5 things that would need to happen for the Cardinals to compete for the World Series

#5 - Some luck to go their way

I referenced the bullpen in that last line, and it's one of the things that has to improve for the Cardinals next year, but ultimately, the Cardinals will need some luck to go their way if they want to compete with the Braves and Dodgers in the National League this year.

That can be said of almost any team though. Baseball is a weird sport, and it gets even weirder once you make it to October. We've seen over and over again really good teams fall victim to less talented teams for a number of reasons. You need to get hot at the right time, and if not, you can be bounced after just a few bad games.

Even with the things I mentioned above, the Cardinals will need some luck for it all to come together and result in a World Series contender. Bats need to be hot when it matters most. Players need to be healthy come October. The rotation needs to be sharp to finish the year. The bullpen has to come up clutch when called upon.

If the Cardinals have some luck go their way, it doesn't guarantee a winner, but it does help a ton. We saw it with the Diamondbacks last year, an 84-win club that found their way to the World Series. We saw it in 2022, when the 87-win Phillies made a 9th-inning comeback against the Cardinals, turned the series around, and went all the way to the World Series. We saw it in 2021 when the 88-win Braves had an incredible second half and won the World Series.

Yes, teams can and should build themselves to be those "juggernauts" that get favored in October, but it's also real to say that teams upset those teams all the time. The Cardinals can do that if they perform in the ways I identified and have some luck go their way.