It’s an election year, so prepare to hear politicians talk plenty about what they got right and nothing about what they got wrong.
In the spirit of the times, this sportswriter is declaring a landslide victory.
Not every one of my predictions for the 2023 ºüÀêÊÓƵ sports scene hit, but the biggest ones did and I’m choosing to let that fact overshadow anything and everything else I got wrong.
Just kidding. We will revisit the good along with the bad, as always. But the best was pretty good.
“ºüÀêÊÓƵ City SC will make the playoffs in its first season,†declared this prediction column around this time last year. “Only eight expansion teams, and none since 2020, have pulled it off. City SC is not the traditional expansion team, though, thanks to the added time provided by the unfortunate pandemic. Proof will show on the pitch immediately.â€
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Reminder: In the official MLS season preview, none of the so-called soccer experts polled picked City SC to finish anywhere better than second-to-last in the Western Conference the team went on to win.
The so-called soccer experts were wrong. The novice when it comes to soccer coverage was right. Goal!
You also read here that the Missouri men’s basketball team would win its first NCAA Tournament game since 2010. Coach Dennis Gates’ surprising first team of Tigers made it happen. Well done.
And some of you all say I’m always too negative.
Looking back ...
- Jordan Walker did make the Cardinals’ opening day roster, as predicted, but he fell short of winning the National League Rookie of the Year Award. He did finish sixth among qualified NL rookies in on-base plus slugging percentage (.787). Let’s hope the Cardinals don’t send him down for unnecessary swing changes in 2024.
- My call of Willson Contreras making the All-Star team during his first Cardinals season did not materialize despite Contreras finishing with more RBIs and a higher average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage than his 2022 All-Star season with the Cubs. Contreras did, however, make the All-Michelin Team. It’s for players who perform admirably while wearing tire tracks across their back.
- The Blues did indeed turn the page, as predicted. A sell-off of revered rentals included champions in captain Ryan O’Reilly and Vladimir Tarasenko. What we did not see coming was such a quick ejection of Blues coach Craig Berube so early into this season. Fans took the news hard. Jordan Kyrou, not so much.
- Missouri football coach Eli Drinkwitz, as predicted, did hire a play-calling offensive coordinator, and his fate was indeed drastically altered as a result. In a good way. Drinkwitz just inked his new contract, along with extensions for his successful coordinators Blake Baker (defense) and Kirby Moore (offense). The future is bright for Mizzou football. Drinkwitz handing over some responsibility to the right hire was huge.
- They weren’t radical, but there were some changes within the Cardinals front office. President of baseball operations John Mozeliak received a new extension through 2025. It came with a pledge from him to expand roles of those who are working beneath him. Mozeliak also brought beloved former catcher and future Hall of Famer Yadier Molina into the front office in a special assistant role. Rarely has a special assistant created this much intrigue.
- I was dead wrong about the Cardinals adding an impact starter before the 2023 season. They needed to, as evidenced by a last-place finish due to another erosion of pitching, but they didn’t and suffered the consequences. They have added three new starters for 2024 but still need to either add another or nail their bullpen bets to get back to their winning ways.
Looking ahead ...
Here’s what the crystal ball sees for 2024:
- If key players stay healthy, Mizzou will make its College Football Playoff debut as the postseason bracket expands from four to 12 teams. Drinkwitz’s critical fourth season secured both the most wins (11) and the program’s first bowl win (against The Ohio State) since 2014. He’s earned stability and the contract that comes with it. He’s bolstered his staff against dreaded coach poachers. He has impressive momentum in recruiting and has already found answers for positions of need in the transfer portal. He has a returning quarterback, a returning star receiver, a cupcake parade of a nonconference schedule and a pretty desirable SEC slate, too. The 2023 Tigers would have been in if the four-team playoff expanded to 12 as early as it should have. The 2024 Tigers won’t have to wonder about what-ifs. Don’t underestimate Drinkwitz’s ability to make the most out his hard-earned momentum.
- The Cardinals will give Paul Goldschmidt an extension at spring training, even though they should probably wait. There is no harm or disrespect in prioritizing flexibility while seeing how the veteran first baseman performs through the start of his age-36 season. It’s no secret the Cardinals are trying a complicated approach to 2024 with a roster that is quite old (in baseball terms) and proven on one end, plenty young and unproven (but exciting) on the other end and awfully uncertain in between. Contract flexibility on the older end is helpful if the Cardinals once again find themselves trending toward a trade-deadline sell-off instead of buying to bolster a playoff shot. That said, the Cardinals talk about Goldschmidt as if they are determined to have him end his career in their uniform.
- The Blues will dissolve the interim title and give Drew Bannister a longer shot moving forward. The team has responded well enough on the ice to his promotion after the scapegoating of Berube. A Stanley Cup run isn’t coming from this roster, but it would be silly to assume that was Berube’s fault or to assume that is the result Bannister must achieve to prove he can continue to help a team in transition. And if it doesn’t work out, you know the drill. Fire another coach.
- Kaw will remain the law. The Battlehawks will become to the UFL what they were to the XFL, which is the kind of team and fan base the league wishes it had everywhere else.
- It will be a quiet college basketball season locally. Mizzou’s new batch of transfers isn’t clicking like last season. Travis Ford is scrambling at ºüÀêÊÓƵ University. Illinois looked like a Final Four team, but now, star Terrence Shannon Jr. has been suspended indefinitely following a rape charge. Scandals like that tend to affect teams poorly as seasons progress.
- Tyler O’Neill will not be adding a new chapter to the curse of former Cardinals outfielders. Some are rushing to assume traded-away O’Neill will now tear it up for the Red Sox like Randy Arozarena (Rays) and Adolis Garcia (Rangers) did with their new teams. Arozarena, then 24, and Garcia, then 25, totaled a combined 37 at-bats with the Cardinals. O’Neill, 28, got nearly 1,500 at-bats despite injuries that are a constant risk to keep him off the field. Don’t make those American League Most Valuable Player bets.
- Five-time finalist Torry Holt will finally make the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Overdue.
- City SC will make a postseason run. The regular season won’t be as successful as the record-setting expansion season, and the so-called soccer experts will probably rush to call City SC a flash in the pan, but the second edition of this team will be better prepared for the intensity of the playoffs, perhaps because its jets won’t have a chance to cool following a conference clinch.