St. Louis Cardinals: NLCS letters, part one- fly the L

Last night’s Cubs loss must be nice respite to St. Louis Cardinals fans– myself included.

The St. Louis Cardinals‘ dreaded foe, the Chicago Cubs will now enjoy the remainder of the postseason in the very same way that those who receive paychecks from the Cardinals organization are enjoying it: from their couches at home. I, for one, was overjoyed at the Cubs loss at the hands of the Dodgers last night.

Let me pause for a moment and restate that last sentence: I am overjoyed at ANY Cubs loss at the hands of ANYONE and in particular am overjoyed when the loss comes at the benefit/cause of their own hand. I will get to that in just a moment.

First, let me share that this post is one of two coming out from me today related directly to the NLCS of 2017. Each post will be in the form of a letter as though I am sending my response to the respective team. I am focusing this first one on the Cubs but please be sure to catch part two which will be a letter to the Dodgers.

Dear Chicago Cubs,

Thank you for losing in the NLCS. I would much rather you had lost in the NLDS… no, wait. I would much rather you had lost the division but I must equally admit that you were the best option from the NL-Central and therefore made your mark by returning to the postseason for the second time around.

I understand from the things released to the media that you are fatigued thanks to the back-to-back seasons of postseason play. I am sorry to hear this. There is- without a doubt- a solution to these feelings and that is simply to sit out of the postseason in 2018 so that you can recuperate.

That said, let me ask you one question (specifically to you, Joe Maddon): were you operating in the NLCS from the Mike Matheny handbook? I mean, come on, so many of your decisions seemed destined to lose. The biggest mistake in these was the management of the bullpen. You managed the pen precisely how the St. Louis Cardinals did all season.

Let me also ask you about the miserable offense: could you not score any runs outside of those from the home run? Had you invited John Mabry into your dugout as hitting coach? Just ask any St. Louis Cardinals fan how this approach to hitting works. Oh, you know now? Welcome to the club…

One final question: did you learn nothing from how the St. Louis Cardinals silenced the Dodgers in the past? If the Cardinals could silence the Dodgers and keep them from the World Series, why couldn’t you?

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I guess you can be proud of your one win as it prevented an embarrassing sweep. I guess.

Oh yeah, did it hurt to see an opponent celebrate a massive win on your home turf? St. Louis Cardinals fans can commiserate with you there too, but- of course- you know that all too well.

Oh well… go lick your wounds and see if you can manage anything this offseason. Maybe this offseason a big acquisition will not turn out to hurt you by leaving or by falling apart in the postseason (if not overworked again).

Lick your wounds. Signed, a St. Louis Cardinals fan.

So the real question the Cubs must answer for themselves is whether the Dodgers won the games or whether the Cubs lost the games. And, believe me, it could be a little of both.

I think we are seeing the start of the Cubs fade. That is if they do nothing to keep themselves ahead of the curve. The fact that they leapt so heavily into expensive players in the past offseasons will simply cost them more and more to uphold the level.

The cost is great in terms of money but also in terms of prospects which is something they lack and I predict this will cripple them moving forward.

Next: Cardinals need John Farrell

Knowing those things, will the St. Louis Cardinals take actions this offseason to seize upon the opportunity to usurp back to their power position? Time will tell.

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