After losing the Rays series, and splitting the first two games of what needed to be a four game sweep of the Pirates, I am willing and able to let go of any shred of hope for this season. And for the summer for that matter. School is back in session. September is nearly here. There have been some good, entertaining games. But mostly what will be remembered of 2025 is a lot of frustration, and a feeling of limbo… purgatory… I am at a loss.
And so are the Cardinals, they have lost more games than they have won.
The Cardinals appeared to have all wind that was left sucked out of their sails after the trade deadline. There is a less than 1% chance they will make the playoffs. They are 3 games under .500 and the only team they are significantly better than in their division, the Pirates… they lost to tonight. Andre Pallante has not been good this year, and he wasn’t good last night.
The Brewers are projected to win 98 games and be the best team in baseball. I don’t think even kindred saw that one coming. Or maybe he did, I don’t know. But they have something going on up there in Milwaukee. The Tigers, Phillies, Blue Jays, and Dodgers appear to be the rest of the cream of the crop, according to fangraphs projected standings. These tier 2 teams are all expected to win 93 games. But we may as well throw the Cubs into this tier as well, expected to win 92 games.
Then we get into tier 3 where teams are expected to win 88-90 games: the Padres, Yankees, Astros, Mariners, Mets, and Red Sox.
Then you get into the fringe-good teams, like the Reds, Royals, Rangers, Cardinals, Guardians, Diamondbacks, Rays, and Giants. Any of these teams could finish right at .500, or just above or below it. The Reds are the best of these fringey teams. Or probably will be.
Below that middle fringe tier you have teams like the Angels, Marlins, Braves, Orioles, Athletics, Twins, and maybe the Pirates. They’re not that bad because of their rotation.
The truly BAD teams in 2025 are the Rockies, Nationals, and White Sox. Those are the teams you DON’T want to be a fan of. Off limits for any sane baseball fan!
Who could be the two sleeper teams in the playoffs, that might go on a nice little run if they are lucky? The Red Sox and Cubs, two of my least favorite teams. And in a year like 2025, that’s my prediction for the World Series. What a horrible year.
If the season ended now and there was still a postseason, who would I root for? I think maybe the Mariners! and also the Blue Jays… because Oh Canada! Canada vs USA! and maybe… I also wouldn’t mind seeing the Tigers tear stuff up, because they don’t do much usually. If I have to pick one in the NL… that’s tough, but I guess I would root for the Phillies! why not.
So that’s what happens when I exhaust the hopium supply, I think a month ahead of time. Part of me just wants this to be over. But this year’s Cardinals still have stories to tell so I will be tuning in. Gorman hitting another home run last night was encouraging. There is plenty to study and note in this interim phase. I have some writing projects for VEB I am thinking about, still on the backburner but emerging as the season fades out.
With a month left still, it’s a strange feeling. October baseball has been no stranger to Cardinals fans many years, but not so much lately. It feels distant now. Both in the fade but also with the sense of a faint inkling of New Hope. I didn’t mean to go all Star Wars on us, but maybe we need a Luke Skywalker. A Han Solo. Chewbacca. Real freedom fighters to shed these chains of the empire. Dollars seem to be running everything right now and that just seems a bit too Emperor and Darth Vader. But these stories will never die. And neither will hope for Cardinals fans.
Sure a strike in 2027 might loom large on plans of competing again, because next year sure doesn’t look like anything to get too excited about. But at least what we are has become apparent: we are rebuilding, reconnoitering, revamping, not so much a reset as a transition of power. And hopefully that new leadership will guide the Cardinals to where they need to be, and where we expect them to be: back in October.
How they will get there we don’t know, but there are many paths to the top. Choose wisely, Cardinals!
