ST. LOUIS — For a large chunk of the 2021 season, the Cardinals did not bring any joy on a nightly basis. It felt like the same old trek to an inevitable ending every night. And that's someone who loves baseball more than anything saying that.
The abysmal midsummer slog rightfully put them hanging off the metaphorical cliff of the National League. But to their credit, they never let that last pinky quite lose its grip.
As recent as Sept. 7, the Cardinals had just a 2.8% chance to make the playoffs. As of 8:30 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 16... they have a 37.1% chance to play in the postseason. That's the highest of any team vying for the second Wild Card spot.
You just have to shake your head in amazement and amusement at what's taken place to get to this point.
Over the past few weeks, the Cardinals have looked like the only team battling for that second Wild Card spot who actually wants to play in October.
They still haven't been great, but they've been better. And they've been considerably better than the Padres, Reds, Phillies and Mets.
As of Thursday night, the Cardinals have a half game lead over the Padres for the second Wild Card spot after winning five games in a row. That winning streak was punctuated with an 11-4 win to cap off a sweep of the Mets, that saw the Cardinals outscore New York 25-10 in three games. The Reds are a game out, the Phillies are two and a half out and the teetering Mets are now five out.
The Padres and Reds are 4-9 in September. The Phillies are 6-8. The Mets are 7-8. The Cardinals are 9-6. Is it a landslide? Of course not. But it's the best of what's left fighting for the postseason.
While you can't talk about the race for the second NL Wild Card without shedding light on how bad almost all of these teams have been, you do have to give the Cardinals some credit. So let's do that.
Paul Goldschmidt has been absolutely on fire for the better part of the last month. Since Aug. 1, Goldschmidt is hitting .336 with a 1.014 OPS and nine home runs in 40 games. Memories of his slow start have all but faded.
Adam Wainwright has continued his remarkable age 39-40 season, but has been joined by some surprises on the staff as well. The underwhelming additions of Jon Lester, J.A. Happ, Luis Garcia and T.J. McFarland have been anywhere from serviceable to dominant.
In his last four starts, Lester has a 2.19 ERA and has held opponents to a .182 batting average.
Luis Garcia has not allowed an earned run since July 20. Yes, you read that right. That's 24 and a third innings of scoreless baseball.
While the hill still looks pretty insurmountable to accomplish anything past losing to the mighty Dodgers or Giants in the NL Wild Card game this year, watching this team the last few weeks has at least been fun. That's something that was missing for a large chunk of the season.
The moment Alex Reyes' pitch to Brewers pinch-hitter Daniel Vogelbach sailed out for a walk-off grand slam on Sept. 5, I audibly said, "Well, that's the season."
But these guys proved me wrong. They showed they still had some resolve.
No, the current state of the Cardinals is not anywhere close to where it should be based on the excitement and expectations coming into the season, but it is the team's current reality. Now it's time for them to continue making the best of it.
When you're watching guys like Edmundo Sosa, Lars Nootbaar, TJ. McFarland and Jon Lester rise to the occasion to help the team make a playoff run, it's hard not to think of 2006 and 2011. Both of those teams had their share of unsung heroes who played their parts to make it a memorable year.
This year's cast has at least played their way into giving the Cardinals a chance at something special, and their fans a reason to care in September.
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