The Cards are now as close to the Astros in the standings as they are to the Brewers.

EDIT: Oops--not quite. 4.5 behind the Brewers, 5 ahead of the Astros.

The Astros raced out of the dugout, and Berkman flipped his helmet in the air as he leaped onto home plate.

Albert is going to be ticked.

Albert probably was too busy monitoring Brandon Backe's response to notice.

I kinda sorta defended it the other day, but it's hard to imagine an optimal lineup has Cesar Izturis hitting leadoff. I'd guess TLR's looking at Izturis's 125-AB split against LHP in 2008, which would be one of the dumber things I've heard.

i guess cesar izturiz is the cards jose castillo

Since Berkman's helmet bounced in the direction of the Astros dugout, Pujols only cussed to himself instead of at Berkman.

Fun with the Arbitrary Endpoints Game: St. Louis is 34-34 in its last 68 games. Bonus: Florida is 38-46 in its last 74.

game sucked. simple as that. Lohse pitched great, a glaus brain dead error allowed the tie, and TLR probably should have walked Berkman or forced them to pitch a little more gingerly.

Florida is going to be good next season. That rotation could be excellent with Johnson/Nolasco/Olsen/Sanchez/Volstad/Miller. It's really talented.

I kinda sorta defended it the other day, but it's hard to imagine an optimal lineup has Cesar Izturis hitting leadoff. I'd guess TLR's looking at Izturis's 125-AB split against LHP in 2008, which would be one of the dumber things I've heard.

you defended it as a 7 time thing, but two in a row type of thing indicates a trend and is undefensible. Sure TLR isn't dumb enough to field a pitcher in right field, or refuse to sign Bonds, but it's still a stupid decision. Lopez is hitting well, has speed and at least for the Cardinals has played well.

I'm sad to see this season slip away, but given my expectations going in, I'm still pleased overall. They kept all their young talent--even developed some of it--and stayed in the race until Labor Day, playing good, and occasionally great, baseball along the way. What more can I ask of a rebuilding year?

I'm sad to see this season slip away, but given my expectations going in, I'm still pleased overall. They kept all their young talent--even developed some of it--and stayed in the race until Labor Day, playing good, and occasionally great, baseball along the way. What more can I ask of a rebuilding year?

Totally agree. It's pretty clear the Wild Card isn't going to happen, but this has been an incredibly enjoyable team. I'm now pulling for a third-place finish, a winning record, and for Albert to get the MVP award he deserves.

I don't think it's clear the wild card isn't going to happen, 25+ games is an awful lot of games, but at some point we have to get over this win 2 lose 2 and post a real string of wins. It can happen, and if it does it changes the picture pretty quickly.

It can happen, and if it does it changes the picture pretty quickly.

Not necessarily. The Brewers have been winning pretty consistently since their debacle against the Cubs at Miller Park, yet they've actually lost ground to the Cubs over that time frame. They're 18-7 since they got swept and have lost a game and a half in the standings. That's the danger this time of year, there just aren't many games left to make up a deficit and the team you're chasing has to play pretty poorly for you to make up the deficit. If they don't, it won't happen. If the Brewers go 14-14 in their last 28, the Cards will have to go 19-8 to pass them. If the Brewers go 16-12, the Cards have to go 21-6. Not that it's impossible, but I'm just frustrated that the Brewers have lost ground on the Cubs.

Joe:

The Cubs got to play two thirds of their games at home in August and the road games were against lame teams. And they feasted.

Milwaukee needs to get out of Pittsburgh with another win and then blow things up on the ten game homestand. They go 8-2 and that should help provide some separation.