3 concerning Cardinals stats to monitor, and 2 that should encourage fans

Concerning: .523%

Unfortunately, the Cardinals' remaining opponents' win% is .523%, giving them the fourth toughest strength of schedule remaining.

If the Cardinals are going to make up ground in the National League Wild Card race or even in the Central division, they are going to have to play winning baseball the rest of the season, and do so against a lot of tough opponents.

This week, the Cardinals go on the road to face the Reds for three games in Cincinnati, but then they play consecutive series against the Dodgers, Brewers, Twins, Padres, and Yankees to round out the month of August. Coming out of that gauntlet stretch, St. Louis then has to travel to Milwaukee for three games against the Brewers in what could be a season-defining series.

The strength of the schedule can sometimes be misleading during this time of year though. There always seem to be teams that are supposed to be bad that finish their seasons strong, as they call up young players looking to make their mark and play spoiler for teams in contention. The Cardinals just need to focus on taking care of their own business the rest of the way, as they cannot control how the Brewers, Mets, Padres, Braves, Pirates, Diamondbacks, or Giants will play down the stretch.

It is going to be a tough hill for the Cardinals to climb though. They dug themselves a major hole to begin the year, and after a hot stretch from May 12th through the All-Star Break, they have cooled off significantly. They don't necessarily need another crazy run in them to make the playoffs, but they have to find a way to win series after series down the stretch if they want a real shot at October baseball.

If not, then the next concerning stat we'll be talking about is "two" - two straight years the Cardinals have missed the playoffs. And if that's the case, you better believe major change would be coming in St. Louis.