Nolan Arenado blames himself for St. Louis Cardinals’ inconsistent offense

To make the playoffs, the St. Louis Cardinals need Nolan Arenado to step up.

The story of the St. Louis Cardinals’ offense has been its inconsistency. And when asked what the team can do to improve, Nolan Arenado pointed the finger at himself. He says he needs to be better.

“It’s hard to sit here and talk about what the team needs to do when individually I’m not doing a very good job,” Arenado said, via Zachary Silver of MLB.com. “I feel like I’m taking good swings, just missing the ball, and just got to have a habit of getting onto the ball.”

Arenado, 30, is right about not producing at the level he is used to. His batting average (.252) is the lowest of his nine-year career. His .795 OPS is the second lowest of his career, significantly down from his career average of .879. Even then, he’s remained one of the best hitters in the National League, hitting .252/.308/.488 with 29 home runs and 91 RBI, and has been a primary reason the Cardinals’ season hasn’t fallen apart given their inconsistencies and extensive number of injuries.

But with the Cardinals three games back of the second wild card spot, and with their season on the line, Arenado needs to be better. A lot better. He is hitting .167/.136/.303 in his last seven days, .227/.255/.432 in his last 14 days and .211/.248/.432 in his last 28 days. And with 22 games left in the regular season, the clock is ticking for Arenado to step up.

Moments like these are why the Cardinals wanted Arenado and why he wanted to come to St. Louis. He wanted to be in a playoff race and to finally have meaningful at-bats in September after never winning a playoff game in eight seasons with the Colorado Rockies.

But getting to the playoffs, let alone winning a playoff game, will require Arenado to step up. He understands that. But in almost every chance he has gotten in the last month, except for a series against the Milwaukee Brewers, he has come up small. And it’s why the Cardinals are on the outside looking in with three weeks left in the regular season.