Inside The Cardinals

Cardinals Secret Weapon Isn't In The Box Score Each Night

The Cardinals have a lot going right for them right now...
Patrick McAvoy|
Feb 26, 2021; Jupiter, Florida, USA; A general view of the St. Louis Cardinals logo on the stadium at Roger Dean Stadium during spring training workouts. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images
Feb 26, 2021; Jupiter, Florida, USA; A general view of the St. Louis Cardinals logo on the stadium at Roger Dean Stadium during spring training workouts. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images | Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images

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St. Louis Cardinals

The St. Louis Cardinals have surprised some people recently.

St. Louis went on a nine-game winning streak and although it was snapped recently against the Philadelphia Phillies, luckily it had a double-header that day and it got right back on track in the night portion. So, right now the Cardinals have 10 of their last 11 games and have a 24-20 record.

That's no small feat. There are just six teams in the National League right now that have more wins than the Cardinals with three of them coming from the juggernaut National League West. The Cardinals are in second place in the National League Central and are just one game behind the Chicago Cubs at this point.

What makes this Cardinals team stand out, is that they are doing all of the little things right. They don't have an MVP candidate carrying the load right now like Aaron Judge or Shohei Ohtani, but they are collectively doing all of the small things needed to win games. From picking up extra bases, to playing small ball when necessary, to timely hitting, and so many other details. The Cardinals are doing the right things.

An underrated -- most extremely important -- part of the game that doesn't get talked about nearly enough is the defense. You're not going to see in the box score every night how well the defense played, outside of errors. The Cardinals play defense better than any other team right now and are leading the league in outs above average at 24, per The Athletic's Katie Woo.

"What has largely stood out for St. Louis this season has been its consistently stellar defense," Woo said. "The Cardinals have registered an MLB-high 24 OAA — six more than the next highest team (the Houston Astros at 18). They’ve also prevented the most runs (19) and are in a four-way tie with the Astros, (Philadelphia Phillies), and Kansas City Royals for best team fielding percentage at .990."

This is a metric the Cardinals realistically could keep up and is a reason why this team could make some serious noise as we get closer to the summer.

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Patrick McAvoy
PATRICK MCAVOY

Patrick McAvoy's experiences include local and national sports coverage at the New England Sports Network with a focus on baseball and basketball. Outside of journalism, Patrick also is pursuing an MBA at Brandeis University. After quickly rising as one of the most productive writers on the site, he expanded his reach to write for Baseball Essential, a national baseball site in Sports Illustrated Media Group. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding Inside The Cardinals, please reach out to Scott Neville: nevilles@merrimack.edu

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