A lot of things to talk about...

First of all, this team gets swept by the Brewers - in heart wrenching fashion - before going to New York and getting blasted. So after losing 6 of our last 7 games, what does this team do? They go out and play hard, hang tough, and at the end of the day we are four games out of first place, only a game behind the Brewers for the Wild Card.... HOW? This team plays hard, and you gotta love that if you love the Cardinals.

With all that being said, Chris Carpenter makes his comeback tomorrow in Atlanta. How do you think he'll do? He has thrown less than 80 pitches in each rehab start, with lower than normal velocity (88-92). His control hasn't been up to Carpenter's own standards either. On the other hand, you have Atlanta who is really beat up. They just traded their best player (Texeira), the best hitter in the league (C. Jones) is on the DL, and their best pitcher (Hudson) is probably out for the year. So I like the Cards chances to win this game, but I think we shouldn't expect too much from Carpenter. My prediction: 6 IP, 5 H, 3 BB, 2 K, 3 ER, and a no decision. The Cards will win the game, and this will be his first step on the road back to dominance.

In other pitching news, Izzy has been given the closer's role. This is good news no matter how you look at it. Worst case scenario, he goes out and blows it again. On the other hand, as I've said time and time again on here, I think the lack of defined roles hurts all of the guys (Izzy included) in our bullpen. Now, for better or worse, Izzy has the 9th inning. We can build our bullpen back from there. McClellan, Franklin, and Russ Springer can take the bulk of the 7th/8th inning work, and they will do a great job in this role. We still need some depth to avoid overuse, and we need a lefty for those late game situations. Maybe with Carpenter and Wainwright (more on him in a second) coming back soon, this will force Pinero and/or a 2nd pitcher (maybe Boggs) into some bullpen work. Thompson hasn't been bad in some of those spots. I think Jimenez has good stuff and could be good in the middle relief role, if he isn't overused. Another idea, maybe Perez gets his control worked out in time to come back and work some of the late innings. He has great stuff.

Finally, Wainwright is about to make his first rehab start at one of the Cards minor league affiliate. He won't be back with the Cards in the next couple weeks, but I think we will see him before the end of the month. WHAT IF our Cardinals can stay within striking distance of the Cubs and the Wildcard long enough for Carpenter to get rolling, Wainwright to get healthy, and Izzy to find his mojo again? Crazier things have happened! As hard as this team plays, you have to keep the faith. This isn't a perfect team, they have plenty of holes for sure, but they play hard and after all the injuries and bad luck.... here we are. It has been a fun season. Hopefully we can keep it going.