The Cardinals Didn’t Win The World Series

The Boston Red Sox did.

In fact, the Cardinals kind of got thumped in the World Series. 

The Winter Warm-Up was held this past weekend though today in St. Louis. And the annual event has been low on strife.

The Cardinals found a (hopefully) reliable shortstop. They signed Mark Ellis to shore up the bench. Carlos Beltran's departure means a draft pick. And the David Freese break-up has been astoundingly cordial.

All is good with The Nation. 

Enter Shelby Miller. 

"Physically I felt amazing," Miller said when asked about his '13 post-season benching by ESPN. "I didn't feel any better or worse than I did during the season."

They are also reporting that Miller wasn't told why he was iced. Nor did he ask. In fact, he's letting it be a "mystery unsolved". Kudos to the young pitcher for being able to mentally overcome. 

However, back to our original point: The Cardinals, in fact, didn't win the World Series. Their system didn't achieve the ultimate goal. But it's still not worth explaining, even internally, why one of the bigger reasons they were in the position to compete for a World Series was suddenly put to pasture?

A curious decision that many questioned at the time has grown even more suspicious since October. I totally get not wanting to air any dirty laundry in the press, but according to Miller's quotes, the Cardinals operate in a very Putin-esque manner. 

We'll see if this effects the starter in 2014. Chances are it won't. Still, the decisions that were made in 2013 were solid overall, but not beyond reproach. 

The Cardinals didn't win the World Series. And Shelby Miller had nothing to do with it. Maybe everything isn't as great as it seems.

And yes, that's Miller… iced.