Everybody in the Central is playing to be the bug that splatters on the Dodgers' windshield, but since we're too far gone to effect any of the needed changes, it might as well be us.
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That would take 21-11 finish. I'm not sure they've got that in them so
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But, if we win the division, the WC winner plays the Dodgers, right? We'd play the Braves?:-) if by some miracle we win that series, then of course we would be ass raped and embarrassed by the Dodgers.
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True, but IF we get that far we've at least got a shot at being the Braves.

Nobody is beating LA.
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Until the WS, where I think both the Astros and Yankees could take them.

BUT, I'm still pulling my for dream HOU / STL WS. :-)

It's baseball, and once STL gets in, baseball things can happen...
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Way too much optimism in this thread as of late. :-)
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Anyone can beat LA in the playoffs, losing is what they do best once the lights are brightest.
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The Dodgers kiiiiiinda have that record setting Mariners feel to them? It depends on whether or not you think Kershaw is finding a 'new normal' and figuring out how to dominate with lesser stuff and if you think Buehler can be a true ace in the postseason.

Ryu is inching closer and closer to the wall, IMO. He's not looked nearly as sharp of late. Maeda is just a guy; probably a reliever in the playoffs. Stripling and Hill may be non-entities at this point. May looks as good as any of those guys at times.

The difference is really Bellinger. Muncy has also been pretty outstanding this year. But that team is completely different when Bellinger is feeling it. The issue with him is that his swing has a lot of leverage in it; his timing has to be letter perfect given that high finish and his full extension.

There's a path to seeing the Dodgers go down in the post-season. Don't get me wrong - they're easily the best bet. But they're not the juggernaut the Astros are, IMO. And I'm not even sure they have the offensive depth to bludgeon teams like the Yankees do.

A team that we should start looking very warily at is the Nationals. Scherzer, Strasburg and Corbin going 1-2-3 in a post-season series is pretty nasty. Soto is a full blown superstar and Rendon just keeps doing under the radar awesome hitter stuff, like he's done for years. You have Robles/Eaton/Turner as additional lineup depth and they've cobbled together some really nice production out of Dozier and Kendrick. There are some real bullpen issues there but if they can get those straightened out over the next month, they could be damn dangerous.
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Baseball America’s hottest prospect in baseball.


1. Dylan Carlson, OF, Cardinals
Team: Triple-A Memphis (Pacific Coast)
Age: 20
Why He’s Here: .483/.533/.741 (13-for-27), 8 R, 1 2B, 0 3B, 2 HR, 5 RBIs, 3 BB, 6 SO

The Scoop: 
One of the fastest risers in the minor leagues this season, Carlson, who won’t turn 21 until the middle of October, has made a mark in the Cardinals’ upper levels. He blitzed the Texas League after opening as its fourth-youngest player, putting forth an OPS of .882 before moving to Triple-A Memphis. That mark still stands as the TL’s second-highest figure. He’s quickly adjusted to the Pacific Coast League, where he’s notched at least one hit in all 10 of his games. It’s also worth noting that he’s stolen 18 bases this season, and two more would give him a 20-20 season. (JN)
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Bring him up in September for a look?!
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Might be the best team the Nationals are going into the playoffs with so naturally they will shut down Strasburg for the postseason.
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Dodgers are the best team in baseball as of right now but rarely does the "best" team win the World Series. Baseball is a funny game of streaks and cycles and the winner of the WS will just happen to be the team who catches fire at just the right time. I heard yesterday that since the beginning of the wildcard, the team with the best overall record in baseball has only gone on to win the WS 4 times. So again.....once the playoff brackets are set, it can be anybody at that point.
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Historically, the Dodgers have a terrible record against the Cardinals, regardless of what players the Cards field. So there's that.

However, I don't have a great feeling about this team in the playoffs; we just have too many holes on this team, IMO.

Then again, last year I thought the St. Louis Blues were done in December, and look how that turned out. It is baseball, and if there's one thing we know about baseball, it's that anything can happen at any time.
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that anything can happen in the playoffs mentality does have some basis in fact. Both of our recent WS championships were won by underperforming teams that barely made the playoffs. But, the difference between those teams and the current one is both those championship teams had natural high level talent. They just underperformed to their talent level in the regular season.

It was made clear to everyone recently while playing the Astros and Dodgers that the current teams talent gap between them and us is grand canyon level wide. But again, our 2004 team had way way better talent than the Sox team and we got embrassed.
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They're asking far too much of a 1st year starter that can't command his fastball.

I know Hudson's been getting outs recently, but he's our #2 starter and he's a blowup waiting to happen every game. Walks too many guys, gets behind in too many counts and doesn't miss enough bats. He's a supercharged Jason Marquis.

I have complete confidence in Flaherty, even though fatigue is almost certainly bound to set in at some point. But Hudson is scary as hell, Mikolas can't get through an outing without throwing 4 poorly timed cripple pitches, Wainwright is constantly walking a tightrope and...well, fortunately we don't have to worry about Wacha making another start.

But geez - that rotation does not inspire confidence.
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