Winning 4 of 5 there is really a testament to what Shildt's done to keep these guys focused and driving. Man he's good.

That said, there will still be a hangover from this for the next week or so. This stretch won't be out of their system probably until their next off day - Monday, 9/9.

Fortunately the next 6 are 3 vs. the Giants and 3 vs. the Pirates so even a 'down' team oughta split those and come through at 3-3. But if they could manage a 4-2 stretch there and then get their off day to recover from 10 games in an 8 day span, that'll be awfully impressive.

Yeah, I think I put too much emphasis on playing Carp and those sunshine and rainbows everywhere press conferences.

We went from a laughing stock on the bases and with defense to 3rd best in the league with basically the same players. That was a grueling stretch regardless of the competition level of the teams. Passed that test.

So, 7 games left with the Cubs makes this pretty interesting down the stretch.

What are you guys thinking it takes to win the NLC?

91 wins.

So Cards need to finish, what 13 and?

Oh, and while beating the Cubs enough to hold them off over that stretch would be nice. Beating them enough to knock them out of the WC spot as well would be REALLY nice.

If I squint I can see a stumble to about 89 wins as I go through the schedule. That damn Nats series scares me; I hate seeing that coming right ahead of that 4 gamer vs. Chicago. That team is playing excellent ball right now and has an outside shot of stealing the East. I'm not saying they'll sweep...but they have that ability. And if they do and you go into Chicago for 4 games while reeling...things could get really hairy, really fast.

Especially with the D-Backs still clinging to life in the wild card hunt thereafter.

That's not an easy schedule ahead of the Cardinals but they do have it on their racket so if it goes south, there's nobody else to blame...

I thought the only difference between people that go into law and people that go into medicine was math?

I mean **** dude, this is simple addition. I know you're just a dentist but when they give out doctorates for that stuff don't they at least make sure you know how to add and subtract so you can pay off those hundreds of thousands of dollars in student loans you took out?

Or do dentists have their hygienists do THAT for them too?

If the Cards let off the gas at all they're probably toast. The Cubs have a soft as **** schedule in September. Outside of the upcoming three game set in Milwaukee against the fading Brewers and the six games against the Cards, everybody they play has a losing record (Padres, Reds, Pirates). Plus they just got Zobrist and Contreras back.

No, not really I was just lazy to look and see how many total games they had left.

Exactly. The Cubs will be a lot more focused with Zobrists wife blowing all of them after the game.

I haven't been able to watch a Cards game in over a month, so I'm a little behind on Redbird news.

Do we really have a legit chance to go deep into the playoffs? Last time I watched a Cards game I wasn't impressed with our pitching.

I'm pretty sure she's only blowing Lester.

I did like a tweet I saw though "Ben Zobrist was recently added to the Cubs 40 man roster; mere months after his wife."

Savage...

Holy shit, is that why he was gone from the team for so long? Damn. LMAO

Not reaaaally.

But as much as I don't trust our pitching - is there any reason why I should trust Atlanta's?

Line us up against the Dodgers or Nationals and I think we have some serious troubles ahead. But Atlanta? I think they can steal that one. Soroka is mean when he's on but don't you think a wall's coming for him? Teheran is inconsistent and Keuchel is hot garbage. I'm probably missing someone I shouldn't be but the staff doesn't scare me.

And some combination of Melancon/Greene in the late innings doesn't strike fear in my heart either.

They can be had.

Yeah - nobody seems to disagree that his wife was cheating on him.

The only real question at this point was whether or not it involved a teammate. And so far the betting favorite appears to be Lester.

So it would seem odd that he makes a debut last night with Lester on the mound and playing his wife's cover as his walkup music.

I mean I can't imagine that actually went down if he's still walking up to her song, especially with Lester on the bump. But man, athletes are just weird. And hyper-religious people are a little weird. And hyper-religious athletes are REALLY weird.