Have the Cardinals been rattled by fast-rising Cubs?

Fans of the St. Louis Cardinals finally had reason to celebrate this week. On Tuesday. St. Louis agreed to a five-year, $80 million contract with 28-year-old right-hander Mike Leake, finally breaking a string of swings and misses in free agency.

In the days leading up to the signing, there had been signs of frustration coming from Cardinals fans, who year-in and year-out expect big things from their team. It wasn’t supposed to take St. Louis this long to land a notable free agent. Not with the money they had to spend and the winning reputation they’ve built over the last two decades. And, quite frankly, the initial signing was expected to be a bigger name than Leake, who falls comfortably in the second tier.

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Some of that frustration has been directed at the team. The rest has been taken out on the players who put pen to paper elsewhere. Most notably, they haven’t been happy with Jason Heyward and John Lackey, both of whom left St. Louis to sign with the division rival Chicago Cubs. And it hasn’t just stopped with the fans either. Manager Mike Matheny wasn’t thrilled with Heyward’s comments after leaving the Cardinals, and he didn’t mind making them public record. 

That brings us to Adam Wainwright, who was quite outspoken himself this week. The Cardinals ace made news on Tuesday for being critical of Heyward, suggesting he left St. Louis for Chicago for less money to avoid the pressure of being a franchise player.

Strong words. However, during the very same interview with 101 Sports in St. Louis, Wainwright went the complete opposite way, telling host Bernie Miklasz that he loved the Leake signing because of the all-around production he brings and the value involved. 

“I think this is one of those patented, under-the-radar, great signings,” Wainwright told Miklasz. “He doesn’t come with the $200 million price tag, but if you look at what he’s done … He is one of the best hitting and running pitchers in the game. Which people (listening) are scoffing at now, like who cares. But it does mean something, and it wins games.”

“He’s solid, he’s a proven winner, he’s a proven innings eater and he’s a proven great athlete. and so when you take all of those intangibles and put them in a system like we have, with a team that is focused on winning, and in a good situation, I really think Mike Leake is going to take off.”

There’s a lot of truth in Wainwright’s comments. Leake is certainly a value given the going rate for starting pitchers. There’s also a lot of hope that once Leake puts that Cardinals uniform on, a switch will flip and he’ll take another step forward to an All-Star pitcher. 

That could be the case, and the Cardinals will probably need it to be true to keep up with Chicago. 

Looking at the comments as a whole though, Wainwright didn’t put himself in the best light by taking a parting shot at Heyward. The comments were dripping in bitterness and frustration, which lessened the impact of his seemingly genuine praise for Leake. That’s not to suggest Wainwright is a bad or bitter guy either. He certainly is not. But it does seem indicative of some uneasiness or perhaps a sense of urgency on the Cardinals side as the division they’ve dominated continues to catch up and threatens to surpass them.

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When your own key players are going to the team best positioned to surpass you, it’s human nature to speak out or attempt to justify why you’re still the best. Maybe the Cardinals will be, too. There’s a lot of offseason left and there’s always a reason to believe they will succeed. But the reality that things could slip away is on their minds too. That much was made apparent by both Matheny and Wainwright’s comments, and now it’s out there for the Cubs to see and feed off of.

If nothing else, they have added fuel to one of baseball’s greatest rivalries. A rivalry that may reach its most intense levels in decades over the next few years. 

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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Townie813