3 takeaways from the Cardinals' dreadful 2023 season

At long last, the dreadful 2023 season is over. The Cardinals went 71-91, recording their worst season since 1990 and finishing in last place for the first time since then.

This season, almost everything went wrong for the 11-time World Series champions. We could talk about the World Baseball Classic, injuries, and other things, but it's clear that it was the pitching that failed the Cardinals in 2023.

The rotation wasn't deep enough, and that put extra stress on the bullpen, which in turn began to falter. Now, the Cardinals have a tall task ahead of them this coming winter, as they'll need to rebuild their pitching staff.

But as we turn our focus to the 2024 season, it's important to briefly look back on 2023 and discuss everything that went wrong for the Cardinals, starting with a quiet offseason that cost them a chance at contention.

St. Louis was widely favored to win what looked like a very weak NL Central. Obviously, that was not to be, and they finished under .500 for the first time since 2007.

Oli Marmol made it clear on Sunday that he and his players hope to never have a season like this again, even going as far as to say that the Cardinals "can't mess it up."

Ultimately, he's right, and the Cardinals are going to have to do their due diligence to ensure that they bounce back. In this piece, we'll discuss what went wrong for the Cardinals in 2023.

Here are three major takeaways from one of the worst Cardinals seasons in recent memory.