Why the Cardinals Collapsed in the Second Half | Talking About Birds 241

The autopsy continues. Nate and Ben go player by player through the 2026 Cardinals, and the central mystery is brutal: the offense dropped 62% in value from the first half to the second, while — somehow — the pitching staff doubled, even after trading Dustin May and JoJo Romero. They dig into Victor Scott's fading experiment, Ivan Herrera's concerning collapse, why they've both gone Burley-pilled, and whether Matthew Liberatore is still a starter. Plus the $10 gourd lords, a disastrous bet on Renaissance Faire jousting, a full playoff check-in, and the end-of-season edition of Who Charted? ⏱️ Chapters 00:00 Opening bit: nervous about what's next 00:38 A welfare check for Ben 01:33 Spooky season and $10 gourds 03:39 The gourd lords are among us 04:31 Pumpkin beer and Ben's fear of milk 07:46 The 100-mile October challenge 10:21 Creaming the under on Ren Faire jousting 11:33 The autopsy continues: player groups 14:20 First half vs. second half: a 62% offensive drop 16:56 The incredible first halves we got 18:49 Is it time to pull the plug on Victor Scott? 24:15 The brutal second-half fWAR list 25:48 Ivan Herrera's concerning collapse 30:40 Was the young team simply worn down? 33:54 Burley-pilled: the case for keeping Burleson 36:27 Burleson got unlucky and could've hit 30 38:18 Why 2027 still looks exciting 42:05 The pitching staff doubled in the second half 43:46 George Soriano falls apart 45:52 Riley O'Brien's tale of two halves 50:08 What a weird year for Matthew Liberatore 52:00 Is Liberatore even a starter anymore? 56:28 A platform year, and why 2027 looks better 57:33 Patreon / Birdscord / socials 58:56 The Jazz Chisholm comments 1:00:38 Playoff check-in: the Padres sweep the Cubs 1:03:00 The Red Sox pull Sonny Gray and implode 1:05:07 The Phillies' expensive core falls off 1:07:30 Pope Socks: blessed by the American pope 1:12:16 The Ty France ceiling ball at the Trop 1:15:23 Game: Who Charted? End of Season Edition 1:18:07 Victor Scott had a worse year than Pedro Pages 1:19:28 Leo Bernal led the team in hard-hit rate 1:30:05 Outro: let's go Pope Socks 🔗 Links Patreon & Birdscord:   / talkingaboutbirds   Website & merch: https://talkingaboutbirds.com Crossonym: https://crossonym.com Voicemail / text: (848) 48-BIRDS — (848) 482-4737 Email: talkaboutbirds@gmail.com Bluesky / Instagram / TikTok: @talkingaboutbirds Have a question or comment for the show? Text or leave us a voicemail at: (848) 48-BIRDS (848-482-4737) Talking About Birds is listener supported on Patreon. Support the show and join our private discord server at: www.patreon.com/talkingaboutbirds #stlcards #cardinals #mlb #stlcardinals #cardinalsnation #baseball #seasonreview #cardinalspitching #baseballpodcast