Analysis of Bernie Miklasz’s “Cards show how to react to adversity,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, printed 4/11/13

Bernie's column

MLB Video: 4/9/13 Reds @ Cardinals

MLB Video: 4/10/13 Reds @ Cardinals

After having to swallow the bitter disappointment of handing the home opener to arch-nemeses the Cincinnati Reds, the Cardinals bounced back to shut down their division rivals and take the series 2-1, writes Bernie Miklasz.

Once again, Bernie melds feature with character study as he couples the story of the Cardinals’ second and third home games of the 2013 season with the tale of a group of players who knew they needed to bounce back quickly.

Miklasz’s attitude is one of relief and delight, as the club needed to find their feet and get the division battle going.  Their utter implosion during the ninth inning of the home opener could have proved a fatal blow to any team’s early season aspirations. “’It’s a great point about resiliency,’ [Manager Mike] Matheny said. ‘I’ve seen some teams have a couple of tough losses, and not really know how to bounce back from those. And just kind of wondering if this is going to be a long run of some things not going our way,’” Miklasz quotes Matheny. 

Said Bernie in his own words, “In a spectacular do-over, the Cardinals reopened the home portion of their schedule by putting a bigger bash on the visiting Cincinnati Reds.”

Much of the piece is devoted to reporting the happenings of the two games in a matter of fact manner, as in: “Over the final 11 innings that captured this series for the Cardinals, their hitters went 23 for 53 (.434) with five homers, seven doubles and 15 runs.”

Bernie’s article does, however, underscore the immense importance of this turnaround, especially with Jason Motte’s injury still looming large and division opponents the Milwaukee Brewers coming to town tomorrow.  After Monday’s opening day meltdown, it felt as though storm clouds hung over the ballpark.  With baseball being the cherished institution that it is in St. Louis, Cardinals fans were left nauseous, wondering what this season might have in store. Could this be the beginning of the end for the Card’s perennial success?

I agree with Bernie head-to-toe about this opening series against the Reds.  The Cardinals could not afford to take an early deficit in the division standings.  I wish, however, that Miklasz had hammered in a little harder just how big these two wins were for the team, namely the pitching staff (in establishing momentum moving forward), the fans, and in some odd sense, the Cincinnati Reds.  We need to constantly remind them that we are the team to beat in the division, indeed in the National League, even when the wins/loss column seem to indicate otherwise. 

Bernie put it best at the end of his piece, “After a glum Monday, it was important for the Cardinals to respond like a team that plans to grapple the Reds for the NL Central... By rearranging Cincinnati’s ERA and decorating the place with five homers over the past two days, the 2013 Cardinals finally settled in at home. Game on. It feels like the baseball season now.”