What is the ‘Cardinal Way’ in 2025?
The ‘Cardinal Way’ used to mean something. It was a winning tradition, a respect for the game, a manner of doing things the way the Cardinals of old did them. That tradition led to the Cardinals being the winningest team in the National league, only trailing the Yankees in all of baseball.
But the new Cardinal Way is nothing but mediocrity. It’s cutting loose a manager that oversaw the longest winning streak in Cardinals history. It’s extending a manager’s contract after the worst finish in 30 years. Also it’s producing talent in the farm system that doesn’t flourish until that talent is cast off to another team. The cardinals used to only reload, not rebuild. Now it’s lousy records and high draft picks in the hopes that the rebuild will only take a couple years.
Look no further than Miles Mikolas who is one of the worst pitchers in baseball over the last two years, but is still eating innings in this rotation.
Miles Mikolas is What Happens when the Cardinals Lose Their Way
Here’s the brutal truth: Mikolas is a walking advertisement for why loyalty contracts can tank a franchise. Instead of cutting bait and admitting this deal was a flop, the Cardinals are trotting him out every five days hoping—praying—that they squeeze a drop of value before he heads into free agency. The result? A 5.17 ERA across 125 innings, negative WAR, and the fanbase wondering why this isn’t already a DFA situation. In his last five starts alone, Mikolas has coughed up 16 earned runs, six homers, and about 30 hits. That’s not veteran leadership—that’s sabotage in cleats. Fredbird would be a better option at this point in his career.
And just when you thought it couldn’t get more cringe, Mikolas jumped on Foul Territory before his latest disaster outing against Tampa Bay. At first, he played along—admitting he needs to pitch better. Fair enough. But then came the awkward part. When Erik Kratz and Todd Frazier pressed him about the future, Mikolas casually dropped a line about how he only wants to play for contenders and doesn’t want to be “record chasing” when he’s old and struggling. Cue the needle scratch. Who does that sound like? Oh right—Adam Wainwright.
Adam Wainright is the Epitome of what the ‘Cardinal Way’ used to be
Kratz wasn’t letting that slide, either. He shut that down faster than Marmol yanking Mikolas after 4.1 innings.
Mikolas tried to backpedal, insisting it wasn’t about Waino, but come on. Wainwright literally just spent his farewell season chasing win number 200. Fans heard it. The hosts heard it. Everyone heard it. You don’t “vaguely” make that comment without people connecting the dots.
While Waino came out of retirement to do a promotional game with the Savanah Bananas, Mikolas probably couldn’t make their starting rotation. Maybe he could be a Bananas bullpen arm?
So here we are: the Cardinals are circling the drain, their so-called veteran anchor is sinking them every fifth day, and now he’s stepping on Waino’s legacy . It’s not just bad optics—it’s a symbol of a franchise that’s lost its way. The Cardinal way. Red Schoendeist is rolling over in his grave right now.
