Once Again, Don't Count the Cardinals Out

[loud sigh]

Those Cardinals never know when to quit.

Their best move at the postseason proved that they were willing to shed a few pounds, trading Tommy Pham to the Cardinals...solely to make room for Harrison Bader in the lineup. They made it a point to let new people like Daniel Poncedeleon and Austin Gomber start some games, in an effort to mix up the dynamic a bit. Their core lineup is made up of people doing pretty well. So...even if they're only a few games above .500, 7.5 games behind the Cubs, and without a lot of their starting pitching...THEY'RE STILL GOING...

To be honest, they've had worse years lately. Yadier Molina is still an All-Star catcher, Matt Carpenter has FULLY TRANSFORMED into a home run hitter, Marcell Ozuna's finally doing well out of Miami, Kolten Wong's got a high ERA, and Harrison Bader is having a fantastic rookie season. Miles Mikolas has thrived, even in the lack of a solid ace due to injuries to Adam Wainwright and Carlos Martinez. Jack Flaherty's doing well enough in his first year, and the bullpen, especially Bud Norris and Jordan Hicks, is pretty successful.

However...when you look at they're up against...you've got the Cubs, who have the momentum right now, and you have the Brewers, who arguably have the best team, and you have the Pirates, who are the streakiest team. And you have the Reds, who can eat away wins if they want. The Cardinals, honestly, have the least edge. They have a lot going for them, but they also are kind of baseline when compared to the rest of the division.

I don't know if the Cardinals can outlast the rest of this division...but they sure as hell will try.

Coming Tomorrow- Arguably one of the most underrated players of the last few years, quietly excelling at hits and fielding in Seattle.