As we all know, there is currently a major National League Central race happening between the St. Louis Cardinals, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Cincinnati Reds. With the Cardinals and Pirates currently tied for 1st place in the NL Central, and the Reds just three and a half games back, we should expect an interesting Wild Card race, as well as playoff races.
As a Cardinals fan, of course I’m going to be cheering on the Cardinals to win it all. First, we have to get through the playoffs. We can all expect this to be a red hot postseason. And with things heating up all around the National League, we can also expect that winning it all won’t be an easy task.
The Dodgers, Braves, and Pirates are honestly my biggest concerns. We are capable of beating all three, but in order to do so, our pitching staff has got to stay on top of it, and we need our bats to be swinging. Those three teams are doing very well this season. Their offense is doing over-all very well. I can’t really complain about their pitching staff either, other than that they are doing well against us.
Now time to brag on the Cardinals. J. Kelly (2.91 ERA), A. Wainwright (2.58 ERA), and S. Miller (2.90 ERA) have been doing really well. Also, our offense has been improving a lot. With Allen Craig currently at almost 100 RBI’s (and growing!), HR counts going up, and our pinch hitters doing well, we have just as much of a chance of going deep into the playoffs as anybody else. Our defense is something that we have a big advantage of, also.
Now, we know that the Cardinals have their flaws. I’m not going to make the Cardinals sound like the perfect team. Like every other team in the MLB, we have slumps, and bad games. For example, the past two games, we have been out-beaten 15-0. There are games/series where our offense just isn’t there, and our pitchers giving up runs left and right. But hey, like I said, every team has those.
So in order to go deep into these playoffs, we have to fight through these good teams that are facing off against us, wanting the rings just as much as we do. So buckle up, Cardinal Nation. September and October is going to be a wild (card) ride (No pun intended)! With this race going on in the NL Central, and really, all around MLB alone, it’s going to be tough. I would hope that nobody would expect it to be an easy task. May I remind you all, Mike Matheny brought us just one series away from the World Series in his FIRST year. Just think how far he will take his team on his second.
I’m really looking forward to the 2013 Postseason. The Cardinals have great potential. You better believe that they have a great fan base to support them on this ride to the World Series, through the good and bad. Let’s just see what happens, and hope for a great Postseason!
Keep flying, Cardinal Nation.
Carly Schaber
@Carly_Schaber
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