The first half of the season was crossed last week when the Cardinals played game 81. The universally recognized first ‘half’ of the season ended Sunday when David Freese slid into home and pushed the Birds to 6 games over .500 entering the All-Star Game break.
Let’s hand out some mid-season awards.
Oh, and just so you know, there are lots of sites (HERE or HERE) that will give you all the oooeee-gooooey. We’re here to remind you that the Cardinals are in third place. And third place teams don’t make the playoffs.
BIGGEST DISSAPOINTMENT (Player): Tyler Greene
No surprises here as Tyler knew coming into 2012 that this was finally his chance to show off some of those first round skills we’ve been hearing about for years. He promptly went out and gave us a .226/4/16 line with playing time reduced as the first half carried on. With Furcal and Freese proving to be durable and the tandem of Descalso and Shumaker more reliable at the plate, Greene figures to be mitigated down the stretch. Different manager, same results with this enigma.
WORST LOSS: 06/01/12 vs NY Mets
Get no hit? Awful. Get no hit by a team that has never had a no-hitter and happens to play in the media capital of the world? Double suck. If you’re going to get no-hit, do it on a Saturday night in Arizona… not in New York City by Johan Santana. And while the Cardinals, upon further replay, did actually get screwed by a foul ball call against Carlos Beltran, it didn’t matter to the ESPN hype machine. Losses all kind of stink, but getting your faced shoved back in for a full week? The worst.
STOMACH PUNCH: Chris Carpenters Injury
We had one rule this season: don’t talk about Chris Carpenters injury. Much like a no-hitter, as soon as he was brought up, another setback magically appeared. He’s now officially been shut down for the year and hopes to be ready for spring training in 2013. That Wainwright/Carp 1 2 punch we thought we would dominate the division with for like a 5 year span is closing up with both guys missing a full season in succession. Carp may have never had the best numbers… but you wanted that son of a bitch to have the ball when it counted. The Cardinals will miss him down the stretch.
MOST OVERPAID: Lance Berkman
If you got contracts for services rendered, then Pujols would be a billionaire and still play in St. Louis. That’s not the way it works, so Lance Berkman’s 12 million dollar salary for 2012 was a bet that he’d stay healthy and produce at close to 2011 numbers. Instead, the 6 million Lance cashed so far in 2012 has produced 1 HR and 4 RBIs. There still is time to make up for time lost; Berkman is scheduled to come back after the All-Star break. But until we see him on the field, this risky bet on a aging veteran has been sunk cost for the Cardinals.
WORST SERIES: LA 06/18/12 thru 06/20/12
Dominated by the Dodgers, the Cardinals were feckless and coming off a three game sweep the previous weekend at home against Atlanta. Even better? The Sunday sweep completion was on Sunday Night Baseball, so we had to wait until 10:30p for the final death blow.
BEST THING TO HAPPEN IN MAY?: The Streaker
Yes. This was the highlight of an tough month for the Cardinals: LINK HERE
Ok.Ok.
The Cardinals aren’t in bad shape. They’re getting their 1B back. They’re getting a starting pitcher back. And they’re not that far out of first place with a bunch of games left against the leaders of the division. But still, we don’t know how to do anything but bitch. Besides, it’s Monday.
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