St. Louis Cardinals: In Praise of Dave Duncan

I've heard from friends that are "close to the source", that the buzz in St. Louis is the Cardinals are "just trying to get by" this season.  Apparently they are waiting for the 2009 season to make some major moves and free up salary.

From what I can gather, many Cardinal fans have bought into this idea and have resigned themselves to another season of disappointment.

There are many factors that make a good season.  The players are understandably a big part of it, but the coaches have a say about it, as well as the Management,  fan support, playing conditions, the quality of the competition, etc. 

In this article I want to concentrate on the coaching staff of the Cardinals and how they seemingly have a way of bringing out the best in their players are able to resurrect, what some would consider, "past their prime" players.

First of all, lets consider Dave Duncan, the pitching coach.

One thing that is known is there's nothing better than a former catcher becoming a pitching coach.   Duncan started his MLB career in 1964 with the Kansas City Athletics.  He moved with them to Oakland and played on the 1971 and 1972 Championship teams.

Duncan has either coached or caught Bob Welch, Dennis Eckersley, LaMarr Hoyt, Chris Carpenter, Vide Blue and Jim Hunter in Oakland, and Jim Palmer in Baltimore.  All were Cy Young award winners.

Getting into the head of a pitcher isn't easy, but Duncan seems to have the knack for it.  An example being Jeff Weaver, a unlucky pitcher acquired by the Cardinals, and put to the test in their Championship season.

After working with Weaver for a short time, Duncan realized that he may have been thinking too much about each pitch.  Overanalyzing can lead to mechanical errors.

Duncan's remedy was simple.  Shorten the time between pitches which gave him less time to contemplate the next pitch.

The end result was Jeff Weaver rediscovering his old glory and helping lead the Cardinals to their 2006 championship in game five vs Detroit.  He allowed only four hits, two runs, and nine strike outs, all while pitching eight solid innings for the victory.

Dave Duncan had a big part in the outcome of that game—just ask Jeff Weaver.