10 reasons why it is time to give up on the Cardinals' playoff chances this season

The Cardinals offense is a massive disappointment

I mean, we all know this already, but the Cardinals' offense is the number one reason this team is not in a playoff spot currently, and I think they also finish in second and third place for reasons why as well.

Yes, big picture-wise, the front office owns this disaster, but man, is this really the kind of year we are going to get from Goldschmidt, Gorman, Jordan Walker, Lars Nootbaar, and to some extent, Nolan Arenado as well? These guys were supposed to carry the offense this year, not drag it down. For all of them to be this dissapointing is beyond my comprehension still.

And yet, here we are. The Cardinals cannot hit left-handed pitching and they are historically bad when hitting with runners in scoring position. It's actually incredible to think how many games could have been swung this year if the Cardinals were even just bad with runners in scoring position, and now one of the worst teams of all time. The Cardinals have played in so many close games this year, where just one hit in a big spot could have made the difference.

The Cardinals have had the 20th most plate appearances with runners in scoring position this year, but their .633 OPS in those situations is 29th in baseball, only above the horrible Chicago White Sox and 22 points lower than the 28th-ranked Tampa Bay Rays.

The Cardinals have to make a change with their hitting coach after the season. It just has to happen. This offense cannot underperform this badly and the man whose job it is to oversee that unit keeps his job. Yes, there are many others in the organization who likely need to experience repercussions as well, but Turner Ward is low-hanging fruit here.

I also think there may be a good chance that we see a major shake-up with this offensive core this offseason. Letting Goldschmidt walk is one easy way to do that, but do the Cardinals also part ways with a Gorman or Nootbaar to get a different ground of hitters in the lineup every day? Do they go out and sign some veteran bats? I still like the young position player core the Cardinals have, but it is worth considering at this point.