Cardinals front office believes they have built a team for October

The St. Louis Cardinals are one of the most prestigious organizations in professional sports. The 11-time World Series champions are in the upper echelon of the National League and are only second to the New York Yankees in total championships within Major League Baseball. The powerhouse of the Midwest has seen generations of winning teams and passionate fans that create new chapters within the Cardinal Way. But with 2023 being the anomaly, fans are doubting the ability of the current front office to take this club to the glory it once marveled at.

The first direction the team took was to establish a higher floor for the pitching staff which they acted early on. Sonny Gray is the new ace, Lance Lynn provides the new but familiar edge, and Kyle Gibson is the reliable arm to cover innings. Then a revamped bullpen was assembled, ready to prove they could provide swing-and-miss style to the game. The final moves were to bring in veterans to bring back clubhouse leaders.

The offense looks lethal and ready to further develop into one of the game's most feared lineups. But this is all without any real major changes from the prior season. The starting nine is the exact same, and the overall quality of players brought in to improve the roster is only slightly better than last season. With a 71-91 record to overcome, confidence is pretty slim with many within the fanbase.

But the front office thinks otherwise. President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak went on Foul Territory during the shows' coverage of Cardinals Spring Training and discussed how he constructs the rosters. When asked if it is built for stability over the long season, or if it was built to catch lightning in a bottle and let momentum carry them into and through the postseason, Mozeliak emphasized how he always approaches it. The takeaway is that you cannot have postseason success if you cannot have a winning season that gets you into postseason play. With how 2023 ended, this is a very true sentiment.

Many fans have been disgruntled with the front office only gearing towards making postseason appearances versus creating a powerhouse to go neck and neck with the other dominant NL teams like the Los Angeles Dodgers and Atlanta Braves. Fans like assurance, and would rather take the risks out of potentially losing early on in the postseason simply from bad luck just like the 2022 NL Wild Card round.

But when it comes to October, it is usually the hottest team that comes out on top. The beauty of baseball is that there is so much uncertainty. Maybe the Cardinals do have the 2024 NL Central champions constructed. Maybe they have another losing season ahead of them. All we can do is sit back and find out.