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Chicago Cubs: Making the case for each NL Central contender
Chicago Cubs: Making the case for the St. Louis Cardinals
As for St. Louis? Well, they’re struggling, but they’re no Pittsburgh (23-38, 11 1/2 games back). Sure, St. Louis has dropped eight of its last 10, which undoubtedly is cause for concern. But every Cubs fan knows there’s always more to a Cubs-Cardinals matchup than meets the eye. The Cards are still only three games back of first place despite their struggles, which is huge as they go into a series against Chicago.
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In St. Louis, the tradition is winning. Some describe the Cardinals as “The Yankees of the National League”, with their 11 World Series titles. Even though I don’t have a lot of recent data that supports a winning team, as they lost eight of their last 10, how do you see a guy like Adam Wainwright, who has been playing forever, and not have confidence in the guy?
He’s 39 and has been inconsistent this season, either giving the Cards a really great outing or getting shelled for a few runs early on. But the guy has been there and delivered so many times, I don’t think it’s fair to write this team off just yet. Especially after a performance he put together on Wednesday night in which he fanned six, allowed only two runs on three hits, and went seven innings as he picked up the win over the Cleveland Indians.
The Cardinals have winners. I mentioned Wainwright, but how about Yadier Molina? He’s pretty good right? He’s got a ton of postseason experience, World Series hardware and what seems like a million Gold Gloves, (not really, he has won the award nine times. Still unbelievable.)
Veteran guys, mixed with talent usually bodes well for a baseball team. The Cardinals’ two most-talented guys these days are at the corners, first baseman Paul Goldschmidt and eight-time Gold Glover Nolan Arenado. Both guys have excellent hands on the infield and can do immense damage at the plate.