St. Louis Cardinals: Who will be the first casualty this year?

After a good start to the year, the St. Louis Cardinals are struggling mightily despite some positive games. Who goes first?

This is not a fun article to write. This is not how the year should be going for the St. Louis Cardinals after what was promised during the offseason and Spring Training.

I am still drinking Kool-aid personally. You may not be, but I see what the team has on the field and I see the potential that’s there. They have the talent to be a good team, but for some reason, something isn’t clicking.

In a situation like this, something just has to change. As much as Mike Shildt can claim that everyone is good friends in the clubhouse, that hasn’t translated to on-field success where it really matters. Something has to change.

Recently, Dexter Fowler was on MLB Network doing an interview and he talked about how great Mike Shildt is and how he is so good for all the players which is a great change from how it seemingly was last year. I believe Shildt is a great leader and has made the dynamic in the clubhouse extremely friendly, but is it too friendly?

After losing their 5th game (out of five chances) at Wrigley yesterday when the Cardinals had a four-run first inning, the mood just seemed to be passive. Jeff Jones made a great point after the game.

Not hitting a ball out of the infield for eight innings in a game almost seems hard to do. It is ridiculous that players who are getting paid so much to play the game of baseball are so inconsistent.

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A week ago the Cardinals were sweeping the Cubs at home.

In the follow-up tweet, Mr. Jones makes a good point. What can they do to make a change?

It seems that the best way to shake up a team is to show them how serious this issue is. In 2014, John Mozeliak sent Joe Kelly and Allen Craig, two of the team’s key clubhouse guys, to Boston for John Lackey. The team was struggling and taking two of the guys who thought they were safe out of there jump-started the team and they finished the year 33-22 after the trade was made.

This time, it’s an interesting thought to suggest that Mozeliak might be the one who gets the ax. I am not a believer in this idea, I feel like he has had his misses but overall has kept the team going in the right direction. That being said, if the Cardinals fired Mo tomorrow, I would get it. He built this mess, he could easily be the one who is held responsible.

If it is not Mo that gets the ax, who should?

As Jeff points out, there’s no “easy” answer like there was last year. Shildt will probably not be the one fired. The question I posed is one that I don’t have an answer to. It’s not something I want to try and answer in this article. I am honestly asking, who could you move to solve anything?

Is the clubhouse too friendly? In 2014, bringing in Lackey brought some veteran grit and bulldog mentality into the dugout and maybe that’s something the Cardinals need. Being friends is great, but if they are complacent, someone needs to be brought in to stir the pot some.

I don’t know what the Cardinals plan to do to turn this around, but I believe if this level of play continues much longer, something big is going to have to change either in management or personnel.

Again, this is a frustrating article to write. I don’t have any answers now, but I don’t get paid millions of dollars to have them. Hopefully, I can look back at this frustration and dejection I feel watching this team in a couple of months and laugh. For now, with the Blues helping us forget the Cardinals, tonight’s game against the Cubs will probably be the least watched game of the year.