In about five hours, the St. Louis Cardinals season could come to an end. Many fans, myself "somewhat" included, think this has already happened. The loss of staff ace Chris Carpenter to Tommy John surgery crippled the Cards' hopes of a miracle second-half comeback. Without Carpenter, and with Mark Mulder still rehabbing, the Cards de facto ace is Adam Wainwright. Look, Wainwright is a big talent with a bright future, but he's not an ace. And he's not someone you'll see headlining a playoff rotation.
At 8:05 EST tonight, the Cubs will roll into St. Louis, plop Carlos Zambrano's round ass on the mound, and attempt to drive a dagger through the hearts of Cardinal fans everywhere. This will hurt. It will hurt not only because it's always painful to lose to the Cubs, but because it's excruciating to lose to the Cubs as you essentially hand them the division lead. Make no mistake, if the Cubs sweep the Cardinals, it will be a referendum on both teams' seasons. The Cards, last October notwithstanding, have been a .500 team for the past calendar year. The Cubs, atrocious last year, have added hitting, pitching, speed and a steady hand in the dugout.
This is Judgement Week: a six-game homestand against the Cubs and Brewers. By late Sunday, the Cardinals will either be dead and dirt-filled or clinging to life. We're hoping for the latter. After all, training camp doesn't even start until Sunday.
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