2012 St. Louis Cardinals: 4 Ways to Help Fix the Stuggling Team

As much as St. Louis Cardinals fans would like to think that the last month has been somewhat of a curse for the team, the problem lies much deeper. If only it was that easy. The Cardinals recent nose-dive from first place has been the result of numerous problems and vulnerabilities coming to a head.

While the bullpen has gotten the lion share of the attention, there are several areas where the Cardinals are currently weak or at least struggling.

The Bullpen

Obviously. It is the obvious answer for a reason—it is the obvious problem.

Fernando Salas was the weakest link for quite some time, but after sending him to Memphis and passing a kidney stone, he hopes to be on the right track. While the bullpen is showing signs of improvement, there is still a long way to go before it is up to the level where it should be.

Many think the key to fixing the bullpen is to bring up other guys or make a trade. While in theory those things might work, you must first get to the root of the bullpen's problem, which is...

Starting Rotation

As great as the starting pitching was in April, May and early June have not been pleasant for the 2012 Cardinals starters.

With pitchers throwing, on average, well under six innings the bullpen has been both over-exposed and over-worked. As a result, they have struggled at great lengths. Victor Marte, Mitchell Boggs and Eduardo Sanchez (who has had limited work so far) have been the most solid guys to call late in games.

It is interesting that Garcia's MRI came the day after Roy Oswalt signed with the Texas Rangers. Joe Kelly was called up from Memphis to take Garcia's place. While his first outing was promising, he will still need to prove himself.

The No. 2 Hitter

The loss of Jon Jay was huge to this team. Despite his much improved defense and .343 batting average, he remains under-appreciated by Cardinals fans. The No. 2 spot is more essential to a lineup than many realize.

It is basically the gel that holds the top of the lineup together. When you have a great leadoff man (Rafael Furcal) and good power hitters (Matt Holliday, Carlos Beltran, David Freese, Yadier Molina, Allen Craig) in the middle of the lineup, you need your second man on base. Period.

Just like the leadoff man, his job is to be on base when the big dogs come up. Of course, Beltran has hit second quite a bit this season as well, but he is not the quintessential "No. 2 guy."

Squash the Injury Bug

"Thank you, Captain Obvious."

The Cardinals have had nearly as many MRIs as wins (kidding) since May 1. So far, the body count for the past 40 days stands at a minimum of seven (Lance Berkman, Jon Jay, M. Carpenter, Allen Craig, Skip Schumaker, Kyle McClellan, Jaime Garcia).

Since Chris Carpenter was already injured, he does not count. Beltran wobbled, but has yet to fall completely down. Believe it or not, things could still be worse.

No Easy Fix

There is no "fix this and things will be fine" answer to the Cardinals' problems. If only it were that simple.

Things in general need to begin going the right direction and at this point they are not. Several good signs last week looked like they might be just the kick the team needed, but any success has been short-lived.

Expect them to be shopping between now and the trade deadline for another left-handed reliever and possibly a starter depending on Kelly's development and the recoveries of Chris Carpenter and Jaime Garcia.