Another bad news hits the St. Louis Cardinals: The head coach of the St. Louis Cardinals shed tears as four of his star players made a final decision to terminate their huge contracts.

Another bad news hits the St. Louis Cardinals: The head coach of the St. Louis Cardinals shed tears as four of his star players made a final decision to terminate their huge contracts.

The St. Louis Cardinals have received more unfavorable news: Four of its finest players have decided to end their enormous contracts, causing the head coach to cry.

The St. Louis Cardinals were the only National League Central team in the top half of the league and had the third-best cumulative record in Major League Baseball over the first 23 seasons of the twenty-first century. For a spell, they possessed the greatest hitter of his generation, Albert Pujols. The Cardinals were essentially always good because they had a rotating cast of other really strong players, including maybe-future Hall of Fame catcher Yadier Molina and pitcher Adam Wainwright.

Under manager Tony La Russa, who was effective yet annoying, they won two World Series. Fans, management, and even a few players discuss a legendary code of conduct known as The Cardinal Way. For those who despise the Cardinals, their conceited fan base, or their unstoppable winning streak, it is all incredibly irritating.

But how delightful these first few weeks of the 2023 season have been for the silent majority of the country who are not Cardinals! With a 13–25 record going into the weekend, the Cardinals are last in the division and eight games off of first place in the awful Central. Having won a division championship the year before, St. Louis started the season in a condition of mild transition. On the one hand, they were bidding adieu to Molina and Pujols (again), who, together with Wainwright, helped define the Cardinals for a long period.

However, Pujols had a spectacular final a few months before retiring and was never going to repeat it; Molina was no longer good; and the Cardinals’ greatest players were all returning. Paul Goldschmidt, the National League MVP, at first base? Returning. Nolan Arenado, winner of the Eternal Gold Glove, is third. Returning. A group of other strong players? Returning. Almost every key member of the pitching staff, with the exception of José Quintana, a two-month rental who left in free agency,? Everyone returned. In addition, the Cardinals signed former Chicago Cub Willson Contreras for $87.5 million as a free agent to replace Molina.

It was a faceplant that few could have predicted. Thus far, it has culminated in the most puzzling—or, as some might say, hilarious—start any team has ever experienced. The Cardinals will need to work hard to even consider themselves in the postseason;

FanGraphs estimates a 22 percent chance of making the playoffs and modest improvement, but still only 79 wins. Every club has bad seasons, of course, and the fact that the Cardinals are having their worst season since a 78-win in 2007 says a lot about them. The weird (or funny) thing about the Cardinals’ 2023 problems, though, is how they appeared out of nowhere and how they have been accompanied by some very non-Cardinal Way anecdotes off the field.

The offense isn’t the only reason for the absurdly poor start, though the Cardinals’ hitters have performed a little worse this year than they did last.

Dylan Carlson and Tyler O’Neill, two very good outfielders, have produced at a level below replacement for the team. Tommy Edman, the shortstop, had a mediocre start to 2022 after having a good year (5.7 WAR, according FanGraphs). Furthermore, Arenado has been a shadow of his former self, with batting averages, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage slash lines of.233/.285/.336 that are just unsustainable. The Cardinals rank 13th in the majors in position player WAR, despite the fact that nearly half of their lineup is ineffective.

According to the comprehensive weighted Runs Created statistic, which gauges offense, their output has been 7% better than the league average.

Although not excellent, the team’s defense hasn’t been all that horrible either. The Cardinals rank 19th in the majors with a Defensive Runs Saved of minus-4. At least when it comes to third base, Arenado remains a brilliant defender. When valued prospect Jordan Walker has played the outfield and second baseman Brendan Donovan has played the infield, the team has struggled defensively. Walker had a strong offensive debut, but the Cardinals sent him back to Triple-A. They didn’t specifically cite his defense, though it undoubtedly played a part. (In the minors, Walker usually played third base; however, Arenado is playing at his natural position for the Cardinals.) Nevertheless, the team’s fielding has been excellent.

That only means that pitching could be the major issue, and the Cardinals haven’t thrown the ball very effectively. They are 23rd in the staff-wide earned-run average (4.77) going into the weekend and sixth in the fielding-independent pitching ERA estimate (4.44), which measures ERA in a neutral defensive setting. It’s not good; Jordan Montgomery, the lone starter with an ERA under five (4.11), is the only one. However, the pitching of the Cardinals has generally been better than mediocrity, not as poor as “one of the worst teams in the league.” The bullpen has performed well, combining for a 3.88 ERA and a very cool 10.18 strikeouts per nine innings. Nearly every pitcher for the Cardinals has previously thrown for this squad and done it successfully. The largest warning sign? Starter Jack Flaherty, whose 6.18 ERA indicates that his once-promising career is about to fade much more,.