St. Louis Cardinals: One Final Week

Isn’t this the scenario we ask for, Cardinal fans?

Throughout the topsy-turvy summer, the season comes down to its final week with playoff participation still in the balance.

One week to determine everything. The schedule makers seem to anticipate the drama years in advance.

St. Louis will go for a sweep this afternoon while the Rockies will do the same in the desert against  Arizona.  A slim 1.5 game lead separates the Cardinals from Colorado for the final wildcard spot while a 2.0 game difference is all we have between STL and the Brewers for the top wildcard spot.  A large portion of Cardinal fans are surprised to be in this spot after trudging through the season’s first half. The July managerial change has renewed hopes and a revamped roster has changed this season’s direction.

Milwaukee will make their final visit to St. Louis with a three-game set beginning tomorrow night.  The teams split the season’s series, up to this point, at eight wins apiece.  The Brewers are currently the only team in the central division with whom the Cardinals do not have a winning record.  Two out of three wins this week would give the Cardinals the edge in any tie-breaker scenario.

The Rockies will host the Phillies for four games followed by the Nationals for three.  Philadelphia has taken two of the first three games of the season’s series while Colorado has taken three of the first four from Washington.  I’m not convinced those numbers mean anything for teams out of the playoff chase this late in the year. The Phillies may be out of gas and Bryce Harper could be looking forward to offseason vacation and his impending free agency.  Colorado only trails the Dodgers by 1.5 games for the west division title.  Things could get really complicated if L.A. were to falter.

One final week.

One stressful, sleep deprived, scoreboard watching, emotionally exhausting final week.

 

Thank you for reading,

Allen Medlock

@amedlock1

Red Dirt Redbird

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