End of the Road 2015: St. Louis Cardinals

After losing NLDS Game 4 to the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday, the St. Louis Cardinals have been eliminated from the MLB postseason despite leading baseball with 100 regular season wins. That means they’ve effectively come to the end of the road in their 2015 season. As we’ll do with each eliminated team this season, let’s give them a send-off that would make Boyz II Men proud.

We’ll look at the highs and lows of their season, what bright spots their future might hold and what questions need answering as they prepare for 2016.

HIGH POINT: Despite numerous injuries to key players, the Cardinals nearly went wire-to-wire atop the NL Central standings. Once they took over sole possession of first place on April 17, they never looked back, which is impressive considering the 98-win Pirates and 97-win Cubs were on their tail. St. Louis never took their foot out of the gas, finishing April (15-6), June (18-8) and August (19-9) with single-digit losses. It would be impossible to pick a highest high point, but simply getting to 100 wins is difficult to top.

LOW POINT: The Cardinals finished the regular season on a low, losing six of their final nine games. That included a season-ending sweep in Atlanta in which they failed to score a single run. They also lost starter Carlos Martinez to injury during that stretch, which proved critical in the postseason. Of course, having their season ended by the rival Cubs is the ultimate gut punch. They were resilient all season, but were overpowered when it mattered most.

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BEST HIGHLIGHT: One series changed the outlook of the NL Central. During the first series in May, the Cardinals swept the Pirates at home with three straight extra-inning, walkoff victories. In the opener, Matt Adams hit a game-winning single in the 10th. In the second game, Matt Carpenter won it with a sacrifice fly in the 11th. In the finale, Kolten Wong hit a walk-off home run in the 14th, much the same way he did during the 2014 NLCS.

HOPE FOR THE FUTURE: The Cardinals do a better job than perhaps anyone in MLB when it comes to balancing winning now and preparing for the future. They have quality depth all throughout the organization, which is how they’re able to absorb and survive injuries. Nothing about that has changed heading to 2016. With young players like Randal Grichuk, Stephen Piscotty, Thommy Pham and Carlos Martinez establishing themselves this season, the new wave has arrived. Now the next batch awaits, led by pitchers Marco Gonzales and Alex Reyes.

QUESTION THAT NEEDS ANSWERING: Can the Cardinals re-sign Jason Heyward? Many clamored for the Cardinals to extend Heyward once they acquired him last November. Though he got off to a slow start in 2015, he rebounded and brought some stability to the Cardinals lineup, hitting .293/.359/.439 with 13 homers, 33 doubles, 23 steals and 60 RBI. Perhaps not huge numbers, but production they would struggle to replace in the short term. If Heyward gets to the open market, he’s going to land an expensive deal. But the good news is Heyward sound open to the possibility.

Previously in this series: Phillies, Braves, Reds, Rockies, Marlins, Brewers, Padres, Diamondbacks,
Athletics, White Sox, Tigers, Nationals, Rays, Mariners, Red Sox, Orioles, Indians, Giants, Twins, Angels, Yankees and Pirates