St. Louis Cardinals: Go by the Numbers

Throughout that week or so, Cardinals fans complained on and on about how badly the Cardinals were playing. Hello? They're still a game out of first place. As much as other bloggers like to think otherwise, St. Louis is still a good team. Sometimes, other writers, fans, etc. can't understand that unless they bring home a World Series.

OK, so they're not the best team in Major League Baseball, but look at the numbers; they're certainly not the worst.

According to Fangraphs, the Redbirds strike out 18 percent of at-bats. Sounds like a lot, right? Compare that to the Cubs (22.6 percent) or the Brewers (24.4 percent).

Now, not all of the Cardinals' statistics are above average like the last one, but for the most part, they're amongst the top half of the league.

One of the most complained about aspects of the Cardinals' game has been pitching. Once again, it's not as bad as you think.

For instance, the Redbirds' pitching give up just 0.82 homers a game, which ranks fourth in Major League Baseball. They also hold the second-lowest WHIP in all of baseball.

You're probably wondering why I'm pointing this out. Well, next time you want to complain about how bad the Cardinals look, check the stats before you do so.