Ten more days until Matt Kemp is eligible to return from the disabled list.

But as Kemp remains stuck on the railing of the Dodgers’ dugout recovering from a strained hamstring, something strange is happening.

The Dodgers continue winning.

The Dodgers’ 6-5 walk-off victory over the defending World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals wasn’t the most aesthetically pleasing of their National League-leading 26 wins, but it was probably their most significant.

Immediately after closer Kenley Jansen served up a tying solo home run to pinch-hitter Lance Berkman in the top of the ninth inning, the Dodgers loaded the bases for catcher A.J. Ellis, who drew a walk-off walk off Fernando Salas.

“This shows our character,” Ellis said.

The Cardinals began the game as the best-hitting and highest-scoring team in the NL, but the Dodgers out-hit them, 13-6.

A large share of the Dodgers’ production came from the unlikeliest of sources. Adam Kennedy, who began the game with a .186 average, reached base five times, going four for four with a walk. Slumping first baseman James Loney was three for four with a walk and two runs batted in. Every Dodgers starting position player except for leadoff hitter Dee Gordon reached base.

Almost lost in the celebrations were new injury concerns. Mark Ellis was upended by Tyler Greene at second base on a seventh-inning force and exited the game with a swelling in his lower part of his left leg.

Ellis said he didn’t know how long he would be out but was confident he would avoid the disabled list.

The bottom half of the Dodgers’ lineup starting coming to life in the second inning. Kennedy, who was batting fifth for the second consecutive day, doubled to right-center. He scored on a double hit to the same part of the park by Loney, who, in turn, scored on a single to left by A.J. Ellis. Tony Gwynn Jr. tripled to right field to drive in Ellis and increase the margin to 3-0.

The lead didn’t last long.

Greene reached base on a bunt single. A.J. Ellis tried to pick off Greene, but his throw from home sailed past first baseman Loney, who wasn’t prepared to receive it. Greene moved to second.

The miscue was followed by a strikeout by Shane Robinson, but he too reached base on a third-strike wild pitch by Ted Lilly.

Greene later scored on a sacrifice fly by Rafael Furcal to reduce the Cardinals’ deficit to 3-1.

With Robinson on third base, Dodgers Manager Don Mattingly was ejected for protesting an on-field ruling that Matt Carpenter checked his swing on a potential strike-three pitch.

The inning devolved from there. Carpenter singled in Robinson to move the Cardinals to within 3-2. The next batter, Matt Holliday, sent the ball halfway up the left-field pavilion to put the Cardinals ahead, 4-3.

Because of Ellis’ throwing error, all four runs were unearned.

Lilly didn’t give up any runs over the remainder of the seven innings he pitched and lowered his earned-run average from 2.11 to 1.79, the lowest among Dodgers starters. He limited the Cardinals to four hits and no walks, and struck out six.

The Dodgers responded immediately, as Kennedy singled in Mark Ellis to tie the score, 4-4.

The four runs scored against Lance Lynn were the most charged to the Cardinals starter this season.

dylan.hernandez@latimes.com

I know it’s early in the 2012 Major League Baseball season and there is plenty of baseball yet to played. Yet the surprise of the St. Louis Cardinals has been rookie Matt Carpenter. His batting average is .321 over 28 at bats in 11 games.

Although not as proficient as Steve Lombardozzi of the Washington Nationals with a .471 batting average thus far, Carpenter gets my early vote for the NL’s Rookie of the Year.

Carpenter’s .321 average is a bit misleading. Until an 0-for-4 performance April 19 in a 6-3 loss to the Cincinnati Reds, his BA was .375 with a slugging percentage of .750.

Lombardozzi may have a better over average, but Carpenter gets more timely hits. The 11 RBIs are tops in the National League among rookies, according to MLB’s top rookie tracker. The last time Carpenter had such a high batting average was for the AA Springfield Cardinals, with a .316 average over 105 games in 2010 in the Texas League.

The absence of Albert Pujols is barely registering. David Freese leads the Cardinals with 13 RBIs and has a scorching .375 average. The second place guy in RBI totals is the up-and-comer Carpenter, who had just 15 at bats in seven games a year ago.

The key for Carpenter will be to stay healthy. For some reason, younger players haven’t been able to stay off the DL. Last year, Freese and Allen Craig struggled through injuries. Both guys are young talent who were key to the Cardinals’ World Series win.

This time last season, fans were complaining of a lack of hitting on the part of St. Louis. Pujols was in a slump. NBC Sports showed video of then-manager Tony La Russa quitting a press conference early after he felt there were enough questions about the Cardinals’ lack of offense.

Those questions are gone. The Cardinals lead the National League with a team batting average of .293. The next closest National League team are the Colorado Rockies with a .267 average.

Carpenter is second in RBIs on the NL Central Division leaders. For early buzz on the Rookie of the Year, Carpenter has got to be considered a favorite.

Even better is that no one predicted the St. Louis Cardinals to do this well so early in the season. Pitcher Adam Wainwright leads the team in strikeouts yet hasn’t won a game. Wainwright has been tagged for three of the four losses thus far on the season.

But the story of the Cardinals thus far hasn’t been pitching or defense. The offense has come alive thanks in part to some unlikely early-season production from an unheralded rookie.

William Browning was born in St. Louis and is a lifelong St. Louis Cardinals fan. He currently resides in Branson, Mo.

PITTSBURGH, April 20 (UPI) — First baseman Lance Berkman has been placed on the 15-day disabled list because of a leg injury, the St. Louis Cardinals said Friday.

The roster move was made retroactive to Thursday.

Berkman aggravated a left calf injury while chasing a pop-up earlier this week.

He is hitting .348 in seven games this season.

Berkman was voted the National League Comeback Player of the Year in 2011 when he hit .301 with 31 home runs and 94 runs batted in during his first season with the Cardinals.

St. Louis activated infielder Skip Schumaker off the 15-day disabled list to fill Berkman’s spot on the roster. Schumaker has been recovering from a torn right oblique muscle suffered during spring training.

In 117 games last season, Schumaker hit .283 with two home runs and 38 RBI.

ST. LOUIS — Thursday was a day of firsts for several Cincinnati Reds hitters, and another day to forget for Adam Wainwright.

Brandon Phillips homered for his first RBI of the season and Drew Stubbs homered for his first extra-base hit as the Reds backed soft-tossing Bronson Arroyo’s eight innings and broke loose for a 6-3 victory against the St. Louis Cardinals that avoided a three-game sweep.

“It’s been so long since we played a game like that,” manager Dusty Baker said. “I’m just glad our offense got clicking.”

Ryan Ludwick also homered for the Reds, who had connected just once in their previous nine games and began the day with a .211 batting average.

The Reds picked on Wainwright (0-3), a 20-game winner in 2010 coming off reconstructive elbow surgery that sidelined him all of 2011.

Wainwright is winless in his first three decisions for the first time in his career. He allowed multiple home runs in consecutive starts for just the second time.

“His velocity is a little bit down,” Ludwick said. “I feel like we were able to take advantage of it a little bit and in that scenario, you’ve got to. When he’s on, when he gets back to 100 percent, he’s one of those guys that sometimes you’re lucky to get one run against.”

Although he said it was a “valid question” to ask whether the comeback had been a lot tougher than he had anticipated, Wainwright added: “I’m just in a funk.

“You can say whatever you want to about surgery and all that. My arm feels fine, I’m just not throwing great.”

Wainwright allowed four runs in five innings, leaving him with a 9.88 ERA. He thought his fastball had more life and his curveball also was improved, but “my cutter was brutal, and that’s what both home runs were on.”

Phillips hit his first homer since Sept. 20 against the Astros, a span of 53 at-bats, and drove in his first run in 40 at-bats. Stubbs was 3-for-5 and the home run was his first extra-base hit in 50 at-bats.

Ludwick’s two-run homer was Cincinnati’s second in a span of three at-bats in the fourth. Stubbs hit his first against Victor Marte in the seventh.

Matt Holliday’s three-run homer in the sixth was the only damage against Arroyo (1-0), who struck out five and walked none in scattering five hits. Arroyo threw just 90 pitches.

“He doesn’t throw any fastballs on fastball counts,” Holliday said. “He mixes it up, slow, slow and slower, and then he’ll sneak his fastball in there. He had us off-balance.”

Joey Votto added an RBI single in the Reds’ ninth against Fernando Salas. Sean Marshall struck out the side after allowing a leadoff hit in the ninth for his second save in as many chances.

Cardinals center fielder Jon Jay left after the seventh with a sprained right shoulder after bumping into the wall trying to grab Stubbs’ homer. Jay said X-rays showed no significant damage and said he was day to day.

“I was about to make my jump and just miscalculated my steps,” Jay said. “It’s not too bad. Tomorrow is going to be a bigger day.”

Earlier Thursday, general manager John Mozeliak said first baseman Lance Berkman would be placed on the 15-day disabled list with a left calf injury. The Cardinals plan on activating utilityman Skip Schumaker from the 15-day DL from a pulled right side muscle sustained in spring training.

“If you can’t run, you can’t play,” Berkman said after the game. “It’s not really that tough of a decision.”

Phillips got his RBI with one out in the third, Jay Bruce followed with a single and Ludwick hit the next pitch beyond the visitor’s bullpen.

Arroyo allowed two hits the first five innings, but the Cardinals opened the sixth with three consecutive hits. Rafael Furcal and Jay singled before Holliday, who had been 3-for-26 on the homestand, hit his third homer to cut the deficit to 4-3.

The NL Central-leading Cardinals are 9-4. A sweep against the Reds would have given the franchise its best start to the season since it was 13-3 in 1982, a World Series title year.

Notes: The Reds are 3-21-2 in 26 series in St. Louis since 2003. … Right-hander Homer Bailey (0-2, 5.40) starts for the Reds in the opener of a three-game series today at the Chicago Cubs. St. Louis’ Lance Lynn (2-0, 1.50) makes his fifth career start at Pittsburgh. … Wainwright previous allowed homers in consecutive starts May 5 and 10, 2009, surrendering two each against the Phillies at home and at Cincinnati. … Marshall has seven strikeouts in 4 1/3 innings. … Rafael Furcal had two hits for the Cardinals and is 6-for-10 the past two games.

By
Erik Matuszewski
-

Mon Apr 16 12:51:29 GMT 2012

(Corrects Phillies win total in third paragraph.)

The St. Louis Cardinals have
immortalized the “Rally Squirrel” on their championship rings
for winning the World Series last season.

A squirrel ran onto the field at St. Louis’s Busch Stadium
twice during the Cardinals’ 2011 National League Division Series
against Philadelphia, including one incident in which it
streaked across home plate in Game 4 after a pitch was thrown.

The Cardinals won the final two games of the best-of-five
playoff series to eliminate the Phillies, who had a Major League
Baseball-best 102 wins during the regular season, and went on to
win their 11th World Series title.

The Cardinals included the runaway squirrel on one side of
their championship rings, with a representation of the rodent
appearing beneath the team logo and above two interlocking bats
featuring the player’s number.

The Cardinals received their World Series during a ceremony
before their April 14 game against the Chicago Cubs.

To contact the reporter on this story:
Erik Matuszewski in New York at
matuszewski@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Michael Sillup at
msillup@bloomberg.net

Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus.

ST. LOUIS — Jake Westbrook allowed one earned run in seven strong innings and rookie Matt Carpenter homered, tripled and drove in five runs in the St. Louis Cardinals’ 10-3 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Sunday.

Cubs starter Paul Maholm (0-2) surrendered six runs in four innings. The left-hander is 0-7 with a 7.03 ERA in nine starts since his last win on July 10, 2011 against the Cubs when he was with Pittsburgh.

Carpenter has been getting regular duty while Lance Berkman recovers from a strained left calf and is batting .409 with 10 RBIs in 22 at-bats. He singled his first two trips with an RBI, belted a two-run shot to straightaway center off Lendy Castillo in the fifth for his first career homer and added a two-run triple off Rodrigo Lopez in the seventh.

Berkman missed the weekend series but could be back Tuesday when the Cardinals open a three-game series against the Reds.

Yadeir Molina hit a three-run homer in the third and has six RBIs the last three games. Plus he threw out Marlon Byrd attempting to steal in the third.

Westbrook (2-0) dropped 20 pounds in the offseason after a disappointing 2011 in which he went 12-9 but with a 4.66 ERA and was virtually unused in the Cardinals’ World Series championship run. He pounded his sinker for 12 ground ball outs, and allowed four hits.

Reed Johnson had two hits and an RBI for the Cubs, who scored their second run on a wild pitch. They were outscored 15-4 the last two games after hammering Adam Wainwright in St. Louis’ home opener for a 9-5 victory.

Westbrook allowed an unearned run in seven innings in his first start at Cincinnati. He’s gotten plenty of support, with St. Louis scoring 17 runs his first two outings.

The Cardinals needed one hit to score twice in the second, with Carlos Beltran hit by a pitch and Molina walking setting the table to start the inning. Carpenter followed with an RBI single and Shane Robinson beat out the relay on a double play ball for a run-scoring groundout.

Rafael Furcal had been 0-for-12 before doubling to start a four-run third capped by Molina’s homer.

The Cardinals are 12-6 against the Cubs the last two seasons and 8-2 at home.

Notes: The Cubs had been 8-for-10 on steals before Byrd was thrown out. … Westbrook threw first-pitch strikes to nine of his first 11 batters. … Two members of the Cubs rotation have no wins since July 10, 2011, with Chris Volstad 0-6 with a 4.17 ERA since beating the Astros. … Beltran is batting .429 (9-for-21) with two homers and six RBIs against Maholm.

Carlos Beltran and David Freese homered again on Tuesday night, and Kyle Lohse provided another stingy performance, leading the St. Louis Cardinals to a 3-1 victory over the Cincinnati Reds.

The defending World Series champions are 5-1 for the first time since 2008.

Beltran, counted on to help make up for the loss of Albert Pujols, hit his third homer off Mike Leake (0-1). Freese, the World Series MVP, added a two-run shot off Leake — also his third.

St. Louis came into the game leading the majors with nine homers. It has five in its first two games at Great American Ball Park.

Lohse (2-0) has made impressive starts in Florida’s summery warmth and Cincinnati’s April chill. He took a no-hitter into the eighth inning of a 4-1 win in Miami last Wednesday, allowing only one run and two hits.

With temperatures in the 40s on Tuesday night, he was sharp again, allowing Joey Votto’s sacrifice fly and four hits in six innings. Jason Motte retired the side in order in the ninth for his second save in two chances.

The Cardinals rotation has been sensational so far, going 5-1 with a 1.86 ERA.

The Reds handed out another big contract before the game, giving second baseman Brandon Phillips a deal through 2017 worth $72.5 million. It came only five days after Votto got an additional 10 years and $225 million, looking to turn the 2010 NL Central champions into a consistent contender.

Phillips got a cramp in his left hamstring during a 7-1 loss to the Cardinals on Monday night and is expected to miss several days.

For the second game in a row, the Cardinals got to a Reds starter before he could break a sweat. They hit three homers in the first inning off Homer Bailey on Monday night.

Beltran hit Leake’s fifth pitch into the stands in right field. Leake escaped another big Cardinals first inning by getting Yadier Molina to ground into a double play with the bases loaded. Molina also grounded into a double play with two runners aboard in the eighth.

Lance Berkman, who has the most homers by a visiting player at Great American Ball Park, tripled into the right-field corner in the sixth. Freese followed with his third homer, a drive that bounced off the top of the wall in right field and caromed up into the stands.

Berkman left the game in the eighth with tightness in his left calf.

Zack Cozart hit his second triple of the season in the bottom of the inning and scored on Votto’s sacrifice fly, making it 3-1. 

NOTES: LHP Jaime Garcia starts the final game of the series for St. Louis. He’s 6-1 in his career against the Reds with a 3.13 ERA. He has given up more than three runs only once in his seven starts against Cincinnati. … RHP Johnny Cueto makes his second start for Cincinnati. He pitched seven innings in a 4-0 opening win over Miami last Thursday. … SS Rafael Furcal was out of the Cardinals’ starting lineup for the first time, getting some rest. … Reds RH reliever Nick Masset, who started the season on the 15-day DL with a sore shoulder, hasn’t started throwing yet.
 

MIAMI — Kyle Lohse didn’t allow a hit until Jose Reyes led off the seventh inning with a single and pitched into the eighth Wednesday night to help the World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals spoil the Miami Marlins’ debut in their new ballpark, 4-1.

The crowd of 36,601 included newly retired Cardinals manager Tony La Russa, who quietly rooted for his former team from the press box. Lohse pitched 7 1/3 innings, allowing only two hits and one run.

Series MVP David Freese hit a two-run single in the first.

Baltimore: Left-hander Tsuyoshi Wada and catcher Taylor Teagarden were placed on the 15-day DL. The O’s bought the contracts of catcher Ronny Paulino and first baseman Nick Johnson, and optioned left-hander Zach Phillips to Triple-A Norfolk. Wada has a left elbow; Teagarden has a sore back.

Chicago Cubs: Infielder Luis Valbuena was claimed off waivers from Toronto, and right-hander Frankie De La Cruz was sent to Triple-A Iowa.

Cleveland: The Indians signed shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera to a three-year contract. Cabrera, who signed a $4.55-million contract for 2012 this winter, will make $6.5 million in 2013 and $10 million in 2014. … Outfielder Grady Sizemore was placed on the 60-day DL. Sizemore, who had back surgery last month, will resume baseball activities in a couple of weeks. The team bought the contracts of infielder Jose Lopez and reliever Dan Wheeler from Triple-A Columbus. Lefty David Huff was placed on the 15-day DL with a strained hamstring.

Minnesota: The Twins placed right-hander Scott Baker on the 15-day DL and optioned right-hander Jason Marquis to Double-A New Britain. Right-hander Carl Pavano, left-hander Francisco Liriano, rookie right-hander Liam Hendriks and right-hander Nick Blackburn comprise the rotation. Baker has been slowed by tendinitis in his right elbow. He was put on the DL retroactive to March 27. Marquis missed two weeks of spring camp to tend to his injured daughter.

N.Y. Mets: Left-hander Jonathon Niese signed a five-year deal for $25.5 million. … The Mets bought the contracts of right-hander Miguel Batista and outfielder Mike Baxter from Triple-A Buffalo.

Seattle: Former Tigers left-hander Charlie Furbush was sent to Triple-A Tacoma.

Washington: Left-hander John Lannan says he has requested a trade after being optioned to Triple-A Syracuse. Lannan says he told general manager Mike Rizzo “a trade would be the best solution for everyone in both the short and long term.” Last season, Lannan was 10-13 with a 3.70 ERA. He was the Nationals’ Opening-Day starter in 2009-10.

MIAMI — The sellout crowd in the Miami Marlins’ new ballpark cheered the introduction of their starters, who were accompanied by women dressed as Latin showgirls. There was another roar for Muhammad Ali, who delivered the first pitch.

Then Kyle Lohse and the World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals went to work, and the place grew quiet.

Lohse held Miami hitless until the seventh inning and pitched into the eighth to help the Cardinals win the first game in Marlins Park, 4-1 Wednesday night.

The Marlins’ new animated home-run sculpture never budged. It was the fourth inning before they even managed a baserunner, and by the time they scored in the eighth, they trailed 4-0.

“It’s a good ballpark for a pitcher, obviously,” Lohse said. “It’s pretty hard to get it out.”

New Marlins manager Ozzie Guillen was asked if the team’s new home is a pitcher’s park.

“For Lohse, yes,” Guillen said. “But it’s too early to say how the ballpark is going to play.”

The crowd of 36,601 included newly retired Cardinals manager Tony La Russa, who quietly rooted for his former team from the press box.

He watched Lohse retire the first 10 batters before hitting Emilio Bonifacio with a pitch. The runner was erased when Hanley Ramirez grounded into a double play.

Newcomer Jose Reyes singled for Miami’s first hit to start the seventh, and Omar Infante scored the Marlins’ run in the eighth on John Buck’s double. Lohse went 7 1-3 innings, allowing only two hits and one run.

The right-hander led the Cardinals last year in victories and ERA but got the call for opening day only because ace Chris Carpenter is sidelined with nerve irritation that has caused weakness in his pitching shoulder.

David Freese, the World Series MVP, had a two-run single in the first inning to give Lohse the cushion he needed. Freese and Rafael Furcal each had three of the Cardinals’ 13 hits.

“Tonight was fun,” Freese said. “It’s always nice to get the season going and to open up here, beautiful ballpark, the fans were excited about it and so were we.”

Jason Motte earned the save with a one-hit ninth, completing the four-hitter and sending the Cardinals to the clubhouse to celebrate first-year manager Mike Matheny’s debut win.

“We gave him a little water shower,” Lohse said. “Most people go with the adult beverage but we went with the water.”

Things were so bad for Guillen’s team that Marlins ace Josh Johnson recorded the ballpark’s first strikeout — but as a hitter.

Johnson allowed 10 hits and three runs in six innings. The 2010 NL ERA leader was pitching for the first time since last May 16, when shoulder inflammation ended his year.

Ramirez, making the switch to third base from shortstop, had an especially rough night. He drew scattered boos when he pulled up rather than dive for a grounder to his left, and he failed to throw out Furcal on a bunt that went for a hit. Ramirez also struck out with a runner aboard in the ninth to finish 0 for 4.

Both teams began the season with a new look. The Marlins, anticipating better attendance and higher revenue in their new home, acquired three All-Stars in an offseason spending spree. The Cardinals, coming off a thrilling late-season charge to the World Series title, lost slugger Albert Pujols to free agency and La Russa to retirement.

La Russa visited with Matheny before the game. Also on hand was baseball Commissioner Bud Selig, who said his reaction to the ballpark was, “Wow.”

Among the eye-catching features is the colorful home-run sculpture beyond the center-field wall, but the Marlins failed to activate it, although Giancarlo Stanton did send two flies to the warning track.

The retractable roof, which is expected to be closed for all but about 10 games, was opened 30 minutes before the first pitch, revealing a nearly full moon on a 79-degree evening. Surprise guest Ali delivered the first pitch, which Ramirez gently took from the champ’s hand.

The first pitch from Johnson to Rafael Furcal caught the outside corner for a called strike. Furcal then grounded to new shortstop Reyes for the first out.

Cardinals newcomer Carlos Beltran followed with the first hit, a sharp single to right. He took third on a double by Lance Berkman, and Freese drove in both runs with a two-out single.

Furcal’s two-out RBI single in the second made it 3-0, and a 50-foot groundout by Daniel Descalso brought home an insurance run in the eighth.

NOTES: The Marlins drew 41,237 for last year’s home opener, then went on to finish last in the NL in attendance for the seventh consecutive year. … Before the game, Guillen said Ramirez has a chance to be the NL MVP. … The only no-hitter on opening day was thrown in 1940 by Hall of Famer Bob Feller for the Cleveland Indians against the Chicago White Sox. … Lohse pitched five shutout innings in his only other opening-day start, which was in 2008.

The Philadelphia Phillies were left haunted by the St. Louis Cardinals at the end of the 2011 season. Yet Phillies fans like myself took some sick pleasure in how the Cardinals lost Albert Pujols and Tony LaRussa afterwards. Unfortunately, the division rival Miami Marlins had a much better offseason, as they picked up Ozzie Guillen, Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle, a new stadium and much more.

As such, the Phillies will have an interest in seeing the first game of the baseball season on American soil. The Marlins debut their new home and new look lineup against none other than the world champion Cardinals on April 4, as they each take the field looking far different than they did six months ago.

It is more likely to be a good different for the Marlins than it is for the Cardinals, which would spell bad news for the Phillies. On the one hand, Philadelphia has to like the chance that St. Louis won’t be as tough an obstacle for the NL pennant. On the other, the Phillies still have to win the NL East again first, and the Marlins could make that very difficult.

Of course, since the Marlins are led by the volatile Guillen and took a big risk moving Hanley Ramirez to third for new shortstop Reyes, Miami could host the biggest soap opera of the season. But if everyone keeps their cool, the Marlins could be one of a few teams threatening to end the Phillies’ NL East reign.

The first clue as to how it might turn out comes in the season opener, where an established Marlin will make a big comeback. Miami actually hung around with Philadelphia for the first half of last year until ace Josh Johnson was sidelined for the season. Now that Johnson is fully healthy and has a lot more help on offense, he could carry the Marlins even more than Reyes and Ramirez if he pitches to Cy Young form.

As for the Cardinals, they are also missing the man that broke both Philadelphia and Texas’s hearts last October. Chris Carpenter eliminated the Phillies and Rangers at the end of the NLDS and World Series, yet the St. Louis ace is now sidelined with nerve irritation. Therefore, Kyle Lohse serves as the Opening Day ace, in another example of just how different this year’s Cardinals team has become.

While St. Louis and Miami look radically different now, the results could still be the same. For all we know, the Cardinals will be back on top in the NL Central five months from now, while the Marlins are out of contention again. The Phillies would prefer to have both of them out of contention, yet when it comes to these two teams, they haven’t been that lucky since October 2011.

Philadelphia could have a lot of trouble with Miami over the next several months – and the Marlins were already hard to deal with when they didn’t go on spending sprees. But maybe the Cardinals, of all teams, will start showing them and the rest of the NL East that the Marlins are only scary on paper. And if championships were decided on paper, the Phillies would have three or four of them by now.

Robert Dougherty is a life-long Philadelphia resident who has followed the Phillies since he was eight years old.

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