St. Louis Cardinals: Four predictions for the rest of 2021

The St. Louis Cardinals’ season has not gone how fans envisioned. But here are a few predictions for the rest of the regular season.

Though the St. Louis Cardinals continue to hang out in the .500 neighborhood with playoff odds basically at a similar level – in other words, roughly 0.5% – there still are many reasons to follow the team over the last several weeks of this campaign.

Following the exploits of one of the franchise’s all-time great batteries in Adam Wainwright and Yadier Molina is always a treat.  Their performances – such as Wainwright’s two-hitter Wednesday – are nearly as reliable as they are impressive.  While you can be pretty sure what you’ll get from those two veterans, even as the sun has started to set on their outstanding careers, there are many unknowns worth speculating about over the rest of this campaign.

Starting pitching has been a struggle all season due to a challenging combination of injuries, inexperience, and ineptitude.  However, there remain a few promising possibilities that might bode well.  A return to health and a promising dose of youthful exuberance should provide some optimism for the future.  Given some of the current options in the rotation, help clearly is needed – and soon.

Despite Busch Stadium’s well-earned reputation as a pitchers park, one that suppresses home runs even more than general run-scoring, the Redbirds have a solid number of players with the power to drive shots deep into the seats. How often they’ll do that and who might emerge as the greatest threats to the player who clearly is their biggest thumper should provide an entertaining chase to the finish line.

Anything can happen, and a final burst akin to that from a decade ago – coincidentally, the last time St. Louis won the World Series – could shove the Cardinals right back into postseason consideration.  However, absent that, let’s take a deeper look at several areas of focus Redbird fans can keep their eyes on as we head toward October.