1 encouraging, 2 discouraging signs from Dodgers sweep of Cardinals

The results have been disappointing, but there have been some signs the Cardinals can move forward from this west coast road trip.

The Cardinals began their final series of this tumultuous road trip hoping to turn things around against the Dodgers. But as John Mozeliak, president of baseball operations, noted at the beginning of the series, to do the same thing repeatedly and expect different results is insanity.

The Cardinals' results from this series have come close to insanity. It's incredibly frustrating. And, to be told by Mozeliak to practice some patience with the team seems insulting, as fans have been dealing with these same results for several seasons except for swapping out some players.

Thankfully, the team has the day off Monday. It'll be disappointing if there aren't significant changes for the team's betterment. We should expect some movement between St. Louis and the AAA Memphis squad. It would be great to see more, but that's asking too much for now. Adam Wainwright could be returning to start. There could be some movement from the rotation to the bullpen as well. And where to begin with the line-up. With so much talent, it's terrible to see the lack of timely hitting.

Encouraging: April is over

As Justin Timberlake would say, It's gonna be May. The team can turn the calendar to a new month of opportunities. It's a more exciting prospect when your team is in the depths of their worst start in over fifty years.

It does lead to the hope that we see Nolan Arenado start to hit with some authority again. Tyler O'Neill should get the opportunity to permanently win the job of left fielder and keep a spot in the lineup. It's frustrating to see these two players not play as we know they can.

opportunitywinningIt will be a new opportunity to make some changes, gain some consistency and go on a win streak. It will be nice to see them play how we know they are capable.

Discouraging: If it weren't for bad luck, they would have none at all

How terrible is it to see the team get some timely hits and take the lead, only to have something trivial happen the next inning that completely throws the unit off? Something random happens that throws their whole game off. The team can't pull it together to once again get those hits and plays to get back in the game. They look trapped and unable to work their way out.

The Cardinals have dealt with a string of getting good things to happen, only to have those good things erased to incredibly terrible bad luck.

The team has maintained an excellent mindset through all of this, as you hear the team working on things in their control. They talk about being in the moment to make good things happen. They talk about not allowing outside influences to creep into their heads to throw them off their game. Maintaining their mental health through this bad stretch of play is good, and I'm glad they are doing so. It will make the good moments for when they break out of this all the better.