Cards clinch NL Central – Carly Schaber #STLCards

Well Cardinal Nation, it’s another Red October in St. Louis. With a Pirates 4-1 loss against the Reds, the Cardinals receive yet another National League Central title. With some major ups and some major downs throughout the season, we’ve made it this far yet again.

There are some things that should be done to make it even farther into the postseason, making it into the Fall Classic…

Keep the momentum going

Momentum is a huge key to winning games. Momentum plays a big part in all roles. Where I would like to see the most momentum moving is in the bullpen. The bullpen needs to come out this postseason with an aggressive and powerful attitude. With our pitchers like Wainwright, Lynn, Wacha, and Miller, we need bullpen pitchers to back them up. Momentum will be very critical in our offense as well. We need consistent bats swinging, making productive at-bats. We also need a consistent 4th spot hitter that will drive in runs. But overall, the whole entire team needs to have momentum day in and day out.

Make smart managing decisions

I will say this right now as I always do, we all know Matheny has his flaws. But we have to remember that he isn’t the worst manager in the world. He was picked to be in that dugout for a reason. Consistency  in managing is critical as well. Matheny has to remember to put thought process into every single little managing move that he makes. Especially with postseason finally here, there is absolutely no room for silly managing mistakes. You can do it, Mike…

Stay aggressive on the mound

Pitching is obviously a major part of winning games. Lead-off walks and excessive amounts of hits/home runs given away cannot fly in the playoffs. Our pitchers have to stay sharp and have to be ready to throw aggressively. Some people overlook pitching and think that offense is the key to winning games. Sure, offense is a big part. Although, pitching has to stay sharp to keep the opponent’s score low. This all may seem obvious, but we tend to forget these things on the field. As said earlier in the article, bullpen pitchers especially have to throw good innings. Backing up the starting pitchers and throwing saves will be a big part in winning these playoff games. Stay focused, stay sharp, stay aggressive, and put up as many zeros on the scoreboard as we can.

Keep the bats hot

Thoughts have been tossed around that we need a consistent fourth spot hitter. This is true. We need a slugger who can drive in runs, especially early in the game. Players such as Matt Adams, Matt Holliday, and Jhonny Peralta need to step up and drive in runs. Of course, every player needs to produce hits and runs. But power hitters like those guys have to step up and keep consistent with their hitting. Scoring early in games will give us a big advantage in ball games.

So if you read this article carefully, you might have noticed a common theme. Consistency, consistency, consistency. Consistency will be a  HUGE key to winning these games in October.

It looks like it will be another very interesting postseason here in St. Louis. Hold on tight and buckle up, Cardinal Nation. It’s going to be a wild ride.

Go Cardinals.

Keep flying, Cardinal Nation

Carly Schaber

Twitter: @Carly_Schaber

Photo: USA Today Sports