The Cardinals are 12-11 in June
And are 1 game up on the Pirates for the NL Central lead (2.5 on the Reds).
A lost weekend in St. Louis was capped off by a 3 hour rain delay that pushed the Sunday night showcase into a Monday Morning meltdown. Swept out of town and looking closer to the pre-season predictions than the powerhouse that April and May spawned.
So what do we make of it all?
The best teams ever will still lose 50 times or more in a season. But do they get swept a home? If Kozma wouldn't have dropped that pop up, the Cardinals could have won that game last night. But the Cardinals weren't guaranteed to score again, right?
Matt Holliday… will he hit 30 HRs, drive in in 125 and still hit into ALL of the double plays?
With the rookie pitching bound to hit lulls in 2013, it's going to take more from the offense to power through. Shelby Miller has come back to earth. Tyler Lyons has been optioned. Trevor Rosenthal isn't untouchable. Mike Wacha is getting shut down for a while as a precaution.
Can the offense pick up the slack?
If this three game set was any litmus test, then the outlook is very scary. But then again, it's 3 games. Then again, it's against a good team. Then again, it's against a good team the Cardinals won't see again until the World Series.
We've said it before, and we'll say it again… the Cardinals are in a heavyweight fight for the NL Central title. Normally a three game slide wouldn't be cause for concern when a team is 21 wins over .500. But now? Now the Cardinals are a day away from 2nd place. And a business week away from 3rd.
It matters.
Thankfully the Houston Astros are here to save the day, once again. Unless they rise up and beat their former division mates. At that point… PANIC!
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