LOS ANGELES 鈥 If there was any doubt where Major League Baseball believes its brightest spotlight belongs this season, one can just watch the league鈥檚 official hype video promoting opening day.
Actor Bryan Cranston, a devoted Dodgers fanatic, strolls through Dodger Stadium, waxing poetic about the blooming potential of yet another baseball beginning.
Other teams receive quick blips, but the backdrop is as intentional and obvious as the image of Shohei Ohtani punishing a pitch. (Bet on plenty of Ohtani homers this season.)
The Diamondbacks, Reds, Braves, Astros, Royals, Rangers, Mariners, Orioles, Yankees, Twins, Angels, Rays, Phillies and Mets get snippets during the showcase of Dodger Stadium. Former Cardinals outfielder Randy Arozarena gets a moment in his Rays gear. Same for former Cardinals outfielder Adolis Garcia in his Rangers garb.
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The current Cardinals? Nothing. Zilch. Nada.
Let it be the latest reality check for the National League leaders in World Series championships won.
Another one could be coming as the Cardinals start their season in Los Angeles against Guggenheim Baseball Management鈥檚 biggest Goliath yet.
Ohtani is the face of baseball. The Dodgers are the overwhelming favorite to win it all. The NL-leading 11-time World Series champion Cardinals won鈥檛 even be the second-biggest story in this opening series. First is MLB鈥檚 investigation into Ohtani after his interpreter (and Ohtani鈥檚 money) was fired for being connected to a federal investigation into illegal betting. Second is the attention surrounding the Dodgers鈥 dedication of nearly $1.5 billion this offseason during Dodgers ownership鈥檚 latest attempt to build a team too big to fail, a spending spree that extended to Wednesday, when catcher Will Smith secured a 10-year, $140 million extension.
On paper, the Dodgers鈥 biggest threat this season other than the Braves could be the pressure. It鈥檚 as big as the checkbook. 鈥淕reatest team or biggest flop?鈥 read a recent Los Angeles Times headline. 鈥淭he 2024 Dodgers will decide their place.鈥
Don鈥檛 be surprised if they fall short. That鈥檚 baseball. What should be a greater concern for the Cardinals is the Dodgers鈥 staying power. It鈥檚 scary. You know what happens if these Dodgers flop? They will do whatever is necessary to be in an ideal position for 2025. And 2026. And 2027. You get the picture. They already have cut the Cardinals鈥 World Series championship lead to four. Would anyone be stunned if they tied the Cardinals within the next decade?
The Dodgers are coming. This season. Next season. For seasons to come.
Where are the Cardinals going?
Since big-spending Guggenheim Baseball Management took over during the 2012 season, the Dodgers have become baseball鈥檚 steadiest force. They have won one World Series championship (2020), played in two others and reached 11 consecutive postseasons, six of which included runs to at least the National League Championship Series.
The Guggenheim Dodgers (2012 to present) lead baseball in regular-season wins (1,118). The Yankees (1,035) and the Cardinals (1,007) are the only other teams with more than 1,000. During that time, the Dodgers also lead baseball in regular-season ERA (3.38) and top the NL in regular-season runs scored per game (4.8).
In postseason play since 2012, the Dodgers (103) are threatening to double the Cardinals (58) in playoff games played, and they already got there in postseason wins, with 53 to the Cardinals鈥 25.
The growing distance is drastic since the Cardinals in 2016 started a stretch in which they have missed as many postseasons as they have made 鈥 with only one run beyond the wild-card setting in their four makes. And that lone postseason series win, remember, ended in the Nationals鈥 sweep of the Cardinals in the 2019 National League Championship Series. Not exactly something to remember fondly.
During that same time (2016 to 2023), the Dodgers dropped the hammer on the NL.
Their NL-leading 754 regular-season wins beat the second-place Braves (655) by 99. The Cardinals have 632. That鈥檚 fewer than their NL Central rivals in both Milwaukee (646) and Chicago (636). Since 2016, the Dodgers have played 84 postseason games and won 45 of them. The Cardinals have appeared in 15, winning only four.
The Dodgers just reload. They will again next offseason no matter what happens this season. That鈥檚 the scariest part.
The Braves are up for the fight. The Phillies and the Padres have joined the NL resistance. The Diamondbacks have legitimate bite and a hunger for more, as evidenced by their aggressiveness in creating the payroll room to tack on free agent Jordan Montgomery as the offseason closed. It鈥檚 exactly the move the Cardinals should have made to fire up fans who are as downtrodden as I鈥檝e observed to start a season in my time covering the team.
The fans know what the team seems to be ignoring. The Cardinals should never be a team that gets overlooked in a league-produced video promoting the upcoming season. After earning the reputation of a team that should never be counted out, the Cardinals have become one at risk of getting overlooked entirely, one that has to have everything go all the way right to be counted in. Things hardly ever go all the way right. That鈥檚 baseball, too.
Baseball doesn鈥檛 need a salary cap top stop the Dodgers. It needs more teams determined to derail Dodgers domination. The Cardinals are overdue to return to the front lines of this fight. After all, they have the most to lose.
Cardinals 2024 season preview: Will they reclaim their status as contenders?
The St. 不良研究所导航网址 Cardinals season begins on March 28 with a game at the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Post-Dispatch beat writers and columnists take a look at the 2024 season.
Turns out, even with three new starters, there is one solution after all to fix everything. Good old-fashioned winning.
This look at the Cardinals players, by position, covers the best-laid plans, and where things can go awry.
A hamstring injury may have delayed the Hollywood premiere of the Cardinals' first imported ace in a generation, but he's already established a presence.
The Cardinals typically stellar defense took a step backward in 2023. Improving that side of things was a focus this winter and spring.
Nolan Gorman, Nolan Arenado, Paul Goldschmidt, Willson Contreras and Jordan Walker. Calling it now 鈥 each of these players will hit 20 or more home runs.
From the owner's box to the last man on the roster, the 2024 Cardinals are going to need leadership in action at all levels.
They will join returnees Al Hrabosky, Ricky Horton, Brad Thompson and Jim Edmonds in the rotation of Bally Sports Midwest studio commentators.
The pitching depth within the Cardinals farm system has a new look. But what can be expected of it when innings are needed in 2024?
Here's a look at the 2024 Dispatch Dozen, the Post-Dispatch's ranking of the top 12 Cardinals prospects.
The Cardinals have released their opening day roster. Changes include adding Victor Scott II officially and additions to the injured list.
The best rotations have standouts at No. 1 and No. 2 (at least), hog innings and aren't well-rounded. They鈥檙e well-lopsided.
Here's how the Cardinals fared in terms of defensive runs saved, position by position, in 2023.
Not all No. 1 starters are aces. That is another level of starter, one forged through seasons of success and often asserted in October.