As the Cardinals continue to play above .500 baseball, their divisional rivals, the Chicago Cubs are on fire. They have won 9 straight and the best team in baseball at the moment. With the Astros and Brewers both fading quickly, it seems as though it could come down to the best rivalry in the National League. The Cardinals continue to get incredible (also surprising) performances from Todd Wellemeyer and Braden Looper who are now 6-1 and 7-4 respectively. Cardinals pitchers continue to look great early on in games and then make a mistake late before the bullpen is called upon. The latest example of this was a few nights ago when Adam Wainwright fell to 5-3 because he gave up a grand slam to Jason Michaels after surrendering only one hit through is first 5 innings of work.

The Cardinals need to up their consistency to keep within striking distance of the Cubs. They need to avoid giving up the big inning, hit the ball on a regular basis and continue their commitment to team defense. A few guys in my mind need to step up in order for this to happen. Adam Wainwright is a strong finisher and will find the form he had last year late. To end the regular season, he was the toughest pitcher to face in the NL outside of Brandon Webb. Troy Glaus needs to pick up the power as he only has 3 home runs. He’s not even the guy being relied upon to protect Albert Pujols so he needs to get it together. I understand that Rolen needed to go, but Glaus has been nothing short of disappointing to me. Joel Piniero needs to find himself once he returns from injury. He has been okay, but the Cardinals need to be able to count on getting reliable starting pitching on a game to game basis if they want to compete for the divisional title.

In Other News:

The Cardinals demoted struggling Chris Duncan to Memphis (AAA). To be honest, he’s lost it and I think he’s done in St. Louis. He’s developed lots of holes in his swing and the NL pitchers eat him up. Also, Mark Mulder is not progressing as wanted, and may not be back in time for the All Star break. Matt Clement is set to begin rehab, and Chris Carpenter is still not immanently returning. Albert Pujols was pulled tonight against Washington due to tightness in his thighs, but he should be okay.

Thanks for reading!

BT

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