News
Cards met all but one goal in 2009
Improvements led to division title but postseason disappointed
By Matthew Leach / MLB.com
10/15/09 7:38 AM ET
ST. LOUIS -- The season ended with disappointment, but for much of the summer, the magic was back at Busch Stadium. After finishing out of the money in both 2007 and 2008, the Cardinals returned to their accustomed place atop the National League Central in 2009, running out to a double-digit lead before finishing a still-healthy 7 1/2 games in front of the rival Cubs. They went from a heated race to no contest in the span of about six weeks, thrilling a city with a dazzling run. Hopes were higher at the beginning of the year than they had been in '08, thanks in large part to an apparently healthy starting rotation. It appeared the Cardinals would at least hold steady on offense from 2008, and would be better on the pitching side. So when St. Louis got off to a solid start, remaining in contention through the first half despite some significant injuries, ownership and the front office were inclined and willing to pull the trigger on deals to improve the club. First they added Mark DeRosa, to cover the hole created by Troy Glaus' slower-than-expected recovery from shoulder surgery. Then it was Julio Lugo, brought in for Chris Duncan. But both of those deals were preludes to the biggest splash, when the Cardinals acquired Matt Holliday from Oakland for Brett Wallace, Clayton Mortensen and Shane Peterson. Instantly the hopes and expectations changed. The moves spurred a summer surge that saw the Cardinals go on a 33-11 run. They stormed out to what became an insurmountable division lead, draining any real drama from the NL Central race for the third time in six years. The rotation clicked all spring, summer and into the fall, but in July and August the offense rejoined the party. The made-over Cardinals now had the city of St. Louis thinking World Series, rather than simply getting into the postseason. It looked like the Cardinals had the team to do it, and evidence of the commitment to winning continued to build when the Redbirds added John Smoltz as a free agent. However, over the season's final few weeks, ominous signs began accumulating. The offense found itself kept quiet on a too-frequent basis. Pitchers like Joel Pineiro and Ryan Franklin saw their effectiveness wane. For whatever reason, the Cardinals didn't look like the same team over the season's final 20 games that they had been in the previous 50 or so. And the fears were proved accurate in October. A three-game sweep at the hands of the Dodgers meant that for the first time in 81 years, the Cardinals went to the postseason but didn't win a single game when they got there. The high expectations were dashed quickly, and disappointment set in. Still, it's worthwhile to look back to April, when a postseason appearance did not seem to be a given. Though the fall brought heartbreak, the summer was sensational. It's not one that will likely soon be forgotten. Record: 91-71, first place in NL Central Defining moment: It would be easy to point to Matt Holliday's arrival, since that was the transformative moment of the Cardinals' 2009 season. But if you're really looking to define the '09 Redbirds, look on the mound rather than in the batters' box. If there's one instance that sums up what the '09 Cardinals were all about, it occurred on a cool Saturday night in Denver. On the 130th pitch of the biggest start of his career, Adam Wainwright froze pinch-hitter Jason Giambi with a curveball, leaving two runners stranded and keeping a one-run lead intact. An inning later, Ryan Franklin closed it out for the save, but Wainwright's escape was the most memorable moment of the night and likely the season. And it may have won him the Cy Young Award. What went right: The front of the rotation was brilliant, with Wainwright and Carpenter posting Cy Young-caliber seasons and Joel Pineiro enjoying a bounce-back year of his own. Ryan Franklin stumbled a bit down the stretch but solidified the ninth inning for most of the season, turning a problem in 2008 into a strength in 2009. Albert Pujols put up another MVP-quality season, Brendan Ryan emerged as a Gold Glove-level defensive shortstop and Skip Schumaker successfully made the transition to second base without losing anything on the offensive side. What went wrong: The back of the rotation seemed to be in transition for most of the season: Todd Wellemeyer just never got it going and Kyle Lohse battled injuries for most of the year. Despite Pujols and the additions of Holliday, Lugo and DeRosa, the offense just didn't pan out to be as potent as it looked like it should have been. When the playoffs came, the Cardinals could be pitched to, and the Dodgers did just that, holding them to six runs in a three-game series. Franklin, so good for so long, slipped up in September and October, and in the playoffs, Carpenter and Pineiro both had rough games. Biggest surprise: Schumaker's transition and Franklin's fine year both merit recognition, but the winner has to be Pineiro. After entering Spring Training as the fifth man in the rotation, Pineiro pitched his way into being an integral part of the St. Louis staff. He reinvented himself as a sinkerballer, getting groundballs by the boatload, keeping the ball in the park and throwing strikes.
Matthew Leach is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
