THE HEAT IS ON….isn’t it always?  At work?  In an athletic competition? Facing the hectic schedules of our life each day?

….This time of the sports year (early MLB season, post-NCAA basketball) the HEAT is ON in other avenues.  The MLB season is about 10% into it’s season. But the heat is on or has been brought on by the play of some teams.

…The Cards have PUT THE HEAT ON OPPONENTS thus far!  We’ve all been pleasantly surprised by the production of the Cardinals thus far (or at least I have 😊). They’ve really pushed our expectations way upwards since the start of the season. So…now as May approaches, the players will feel a different type of “heat” (than the grueling summer heat of July & August)…in addition, the Heat of HIGH Expectations gets pushed up as the season rolls along!!!

….The 2026 St. Louis Cardinals are winning early with a younger, hungrier (seemingly) roster playing with “no-expectations” freedom, high energy daily, and a small-ball approach that emphasizes aggressive base running (not just stealing bases) and not swinging at bad pitches outside the zone along with a  solid defense. Power hitting has taken a “back seat” in ’26. Trading away veteran stars (with the solo purpose of reducing payroll) has none-the-less put a renewed focus on, fundamental baseball with an increased look at running the bases aggressively this spring for the Cards. Further a pitching staff with a remarkably low strikeout rate—has “powered” through 5-6 innings most days which has often led to a surprising number of wins through the first 3 weeks of the season. GO CARDS!

…The “new look” Cardinals are a youthful bunch—each eager to prove that they REALLY DO belong in the MLB. Yet they appear to be loose, relaxed & playing each situation of the game with a purpose. While I have never REALLY been in “Ollie’s” corner as a manager, we have to recognize his credit in shaping the roster into being aggressive on the base paths, discarding the HR urge for situational hitting, swinging only at strikes and squeaking by with a questionable pitching staff (I’m being as kind as I can be). The departure of the wide swath of veterans (and their big salaries & experience) has definitely presented a fresh outlook in the clubhouse & on the field. The major cloud hovering over our head is….can this same attitude & performance last for the 6 months of 2026 MLB baseball? Most experts doubt it. But…keep in mind… those same experts doubted that it’d be there AT ALL!! Go Cards!!

….Putting the most HEAT ON early is a “brand new” star that’s shining brightly…very brightly. Jordan Walker. In 2025, Walker struggled at the plate. He compiled a meek set of numbers—a .215 batting average and a .584 OPS across 363 at-bats. He did show a flash of power with a 115.5 mph max exit velocity earlier in the year, but generally  he’s hit for a lower average than was expected (or hoped for) in ’25. Thus far, this year has been a different story for him. To this date as I write this (4/21), Walker is riding a 15 game hitting streak, his OBP (on base + slugging %) is part of a 3-way tie for 4^th place in the NL and 2^nd place in the National League in slugging percent!! Did ANYONE see this coming? If so….let me talk to you about some stock investments? 😊

…Across the league, HEAT IS ON THE PITCHERS! Walks are up this year…AND they are “WAY UP” for the Cardinals. The team has an 11.2 percent walk rate, a dramatic increase over their 7.9 percent walk rate last year (and 7.8 mark in 2024). And you can see the change up and down the lineup. Iván Herrera only has one home run so far and is batting .194, but he is tied for the MLB lead in walks (18) while he has more than doubled his walk rate from last year, from 9.5 percent to 21.7%.

…The Cardinals are PUTTING ON THE HEAT by not swinging at bad pitches (with just a few exceptions and drawing walks. But Herrera’s isn’t the only player with more walks. Several other Cards players with increases include Burleson (2025–7.1 percent to 2026– 13.8%), Masyn Wynn (6.3 to 15.3), Thomas Saggese (5.4 to 8.5) and Jordan Walker (7.3 to 8.0). And that’s not even accounting for rookie leadoff man JJ Wetherholt, who has a 14.6 percent walk rate.  Walks aren’t “all bad” because you do get a man on base or advance other runners.

…The Cardinals do not have much power in their lineup but are still finding ways to scratch out some runs in most games. In fact, Jordan Walker put the club on his back for about a week. Now…I must confess… I saw him going “fishing” for those outside breaking sliders on Monday just like he did all of last year…soooo….my concerns for that weakness returning like he did all of 2025 brought some concerns back to my mind(and probably his too) .

…The Cardinals seem to like THE HEAT of extra-inning games. Currently, StL is 5-0 in extra inning games! This early “late game” success has been due in large part to the pitching of Riley O’Brien. O”Brien has worked hard to reach the MLB. He’s 31 years old, pitched 1 game for Cincy in 2021, In 2022 he pitched 1 game for Seattle, didn’t pitch any MLB innings in 2023, pitched 8 games for the Cards in 2024. 2025 was by far his best year in the MLB. He pitched in 42 games, 48 innings with 45 strikeouts & 6 saves. Let’s hope that we can squeeze another good year or 2 out of him.

…putting THE HEAT ON the entire National League, the NL Central Division has been very competitive in early 2026. As I write this, Cincy sits in 1^st place holding a 16-8 record; Cardinals & Cubs are each 14-9; Milwaukee holds a 13-9 record and even though in last place Pittsburgh is over .500!! The Pirates are 13-10. In fact the Pirates are the ONLY last place team above .500 for the season currently!  The Central Division has improved significantly, will continue to PUT THE HEAT ON their opponents.

…The HEAT IS REALLY ON in New York for the Mets. As I write this, they sit in last place in the NL East Division with paltry 7-15 record.  The New York Mets enter the 2026 season with one of MLB’s highest payrolls, projected around $352 million to $375m (how could you not know exactly?) The Mets loss to injury of Juan Soto for a few weeks was a brutal break for them. But the Mets’ roster, after a transformative offseason that included remaking the position player core, is too expensive for the offense to crater because one player (with a $61.875 million salary this season is missing) even if he is the star.

…THE HEAT WAS ON when the MLB introduced the ball/strike appeal for the 2026 season. From my view, it’s been a grand success. It’s providing a quick decision that is shown automatically to all the TV fans & stadium fans. I must admit…I don’t blame batters/catchers for many of he appeals. I mean…the pitch just barely scrapes the corner of the zone…or just barely misses it.  I think it has made the umpires look “even better” than fans expected! Of course I almost always defend the umpires…I umpired myself for 10+ years starting with elementary school games through college games later.

…THE HEAT IS ON some STAR PLAYERS! Francisco Lindor, Bo Bichette and Marcus Semien, who will make a combined $102.1 million this season, are ALL off to very poor starts. Trying to “turn things around and “send a message”, the Mets decided to “shuffle the deck in the starting lineup. They started Mark Vientos, who was an obnoxious 0-for-23 with 8 strikeouts over his past 7 games. He batted third Monday against the Dodgers. Jorge Polanco batted third Tuesday and might go on the injured list with left Achilles bursitis. Brett Baty, who batted 3rd in Wednesday’s series finale, has a 30 wRC+. Even with these changes, the Mets scored just 3 runs in the 3 games against the Dodgers, with a grand total of 12 hits and 27 strikeouts in the series. Yet…fans will be yelling for the “head” of the manager..or general manager.  How about looking on the field at these “stars” that no long shine?

….It’s funny….there’s always such a “fuss” about the NCAA Football rankings in the fall…yet, no one asks about the NCAA Baseball rankings in the spring!!  Ask or not….here are a couple of the rankings…#1, UCLA holds a 36-3 record and their ace is likely the #1 draft choice in the 2027 draft– Rock Chilowski. Continuing down the NCAA chart–#2 is Georgia Tech with a 32-7 record and with one of the nation’s best lineups from top to bottom and @ #3 was N. Carolina.

…Well, THANKS FOR YOUR READ of THE HEAT IS ON! All of you are invited to share YOUR opinion on any of the topics. Bob