Oh for the halcyon days of Late April / Early May. The summer heat had not yet set in and the Cardinals were on-pace to be a 90+ win team, well above projections.
Today, the team sits at 36-36, an even .500, which of course projects them to an even 81 wins and 81 losses on the season. That puts them below the preseason betting markets and right about in-line with where ZiPS and PECOTA projected this team.
Is this .500 version of the Cardinals the true talent level? Or is this a low ebb after running hot a month ago? Will this be the low point from which they bounce back to something like an 88-92 win team?
Between now and their next off-day, the Redbirds play the last place Tigers, Pirates and Diamondbacks, plus the well-under-.500 Rockies. (They end with a 3-game series against the Actually Good Giants.) Even though the club may not get much in the way or reinforcements over these two weeks, with the likes of Flaherty, Mikolas and Bader all looking unlikely to return during this stretch, playing such weak competition could give them a chance to rack up a few games north of .500 and edge closer to the division lead. They currently sit 4-games back of Milwaukee and Chicago.
We’ll check-in on July 8, in hopes this team has moved that win line up a few notches.