An Inflated Sense of Self

 

The St. Louis Cardinals are in second place in a contentious NL Central while only 1 game over .500. And they're acting like this is their house. As is typical, honestly. 

I realize how rich this is coming from me as a Yankee fan, but the St. Louis Cardinals, in the last ten years, have such a chip on their shoulder for a team that hasn't really accomplished anything. For years they'd just make the NLCS every year just by catching momentum at the right time. It was never a matter of whether the team was great, or whether they fit into the story of the season, they'd just be there. I kid the Astros for being a consistently boring outcome, but the Cardinals were this first, in that they were always competitive and never actually did anything with it. They got to the NLCS in 2019, over more deserving teams like the Braves, Brewers and Dodgers. If it weren't for the Nationals making them regret it, they could have made for an Astros-Cardinals Series, which would have been absolutely unbearable.

So right now, this team is far enough behind the Brewers not to have much of a chance at the division, and 2.5 games behind the three wild card leaders, two of which are far ahead of the standard. The Cardinals have honestly had a rough August so far. They've only won 4 games so far this month, their big pitching acquisition is taking his time getting to peak, and they lost one of their hot young players, former Reds also-ran Michael Siani, to an injury. But the lucky thing for the Cardinals is that the Pirates and Reds have also had rough times, and only the Cubs, who've made a tremendous amount of ground in August, seem to be much of a threat at the moment. 

But this week involves games against the Reds and Dodgers, two teams that have been distinguished somewhat but are slowly getting hot again. And if the first part of the month has been any indication, the Cardinals might not have much to contend with. They have Victor Scott and Jordan Walker back up, and they're still struggling. Tommy Pham has been a spark, but this isn't the everyman Tommy Pham they had in the 2010s. Willson Contreras has cooled off tremendously, as have the younger guys like Burleson and Gorman.

Nolan Arenado, obviously having a down year, is at least managing to contribute more than he did during the first half. In August alone he's hitting .342 with 7 RBIs. Funny that this has happened the moment the Cardinals lose momentum. Maybe Arenado's just better playing for lower-level teams. It's clear that Arenado is probably leaving his peak, and while he's got a few more years left in St. Louis, they may not be to the same degree as his sharp 2022 and 2023 campaigns. Which, as the younger guys develop into passable but not incredible everyday guys, may be concerning.

The Cardinals can never truly be counted out, because they find ways to win that defy logic itself. This doesn't exactly look like they're year, but they're still in second, and they're gonna try and keep that ground by any means necessary.

Coming Tomorrow- A guy who came within inches of a no-hitter last week.