the district by 21 games. And the difference between the two seasons was the presence or absence of Yardier Molina. Molina, who guarded the St. Louis until the 2022 season, retired after 19 years of big league career after the end of the 2022 season.
The best catcher during his active career, Molina has been an All-Star 10 times and a Gold Glove winner nine times. She has also won four Platinum Glove awards. Molina was not as aggressive as Mike Piazza, Joe Mauer and Buster Posey, but she was also the best at leading the mound. However, as Molina occupied the master bedroom for too long, St. Louis failed to nurture "Molina's successor."
Of course, Molina is not to blame for the current slump. St. Louis found Molina's successor outside, not inside. It recruited Wilson Contreras, a veteran catcher in the FA market. Contreras was the best hitter in his team last year with 125 games recording .264/.358/.467 with 20 home runs and 67 RBIs, and is supporting his team's batting lineup this season with 6275/.398/.539 with six home runs and 11 RBIs.
The problem is not Contreras, but other batters. Contreras is truly unique in the St. Louis lineup. Except for Contreras, none of the hitters has an OPS of 0.750 or higher, and only Nolan Arenado (.287/.352/.395, 2HR 19RBI) and Meisin Win (.266/.336/.351 7RBI). All the hitters, including Paul Goldschmidt (.208/.298/.280 2HR 11RBI), Nolan Gorman (.182/.256/.336 4HR 12RBI), Brendan Donovan (.215/.295/.354 3HR 18RBI), Alec Burleson (.244/.289/.346 2HR 10RBI), Lars Nootba (.169/.264/.273 1HR 7RBI), and others, are suffering from sluggishness.
The St. Louis Cardinals' OPS stands at 0.624, which is the worst record except for the Chicago White Sox (0.235 / Team OPS 0.597), which are currently the lowest in the entire Major League. The Miami Marlins, which have the lowest winning percentage in the National League, also have a better OPS at 0.627, than the St. Louis Cardinals. The team also has the lowest score of 118 points, except for the White Sox, who barely managed to score 100. The team is tied for the lowest in home runs with the White Sox.
New veteran pitchers such as Sonny Gray (4-1 ERA 0.89), Lance Lynn (1-0, ERA 3.28) and Kyle Gibson (2-2, ERA 3.79) are doing well, and the team's performance is at the bottom of the world despite the stable bullpen such as Ryan Helsley, Jojo Romero, Matt Liberatore, Andrew Kiddridge and Ryan Fernandez.
It is different from last year's game. The St. Louis Cardinals' batting lineup was not bad, as it ranked 13th in overall OPS and 12th in home runs last year, but the mound was hampered by an ERA of 4.79 (24th overall). However, this year, the mound (ERA 3.93, 15th overall) is being hamstrung by batters. It seems as if Molina's retirement and the team's balance have collapsed.
St. Louis, which has eight players earning more than $10 million a year, has not neglected to invest, although it has failed to nurture the next generation of catchers. But the results have not been met. Fortunately, Goldschmidt, who has a $26 million annual salary, is about to expire at the end of the season, which is a major contributor to the poor batting lineup. No players are concerned about a "long-term malign contract" at this point.
There is no eternal power, but I did not expect it to fall this sharply. However, the power is by no means weak. Attention is focusing on whether St. Louis will be able to break this trend and become a strong player again.
BY: 메이저 토토사이트