The Professionals…

When Jon Lester signed with the Cubs last night, journalists everywhere were yelling “everything’s changed! The Cubs are going for it! Woohoo! Now those games against the Cardinals will mean something!”

To which I say: Hogwash.

Now let’s be clear: I’m not saying the Cubs are going to lose. I’m saying something else entirely.

The Cardinals are professionals.

The Cardinals of the past few years have been the ultimate professionals. They treat every team like a World Series opponent. Why do you think players in the past (see Colby Rasmus) who don’t fit get traded off?
It’s all about creating the perfect team, one that competes at the ultimate level day in and day out. One has that great clubhouse chemistry and players that put the team first. That is what we have, with players who lead on and off the field like Adam Wainwright and Yadier Molina. Why do you think Yadi was in such a hurry to get back last year? Because he wanted to help his team win, to help it play at its highest level. Yadi’s got a guaranteed contract, he could’ve just rested and recovered, but that’s not who he is, that’s not who the Cards are. They’re the ultimate competitors.

Part of the reason I originally objected to the A.J. Pierzynski signing originally was people weren’t praising the signing as the acquisition of a good catcher or a solid bat, but rather of someone who’d bring us an edge. We don’t *need* an edge. We play everybody our hardest, day in and day out, whether it’s the Cubs, the Pirates, the Dodgers or anybody else. We’re intense.

Some people may have a different definition of intense than I do. Those people probably think you need to yell, curse and scream every five seconds or throw brushback pitches every inning or start fights every game to be intense.

Again: Hogwash.

You don’t need to do any of those things to be intense. The Cards are ultra-competitive day in and day out against every team.

So whether we’re facing Jon Lester, Clayton Kershaw or somebody with a 6.95 ERA, it doesn’t matter, the Cards have the same intensity either way.

Will the fans anticipate the games more? Sure, but that’s not my point. My point is the team isn’t going to approach the Cubs any different than before, because they’re the ultimate professionals.

As always, thanks for reading.