Cardinals: Time to push the panic button?

A 9-0 loss to the Chicago Cubs may finally have editor Steve Ungrey at the breaking point. Is it time to push the panic button?

Welcome to September, everybody!

Before I go on, let me say a belated thank you to Jacob Misener, the co-editor at Redbird Rants for most of the season. Misener has stepped down from his post to focus on Cubbies Crib and, more importantly, his upcoming wedding. I wish him nothing but the best.

That said, I have a bone to pick with Misener’s team he covers. Did you have to beat the St. Louis Cardinals so badly on Monday?

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I’m only partially kidding. My real bone right now is with the Cardinals, who are playing like a team that knows it’s in the postseason and is coasting.

Monday’s 9-0 loss was an embarrassment that the Cardinals should be ashamed of right now. They need to own this loss and look at it every day before they go out to play.

To review: Since the calendar flipped to September, St. Louis has dropped four or six games, including bad losses of 9-3 and 7-1 to the Pittsburgh Pirates and 9-0 to the Cubs.

These are not the teams you want to lose to in the heat of a pennant race, and the Cardinals don’t want to be crushed outright.

The positive thinkers will say St. Louis stands at 87-50. Hey, we’re still 5 1/2 games up on the Pirates and 7 1/2 on the Cubs. Life is good. Let’s enjoy our toasted ravioli!

I can’t help but shake a bad feeling ahead.

Normally I’m a glass is half-full kind of guy. But the Cardinals have just played hideous baseball as of late. Monday’s game was an embarassment (did I say that already?) as Lance Lynn barely pitched into the third inning and walked off having surrendered six earned runs.

Sure, St. Louis managed seven hits, but the team couldn’t get any of those baserunners around to score.

And this game was at Busch Stadium.

I can understand if it were at Wintrust… er, Wrigley… Field. (Sorry, I can’t deal with a lot of the changes that owner has made to what was a beautiful place to watch baseball. But that’s another column.) At Wrigley the Cubs have been dominant.

What were Cardinals fans thinking when they walked away from Busch tonight?

Of the 25 games remaining, five are against the Cubs and three are against the Pirates… right at the end of the season.

Better keep the defibrillator paddles handy.

Either that, or have plenty of Pepto-Bismol on hand. If your game meal doesn’t give you indigestion, then the way the Cardinals are playing might do it.