These are the bottom 5 moments of the Cardinals' 2023 season

Oli Marmol questions Tyler O'Neill’s effort

The 2023 season got off to an inauspicious start when, on April 4, outfielder Tyler O'Neill was called out on a play at the plate. After the game, manager Oliver Marmol made his opinion about the play public, saying, “That's not our style of play as far as the effort, rounding the bag there. It's unacceptable.”

O’Neill took umbrage with his manager's comments, saying, “I came up through the minor leagues and into the big leagues playing hard, playing scrappy, and that's who I am. That's my character, and I don't ever want anyone to take that away from me … These conversations definitely could have been had in-house and not gotten out loose like they have. It should have been handled a little differently in my opinion, but who's to say.”

The situation eventually simmered, but after injuries dogged O'Neill for yet another season and questions about his level of dedication to playing through pain persisted, Marmol made a pointed comment to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch about the types of players Marmol wants on the team next season.

While Marmol never mentioned any specific players, it’s not a stretch to think that he still harbors frustration toward O'Neill and would rather not have him on the team next season.

Blake Sabol's walk-off bomb

The season had gotten off to a shaky start for the Cardinals, as they were 9-14 beginning play on April 25 against the San Francisco Giants. The Cardinals were looking to get a strong start out of Jake Woodford to see if his strong Spring Training was for real, while the Giants opted for a bullpen game.

The Cardinals trailed 2-1 entering the top of the eighth inning, but after Tyler O'Neill and Paul Goldschmidt drove in a combined three runs, the script flipped in the Cardinals' favor as they led 4-2. Giovanny Gallegos held the Giants scoreless in the eighth inning, but the Cardinals failed to notch any insurance runs. But most fans weren't worried; 2022 All-Star Ryan Helsley, he of the 1.25 ERA, was coming in to slam the door.

The Giants greeted Helsley rudely, as a single by Joc Pederson and a double by Mike Yastrzemski cut the Giants' deficit to one. But the fireballer settled down, getting Thairo Estrada to pop out and Brandon Crawford to strike out on a foul tip. All that stood between the Cardinals and their 10th victory was backup catcher and Rule 5 addition Blake Sabol.

After getting ahead in a 1-2 count, Helsley spun a breaking ball to Sabol that the rookie deposited over the center field fence, giving the Giants a dramatic 5-4 victory. It was Helsley’s third blown save on the young season, and it was an early suggestion that he might not be the stud closer he was in 2022 and that the pitching at large might have been in trouble.

Willson Contreras gets yanked from behind the plate

When the Cardinals signed Willson Contreras to a five-year, $87.5 million contract before the season, they saw him as a worthy successor to Yadier Molina. But the Cardinals clearly didn’t receive what they expected defensively from Contreras, because on May 6, President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak announced that Contreras would no longer be the team’s catcher.

The decision received plenty of flak from fans and analysts, who widely questioned how the Cardinals could not have expected the performance, or lack thereof, that they received from Contreras behind the plate. According to one report, several pitchers expressed that they did not want to pitch to Contreras, and in July, New York Yankees broadcaster Michael Kay revealed that he was told that Contreras had been calling for pitches that weren't in pitchers' arsenals.

The Cardinals eventually returned Contreras to his familiar role behind the plate, but Cardinals color commentator Brad Thompson believes that in 2024, the Cardinals will use Contreras primarily as a designated hitter and outfielder instead of as a catcher.

The Cardinals haven’t done a good job of disguising the buyer's remorse from Contreras. Although Contreras' offense picked up after some early struggles, the Cardinals are clearly dissatisfied with his catching prowess, and if Thompson is correct and the Cardinals commit to removing him from the position, the Cardinals will have an extremely expensive designated hitter on their hands.

Jordan Hicks' error costs the Cardinals a game

It seems that there are few things more difficult for major league pitchers than throwing to bases, and that was on full display when the Cardinals lost a wild game on a routine throw to first by relief pitcher Jordan Hicks.

The Cardinals had found themselves in a 5-0 hole after two innings but managed to battle back and tie the game in the top of the fourth inning. The Marlins later pulled ahead again, and with the Cardinals down 8-7 with two outs in the top of the ninth inning, rookie phenom Jordan Walker strode to the plate and delivered a shot to left center field to tie the game at eight.

But what could have been a lasting memory of Walker's first season was quickly overshadowed after a walk and a single put runners on first and second. Joey Wendle hit a dribbling grounder to Hicks, who uncorked the ball over the head of first baseman Paul Goldschmidt to allow both runners to score and the Marlins to win the game.

This error epitomized the Cardinals' defensive issues in 2023. The team backslid massively in that department, dwindling from 70 defensive runs saved above average in 2022 to six below average this season. The pitching bore the brunt of the blame for the Cardinals' troubles in 2023, but the defensive issues can’t be overlooked.

Adam Wainwright bottoms out

One of the saving graces of the 2023 season for the Cardinals was the celebration of the career of Adam Wainwright. In the final start of his career, Wainwright pitched seven shutout innings to net his 200th win. But the road to get there was cumbersome and painful for Cardinals fans to watch.

It's arguable what the lowest point of the season for Wainwright was, but his start on Aug. 11 on the road against the lowly Kansas City Royals where he lasted a single inning and surrendered eight earned runs has to rank at or near the top. Wainwright had come off of the injured list on July 24, but after two games that suggested he might be on the right track, he gave up seven earned runs in three innings against the Colorado Rockies. The nearly impossible-to-watch performance against the Royals followed, and the two wins he needed to reach 200 appeared nearly out of reach.

The other outing that I might mark as the hardest to watch was Wainwright's start against the Chicago Cubs in London on June 24. Wainwright had been looking forward to the opportunity to represent the Cardinals overseas, but the special day was ruined after he allowed seven earned runs on 11 hits in three innings.

Watching all of Wainwright's starts for much of the season was a test in how much pain one can feel for someone else; luckily, as all fans know, his season and career ended on a high note.

The 71-91 Cardinals were full of moments fans would rather forget, but for those who feel like wallowing in the pain of the season a little longer, these five moments certainly delivered the body blows.