The Biggest Underachiever

             

            Written By: Spencer Teman, of Swish Tribune

            There have been plenty of underperforming teams in the MLB this year, but none of them top the disappointment levels that this team has currently. That team is the St. Louis Cardinals. 

            The Cardinals are in a very bad spot right now and they just can't seem to figure it out. Currently they sit at 27-42, not only in last place in the NL Central, but last place in the National League as well. It's confusing how a team who won its division last year by a good margin, and only got better in the offseason, fell off this much. 

            From a personal standpoint, I really like the players that the Cardinals currently have. Veterans that have been around the league for a long time in Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt leading the way, surrounded by younger players such as Tommy Edman, Lars Nootbar, and more supporting as well. 

            Somehow, even with all of this talent, the Cardinals team batting average is right smack in the middle of Major League Baseball. A team with this much talent offensively should not be an average offensive team almost 70 games into the season. 

            Their rotation isn't too shabby either on paper, but has drastically underperformed this season. They currently have the second-worst team ERA in the majors, but it's not like they have an awful rotation. Jack Flaherty leading the rotation surrounded by veterans such as Miles Mikolas and Adam Wainwright, it's tough to accept that this rotation isn't what it seems to be. 

            The Cardinals aren't getting any help from the teams in their division better because every team around them has gotten better. A team that was in dead last in the division last year in the Pirates is now in first place showing their drastic improvement. Other teams such as the Reds and Cubs have only gotten younger and better as well. No one is doing any favors for the Cardinals in their division. 

            Sure, there are plenty of teams in the MLB that have been disappointing, just to name a few teams: the San Diego Padres, New York Mets, and Chicago White Sox. With the large payrolls that both the Mets and Padres have, they have been utterly disappointing as well, but they are not dead last in their division, sitting at 15 games under .500 like the Cardinals. 

            Many fans don't view the Cardinals as the most disappointing because of the star power that both the Padres and the Mets possess. But what fans don't consider is the comparison in divisions the three teams play in. Right now, 4 of the 5 teams in both the NL West and the NL East are capable of making the postseason, while in the NL Central there's only about 2 or 3. 

            Fortunately for the Cardinals, the season is doesn't end after 70 games, it does after 162 of them. But, the trade deadline is slowly approaching and if the Cardinals don't get their act together, they might become sellers at the deadline. Their pitching staff is too talented to have the second-worst team ERA in baseball. Matter of fact, this team in total is too good to be where they are at right now. 

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