St. Louis Cardinals: Heap the blame on Kolten Wong

The St. Louis Cardinals dropped last night’s game despite home runs all thanks- again- to sloppy play. This must come to an end.

The St. Louis Cardinals are without Jose Oquendo and his absence is being felt more and more with each passing game. How? Just look at the number of fielding errors; these numbers weren’t as high when Oquendo was a regular face on the squad.

Yes, we should also admit that teams with Oquendo also had different fielders who were likely better defenders but I find it difficult to divorce the idea of fielding proficiency from the presence of the Secret Weapon.

During Oquendo’s days, players such as Fernando Vina and Edgar Rodriquez patrolled the infield. Incredible first basemen such as Albert Pujols and Mark McGwire held that corner while incredibly-talented hot corner guys like Todd Zeile, David Freese, and Scott Rolen made the left side secure. These guys set the bar high and this year’s squad (oh and last year’s too) are falling far short.

On the whole, the 2017 St. Louis Cardinals team is ranked tied for second place overall in team errors with a total count of twenty-three on the young season. The Milwaukee Brewers and the Pittsburgh Pirates have one additional team error which puts them at the top of the worst list.

This is unacceptable. Let’s look at the by-positional error comparisons to see where the St. Louis Cardinals rank.

At first base, the St. Louis Cardinals have recorded three errors which puts them tied for third. At second base, the Cards have recorded five errors which has them tied for second. At short stop, the birds have four errors which is tied for third. At third, players have fouled three errors which has the squad ranked tied for fifth overall.

At the catcher position, Yadier Molina and Eric Fryer have committed two errors which has the team ranked tied for third overall. At the position of pitcher, the 2017 St. Louis Cardinals have erred three times for an overall ranking of tied for third.

In the outfield, the St. Louis Cardinals have committed two errors in right field, zero errors in center field, and one error in left field. The right field errors are ranked as tied for third overall, the left field errors ties the club for second overall, and the center field lack of errors has the team tied as the best overall (or the team lacking the greatest number of errors).

If we use these rankings as a jumping off point, the glaring red flag is at second base. Thus far in the season, Kolten Wong and Greg Garcia and Jedd Gyorko have appeared at second.

Gyorko has appeared at second base in four games and has committed zero of the team’s errors at the position.

Garcia has appeared at second base in one game and has committed zero of the team’s errors at the position.

What does this mean? It means that all of the heaping of blame should rest securely on the shoulders of Kolten Wong. Wong has appeared at second base in twenty-one games and has committed all five of the team’s errors at the position. These errors have contributed to him having a fielding percentage of .943 on the season.

In addition, as was noted by the Kevin Wheeler Show, Wong is last in fielding percentage, defensive runs saved, and UZR among twenty-five qualified second baseman around the MLB. This is simply pitiful. And yet, Mike Matheny still plays him.