2010 St. Louis Cardinals season in review
With an 86-76 record the St. Louis Cardinals finished in second place in the National League Central. Really though this is a team that failed to beat up on the competition in its own division. They had just a 39-39 record against its five divisional opponents and a 9-6 record in inter league play. Had they gone better than 6-9 against the Chicago Cubs, or 7-10 against the Milwaukee Brewers, or a 5-10 versus the Houston Astros their 12-6 record against the Cincinnati Reds, and their 9-6 record against the Pirates could have carried them to a divisional title.
Don’t get me wrong this is a pretty good baseball team. They did score 736 runs, which was the sixth highest total amongst the 16 NL teams. They hit 150 home runs on 1,456 hits. That hit total was the third most in the senior circuit and it gave them the second highest team batting average with a .263. Cardinal batters struck out just 1,027 times, the second lowest amount, and drew 541 walks.
Their pitching staff also faired well in the 2010 season. Their staff ERA was 3.57 the fourth lowest staff ERA in the NL, but they managed to strike out just 1,094 batters. They only issued 477 walks which was the second fewest in the NL, but they gave up the fourth amount of hits with 1,326. Adam Wainwright won 20 games, no small feat in this era. Two more of their starting pitchers racked up double digit victories, but the back end of the rotation is an issue. They could also use a little help in the bullpen.
The Cardinals have gone out and added Lance Berkman to help their offense but they still need to upgrade left side of their infield and the right side of their bullpen. If they can find a few players there they can be a very good team once again.
Related Links:
- St. Louis Cardinals news and notes
- The Business of Major League Baseball
- Joshua Lobdell.com
