Alright, we now know we won’t be getting anything from Chris Carpenter this year. Heck, we might not get anything from him next year as he’ll have season ending Tommy John surgery. He had some problems in a rehab start and now it looks like he’ll be going under the knife. In retrospect, it would have been better had he had the surgery from the outset because then he’d be ready for opening day next year. Now we face the prospect of Carpenter missing a chunk of 2008.
The good news is, the Cardinals have stayed in the mix and they head into an important week down by seven games in the loss column (8 1/2 games overall. First they play three against their archrival, the second place Cubs for three games and then it’s three against the Brewers. There’s no better time to pick up ground on both teams then in these head to head matchups and how they do this coming week could determine what the Cardinals do heading into the trading deadline.
It’s nice to see Albert Pujols heating up as he’ll be the key hitter in the lineup if the Cards are going to make a run. Few teams have a player who can put the team on his back and that’s just what Pujols can do. He has five homeruns in his last nine games and since July 13, he’s seen his OPS go up by 70 points.
Adam Wainwright has picked up his game and he’s now won his last three starts in impressive fashion. He’s gone seven innings in all three starts and he’s given up no more then two runs in any of the three starts. He now leads the team with nine wins, 116 1/3 innings and a 4.18 ERA. The problem is, it’s on a team that has the second worst ERA in the National League. And the Cardinals 539 pitching strikeouts is worse then only the Rockies and the Nationals.
The Cardinals finish up their series against the Braves tonight on ESPN with Brad Thompson on the mound. Then it’s that tough week with the trading deadline over a week away.
