Before we can get optimistic about the New Year’s resolutions we won’t keep, a proper dose of self-loathing is in order.
Yes, the Cardinals would have had a better season if Matt Carpenter didn’t start it swinging a bat of ice, and if Dexter Fowler caught a Carpenter-like resurgence, and if Marcell Ozuna’s shoulder worked, and if Greg Holland didn’t look like a man who had never pitched before after missing one spring training. These are the popular ones. There are others to ponder one last time — and then attempt to let go — as new opportunity nears.