2013 is Bud Norris’ first year of being eligible for arbitration. I sincerely hope you’re grinning to yourself right now, after that sentence. C’mon, though, don’t act like that thought hadn’t crossed your mind too, after yesterday’s announcement. In 2013 the Houston Astros will defect from the National League Central division, and join the American League West. This could be particularly good new for the Cardinals and their fans when it comes to Bud (“Chuck”) Norris.

“Go West, young man. No, seriously, get out of our division.”

There are two teams… the Royals and Cardinals.

Barely separated by a stretch of interstate 70.

Roughly two hundred and fifty miles apart, one team falls to the American League, the other to the National. Contrast is a better descriptor than comparison, but simply by relative location, a rivalry is created.

The Cardinals, or the Saint Louis Brown Stockings, were formed in 1882. One of America’s initial baseball franchises, history is the enamel of this ball club- a story to tell in every corner, every decade, and in every one of their ten championships. Despite the casual ups and downs, the organization through its lifetime, still remains above water (A total franchise record of 10130-9437).

The Royals, established in 1969, became a more modern version of Midwest baseball. The Athletics came beforehand, but the Royals created a name for themselves quickly. As time stumbles off the clock and season upon season concludes, the Royals, for the most part, have declined (A total franchise record (3230-3477).

Between the two teams it is the Cardinals who claim the series lead at 34 to 26. In respect to the Royals, this is a series they typically perform better in than others, which places more importance on the rivalry. We all remember 1985.

There are more appealing rivalries in sports, let alone baseball. This is just one that most baseball fans in the Midwest learn to appreciate. There has been animosity and a deep competitiveness that is bred into this match up. Although most of us would like to see more of it, the hard fact that it only comes once or twice a year raises the level of anticipation. For the Royals and Cardinals both, it is a series they mark on their calendars long before the start of each season. Historically, it is a revenue generating series for both teams. Any vacant seats can honestly be blamed on the lack of success in Kansas City.

If in some aspect, we found both of these teams leading their divisions by the point in time they face-off, it could easily garner national attention and spark further interest year by year. But there is always something that keeps the excitement close to home. For three to six games each season, the Cubs become a second hand rivalry to the Cardinals. The Royals become the enemy.

Even though the Royals are easy kids to pick on, they still grabbed the ring in 1985 from the Cardinals. If you are a Cardinal, you are informed about that series. Never to be forgotten, it was the day the Royals were Missouri (and the worlds) best team.

The Cardinals don’t take that matter lightly.

When Kansas City and Saint Louis extend the rivalry on Friday, much of the story will be the same. A steady, trust worthy veteran in Chris Carpenter will take the mound and he will face the former National League fill in, Jeff Francis.

It is more certain that Saint Louis has the advantage in this game. They have been playing better overall and they are bumping into the Royals at precisely the right time. Sure the crowds will be a little heavier than average games, but the Royals are currently lost in the cobwebs. Their identity has screeched off road into uncharted territory and they are looking to get back into the rhythm. Until then, I expect the Cardinals to go about business with the same game plan they have all season long. At the start of the season, Carpenter was the one pitcher you would undoubtedly put your money on. A proven track record of consistent success, he was the obvious substance of reliability. Shockingly enough, Carp has been overshadowed by all-star performances from other stems in the rotation courtesy of Garcia, Lohse, and McClellan. As a group, the 2011 Cardinals pitching staff is easily the best in baseball.

This is the last thing the Royals need, but are the Cardinals going to argue? NO.

The more the Royals decline, the staler this rivalry becomes. The Cardinals give their fair share of contribution to making this series exciting, but Kansas City needs to find anyway to win- anyway to get the stadium loud, on their feet, and passionate again. The past few years have seen a drop in attendance totals, especially on the west end at Kauffman. Hopefully with an influx of thrilling youth in KC and the combination of stable pitching and competitiveness in STL, we will soon see a rise in the series once more.

Although the Royals have found that usual losing trend, they still teeter on the pendulum of even baseball. If they can find a way to scrape off an I-70 series win, that could be all they need to jump start the season all over again. Ned Yost is familiar with a lot of players on the Cardinals roster due his time spent in Milwaukee. If he can somehow build a game plan around his past knowledge, and the offense can start scoring runs again, Kansas City can easily make this a weekend worthwhile.

The Cardinals have an ability to bounce back from tough loses a little better that the Royals so I have little concern if they happen to lose. The Royals need to win at least two of three. The Cardinals are trying to keep up with a Reds team that is clicking. There is plenty of reason why each team needs to perform. I think the Cardinals are the better squad this year, but in this series (as in any major rivalry), anything could happen.

Joe over at Cards Droppings does a great job breaking down the series as they come up. We are glad to share that information with you here on I-70 and ask you to click the link at the bottom of the article to read the rest of the material on the home site.

The rain-soaked Cardinals travel south to face their one-time arch-rivals, the Houston Astros. Luckily for everyone who stayed up late watching the Redbirds over the past several nights, it will be dry under Minute Maid Park’s roof. Houston has hit a bit of a rough patch over the past several years, so the rivalry between the two teams has definitely taken a back seat to the newly formed rivalries between the Cardinals and the Reds as well as that of the one between the Cardinals and the Cubs. It’s still fun to go into Houston, and it’s really a lot more fun now that Houston’s lineup has lost a lot of the pop from the early 2000′s, when they featured Bagwell, Biggio, Berkman and many others. I’m sure the homecoming will be very bittersweet for Lance Berkman on many levels. The Astros basically told him they didn’t want him back, so I would be shocked to see Berkman treated with anything but the highest respect. If he gets booed or otherwise treated poorly, it’s a mistake on the part of Astro fans–Berkman wasn’t the one who wanted to leave.

Besides the Berkman reunion, there are many other intriguing storylines that will come into play for this series. The first, and biggest, is Albert Pujols. He was pulled from Sunday night’s game after coming up lame trying to beat out an infield grounder. The team said that it was a mild strain, but it’s not an encouraging sign to see him out of the lineup tonight. He’ll be replaced at 1B by the aforementioned Berkman. Hopefully, TLR is just trying to buy him an extra day with the off day yesterday. Against Bud “Cy Young” Norris, it never hurts to have more lefties in the lineup. Tonight, we see Theriot 6, Jay 9, Holliday 7, Berkman 3, Rasmus 8, Molina 2, Punto 4, Descalso 5 and Garcia 1. It’s a bit of a scary thought that this could actually be a lineup we see next year at this time, albeit on a much more permanent basis. Let’s hope for the sake of Cardinal fans everwhere that we’re able to get Albert signed in short order. Our lineup looks much less intimidating without #5 in the middle of it. We face a lefty tomorrow night, so hopefully Albert will be back in there soon.

Read the rest of Joe’s breakdown of this series by clicking here.

After a tumultuous three game set against the Cincinnati Reds last week, the Cardinals found themselves the talk of baseball. They rolled in to town two games back of the Reds and left town one game up, but in the end people were talking less about the standings and more about what happened off the diamond and outside the chalk lines of Great American Ballpark.

Much has been made of the fracas that occurred between the Reds and Cardinals, starting with Reds’ second baseman Brandon Phillips running his mouth and ending with suspensions and fines for five players and both managers. It eventually came to light that Phillips’ comment of “I hate the Cardinals,” was not such a foreign concept. The rivalry between the two teams suddenly felt very real, and fans on both sides of the fence were studying up on the other team, finding new and creative ways to lob shots at the other side.

As far as the Reds and the Cardinals go, there is not a long history between the two teams in terms of having bad blood towards the other. There might have been little things here and there over the years, which is not surprising considering both teams have been in existence and playing against each other since the 1800’s. Most of the bad blood seems to have come in the past year or two, perhaps starting when the Cardinals’ pitching staff complained about slick baseballs. On October 9, 2009, John Smoltz first lodged a complaint that the game-used balls were not properly prepared for the game, and on April 5 of this year (that would be opening day), Chris Carpenter made the same complaint. On top of that, managers Tony LaRussa and Dusty Baker have been around the block with each other several times before, and it never gets more cordial, only more dramatic.

Now the two teams have been neck and neck all year long for the lead in the NL Central. Neither team has fallen off or backed down, despite having several opportunities to either pull away or concede the lead to the other. Combine this past week with the upcoming series over Labor Day weekend in St. Louis – the last time the two teams will meet this season – and it is more than safe to say that this rivalry will not be finding a happy conclusion this year.

In a little more distant history, the Cardinals have found a tough opponent in the Houston Astros. From 2001-2006, the team ended the season in first or second place in the Central, and made it to the postseason three times, finally reaching the World Series in 2005 before bowing out against the Chicago White Sox. For those few years the Astros were somewhat of a second half team, seemingly coasting through the first half of the schedule before hitting the gas and going full throttle from the beginning of the dog days of summer through the end of September.

In both 2004 and 2005 the Cards and Astros met up in the NLCS to duke it out for the NL pennant. Both series were thrilling, providing breath-taking home runs, dominant pitching performances and flashy plays with the glove that made highlight reels for years to come. While not bitter rivals, there was definitely a more intense feel every time the two teams met for a few years.

That said, when most people think of the Cardinals and their rivals, the Chicago Cubs are usually the first team to come up. The two teams have played each other an astounding 2145 times since 1901, with the all-time standings sitting at 1042 wins for the Cards and 1086 wins for the Cubs (including Saturday’s win). No other team besides the Pittsburgh Pirates is within spitting distance of this astounding number of times these two teams have squared off. The history is well chronicled, and born-and-bred fans from both sides will tell you that the first thing their parents taught them about baseball was that their team was the Cards or Cubs, and you could be a fan of any team except the other side of that line.

Aaron Hooks had a piece over on Baseball Digest about the Cards/Cubs rivalry before the first series of this year. He pointed out that while this is one of the most storied rivalries in baseball, they have experienced a strong lack of relevance since the inception of the NL Central in 1994. Both teams have made the playoffs several times since then, but the two teams have not ever really battled for a division crown in the same year in that time frame.

That does not stop fans from taking every opportunity to revel in their team taking a win from the other side. Every series, no matter the relevance (or lack there-of) brings a little extra spark to the city hosting. The usually good natured ribbing and knowledge of each other results in a rivalry that has stood the test of time, and is unlikely to fade in the near future no matter how good or bad either team is from year to year.

Each one of these teams’ players and fans has a different reason to ‘hate’ the Cardinals. Where does that hate come from? It could be that there is some bad blood, whether it stems from former teammates and executives scorned or a few pitches that came a little too close to opposing batters. It could be that the fans make more of it than it is, which is what I suspect is the case (at least in recent history) for the Cubs.

However, the most likely reason in my mind is this: more often than not, the Cardinals win. They have up years and down years, but a team with more World Series titles and pennants than any other team in the National League, a long and storied history and a knowledgeable fan base that keeps the memories alive is always going to be a team that others love to hate. Perhaps Michael Wilbon said it best last week on ESPN’s “Pardon the Interruption” when he said, “As a Cub fan, I grew up hating the Cardinals. Part of why I hate them so much is because they’re such an admirable team. You call them out, they kick your butt.”

Not all fans feel the same respect as Mr. Wilbon, but as long as the Cardinals always remember to back up their words with their play, the truth remains: St. Louis does baseball right, no matter who the rival is on any given day.

Angela Weinhold covers the Cardinals for i70baseball.com, BaseballDigest.com and writes at Cardinal Diamond Diaries. You may follow her on Twitter here or follow Cardinal Diamond Diaries here.