The Week Ahead: Yet Another Test For The Cardinals

At this point in the season, every game matters. It's like the NFL in that once you get past week 10, you cannot lose more than once if you want to be a real contender. It's do or die time. As August ends, the Cardinals again look uphill to what will be a tough end of the season, and one that is still very unsure of.

This week the Brew Crew returns to St. Louis. What will be on many people's minds is how much the Brewers have seemed to have the Cardinals number this season. While it's only a two game series, only 3.5 games separate these two clubs. If the Cardinals were to take both games, it would be a huge momentum turn.

With the Brewers set to dance with the Bucs in Pittsburgh after the short stint in St. Louis, the Cardinals need wins. It is no secret the Pirates are not a team who is a formidable opponent. It can almost be guaranteed that they'll take the series from the Pirates. The Cardinals need wins now.

Even worse for the Cardinals is that they don't have a team they can walk all over. As I predicted long before the All-Star break, the Astros haven't rolled over and died like they appeared to be on the way to doing. They will not be in the playoffs, but all of a sudden, they are figuring out how to win.

The Cardinals need to stifle the team who has seemed to be the bane of their September/October existence for the last five years or so. Even though Brad Lidge still wakes up in cold sweats hearing the crack of Albert Pujols' bat, this team does not ever let the Cardinals walk all over them.

After Pittsburgh, the Brewers do head to New York where a re-surging Mets (again as I predicted) will probably put them in their place. However, after that they welcome the Padres into town, so they really only have one series outside the Cardinals where they should be legitimately challenged.

The Cardinals do send Todd Wellemeyer to the mound tonight to face off against the slumping Ben Sheets, so expect the game to at least be kept close. Wellemeyer, who has been the most inconsistent starter who has remained all year, has finally settled down again and become one of the better starters as the untouchable Kyle Lohse has become touchable.

The Marlins also have begun to pick up the pace, so the Cardinals need to ensure at the very least a split with the Brewers to even remain in the Wild Card race. If the Cardinals are to lose both these games and then lose the series to Houston, the season is basically done.

To keep pace in the NL Central has been a feat even of itself this season, but if they want to prove why they belong, it's time to shine. May the bats of Pujols and Ludwick guide a team still without a solid bullpen, but a team who has proved day in and day out that they still belong.

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