Chicago Cubs: Are the St. Louis Cardinals again the Cubs’ biggest threat?

As the season comes down to the final eight weeks, the Chicago Cubs still find themselves in a tight race. Everyone has worried about the Milwaukee Brewers but don’t look now – here come the St. Louis Cardinals.

Around four weeks ago, it seemed like the NL Central race would come down to the Chicago Cubs and Milwaukee Brewers. The St. Louis Cardinals were hovering around .500 and were on the brink of having their season pretty much end with a few more losses. But, in typical Cardinals fashion, they refuse to go away.

In the blink of an eye, the Cardinals are just two games out of the Wild Card and five back of the Cubs going into Tuesday. Back on July 31, the Redbirds were just one game over .500 and in fourth place in the division. The team was not scoring runs and their defense was worst in the National League. Their MLB.com postseason projections had them at a seven percent chance of making the playoffs. Going into Tuesday they are now nine above .500, thanks to a 16-9 mark in the second half.

So are these guys a threat to the Cubs? There are arguments for and against it, though only time will tell what will happen.