[BigRedChief]

For all the profanity-inducing, stomach-twisting, head-scratching consternation they've helped provoke over these last few wild and nervous weeks, maybe it's time we give the Cardinals a little credit for something besides our own rising acid reflux levels.

It's the second weekend in August, and this team is heading to Chicago with a chance on its bats. With nearly a third of the season remaining, there is meaningful baseball being played by these cardiac Cards, and I can say confidently that four months ago I didn't see this coming — and neither did most of the baseball world.


Despite a bullpen that produces more diabolical thrillers than Stephen King, the Cardinals are hitting the road for 10 games, and they have a two-dimensional playoff vision in their heads. On one side, there is the NL Central title, and the Cubbies in full control of that dimension with a five-game lead over Milwaukee with fewer than 50 games to play.



And so for the first time since 2003, we have a rare redux of the celebrated "Three Nights in August" at Wrigley Field: a series that gives weight to the so-called Cards-Cubs "rivalry" beyond the normal amusing little civic hissing match between the dueling fan nations. For a change, this isn't just a glorified house party where one pitiful noncontender (usually the Cubs) gets to play spoiler during another's championship run (usually the Cards). It's a series with playoff implications, not just geo-municipal pride for both teams, which finally elevates it to the same competitive fever pitch of so many previous glorified Yanks vs. Red Sox duels.