The St. Louis Cardinals knew they had an old team heading into the 2012 season, and injuries or players wearing down in the course of the regular season were the team’s most likely downfall. The Cardinals have sustained injuries throughout the season, but now fatigue is doing its best to take down the team

Shortstop Rafeal Furcal tore a ligament in his right elbow Aug. 30 in Washington after dealing with back problems for weeks, outfielder Matt Holliday was sidelined much of the last week with a sore back and outfielder Carlos Beltran has flat out stopped hitting.

Beltran had been among the league leaders in homeruns and RBIs for much of the season, but he has hit .165 in the last month with two homeruns and eight RBIs. He is now fifth in the National League with 28 homeruns, 10 behind leader Ryan Braun, and eighth in RBIs with 86.

Maybe Beltran’s knee is causing him more serious issues than he lets on, but either way the Cardinals have lost a very important bat in the middle of their lineup. With Beltran’s slump, Holliday’s back problems and Berkman trying to come back from a stay on the disabled list, the Cardinals no longer have a scary heart of the order.

Unfortunately, these issues couldn’t have come at a worse time. The Cardinals were able to survive early season injuries to Berkman, Allen Craig, Skip Schumaker and Matt Carpenter without losing too much ground in the standings.

That likely won’t be possible now. The Cincinnati Reds are running away with the National League Central Division and could be headed to 100 wins. The Cardinals still hold the second wild-card spot, but the Los Angeles Dodgers and Pittsburgh Pirates remain well within striking distance. Both teams were 1.5 games behind the Cardinals heading into play Saturday.

Manager Mike Matheny could be an easy target for a team that is wearing out near the end of the season, but there isn’t much he could do about these issues. He made sure starters got days off often at the beginning of the season, and he actually received criticism for not playing his best lineup often enough. The problem is the team just wasn’t built with much room for injuries and fatigue.

The Cardinals Opening Day lineup featured six players who are now 30 years or older. A team that old has to receive a fair amount of luck to make it through an entire season without dealing with many injury problems.

The Cardinals certainly haven’t received much luck in that department, but it also shouldn’t surprise everyone when the offense struggles. Sure, a team that leads the league in hitting shouldn’t go four straight games without scoring an earned run, as the Cardinals did Aug. 28-31 against the Pirates and Nationals, but it would also be unrealistic to think the offense would continue to churn out five or more runs a game nearly every night.

Despite the recent struggles, life is still pretty good for the Cardinals. They entered play Saturday in the second wild-card spot and 4.5 games behind the Atlanta Braves for the top wild-card position.

Plus, the upcoming schedule is favorable. The Cardinals have just four of their next 18 games against teams with a winning record, although all but five of those games are on the road. Still, this upcoming stretch might give the Cardinals a chance to get well for a final push toward the playoffs. They are going to need it.

After two come-from-behind wins against the Florida Marlins heading into the All-Star break, things were looking up for the St. Louis Cardinals. Starting pitching was performing very well, guys were getting healthy, and the bullpen was finding some semblance of normalcy. Hopes were high for after the break, with as near a healthy roster as the Cardinals have had all season, and 9 straight games within the division to start the break.

Kharma is a funny thing.

It’s like the baseball gods dumped a ying on every yang used up during the 2011 historic run. The now healthy Cardinals stormed out of the second half gate in not-so-impressive fashion, getting swept by the Reds. Then they dropped two of three in Milwaukee. And the one game they did win required a two run ninth-inning rally to take the lead. The five games lost were lost by a total of six runs.

I can not resign myself to blame solely kharma, the baseball gods, luck, or small sample sizes. Something is going on with this team. A few  observations on the team and then observations on Matheny.

1. Who is providing leadership to this team?
Much was made during the 2011 season about the right “clubhouse mix”. Chris Carpenter was the unquestioned fiery leader of the team who could give a good kick in the pants when needed. His energy on the mound during the stretch run and playoffs was desperately needed for what seemed like three months of constant elimination games.

I would contend that Carpenter’s presence and leadership has been sorely missed this year.

Also, Lance Berkman provided great leadership as well. Though funny and able to keep things light when needed, he also would stand up in the tough times and answer the hard questions . He brought about a great culture of ownership and accountability instead of blame. He has been out of action since mid-May and is struggling mightily in his return. Providing leadership is challenging while rehabbing and trying to get yourself to an acceptable level of performance.

Albert Pujols (while often seemingly aloof and privy to a separate set of rules) no doubt commanded excellence from his teammates, and hated to lose. Even during a down season, he was still a feared hitter that could carry the team on his back for stretches at a time.

Those are 3 key pieces missing this season, along with a rookie manager and inexperienced pitching coach.

Could lack of leadership, this intangible quality unable to be measured by statistics, play a key part in the reason why the Cardinals are second in NL run  differential, but have the 7th best record?

2012 National League Run Differential

Washington     +65     record 53-36

St. Louis           +64     record 47-45

Cincinnati       +43      record 51-40

Pittsburgh       +34     record  51-40

Atlanta             +28     record 49-41

Since a 20-11 start, the Cardinals are 27-34. Over that stretch, they have been held to 3 or fewer runs 33 times. Hardly the record of a team leading the league in most offensive categories, and surprising for a team that has received 14 quality starts over the last 17 games. What is going on?

I don’t know if the team is tired or Matheny’s more relaxed style has created a real or perceived lack of urgency. I’m waiting to see someone, please anyone, stand up and get angry to put a fire under this team.

It is a team of talented, yet seemingly laid-back guys. None of us are in the locker room to know what goes on behind the scenes, but we can see what is happening on the field. Which player has vocalized anger about a sustained period of mediocre play? Why is Tyler Greene telling Fox Sports Midwest that he’s not disappointed with his performance this yea?  Who among David Freese, Carlos Beltran, Yadi Molina, Adam Wainwright, Rafael Furcal, Matt Holliday, Lance Berkman, Skip Schumaker, Jon Jay, and Jason Motte is going to stand up and and say it’s time for something to change?

I don’t expect it from Freese, Beltran, Holliday, Schuamker, or Jay. They seem like pretty laid-back even keeled guys. I would suggest Molina and Wainwright realize it is their time to step up and challenge this team to play to its capability. 47-45 is simply unacceptable for the amount of talent put on the field night in and night out.

You may say I’m being unfair because of the injuries and inexperienced bullpen. The bullpen has not been the problem over the last 6 games, or this month even. The club has a 1.78 bullpen ERA for the month of June. The problem is good hitters not stepping up and getting timely hits. The team hit .178 (8 for 45) with runners in scoring position over the first five games back from the break. Think about that for a moment, 45 ABs with RISP in 5 games and only 8 hits.

Veteran defenders have been botching routing plays (which leads into my next point)….somebody needs to wake this team up.

2.Beltran and Furcal look tired, or are at least playing tired
Carlos Beltran hit 19 home runs in his first 198 at-bats this season. He has 1 over his last 117 through July 18th game. He looks tired. He needs a rest. Watching him run down balls in right field is not pretty. He is slow and laborious. So instead of Matheny resting Beltran after admitting he was exhausted after the All-Star festivities in Kansas City, he starts him 4 out of 5 games. Two of those starts were in center field, which takes a lot greater defensive toll on a player. It makes no sense.

On June 10, Rafael Furcal was batting .304/.358/.421/.779. Since then, he has hit .207/.309/.223/.532 with 0 HR and 8 RBI in 121 AB. He has also made several key errors in the last two series, including two in yesterday’s disastrous 4-run 1st inning. Unfortunately, Tyler Greene has not lived up to Mo’s expectations even without LaRussa and Descalso has not hit well enough to spell Furcal much at short.

This was the risk the club took filling these two spots with veterans, and although they have played in a lot of games, the level of play is starting to wane. Hopefully Beltran will not experience the same second half fade Berkman did last-season (but that is next week’s article.)

3. Matheny factor
No reasonable human being expected Mike Matheny to be Tony LaRussa during his first year on the job. But Mozeliak wanted him, and he assured Mozeliak he was ready for the challenge. He inherited a 116 million dollar payroll team, poised to make a deep run at a World Series repeat. This was not a normal gig for a rookie manager.

In evaluating managers, I tend to look at 4 key areas they provide the most contribution:

1. Player motivation   2. Game prep and planning   3. Tactical in-game decisions   4. Keeping players fresh and performing at their best

Underlying all of that is the level of innate leadership ability to be able to rally the troops and lead them in each of the 4 areas above.

We were promised Matheny had that leadership ability and everything else could be learned on the job. To me that meant #’s 1 and 2 above could be handled well from day 1. I assumed #’s 3 and 4 would be learned on the job.

In regards to #1, the players like Matheny. But there is no doubt a different pressure level than under TLR. Maybe in the long run, this will pay off. Right now, there are a lot more L’s than W’s piling up.

#2 I can’t really speak to much from where I sit.

#3 has me constantly puzzled. It’s easier to play armchair quarterback than make the tough calls in the heat of the moment, but my gosh, Matheny has made a lot of calls that have Little League managers scratching their head. The team runs into a lot of outs at home plate on infield ground balls, there have been a lot of double steals gone wrong, and very interesting roster moves where he uses up a hitter early in a tie game, or leaves a reliever in for an extended period of time for unfavorable matchups. Also, there was the decision to play Carlos Beltran in center field in back-to-back games while telling the media he is exhausted and needing some time off.

The latest in-game decision that really had me scratching my head was pinch hitting Berkman yesterday with the bases loaded, two outs, and down by a run in the 9th inning. Berkman has looked terrible since coming back from the DL. He admitted after the game that his bat speed is not back to what it used to be.

Why would Matheny put him in that spot knowing that? Worse yet if he didn’t know it and put in a player at less than full strength in a game-deciding situation? He acted like a novice roto ball manager instead of manager of the defending world champions trying to win a division.

See Beltran comment above in regards to #4. However, Matheny has attempted to give guys regular days off, and for that I applaud him. There just doesn’t seem to be any kind of rhythm to it yet. I hope it comes soon.

What bothers me the most in regards to Matheny are his comments to the media. Same canned responses night after night. “We have a good team”, “We haven’t played our best baseball yet”, “We are going to get better”….

How late in the season do you get by with the “we haven’t played our best baseball yet” argument? We are staring August in the face. I know this seems pretty harsh towards Matheny. I have been a vocal and adamant supporter since day one. He needs time to develop in-game management and getting the most from his lineup day in and day out.

But he was brought to the Cardinals to lead. Now is the time. Show us some emotion that you are unhappy with the way things are going instead of the nightly platitudes about how good you think this team is.

Instill a sense of urgency. Find your mojo, Matheny. The Cardinals desperately need it.

Unless you have been hiding under a rock for the last few weeks, you are aware the St. Louis Cardinals are in the middle of a very bad stretch of baseball. Before Monday’s win at New York, the club had dropped 5 straight and if you take out the sweep against the AAA padres on a 4-17 stretch of baseball.

Bad.

For whatever reason, I do not believe the sky is falling and all is lost for either this season or the future of the organization. Perhaps it is because I like Mike Matheny, and want to believe he will get it turned around. Perhaps it is that Mozeliak has earned some trust that he makes moves for the long-term good of the club, and not just knee-jerk reactions to fix immediate needs. Perhaps it is because I believe in the talent and leadership of this team, and understand what they have been up against with all the injuries. Or perhaps, I have allowed a paradigm shift to take place this season to take the long view and not get so caught up in the “window is now” mentality that has pervaded the Cardinals organization for the last several years.

It solidified in my mind last Friday night as I was on Conversations with C70 podcast. As I was talking with host Daniel Shoptaw, he reminded me the importance of getting out of that “all-in” mentality that it’s this year or nothing. Should fans have the expectation to put a winning product on the field? Of course. Is expecting to win a World Series or deep playoff run every year realistic? No. And again, do not take this as I am throwing in the towel on the Cardinal’s chances for this season. Just trying to provide some perspective.

The messaging from the media and front office the last few seasons has created a sense of urgency to “win now”. The conversation always centered around the need to win before Albert Pujol’s free agency, or before Tony LaRussa retired, or while Jim Edmonds and Scott Rolen were still producing at a high level.

We are in a different era now.

Yes it would be nice to get Berkman, Carpenter, and Beltran another ring; but this team has positioned itself to be a contender for a long, long time. There is good talent at the major league level, and the deepest farm system in years. That farm system is being bolstered by another solid draft

*Quick aside: I was overall happy with the Cards draft, and think they can sign a bunch of players based on where they slotted…but my gosh wouldn’t it have been nice to see one completely risky pick on a raw high schooler with a ton of talent? Isn’t that the point of having 5 of the first 59 picks, you get to risk one of them? Dan Kantrovitz played it safe in his first draft. Time will tell if he plays it this safe in every draft. I sure hope not…he was sitting on an incredible opportunity this year to take a very high upside but risky player, and didn’t do it. *

Heading into the Mets series, the Cardinals boasted the 3rd best run differential in MLB, and best in NL. Pitching has obviously been more problematic than offense during the May/June slide. But here is the main problem as I see it. Lack of veteran presence within the bullpen.

Some would say Mozeliak went all-in with a bunch of second year arms in the bullpen and that was foolish….that the club made a huge mistake letting Dotel walk. Be careful before quickly jumping to that conclusion. Yes, Dotel is a great pitcher, but Mozeliak had an experienced left-handed reliever in Marc Rzepcynksi coming off a great 2011. He also added two veteran relievers in the off-season that should have provided the needed veteran presence: Scott Linebrink and JC Romero.

Unfortunately, Romero severely underperformed and was released. Rzepcynski has struggled, and Linebrink got hurt. What is Mozeliak supposed to do? The Memphis roster has already been depleted due to the huge number of injuries this season. Should Mo trade off top prospects for bullpen arms this early in the season? It seems the approach is to ride out the tough stretch for the time being and allow players to get healthy, and deal from a position of strength and not urgency.

My plea to Cardinal fans is to take the long view. Realize the window to win is big, and a knee-jerk move to shore up a short-term problem may not be in the best interest of the organization for this year, and certainly over the long-term. The Cardinals will figure it out. A veteran presence is needed in the bullpen, perhaps Linebrink is one piece and we trade for another in July. But all is not lost.

The window to win is bigger now than ever.

Various media outlets are reporting St. Louis is the front runner to land former Houston and Philadelphia starter, Roy Oswalt, and if that deal happens, watch out folks.

Adam Wainwright, Chris Carpenter, Jaime Garcia, Roy Oswalt. That’s a nasty 1-4 in the rotation. Then you’ve got Kyle Lohse coming off a career year, going 14-8 with a 3.39 ERA. Jake Westbrook would either be an insurance starter, an asset to be traded, or an additional option in the bullpen. Waiting in the wings is top prospect Shelby Miller, who has a chance to rise to Triple-A Memphis this season. We haven’t even touched on Kyle McClellan, who had a very successful season as the club’s 5^th starter, or Marc Rzepczynski, who’s also projected to be a starter someday.

So what’s that all mean? It means that John Mozeliak will have some serious bargaining chips to work with this spring and summer that could make the Cardinals even better than the team already is.

Let’s take a look at the projected lineup for a minute:

1. Furcal
2. Jay/Beltran
3. Holliday
4. Berkman
5. Freese
6. Craig
7. Molina
8. Descalso/Schumaker
9. (Pitcher)

Not a lot of holes to fill, but let’s say Furcal gets hurt or the team wants a little more pop at second base. Mozeliak is now free to make a move. Without Pujols in the lineup, the Cardinals will have 9 legitimate starting position players with only 8 spots to play them, and have 7 legitimate starting pitchers will only 5 spots in the rotation. Even the bullpen will be loaded with talent with the return of Eduardo Sanchez, Fernando Salas, Jason Motte, Lance Lynn, McClellan, Rzepczynski, and company.

There were two general thoughts when Albert Pujols left (other than outrage, anger, and despair), and those were: 1) Mike Matheny will have less pressure to repeat with Pujols gone, and 2) the team will have a lot of flexibility to make improvements.

We’ve already seen scenario number-2 in action… and if the club lands a healthy Roy Oswalt, it blows scenario number-1 out of the water.

Simply put, the addition of Roy Oswalt (and all the other options the move would present) puts this team on the fast track for at the very least a return trip to the NLCS, if not the World Series. It should be fun to watch.

Lance Berkman, the first baseman for the St. Louis Cardinals in 2012 has some business questions in front of him. Behind him is a party like no other in 2011.

The mullet haircut has its own mantra: business in the front, party in the back. Mullets have been sported for decades, starting in the South, and spreading into mainstream culture in the 80s. From Dennis Eckersley to John Kruk, players wore their mullets loud and proud, letting the hair flow out of the back of their hat. What keeps the mullet cut relevant in current Cardinals talk? Lance Berkman. The mullet almost speaks to his personality too well.

For years, Lance has been a grinder in the league, averaging 130 games played for the past twelve seasons. His hard work ethic combined with his comical and outgoing personality make him one of the most likeable teammates in the Cardinals clubhouse. His .301 batting average this past season was his best since 2008, his 31 homers was his best since 2006, and he won the GIBBY award for Comeback Player of the Year.

After Berkman’s downslide in 2010, Berkman seemed to be heading toward retirement. He was 34, his numbers were sliding every year, and he was thought of as a toss up in the free agent market. When the Cardinals picked up Berkman, he looked at the opportunity as a turning point in his career, and he began to work his way back into the form we saw in his prime in Houston. He had some help hitting behind great hitters like Albert Pujols and Matt Holiday, which diverted attention from Berkman and gave him more chances for better pitches and more hits. He looked a lot more comfortable hitting this past season, and it helped to have a deeper, more balanced lineup than when he was in Houston.

The question that we all have asked this winter is can Lance Berkman succeed without Albert Pujols in front of him? Well, the answer is yes. After watching the World Series, I saw some signs that Lance was not just a flash in the pan last season. He still has three guys surrounding him named Matt Holliday, David Freese, and Allen Craig in the meat of that order, in addition to guys like Rafael Furcal and Carlos Beltran. The offensive attack will not be as loaded with power as it was in the past, however. The lineup as of right now is more balanced, and looks like it will produce the runs it will need for the pitching staff to compete in games.

Whether we look for a fade cut, a Mohawk, or a mullet, we all see the personality that compliments the hair of each player. For Lance, it is a mix of fun and work, and it fits him just fine. One day I hope to see someone fit the mullet’s mantra just as well as Lance Berkman does.

1% of your entire life. Assuming average life expectancy, that’s what happened to you between the first pitch of the 2011 season and the last out in Game 7.

Life, like baseball, has been going on all around us this season. Our kids are a year older. We’ve been married a year longer. We realized a few more of our goals – and saw others recede into the distance. Perhaps this year has brought challenges: illness, job loss, strained relationships. This season, as in every season, we’ve been made to feel that life’s horizon is wider than a ball game.

Baseball games happen in little snapshots of time, mini-duels that happen while life continues around it. The games come and go. The fans, the players, coaches – all mortal. But behind this game that we all love so much is something much deeper, something greater than the sum of its parts. Sometimes on the surface and sometimes hidden, baseball is a game full of lessons in virtue. Every season, we have the distinct opportunity to grow not only as fans but also as individuals.

I don’t remember a season in which virtue was more apparent on any one particular team than the 2011 St. Louis Cardinals. Team injuries. Failed closer. Shoddy bullpen early in the season. August 25th. And they didn’t quit. Berkman beats the Vegas odds and makes a storming comeback. Craig gets to Ogando…twice. Holliday survives a massive bug attack. Pujols starts hitting again. The bullpen is lights out. And who can forget Game 6? Down to our last strike – twice – only to seal the win on a walk-off in the 11th inning. Fortitude. Resilience. Courage. Perseverance.

How about Chris Carpenter? Six arm surgeries, early season struggles, and little offensive support behind him. But who among us doubted he’d come out like a beast in the post season? Game 5 in Philadelphia. Game 7 on short rest.

We watched these men collectively strive toward excellence day in and day out. Sure, they weren’t perfect. Plenty of games saw us pulling our hair out and shouting at the TV. But life isn’t so different is it? We’re all dealt challenges, trials, and difficulties. We either persevere or we give up. We fight through the challenge or give in to cynicism and passivity. Thank you, St. Louis Cardinals, for showing me a great model of resilience. Thank you, Chris Carpenter, for being the kind of guy I can point to and say “See kids, don’t let anything stop you from pursuing excellence. Never give up. Never stop fighting.” Thank you, Yadi, for showing grit from the first game to the last. Thank you, Adam Wainwright, for sitting on the sidelines every game of the season to support your teammates and for showing us what it means to persevere through set backs. Thank you, Tony La Russa, for showing us how to fight for 33 years for something you love. Your resilience is a profound example. And thank you, Dave Duncan, for the way you served your family during your painful trial. Your actions speak louder than words.

For all their successes and eventual victory, the Cardinals also taught us something about humility. Humility, it has been said, is not thinking less of yourself: it is thinking of yourself less. Humility is the proper recognition of who we are. Humility respects others and gives credit where credit is due.

I was struck by this virtue as I watched the rise of David Freese. The Hometown Hero had countless opportunities to gobble up the limelight, to shower himself with glory. How you would feel if the crowd you’d dreamed of playing in front of suddenly chanted your name? If you were suddenly a hitting force headed to the record books? If you were out-performing the All-Stars (and your mentors) on the team?

But from everything I saw of our third baseman, Freese looked for every opportunity to give credit to his teammates, his coaches, his parents, his past influences, and the fans. There are a few shots of David leaning in to speak to Berkman, Pujols, and Holliday during the celebratory mob in Game 7. One wonders what sorts of comments were shared. My guess is that whatever was expressed in the exchanges, it was done in a spirit of thankfulness and humility.

So thank you, David Freese, for modeling what it means to think less of yourself than you do of others. Thank you, Bullpen, for cleaning up messes and often not getting much glory. Thank you, Lance Berkman, for being a relatable and humble guy, always keeping things in perspective. Thank you, Alan Craig, for coming through when you were needed and not pouting over limited playing time. Thank you, Jake Westbrook, for humbly accepting your duty in the postseason. And thank you, Albert Pujols, for reminding us every time you get on base Who gives you the strength to do what you do.

It’s now up to us to ask the question: Do we exhibit the virtues we see in our favorite team? How did we grow as individuals this 2011 season? We can be more than just better fans. We can be better people. More resilient. More humble. And if you need some inspiration, look no further than the 2011 St. Louis Cardinals.

Motte hurls, makes sure his beard is still in tact, and then stares. La Russa, jittery, fixates his laser vision on the ball. The infield stands frozen. Alan Craig backs up…up. ”It’s well hit!” comes across the airwaves. And as people rise to their feet, take a look at the person standing to your right. To your left. People like you. Something remarkable could be happening off the field too.

No one in the Cardinal organization was willing to call Thursday’s series finale a ‘must-win’ game. It sure felt that way. Although they have 6 games remaining with Milwaukee, potentially having to make up 6 games with only 43 to go presented a daunting task. Basically if the team played even with the Brewers for the other 37 games, then won all six head to head, they’d finish tied. A hard road to walk. St Louis absolutely had to have last night’s game. Thankfully their two biggest stars of the last decade rose to the challenge and delivered.

In retrospective, what did we learn from these recent games with Milwaukee?

It’s hard to win when you’re behind. Self-evident, I know, but still true. St Louis did not have a lead in this series until Berkman knocked in Jay with one out in the third inning last night. Here’s an interesting tidbit – the Cardinals led after 7 of the 28 innings played in this three game series. The previous series in Milwaukee? They led after 7 of the 29 innings played. At least in Milwaukee they led in every game (albeit it early in both the 1 and 2 August tilts), something they were not able to do at home. However, leading for less than 1/3 of the total innings played makes it tough to win more than one game.

Milwaukee starting pitching is better. Most folks suspected that would be true after the Brewers acquired Grienke and Marcum, and Wainwright went down for the season. Through 119 games, both clubs sport an identical team ERA with St Louis’ starters slightly better (3.88 to 3.90). Remove Milwaukee’s slipshod fielding and their starters rise well above (3.61 xFIP to 3.76 for St Louis). Even with the addition of Edwin Jackson the Brewer 5 are better top to bottom than the Cardinal hurlers. This became painfully clear during the series.

Milwaukee relief pitching is also better. A somewhat surprising result to this correspondent, because Milwaukee has self-detonated so often late in games in recent years. Before the addition of Francisco Rodriguez the Brewers bullpen had posted better fielding independent numbers than St Louis (3.53 to 3.94). K-Rod, despite his high pitch numbers, makes them that much better. In this series the Brewer bullpen threw 8 scoreless innings; Cardinal relievers allowed 4 runs in 6 innings. Bullpen performance decided Tuesday’s game.

Albert Pujols will not decide the NL Central. The cries are becoming increasingly more shrill – Pujols has to step up and produce! Four-hundred-sixty plate appearnaces of .284/.348/.539 and one broken arm later, it is unrealistic to think he’ll hit .400 over the next 2 months. Albert’s best month (by average) was June; he’s hit under .300 the rest of the season. Besides, it’s not as if Pujols morphed into Jason Bartlett for the 2011 season. His SLG places him in the NL top 10 – it’s tenth, but still. By comparison, Berkman is first and Holliday third. The Cardinal offense remains lethal.

After being out-played over six games by the hottest team in the NL, St Louis lost only 2 games in the standings. They are also the only team to beat Milwaukee during their current hot streak. Both of those facts are encouraging; if the Cardinals can beat them while their white-hot, they can beat them when they cool off. Milwaukee is not going to win 13 out of every 15 from now until the end of September. Overcoming a 4-game deficit in mid-August is entirely doable. Not easy, but doable.

To answer this question one must first complete the question. Enough to win the NL Central? Enough to Win the NL? Enough to win the World Series? And even, enough to win the Wild Card? The answer to all four questions is NO. It is way too little and way too late.

The trade deadline is there to strengthen title contenders and help those out of the pennant race reload. It is not there to make mediocre teams just a bit less mediocre. I am sorry to break it to Cardinal Nation but that is what this team is and that is all that was accomplished with this year’s moves. The deal was big, but big deceptive, not big productive. I liken it to a child moving food all around his plate to give his parents the appearance he is eating.

Edwin Jackson, Corey Patterson, Octavio Dotel, Rafael Furcal and Marc Rzepczynski are all fine players. Fine being used in the loosest sense of the word. The issue is, save Rzepczynski, the rest of this group was best equipped for a pennant run in 2007. John Mozeliak deserves credit for not standing pat. The pressure is on to prove to both Cardinal fans and more importantly Albert Pujols that the team will do whatever is needed to win. A for effort…unfortunately C for results.

The moves made at the trade deadline by Cardinal management were nothing more than attempt to save face and undo poor decisions that were made before a game was played. The moves that should have been made, the real moves. Needed to take place back in January or February. It was then that Cardinal brass made the decision to go for offense over defense. I think everyone can agree that approach has become a horrible failure.

It started out great. A few games were lost here and there but Theriot and others were hitting well and everyone thought it would all balance out in the end. Problem is it did balance out, just the wrong way. Berkman stopped hitting .400 and Theriot is back under .270. Had Furcal’s glove come over in May maybe things would have been different. Had Dotel replaced Franklin by June…who knows. Had there been an actual backup plan in place for inevitable walls that would be hit by Lohse, Westbrook and McClellan. Well, you get the idea, things may have been different.

One had to do no more than watch Monday night’s game or Tuesday’s 5^th inning to see how poor defense and a worn down staff can impact a game and a season. Edwin Jackson is a nice #3 or #4 but that still leaves two SP spots that need attending to. I like the moves for what they are, an upgrade over what they have. But to say the Cardinals are “going all in to win it all now”, as many local scribes have stated is ludicrous.

Is the team better than it was a month ago? Maybe. Were the Cardinals contenders then? No. And I am sorry but these moves did nothing to change that. Patterson will be gone after the season, as will Dotel, Furcal and most likely Jackson. The real question, the real motive behind the trades is this. Are they enough to stop Pujols from leaving?…

These are just my thoughts…keep on reading and you’ll get up to speed.

Derek is on Twitter @SportsbyWeeze and also writes for the Rams at RamsHerd.com

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Albert Pujols’ is rumored to be ready to return to the Cardinals’ lineup as soon as Wednesday night, but whenever it happens (barring another injury) it will be a sight for sore eyes… and wrists… and elbows… and hands… and even appendices.

That’s because when Pujols returns to the Cardinals’ lineup, it will be the first time since April 15th in Los Angeles that the team will feature its 2011 opening day lineup… their “A-team” if you will.

1. Theriot
2. Rasmus
3. Pujols
4. Holliday
5. Berkman
6. Freese
7. Molina
8. Schumaker

If that lineup card looks a little strange to you, that’s because it is. The Cardinals have only featured it four times all season: Opening day, and April 11th, 12th, and 15th. That’s it. And yes… the Cardinals are in first place despite just about as much adversity as you can have injury-wise.

It’s truly been a remarkable run for the Cardinals thus far in the 2011 season, now 5 games beyond its midway point. The Red Birds came into the year as decided underdogs to the Reds and Brewers (and that was before the Adam Wainwright injury). I hate to keep beating a dead horse about the injuries, but what the Cardinals have been able to do this season is perhaps only slightly shy of miraculous.

Despite the injuries, the Cards have found a way to bang out 399 runs, averaging 4.64 a game: 2nd best in the National League. They’ve found diamonds in the rough in Allen Craig and Daniel Descalso. They’ve been able to give Jon Jay a ton of playing time, and he’s met the challenge head-on and flourished both at the plate and in the outfield.

Now that the lineup is (almost) healthy again, it should make Cardinals fans eager to see how the 2nd half playoff push is going to unfold. Right now, it’s a 4-horse race in the Central Division between the Cards, Reds, Brewers, and Pirates (say what?!). The Reds have experience. The Pirates have young guns who are playing their hearts out and don’t know any better. The Brewers have a ton of talent, and a desire to win now. The Red Birds are running on shear desire and heart. It’s truly anyone’s division at this point (ok, I’m going to spoil the ending for you a little, the Pirates don’t win it).

But if the Cardinals continue to fight for wins like they’ve got a hand tied behind their back, then this pennant race is already over.