The St. Louis Cardinals need Jim Edmonds on their coaching staff in 2021

The St. Louis Cardinals are reportedly interested in trimming payroll even as the team is badly in need of an infusion of talent.

But one area the Cardinals can improve the coaching department without spending a ton of money. Sadly, besides a brief recovery of fundamentals during the first partial season of manager Mike Shildt, the team has seen in basic play spiral down the tubes over the past six years. This team needs to replace the manager’s assistants with guys who bring more big league knowledge to the clubhouse -- and the practice field.

I’d love to see a guy like former Cardinals star Jim Edmonds involved in some significant capacity. Hitting coach? Bench coach? Third base coach? Any of them would be fine with me.

I know Edmonds is a guy who annoys some Cardinals’ fans with his constant stream of facts and observations during the course of a game. Not me, mind you, because I think the game within the game is the most fascinating thing about watching baseball on television or from the stands. It’s uncanny how Edmonds can predict what’s going to happen before it happen. That sort of observation and preparation might be what this team needs more than anything.

There isn’t a game I watch that I don’t wish I could attach Edmond’s head to Harrison Bader’s body. Bader can fly on the bases and in the outfield. We saw him hit a ball half way up Big Mac Land in the upper deck at Busch Stadium, so he obviously has a lot of untapped power that he can’t channel into his bat on a consistent basis. You might walk into a home run here and there. But nobody hits a ball 500 feet just by pure accident. But it’s maddening to watch the guy strike out again and again on sliders off the plate. Edmonds could teach Bader how to anticipate the go-fish pitches, recognize them when they’re coming and capitalize on the situation. How many times did we see the former Cardinals center fielder dive out over the plate and drive one of those pitches over the boards to the opposite field power alley? I absolutely loved watching Edmonds hit like that. These days it’s pull into the shift, pull into the shift, pull into the shift.

Don’t tell me that’s just the way the game is played these days.

First, I can’t accept that because it’s just absolutely terrible baseball. Second, the only reason players don’t beat the daylights out of the shift all game long is they don’t know how. They grew up trying to pull the ball for homers and, in this sad era, no one taught them anything different in the minor leagues. The Cardinals are so incapable of beating the shift that they came to the plate when they were behind in a playoff elimination game — at no time would free base runners be more valuable to them — and they just kept grounding into the shifted defense.

That has to stop. And when a team can harness that aspect of the game again, they’re going to be the best team in baseball because the other team isn’t going to have a clue about how to stop them. The only option is going to be to give in and send their fielders back to where God intended them to be. And when the third baseman is standing next to third base — and I’m talking to you, Matt Carpenter and Kolten Wong — he’s not going to be able to stand right where you like to hit the ball in short right center field. It’s just that easy.

There’s been a lot of talk the last couple of years that Edmonds wasn’t interested in being a full-time coach with a young family at home. But, if you have been reading the tabloids lately — and I don’t recommend it — Jim Edmonds is single again and might just like having some time to get away from it all and immerse his thoughts in baseball. As much as I would hate to lose Edmonds from the broadcast, I’d love to see him help the team not break its single season strikeout record for the umpteenth season in a row. Another 15 wins or so a year wouldn’t be a bad trade, either.

Cardinals need Chris Carpenter as a pitching coach

While we’re at it, I’d like to see the Cardinals compliment their coaching makeover by adding a firm voice on the pitching side.

Although it might seem beyond such a legendary player, I’d love to see Chris Carpenter come back to the team as some sort of assistant pitching coach or bullpen coach. I’m not complaining about Mike Maddux’s work with the young hurler’s mechanics. But, besides that, it would be nice to have a voice in the clubhouse to help the stable of hard-throwing youngsters this team has coming up through the ranks learn how to attack hitters and manage their emotions.

Jack Flaherty has talked about the value of having Bob Gibson in their ear from time to time. Who will fill that void? The only person who could fill it like Gibson is the fellow Cardinals Cy Young Award winner.

Carpenter might be a tougher get. He stepped back from his front office role with the Cardinals a couple of years ago because of family reasons. I don’t know what has changed, if anything, in his life. But I know he’s the right man for the job.

Cardinals also must improve the lineup

Oh, and last word: Changing the coaches isn’t enough. The Cardinals still need at least one middle of the order bat, preferably, two. This isn’t a band aid solution. It’s a part of a larger answer.

Whatever happens, I sure hope Willie McGee comes back at a coach for the Cardinals for many of the same reasons I listed above. At this point, I just don’t know what a 2021 season is going to look like. If Willie opted out of the recently-concluded season, might he opt out next year — or for good?

Scott Wuerz

Belleville News-Democrat

Scott Wuerz has written “Cheap Seats,” a St. Louis Cardinals fan blog for the Belleville News-Democrat, since 2007. He is a former BND reporter who covered breaking news and education.