Hello, and welcome to my new feature here at STL Sports Central: Breakfast with Bernie, which I’ll write early in the morning on most weekdays. And if I’m a little late it’ll be “Brunch with Bernie.” I’ll serve up observations, opinions, notes, facts, stats, praise, cheap shots, randomness, and some weirdness as I have my first cuppa or two or three of the day. At times we’ll go “buffet” style for morning grazing, and later in the day I’ll author a new column. On most days, I’ll lead off with a Cards recap. There will be plenty of baseball info served here, with emphasis on the Cardinals.
The Cardinals finally escaped Kansas City on Sunday, barely getting out of the ballpark with a 12-10 victory that nearly became dust in the wind …
You know, the same wind that carried the eight homers and 13 doubles launched by KC hitters during 27 innings of gross ERA inflation imposed on the St. Louis pitching staff.
Closer Riley O’Brien – the last man standing, and wobbling – didn’t get an official save as certified by major league baseball. But O’Brien saved himself before feeding one more pitch into the Royals’ ninth-inning comeback that just about swallowed him up.
O’Brien has a 7.11 ERA in his last 19 appearances and has allowed a combined 39 hits-walks-HBP in 23 innings. But everything is fine. Nothing to see here. Quit being so negative.
OK. In fairness to O’Brien, he wasn’t the worst St. Louis pitcher to go to work against the Royals.
The Cardinals avoided additional humiliation by dodging a three-game sweep by the hideous Royals. After bagging the final out I’m surprised the fellers paused to shower before fleeing Kansas City faster than the Chiefs did in rushing across the state line for that steal of a stadium deal in Kansas.
Here’s why the Cardinals made it to I-70, bound for St. Louis …
1. Cardinal hitters overcame their own pitching staff. This required substantial patience and determination. The boys got through this wild melee by putting up 12 runs and 16 hits. Royals pitchers plunked them three times. The revenge was four St. Louis homers: two by JJ Wetherholt, and a projectile apiece by Masyn Winn and Ivan Herrera. That offset KC’s four-homer assault on Redbird pitchers. The Cards had a feisty offense over the three games, batting .330 and getting on base 41 percent of the time. But the Cardinals failed to homer during the first two games vs. Kansas City’s deteriorating pitching staff, and Sunday’s four longballs were absolutely necessary to seize the win.
2. JJ Wetherholt strengthened his All-Star resume. And offered another showcase for his NL Rookie of the Year candidacy. Another beautiful JJ Day featured three hits, plus a hit by pitch, to total four times reaching base. His bash-slash-dash count was two home runs, three RBIs, three runs scored and nine total bases. Another busy series raised Wetherholt’s season fWAR to 3.4, which leads MLB rookies and is seventh among all big-league position players. The only NL position players with more fWAR than JJ are Pete Crow-Armstrong and Corbin Carroll.
Sunday’s performance lifted Wetherholt’s on-base rate to .370, his slugging payoff to .428, and his wRC+ to 27 percent above league average offensively. In his 15 games in June, Wetherholt has an excellent slash line of .333/.403/.500 and is 57% above league average per wRC+
Wetherholt’s 12 homers on the season put him on a pace to match or surpass Paul DeJong’s 25 home runs in 2017. DeJong’s 25 deep shots that year were the second most by a Cards rookie in a season. Albert Pujols clubbed 37 home runs as a rookie in 2021.
3. It was a group effort offensively. The Cardinals had several other lineup regulars post robust numbers during the three-game set:
– Masyn Winn: 6 for 14, two doubles, a homer, and a team-leading five RBIs.
– Ivan Herrera reached base nine times, whacked his 10th homer, scored five runs, and delivered four RBIs.
– Jordan Walker, Alec Burleson, Blaze Jordan and Lars Nootbaar combined for 15 hits, a .326 average, seven RBIs and five runs.
– Nathan Church had a fine series with two walks, two hits, a double and three runs scored. His OBP for the series was .400. Made some nice plays in center.
– RISP clicks: As a team the Cards had a .294 average and 19 RBIs with runners in scoring position.
THE PROBLEM
For the Cardinals it was tough to average 7.7 runs per game and lose the KC series. But this is what happens when your pitching staff gets shredded.
— The Royals scored 30 runs in the three games, batted .339, slugged .670, and 40 percent of their hits went for extra bases.
— St. Louis pitchers had a 9.72 ERA in the three games. Starters Matthew Liberatore, Michael McGreevy and Dustin May collectively lasted for only 8 and ⅔ innings – less than 3 IP per start! – and were plundered for 16 earned runs, 13 extra-base hits and a 16.62 ERA.
— Considering all the carnage the Cardinals were probably fortunate to win one of the three games.
The Buffet …
— The Tkachuk brothers are teammates? In Florida? Is this permitted by law? A few things come to mind (1) the Tkachuks are the new Hanson brothers. (2) for the Tkachuk boys, Miami is the new St. Louis. (3) weren’t the brothers supposed to end up playing for the Blues? (4) would the last prominent American-born player to leave a Canada-based NHL team please remember to turn off the lights at the rink? (5) Their new hockey home is just a short drive from Mar-a-Lago.
— I’m an Aquarias. Not that it matters. But on Sunday, I randomly came upon my forecast for the week. “Deadlines and demands can deplete your energy in the weeks ahead. You may feel more irritable over little things and lose your temper easily. If so, this is a warning sign. Delegate more tasks to others and prioritize your schedule.”
— Gee, what’s new? So in other words, this week will be a helluva lot like every week. I’m toast. I’ll be delegating nothing!” And yet … I love my work.
— The way Wyndham Clark was treated by the mob – I mean, gallery – at Shinnecock while winning the U.S. Open was a disgrace. But let’s not pretend this is a recent development on the PGA Tour. None of this measures up to how Jack Nicklaus was treated by Arnold Palmer’s passionate fan base. When it became clear that Nicklaus was overtaking Palmer as the top player on the tour, “Arnie’s Army” was not shy about heckling his rival during the competition.
— St. Louisan Tim Ream, captain of the U.S. men’s soccer team, distinguished himself with his leadership and performance in the wins over Paraguay and Australia.
— The U.S. center back has been virtually perfect so far at winning contested balls in the defensive end.
— According to OptaStats, Ream made more line-breaking passes than any other center-back in the first round of the FIFA World Cup group stage, finishing with 23 against Paraguay.
— Ream is definitely giving St. Louis a lot to be proud of during this World Cup run. His underlying numbers reflect a central defender that has taken authority over the game's tempo, and he’s anchoring the backline with physicality, precision and discipline.
— Ream has committed zero fouls in 180-plus minutes of World Cup action. For a central defender tasked with shutting down transitions and maintaining composure while helping secure a +5 overall goal differential. Ream is a prime factor in depriving opponents of dangerous set-piece opportunities.
— Ream’s distribution was elite in the first two matches. As noted earlier, Ream has been given the role as the USMNT's primary distributor out of the back. According to media reports, Ream logged an accuracy percentage of 95.6 percent in the victories over Paraguay and Australia. Ream’s key role in the buildup was paramount in creating USA’s first goal against Australia. Ream’s ability to keep the ball moving at heavy volume without committing problematic turnovers in the defensive third is vital.
— Ream was recently asked: “Growing up in St. Louis, what’s something people don’t know about your hometown?”
– Ream’s answer: “toasted ravioli is our thing. I don’t think people have probably heard of that outside of St. Louis, which is ravioli breaded and then either fried or thrown in the oven and toasted up.”
— Speaking on his podcast, the retired (and legendary) USMNT goalkeeper Tim Howard had this to say when asked to assess the upstart USA’s chances of winning the World Cup.
— “The U.S. cannot, unequivocally, win the World Cup,” Howard said. “The U.S. will have to play the greatest game they've ever played ... four games in a row — round of 16, quarterfinals, semifinals, finals. It is literally impossible for the U.S. to win the World Cup. That's just the reality.”
— Another St. Louisan, Giants manager Tony Vitello, is having an uncomfortable first season as a big-league skipper after making the jump from his powerhouse college program at Tennessee.
— Sunday, with the Giants trailing the Marlins in the ninth by a run, Rafael Devers drew a six-pitch walk. Devers is a slow runner, so it made sense for Vitello to send a much faster pinch runner. The move made obvious sense.
— Well, not to Devers. He waved off the pinch runner, Jonah Cox. And waved off the dugout, initially refusing to leave the first base bag until the umpire ordered him off the field. Devers, a notorious malcontent, avoided Vitello and bench coach Jayce Tingler (a Mizzou baseball alum) when returning to the Giants dugout. The Giants lost 2-1 and were swept in the three-game series.
— At 31-46, the Giants rank 29th in the majors in win percentage, ahead of only Colorado. They’ve won only 11 of their last 30 games. There’s been some media speculation in the Bay Area about Vitello’s job security – which seems a little early given the terrible roster that he’s working with, especially on the pitching side. But despite what Vitello says, this hasn’t been a comfortable fit.
— Giants GM Zack Minasian came to Vitello’s defense in a recent interview with the San Francisco Standard. “Obviously, our record’s not where we want it to be, but for me, and I feel comfortable speaking for the front office, he’s someone that’s been very easy to work with and someone you like to be around. He’s a tireless worker with a great combination of empathy and passion. He’s got all the intangibles, everything you need to be very successful, and I fully expect him to be in that dugout for a while.”
— Crap I don’t need: the Naomi after-cooking hand scrub. The sales pitch: “This luxurious hand soap eliminates lingering cooking odors.” Now, why would I want to do that? I love the scent of burgers on the skillet.
— Yuck: From The Star, a report on the Katy Perry and Justin Trudeau romance. “A self-professed romantic, Katy has been very clear with friends that she sees a long-term future with Justin and that means marriage is totally on the table. She wants the whole fairytale, including more kids, absolutely. Justin isn’t fazed by that, far from it. She’s the girl of his dreams and the partner he wants to grow old with.”
— Headline of a story I definitely took a pass on: “Al Roker talks backyard birding and unexpected feeder guests,” from Birds & Blooms magazine. Hard pass.
Thanks for reading …
–Bernie
Bernie was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 2023. During a St. Louis sports-media career that goes back to 1985, he’s won multiple national awards for column writing and sports-talk hosting – and was the lead sports columnist at the Post-Dispatch from 1989 through 2015. Before that Bernie spent a year at the Dallas Morning News, covering the Dallas Cowboys during Tom Landry’s final season (1988) plus the sale of the team to Jerry Jones and the hiring of Jimmy Johnson as coach. Bernie has covered several Baseball Hall of Fame managers during his media career including Tony La Russa, Whitey Herzog, Earl Weaver, Joe Torre and (as an interim) Red Schoendienst. In his career as a beatwriter and columnist, Bernie covered Pro Football Hall of Fame coaches Joe Gibbs, Tom Landry, Jimmy Johnson and Dick Vermeil on a daily basis.
Bernie has covered and written about many great St. Louis sports team athletes including Albert Pujols, Kurt Warner, Brett Hull, Yadier Molina, Adam Wainwright, Jim Edmonds, Marshall Faulk, Scott Rolen, Mark McGwire, Orlando Pace, Isaac Bruce, Torry Holt, Adam Wainwright, Chris Carpenter, Al MacInnis, Brian Sutter, Bernie Federko, Chris Pronger, Dan Dierdorf, Jackie Smith and Aeneas Williams. Bernie covered every baseball Cardinals’ postseason game from 1996 through 2014 and was there to chronicle teams that won four NL pennants and two World Series. He provided extensive coverage on the “Greatest Show” St. Louis Rams and has written extensively on the St. Louis Blues, Saint Louis U, and Mizzou football and basketball. Bernie was/is a longtime voter for the Baseball Hall of Fame, Pro Football Hall of Fame, Heisman Trophy and the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame.
You can access his columns, videos and the podcast version of the videos here on STL Sports Central, catch him regularly on KMOX (AM or FM) as part of the Gashouse Gang, Sports Rush Hour, Sports Open Line or Sports On a Sunday Morning shows. And you can catch weekly “reunion” segments here at STL Sports Central featuring Bernie and his longtime friend Randy Karraker.