Adam Wainwright had a rough time in the first half of the season as he was converted back into a starting pitcher.  But, if the second half of the season Wainwright has been one of the best pitchers in all of baseball.  In 12 starts after the All-Star Game, Wainwright is 6-4 with a 2.49 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP.  In 79.2 innings in the 2nd half of the season, Wainwright has allowed 77 hits, walked 23 batters and whiffed 61.  Wainwright has now started 29 games on the season and he is 13-11 with a 3.71 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP.  The Cardinals have lost 9 of their last 10 games pretty much ending all hopes of creeping into the playoffs to defend their World Series Championship of 2006.  The Cardinals are now 70-80 which has them in 3rd place in the National League Central, 8 games behind the Cubs and Brewers.

With injuries mounting the Cardinals are starting to fade.  They have lsot 5 games in a row which has them four games behind the Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Central.  It’s amazing to me that the Cardinals are even in the hunt at 69-73 on the season.  Hopefully, the Cardinals will try to fix the starting rotation for next season and quit messing around with making relief pitchers starters.

The Cardinals have gotten hot lately which has put them back in the playoff race.  The Cardinals have only scored 598 runs this season (4.5 per game) and that will need to improve if they are going to make the playoffs as their opponents have scored 666 runs due to problems in the Cardinals’ starting rotation this season.  Albert Pujols is trying to carry the offense as he is hitting .317 with 85 runs scored, 30 homers and 84 RBIs this year.  Rick Ankiel has been hot since the Cards have called him up and they need that to continue to give Pujols some lineup support.  Ankiel has played in 20 games for the Cardinals this season and he is hitting .343 with 15 runs scored, 6 homers and 19 RBIs.  The only starter who is really pitching good for the Cardinals this season is Adam Wainwright who is 13-9 with a 3.78 ERA.  The bullpen has been awesome late in games for the Cards which makes leads stand up.  Russ Springer (7-1, 2.53 ERA) and Ryan Franklin (4-2, 1.97 ERA) have both bridged the gap from starter to closer Jason Isringhausen.  Isringhausen has also been outstanding as he is 4-0 with 28 saves in 30 attempts and a 1.77 ERA.

The Cardinals are 7-6 the last two weeks despite getting outscored 73-68.  The Cardinals bats are finally starting to wake up but the pitching has still been pretty awful.  The Cardinals come into this week with a 27-33 record which is good for 2nd place in the National League Central, 5.5 games behind the Brewers.

The Cardinals had a good week as they went 4-2 as they outscored their opponents 31-26.  The Cardinals combined timely hitting with solid pitching and it paid off as they picked up 3 games on the division leading Brewers.  The Cards entered this week with a 20-27 record which had them in 4th place in the National League Central, 6.5 games behind the Brewers.