Cardinals Update: MWHAHAHAHA Edition

Oh, what a wonderful two weeks we've been having...

After a month or so of the Cardinals slowly creeping up the standings and battling the Cubs and Brewers, they've lost a grand portion of their last 12 games, and as slowly backing towards the Reds in the standings. Again, this may be my 9,000,000th 'The Cardinals stink' post on the blog, but when a team has caused such pain and misery (read: the 2011 playoffs) as the Cardinals have...you want that same pain and misery to happen to them.

...And I see the irony of me saying that, whilst simultaneously rooting for a team that's caused more pain and misery than the Spanish Inquisition.

ANYWAY, BACK TO THE CARDINALS.

They're not doing as well as they were in mid-May, and they're beginning to reform, head back to earth. Mike Leake, meanwhile, is still having a really nice season. It's about time, too- with Adam Wainwright falling from his spotlight a bit, and Carlos Martinez giving up too many runs, maybe Mike Leake's destined to step up in a leadership position. Of course, I could be wrong, and Wainwright could actually spring back to his 2009 numbers any day now, and Lance Lynn could honestly be that guy anyway, but Leake's stuff is very impressive this year.

And it's a good thing the pitching's so good, as the lineup's honestly a mixed bag. As well as people like Jedd Gyorko's doing, nobody else is really wowing people. A few injuries, a demotion, and a ton of middling averages.

I'm not sure if hoping for improvement is the right thing to do here, but...I hope at least something changes? I guess?

Coming Tonight: I think this guy just hit a really important home run recently?

Uncustomed Heroes of 2016: Red Sox

It's funny...the Red Sox were the team I was expecting to make and win the World Series, and I was fine with this...and then the team that actually won the AL title was a lot better and a lot easier to root for and I was fine with that.

Don't get me wrong, the Sox were wonderful this year, and the bats were explosive. It's just...as a Yankee fan, I can only like them for so long without coming up for air.

Drew Pomeranz was a late-season trade that...quite frankly, should have worked better than he did. But, again...lefties in Fenway don't do too well, and...why has it taken so long for the Red Sox to realize this? Because they keep trading for them...and they're all gonna stop doing well.

Ah, anyway. Should stop ranting. GOOD THINGS, Jordan, GOOD THINGS.

Right. Brock Holt. He had a decent enough post-breakout season, though it didn't pack the punch his 2015 season did. The Sox have just gotten rid of Travis Shaw, so maybe Holt is next? Hard to say, but...Pablo Sandoval's comeback is intriguing enough to make me anxious about his job stability.

Brad Ziegler's one of the more intriguing relievers in the game, and after doing well for my fantasy team on the D-Backs, he was traded to the Sox and worked the eighth for the most part, doing a nice enough job.

Andrew Benintendi's a rookie that made his debut late in the season, and did a nice enough job. Meanwhile, Yoan Moncada, who did a less-than-perfect job in his debut, is now wearing different colored sox. So, first impressions count, definitely. Maybe Benintendi will be vying for a starting job next year.

Meanwhile...this guy had a Grade-A season when absolutely no one thought he would.

Porcello's been nice, he's had a few good seasons, but this was his first major, I-made-the-grade season since 2014. This is something that's gonna mean a lot to the Red Sox in the next phase of their evolution from 'David Ortiz' team' to a new, young-blooded roster. If he has more seasons like this one, the Sox will be DANGEROUS.

Coming Tomorrow- A much weaker shade of Red.

Cards for Sorrow, Cards for Pain

The good news is that the Cardinals are only one game behind the Pirates in the NL Central.

The bad news...is that the Cardinals are 10 and a half games behind the Cubs. So, for right now, their only option is just to hang out in the middle until something happens.

This is a new concept for a team that was in the NLCS for four straight years back there, and hasn't had a textbook defined losing season since Adam Wainwright was a reliever. Right now, both the Pirates and Cubs have a lot more to work with than the Cardinals, even if the Cards have a rotation of people like Jaime Garcia who can throw fire and still be legitimate on an okay team.

Right now, the Cardinals are planted pretty solidly in the middle, even though they're close to knocking off Pittsburgh. Milwaukee is in no danger of catching them, and don't especially have the resources to try. It's safe to assume that, as much as I'd love to see it, the Cardinals can't sink any lower in the standings.

And some of their guys, such as Stephen Piscotty, are playing pretty well. Aledmys Diaz is having a great breakout season, and Matt Holliday is coming back with some great numbers this point in the season. They're just being outgunned, which is a new feeling for them.

I still think the most optimistic part of this post is the Jaime Garcia custom. Just the right amount of cool.

Coming Tomorrow- One of the many strong pitchers in Seattle right now.

Things The Twins Are Doing Right: An Incredibly Short List

1. Keeping the people on the bench who are hitting, like Eduardo Nunez and Robbie Grossman, in the mix by having them cover for Sano and Santana while they're out.

2. Keeping people like Ervin Santana and Joe Mauer on the roster so they can be traded for some much-needed prospects.

3. Letting Jose Berrios go back to the minors, as if to shield his eyes from the monstrosity that is going on over on the mainland.

4. Bringing up Byung-Ho Park and keeping him on the roster as DH, so he wouldn't end up injured like every position player who's made positive progress for them in the past few months.

5. Nobody in the lineup is hitting below the mendoza line. However, only one is hitting above .300, and it's Eduardo Nunez.

That's it.

Happy Trails, Molly.

Coming Tomorrow- His team's not in last, but in any other division they would be. Anyway, he's one of the most underrated catchers in the NL, and the bets are already on about where he'll be playing after the trade deadline (my money is on Boston, personally).