If the Cardinals are to make their move in a weak division, now is the time

If the last two weeks represented a sort of crucible in the midst of the St. Louis Cardinals season, then the next two weeks represent the kind of opportunity for serious movement up the standings that does not often come around.

Returning from their longest road trip of the season, the Cardinals entered play Friday three games below .500 and one game back of the Chicago Cubs for second place in the NL Central. Perhaps more importantly, they’re a game back of the San Diego Padres for the final Wild Card spot. With 100 games left on the schedule, it seems early to watch the standings too closely, and yet it’s already clear that that particular race will be at the forefront of the St. Louis baseball consciousness all summer long.

This seven-game home stand includes four games with the Colorado Rockies and three with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Colorado again continues its unfettered annual march toward the rock bottom of the league’s standings, but the improving Pirates trail the Cardinals by only half a game, largely buoyed by twin phenom pitchers Jared Jones and Paul Skenes, powering what’s been termed the Allegheny Electric Company atop their rotation.

These are not yet the doormat Pirates to which so many fans have become accustomed, but the coming weeks will help determine which direction their season – and that of the Cardinals – is going to take.

It’s trivial to mention that all of the next four series for St. Louis – Colorado and Pittsburgh at home, the Chicago Cubs and Miami on the road – are against teams with below .500 records. Not only is that true of the Cardinals themselves, but it’s also true of the majority of the National League. Entering play Thursday, only the three division leaders (Los Angeles, Milwaukee, Philadelphia) and Atlanta are better than par. It’s not a strong league, and there is room to move.

This schedule respite also arrives at a time where there will be crucial decisions and determinations made regarding the makeup of the Cardinals roster for the remainder of the season. Steven Matz is approaching a rehab assignment if his recovery from a back strain continues at the expected pace, and Saturday marks one month since Willson Contreras fractured his forearm, creating an opportunity to better gauge the path of his recovery.

The roster questions still left to be answered will gain some clarity over the coming stretch simply by virtue of considering the team’s record. Should the Cardinals come out with wins in a solid majority of the next thirteen games – say, eight or nine of them – that would be a definite signal to the front office that this is a team that needs help, not a team that needs to be torn down.

If they are going to win, or at least take a serious shot at winning, the time is now to stake a claim to that possibility.

By establishing themselves as a team with legitimate potential in the coming weeks, the Cardinals can help create a summer that’s more interesting than depressing for baseball fans, and can fully shake the weight of last season’s failures from their necks. There are not many positives to be found in a season with a 71-91 record, but one cynical silver lining is the lowering of expectations.

Diehards may howl regardless, given the nature of die-hard fandom, but the casual fans who spend summers filling Busch Stadium and happily contributing to the wealth of its benefactors will generally be sated by competitive baseball.

That’s an even easier hunger to feed considering the months-long starvation from it. To paraphrase Aaron Sorkin from 30 years ago, if you lead win-starved people through the baseball desert for long enough, there will come a point at which they’re hungry enough to eat the sand, as long as you can convince them.

This is clearly a team with the ability to convince.

Nolan Gorman awoke on this long road trip, finding his power stroke even as he traded it off with some swing and miss. Alec Burleson, suddenly, looks like a star hitter; it’s incredible what happens when a batter who stings the ball no longer hits it directly at fielders. The back end of the bullpen has bent but largely held strong; clearly, they would benefit from a little outside help to shoulder some of the tougher innings which are beginning to stack up.

It’s dangerous in any sport to look past a current opponent and too far down the road, but the path laid out in front of the Cardinals which runs through the heart of June is too obvious to ignore. There is a proud tradition throughout baseball of teams finding a way to get right when the Rockies and Pirates come to town, and the Cardinals have both in a row. This is their time to climb back to their familiar perch, and these are the familiar stepping stones which guide that path.

Or, it could cut the other direction. There is a path which leads to another long, lost summer. No one at Busch Stadium is eager to head that direction.

The time is now to cut a wide swath around it.