A good, bad, and ugly look into the Cardinals first half

The Cardinals have had quite the start to the 2023 season. The next few weeks will determine how things go for the rest of this season and the seasons to come.

The best thing that has happened to the Cardinals this season took place after the All-Star game.

In an interview conducted by Fox2Now's Martin Kilcoyne, Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak acknowledged mistakes were made last offseason regarding pitching and the lack of obtaining pitching.

Mozeliak said the Cardinals are not "waving the white flag," but changes must be made, and most of the changes that will occur at the trade deadline will be focused on next season. One key takeaway from the interview was this regarding what the expect with these upcoming decisions:

“Right now, I can tell you, we’re going to trade people, you just don’t know if it’s going to be household names or guys who are more likely to not be here next year. It’s easy to talk about what we may or may not do at the moment, but we’re not going to just give away players. We want to get some value in return. We want to get some value that helps us in 2024. And that’s really going to be our focus as we enter the trading period.”

Mystery and intrigue per usual from Mozeliak. But you can tell that deals will be made. It won't necessarily be household names. It may just be players who won't be back next season. They won't give away players and want to get value in return.

This is excellent news, but it does create more questions. Who should we consider household names? Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt? Or Jordan Walker and Nolan Gorman? The players who won't return next season could include Jack Flaherty, Jordan Montgomery, and Jordan Hicks, given they will be free agents.

So as the second half of the season kick starts this weekend, media and fans alike will be pondering what will happen over the next few weeks leading to the trade deadline. While Mozeliak said the intention with these moves will be toward next season, could it help this season too?

Mozeliak's moves could bring some hope for the remainder of this season by climbing out of last place and creating some drama. It makes one hopeful that the second half of the season will be more entertaining.

In the meantime, here's a look at the good, bad and ugly from the season, so far.

Good: Nolan Arenado's comeback

Arenado had his worst start to a season in April and May. The rest of the team had a similar struggle, so it seemed like another thing going wrong for the Cardinals.

Arenado kept working on his swing and his mechanics. He's stormed back during these midsummer months to kickstart the struggling team to get out of last place. Arenado is slashing.283/.332/.518 with an OPS of .879. He has 17 doubles, two triples, 19 home runs, 43 runs scored, and 62 RBI.

Arenado was recently asked about the Cardinals' struggles and how he feels going into the trade deadline. The one takeaway the national media has from the interview is that Arenado acknowledged anything could happen in the business of baseball. This, in turn, suggests he could be traded. This would be hard to believe given that Arenado has expressed interest in remaining with the Cardinals, even opting to stay in his contract, and the Cardinals see Arenado as a core team member.

It should be fun to see how Arenado's second half goes. Hopefully, he will build off his comeback numbers and lead this team out of the gutter.

Good: Tommy Edman

Edman appeared to unlock a new skill this season that no one saw coming but definiitely should have.

With Lars Nootbaar on the injured list and Dylan Carlson and Tyler O'Neill struggling through their issues, manager Oli Marmol decided to see what would happen when he placed Edman in centerfield. It turns out centerfield is just another position the super utility player can hold down.

It's unclear how long this experiment will last as he was placed on the injured list before the All-Star break with right wrist inflammation. Hopefully, he just needed some rest and will return shortly after the break.

Bad - What isn't bad right now?

The Cardinals are in last place with a dismal record of 38-52. They are 11.5 games back of the first-place Cincinnati Reds.

The team has had some of the worst losses in one-run games than a fan could imagine. Fans are frustrated, which means the team should be furious. While they look lackluster and like they are going through the motions in some games, the team must turn things around quickly.

Mozeliak says that moves must be made, and trades will happen, focusing on next season. How that proceeds should be exciting and indicate a possible turnaround this season. Not to say the Cardinals win the division, but getting out of last place would be nice. Playing a spoiler to contending teams would be fun too.

And then there is the inconsistent hitting. The poor defense from players playing out of position. The pitching woes. It's something fans have seen from the Cardinals in decades. It has been a learning experience that management knows that fans never want to see this nightmare again. Here's hoping the Cardinals make it through the next few weeks as a much-improved team, ready to make a push out of last place.

Ugly: Communication

Communication from Marmol has been so ugly this season.

From the issues with Tyler O'Neill's perceived lack of frustration to Willson Contreras not catching the pitching staff up to legendary Yadier Molina standards. Simple one on one communication, not through the media, helped issues with Conteras and the pitching staff get on the same page. Then there is demoting top-prospect Jordan Walker to work on his launch angle. While he didn't change his approach, the issue got in his head, as you can see him pressing. Most recently, media members were told Adam Wainwright had no health concerns.

After his last start, the media learned that Wainwright's been dealing with issues for a while and would be on the injured list with shoulder issues. It's not shocking, but the lack of honesty about the issue of Wainwright's health makes you wonder what else they aren't forthcoming.

Communication is part of the game of baseball. Marmol and the Cardinals have been going about it in the most frustrating way this season. Hopefully, Marmol took the break to reflect on better communicating with his players. It could be a big part of how the team has struggled this season as they wonder what's next. 

Ugly: Pitching coach Dusty Blake

The issue of communication involving the pitching staff and Contreras seemed to be compounded by the team's rookie pitching coach, Dusty Blake. He was a pitching analyst in the Cardinals organization last season. Mike Maddux decided against returning to the Cardinals, staying closer to home with the Texas Rangers. Instead of getting a proven pitching coach that could have helped with the many issues the club has faced, they opted for a coach whose only experience came at the lower-level collegiate level.

Blake does have a good handle on explaining the analytics compiled for the pitching staff, and many of the pitchers have expressed appreciation to him for help in that area. It seems to be the real-time, in-game situations he discusses with Marmol that complicate matters. Both men have been described as being adept at explaining points. It seems there is an issue with the application.

It's not likely that a change will be made with Blake, but hopefully, he grows from this situation and is all the better.