# Re-Evaluating the 2020 Cardinals

- Link: https://www.nyrdcast.com/re-evaluating-the-2020-cardinals/
- Published: 2021-01-04T16:00:00-06:00
- Author: Eugene Tierney

2020 was a tough year across the board, but the Cardinals were hit particularly 
hard within the microcosm of baseball. The team was one of the few that got hit 
with Covid hard. As a result, they had to juggle the roster more than most teams.

While it was all going on, many were wondering what was going on. Why was [Carlos Martinez](https://www.baseball-reference.com/search/search.fcgi?pid=martica04,martica03,martica02,martin019car&search=Carlos+Martinez&utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-)
took so long to get back? Why did [Edmundo Sosa](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/sosaed01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-)
never appeared in a game? Why [Lane Thomas](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/t/thomala02.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-)
looked look lost when he got back?

Those questions also are leading to questions about what the Cardinals will do during
the season. I’ve asked a lot of these questions myself.

Then I got Covid; my test came back positive December 17th. While the virus itself
didn’t take a lot of out me at the time, it did sap my energy. After my 10 day quarantine,
plus a few extra recovery days, I started to get back into my routine. But my body
struggled to get back to the athletic level it was at. You see, I go to the gym 
6 days a week; I lift heavy weights and run 10 to 20 miles per week. My first run
was only for a mile, and it felt like I hadn’t run in a few years. The amount of
weight I was lifting dropped by a third.

So, imagine how it would be if you were a world class athlete? The Cardinals said
Thomas wasn’t right when he got back on the field; it showed in the field. Martinez
looked terrible on the mound; maybe he came back a little too quickly. I can’t blame
the Cardinals for not rushing Sosa back either. Heck, even [Yadier Molina](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/molinya01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-)
didn’t put up his normal numbers; maybe it was age, or maybe it was recovery from
the virus.

Does this mean the Cardinals were a flawless team that got sick? Not at all; the
offensive struggles were going to happen with the way the roster was constructed.
Besides [Paul Goldschmidt](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/g/goldspa01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-),
the team struggled to find upper level talent (it looks like it will be an issue
in 2021 as well). It’s just that people need to realize not everything was right
with this team once Covid struck and we should wait until the new season starts 
to criticize the play.

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