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Cardinals drop the ball in ugly World Series Game 1 loss to Red Sox

There has been far too much talk lately about "The Cardinal Way," as if the Cardinals are playing a brand of baseball out of reach of other organizations.

Tom Verducci

Cardinals drop the ball in ugly World Series Game 1 loss to Red Sox
Cardinals drop the ball in ugly World Series Game 1 loss to Red Sox /
Adam Wainwright and Yadier Molina let a pop up fall, triggering a two-run second inning for Boston.
Adam Wainwright and Yadier Molina let a pop up fall, triggering a two-run second inning for Boston :: Jim Rogash/Getty Images

There has been far too much talk lately about "The Cardinal Way," as if the Cardinals are playing a brand of baseball out of reach of other organizations. What they have is the best player development system in baseball that has brought a wave of young players, particularly power pitchers, to the big leagues within a small window of time. But the overlooked story of "The Cardinal Way" is that this is a poor defensive team. After the debacle of Game 1, that flaw is painfully obvious.

Now all Wacha has to do is rescue a wounded team by beating the majors' highest-scoring offense in their bandbox of a ballpark. Sure, no problem, kid. Just one piece of advice: watch your head.

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Tom Verducci
TOM VERDUCCI

Tom Verducci is a senior writer for Sports Illustrated who has covered Major League Baseball since 1981. He also serves as an analyst for FOX Sports and the MLB Network; is a New York Times best-selling author; and cohosts The Book of Joe podcast with Joe Maddon. A five-time Emmy Award winner across three categories (studio analyst, reporter, short form writing) and nominated in a fourth (game analyst), he is a three-time National Sportswriter of the Year winner, two-time National Magazine Award finalist, and a Penn State Distinguished Alumnus Award recipient. Verducci is a member of the National Sports Media Hall of Fame, Baseball Writers Association of America (including past New York chapter chairman) and a Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 1993. He also is the only writer to be a game analyst for World Series telecasts. He lives in New Jersey with his wife, with whom he has two children.

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