St. Louis Cardinals Fans: How Should They Be Feeling

It is never easy to get upset in the MLB Playoffs, but it makes it a little easier when you lose to a team that made the World Series. Check out this article to see how St. Louis Cardinals fans should feel about the Philadelphia Phillies.

St. Louis Cardinals Fans: How Should They Be Feeling

The 2022 MLB Playoffs went the complete opposite of what St. Louis Cardinals fans expected, but hey, it happens. It is sad that Yadier Molina and Albert Pujols had to end their careers on that note, but at least their last at-bats resulted in hits.

Let’s Debate: Phillies Edition

In case you somehow missed it, the Cardinals were upset in the Wild Card series by the Philadelphia Phillies. St. Louis entered the series with home field advantage as the No. 3 seed, while Philadelphia was the No. 6 seed. You don’t have to be a baseball fan to know who should have won that series. Instead, Philadelphia swept the Redbirds in two games.

Game one of the series is an inning I will likely never forget. I was so excited but very calm; I had a lot of confidence in our guys. We really should have known the baseball gods were not on our side and something was going to go wrong when Mother Nature prevented Nolan Arenado’s ball from exiting the field. Finally, the 9th inning comes.

We have our All-Star closer with a two-run lead, what could go wrong? We can talk about some poor decisions made by Oliver Marmol, but that is a story for another time. Six runs later, the Phillies’ magic began. Now, they are playing in the World Series.

Don’t Be Mad, Be Glad

There’s the backstory, now let’s get into why this article is being written. Having talked with many baseball fans around the country, everyone seems to have a different opinion. Should St. Louis Cardinals fans be upset that they were that close to beating the Philadelphia Phillies, or should they be content that the team that beat them is in the World Series?

I have gone back and forth on this topic, and after literal hours and days of thought, I think it lessens the burn to know the Phillies are in the World Series. For example, if the Phillies went out and got swept by the Atlanta Braves in the NLDS, I would be furious. I would feel we completely blew the series against a terrible team, but instead, we barely lost to the NL Champions.

At first, I did not think we deserved to lose. A lot of that has to deal with the sadness of my childhood heroes, Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina retiring, but I judged a book by its cover. We all thought the Cardinals lost to the worst team in the entire postseason, but the Phillies have proven that numbers do not matter, especially in October.

Had this article been written two weeks prior, there would still be a lot of salt in the wound. As a Cardinals fan, it feels better knowing we lost to a team that may win it all. It is very hard to cheer for a team that eliminated you, but it might be even harder to root for a team like the Houston Astros for reasons that do not have to be mentioned. Speaking of which, I will be back. I have to go take out the trash.

Jeff Albert is Gone

Fans of the St. Louis Cardinals on Twitter rejoiced Wednesday at the news that hitting coach Jeff Albert would not be returning to the team. A lot of people credit our end-of-the-season struggles at the plate to Albert (not of the Pujols variety) and you have to take that responsibility as a hitting coach. It is not like Albert could go out there and hit the ball himself, but he really did not take much responsibility.

Our offense in October has struggled over the years, and perhaps a new hitting coach could change that narrative. It may not be likely for Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado to replicate their MVP-like 2022 regular season, but the Cardinals should have a potent offense in 2023.

The Cardinals have a lot of holes to fill in the offseason–both on the field and off–but we should be a very good team. Don’t be sad that it is over, smile because it happened.