Time is running out on the 2017 Cardinals, a team that stuck with struggling right-hander Mike Leake on Saturday night against the Rays even though a chorus of critics ridiculed the decision.
Many fans and media interpreted Leake's presence on the Busch Stadium mound as a sign that the Cardinals have already given up on the 2017 season and started planning for 2018.
A team eager to catch the NL Central-leading Cubs wouldn't stubbornly hand the ball to a starting pitcher who had lost four consecutive decisions and entered Saturday with an 0-3 record and 10.31 ERA in August, the cynics decried.
Manager Mike Matheny won't buckle to outside pressure. Leake rewarded his confidence with a decent start to give the Cardinals a chance in the second game of a three-game interleague series. Then the ultimate grinder, Tommy Pham, walked it off with a two-run home run in the ninth to remind us why we shouldn't be so quick to doubt this gritty bunch.
"If we allowed ourselves to go on the roller coaster of taking the popular opinion of our team once again we would probably have packed up months ago," Matheny said. "It's just not accurate. We got to play the game. So does everybody else.
"We know when we're right we do feel like an unbeatable team. So let's get it right, and let's do it today and figure out a way to make the most of this game and then build on that."
Teams in the Cardinals' position need the front office, manager, coaches and players to approach each game with a sense of urgency at this time of year.
Considering the decision to start Leake instead of top pitching prospect Jack Flaherty, we had to ask Matheny if it was time for the Cardinals to play with a sense of urgency.
"I had that urgency in April," he said. "I think we have to have that kind of urgency all the time. We've got to be able to continue to push like this is the most important game of the year, and it is. You can't be more urgent than that. If you're playing this one like it is the game and the one that's deciding for our club, if you truly go about it in your preparation and your concentration and your intensity there's not another level.
"You're at that level. So that makes it easy with that expectation. You don't turn it up more now that we're getting close to September. You just expect that from yourself and your teammates all the way through. Every day you do your best to get to that spot."
To be fair, teams always appear more alive when they're winning. The Cardinals seemed to play with urgency and confidence during their season-high eight-game winning streak from Aug. 5-12.
The Cardinals have not won a series since that eight-game streak was snapped, though. Even worse, they've suffered some major injuries. Veteran right-hander Adam Wainwright is on the 10-day disabled list with a right elbow injury. Closer Trevor Rosenthal is done for the season with an elbow injury that will require Tommy John surgery.
Can we really consider the Cardinals playoff contenders?
"Absolutely," Matheny said.
Mathematically, Matheny is correct.
With a month of games left to play, there's plenty of time left for the Cardinals to catch and surpass the Brewers and then the Cubs in the NL Central or the Marlins, Brewers, Diamondbacks and Rockies in the wild-card race.
"I think everybody in the game should look around," Matheny said. "You look at Miami, right? You look at all of a sudden with us too (we were) tied for first place when most of baseball wrote us off months ago. Pick your team. There's a bunch of them there that are relevant now because you just go play the game and you don't get distracted by anybody telling you any different.
"We always got that in the back pocket, too, about 2011. It's one of those great stories. Down 10 games in the month of September and for a team that went ahead and they have a banner waving up there right now that constantly reminds us to just block out the noise because that's what it is. It's noise. What we do is we go play. If we play the way that we should be playing, like we saw not too long ago, we're going to be where we need to be. How do you get there? Today's the most important day of the year."
Most loyal Cardinals fans will tell you that the 2011 World Series champion Cardinals were written off by many in late August and early September. On Aug. 24, 2011, they fell 10.5 games behind the Braves in the NL wild-card race and 10 games behind the Brewers in the division. On Sept. 6, 2011, they were 9.5 games behind the Brewers and 7.5 behind the Braves in the wild-card race.
"It was us focusing on what we believe we could do, and that was to continue to play hard," said Cardinals Hall of Famer Chris Carpenter, the ace of the 2011 champs. "We didn't know if we were going to make it or not. But we knew if we went out and played every day hard and didn't give up we'd have a chance to win that game. And that's what we did. Then we started rolling and then it turned out (well) obviously."
Some would argue that the 2011 Cardinals were loaded compared to the 2017 club. That team had Carpenter, Albert Pujols, Lance Berkman, Yadier Molina and Matt Holliday leading the way. Nonetheless, Carpenter believes in the 2017 team.
"If you come every single day ready to play and find a way to win that day, you never know what could happen," Carpenter said. "Especially when we have seven (games) left with Chicago and (five games) left with Milwaukee. We got a shot, man. We're not out of it."
