I probably said this a bunch last year. But I was ultimately proven wrong when the Cardinals ended up being way worse than I thought they would be as a sub-.500 team.
This year, it feels a little bit more accurate to point this out, but the Cardinals’ start to the 2024 season is giving me major 2007 vibes.
Believe it or not, I remember how that season went, and it did not turn out well for the Cardinals. I remember thinking years later that this was as bad as it could have gotten. Then 2023 happened, and the Cardinals finished 71-91, making the 2007 season feel like a dream by comparison.
But how does that factor into this year you ask? Well, the 2007 team had several things that last year’s team did not, and I think the same can be said about this year’s team despite the Cardinals’ start. But this feels more akin to that season than last year ever did.
2024 Cardinals are following similar path to 2007 team
This will require some explaining, and of course, there are some differences as well. The ‘07 team struggled on the pitching side and not so much on the offensive side. Last year’s team struggled in all areas. This year’s team is getting decent pitching, but the offense is very poor.
But where I’m seeing similarities is in the record. Through 25 games, the Cardinals are 11-14. In 2007, they were 10-15, one game worse. That team of course went on to finish 78-84 and fall short of the postseason.
Though it’s obvious, I do think it’s important to point out that while they were productive this winter, they didn’t transform the team into a World Series contender, and perhaps not even a playoff contender. The way they’ve started is a little better than last year, but I’m not exactly getting vibes that this is a playoff team. I know it’s early, but I just am not sure I see it with this club. The ‘07 team wasn’t really a playoff contender either and only remained in the mix because the NL Central was so bad that the Cubs claimed the division with just 85 wins.
Another similarity I’m seeing, which again is quite the contrary to last year, is that the Cardinals at least seem to have fight. Though the record is bad, things haven’t totally careened just yet, and they have been able to keep it from getting much worse so far. Yesterday’s win over the Diamondbacks is a perfect example of this. The Cardinals were down 1-0 in the sixth inning against Jordan Montgomery and fought back to win the series. They also pulled off a nice comeback on Monday night.
The ‘07 team was able to keep things from getting too out of control despite their struggles. They were nine games under .500 after May 20, then began to play a little better and actually got to within three games of .500 on July 31. When they fell to 51-59 on August 7, they picked things up again and actually went over the .500 mark on September 2 at 67-66.
From there, it fell apart, but you get the idea. The team tried to work with what they had and even kept things interesting for most of the year. Since this current team isn’t exactly a major contender, I could potentially see the Cardinals at or near .500. They finished six games under in 2007, so hopefully things will be better than that. But with the way they’ve started I don’t really see them as any better than a .500 team. And in no way am I saying that the 2007 season is a blueprint for what the Cardinals should strive for. It’s not, but that’s about where I see them right now.