Cardinals champions: Steve Ungrey’s take

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The St. Louis Cardinals got to a National League Central championship the hard way, overcoming numerous injuries and a tough division to prevail. Co-editor Steve Ungrey talks about the wild ride.


Okay, Cardinal Nation…

BREATHE AGAIN! EXHALE!!

The St. Louis Cardinals overcame a lackluster showing in game one of Wednesday’s doubleheader and tore apart the Pittsburgh Pirates, 11-1, to improve their record to 100 wins and 59 losses.

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More importantly, that 100th win secured a third straight National League Central championship for the Cardinals, and this one didn’t come easy.

From that windy, cool Sunday night in Wrigley Field that opened the 2015 season to that excellent finish Wednesday night in PNC Park, this has been a roller-coaster ride for the Cardinals.

Did anyone think this would be easy?

Not at all. Even with everything that got thrown at this team, the Cardinals persevered.

It started in the offseason, when word came of Oscar Taveras’ death in a tragic car accident. Then came the start of the regular season, and the injuries began to pile up.

First Adam Wainwright went down with an Achilles tear. Then Matt Adams suffered a quad injury. Matt Holliday hit the disabled list for the first of his two stints with quad issues. Yadier Molina was hurt twice.

All St. Louis did, up until the final few weeks, was win.

The Cardinals hit a rough patch, but before long they jumped over the obstruction and began to win again. Then came Wednesday night and the club’s 100th victory.

On Monday, the slate will be erased. The team knows it can rest a little bit now. In fact, don’t be surprised to see some starters rested over the weekend.

The postseason — and the quest to win the club’s first World Series since 2011 and the third title in 10 seasons — begins next week.

Stick with Redbird Rants. We’ll give you all the good (and bad) news.

*Now for some news of our own. It has been a chaotic month for me, which is why you haven’t seen me on more often. Everything is fine personally, but I am in a holding pattern professionally. I may have some potential good news down the road as far as job opportunities, but for now I’m looking forward to more Redbird Rants and FanSided fun.

I also want to welcome aboard our new co-editor, Chris Gigley. He has hit the ground running with articles previewing the postseason, and I too will be joining him with my take on what to expect in the coming week.

Welcome, Chris. I hope you find Redbird Rants a fun site, just like our readers do!