Season after season, Cardinals figure out a way

ST. LOUIS - How do they do it? How do the St. Louis Cardinals overcome adversity seemingly every year and still win?

Whether it was under former general manager Walt Jocketty or current GM John Mozeliak, the Cardinals have been able to withstand the losses of key players, either through in-season injury or off-season free agency, and not skip a beat.

This year alone, the Cardinals lost ace pitcher Adam Wainwright early in the season with an Achilles-tendon injury. From there, players such as Matt Holliday, Jon Jay, Randal Grichuk, Matt Adams and, most recently and perhaps most important, catcher Yadier Molina have suffered injuries that kept them out of action for significant periods.

But as they have in previous seasons, such as when superstar Albert Pujols left for the Los Angeles Angels, the Cardinals carry on. Rookies such as Stephen Piscotty and Tommy Pham have stepped in, with both hitting home runs in Friday night's victory over the Cubs in Game 1 of the National League division series.

Manager Mike Matheny, who replaced Hall of Famer Tony La Russa, offered his thoughts on the subject when the Cubs visited the Cardinals at Busch Stadium last month.

"I just look around and realize that we've been just fortunate right now," Matheny said. "It's about people and trying to select the right people just like they do over there (the Cubs) with the players coming up. It takes some very talented scouts. It takes a process in the front office of how you evaluate amateur talent to bring in the right people and then getting them in the hands of the right development crowd."

By "people," Matheny was talking about players and how they conduct themselves on and off the field, something Cubs president Theo Epstein and GM Jed Hoyer also have talked about as they tried to build a winning tradition in Chicago.

"When you say get the right people, it's not just the right player, but the right fit, the kind of person that buys into what your organization is trying to do from the top down," Matheny said. "We've been fortunate here so far where we've had some good players and a very talented minor-league development staff, coaching staff that have been able to help promote these kids and challenge them and find out what they need to do to improve and help us out here."

Then there's the next step, when players make it to the big club.

"I think there's an atmosphere once you get here, once you get to a major-league clubhouse," Matheny said. "There are a lot of places that suppress young players and don't let them thrive until they've kind of earned their stripes.

"I don't think that's very conducive to a young player being as good as they can be right out of the box. We've been fortunate with our young players that our veteran guys have vested into them at a very deep level."

That also sounds like the current-day Cubs, where veterans such as catcher David Ross and others have welcomed and set an example for rookies Kris Bryant, Addison Russell and Kyle Schwarber.

One player who has seen both organizations is veteran pitcher Carlos Villanueva, who played for the Cubs in 2013 and 2014 before moving down to St. Louis.

Villanueva is no superstar, but he's the type of player who steps up when needed and sets and example.

"You don't start the season thinking that you're going to lose your best players and you're going to have to count on the guys who are left," he said. "That's just praise to the guys who are on their minor-league coaching staffs, to the draft guys, to everybody on this team.

"I think the mentality here is, 'You have to be ready at all times.' And if you're going to be in the big leagues and if you don't get the job done, there is somebody down there who will get the job done.

"I think the guys down there are waiting, champing at the bit to contribute here. As soon as you get over the awe of being here, it's something you have to contribute right away. I don't think they feel pressure. I think the way they are seasoned down there and the way they are talked to down there just prepares them for when they come here, and they make a very easy transition."