Once again 20 games over .500.
1 1/2 games up in the NL Central, the toughest division in baseball. Staff Ace Adam Waiwright (finally) wins his 12th game. Yadier Molina did indeed return to the lineup. And the Cardinals beat the Astros by 4 runs.
It's not all roses, though…
Earlier in the day the Cardinals cut Ty Wigginton, he the 5 million dollar benchman who couldn't get off it. Randy Choate, another off-season signing sparked a 9th inning Astro rally that morphed the final line from 9-1 to 9-5 and burned a day of use from closer Edward Mujica.
The Cardinals can feast on the Astros and Cubs for the remainder of the week and head into the All-Star break well above that 20+ .500 mark… but this team isn't playing for the regular season anymore.
We know they're good enough to make the playoffs. Anyone here think they're not?
And once the playoffs start you're going to need things. A reliable bench bat and a LH pitcher that can get outs in the 7th/8th innings are two.
No. Not complaining. The Cardinals need to beat the bad teams to reach their destiny. But the time has come to start taking a hard look at what's out there and who can help this team not in July or August, but in October.
You know, where the Cardinals REALLY judge themselves.
The trade deadline is now three weeks away. The Cardinals have started the process of vetting their own projections and revising the talent accordingly.
Change is afoot. Will it be enough? What's coming in the next 21 days?
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
