The Red Sox gave the Cardinals a reality check this weekend

For the briefest moment, Cardinals fans felt a bit of optimism about the 2025 season, one that was promised to be a "reset." Despite losing two out of three to the Angels last week, they had swept the Twins and started the year 4-2. Their next test was a date with the Red Sox, who have caused them a lot of problems dating back to the 2004 World Series.

While the offense still is getting timely hits, the pitching has fallen apart completely, and that's exactly what happened over the weekend at Fenway Park. The Cardinals made it close in the opener before succumbing, were a strike away from winning the first game of Sunday's doubleheader before Ryan Helsley imploded, and were absolutely leveled in the nightcap, even though they scored seven runs.

And so, the team got a serious reality check. Gone is the momentum that was built by a successful first homestand, and for the first time all year, the Cardinals are under .500 at 4-5. A potential break in the schedule is coming with a series against the 3-7 Pirates, but the Cardinals are reeling.

The Cardinals got a reality check in Boston.

Sadly, I'm afraid that what we saw from the Cardinals in Boston is more indicative of what the 2025 season will be. Some of us on the site have been comparing this team to the one the Cardinals had in 2003. That's certainly possible, but I fear it's going to be more like 2007, one of only two losing seasons since the turn of the century.

Keep in mind, the team is stuck in the middle. They didn't add anybody this offseason, save for Phil Maton. They also didn't trade anybody away and deliver on the reset they promised was coming.

I even jumped the gun a little when I wrote a piece here saying the reset might actually be working. In some ways, I suppose it's true, with several young players still performing well. But now Ivan Herrera is on the shelf, and he was a big part of what the Cardinals were doing last week.

Without him, the offense is missing a key piece. But more importantly, this weekend was the first big test of the 2025 season for St. Louis, and they failed miserably.

A sweep of the Twins was always plausible, but perhaps some warning signs started to present themselves in the Angels series back in St. Louis. You can't lose a series to a team like that, and it ultimately set them up poorly for the weekend series in Boston.

Erick Fedde, Andre Pallante and Miles Mikolas all struggled, which ultimately contributed to the Cardinals falling flat in their first road series of the year. And while I don't want to be negative since it's early in the season still, this is likely the identity of the 2025 Cardinals.

Get ready for a long year, Cardinals fans. I think it's safe to say that they may be forced to sell at the trade deadline.