St. Louis Cardinals Take Back First Place

The National League Central has a new leader in the St. Louis Cardinals despite still missing their best player due to a severe arm injury. Now the Cardinals are looking at the Milwaukee Brewers in the rearview mirror for the first time in quite a while.

Through Friday, the Cardinals have a one game lead over the rest of the teams in the National League Central. The rise back to the top needed a combination of Cardinals wins and Brewers losses, and that is exactly what has taken place this past week. While the Cardinals have won four games in a row, the Brewers lost their last four games, including one against the lowly Minnesota Twins.

The Cardinals had been in a free-fall ever since losing Albert Pujols to a broken arm, and it didn't seem like the team had enough heart to overcome that loss. Maybe it is simply a combination of the Cardinals being just good enough and the Brewers not having enough depth that has led to this swap in the standings. St. Louis only has a record of 45-38 thus far (Milwaukee is 44-39), and it doesn't seem like a record that could actually win the Central.

With off years for the Cincinnati Reds (42-41) and the Chicago Cubs (34-49), it has left the Central pretty wide open this year. As a result, the Pittsburgh Pirates are only three games out of first place in the Central. They actually had it down to two games before falling to the Washington Nationals on July 1, showing just how close the Pirates have moved towards the division lead. It would certainly get even more intense if the Cardinals lost a few games and the Pirates made another move towards the division lead.

With good news coming out about the recovery time for Pujols, this might actually be the last chance for other teams to try and catch up to this team. Sporting a resurgent Lance Berkman and All-Star Matt Holliday in the heart of the lineup, the Cardinals are one of those teams that no opposing pitcher wants to face. When Pujols comes back to the lineup, he will likely be well-rested and ready to make a second-half run that should strike fear into everyone else in the National League. The Cardinals gave the Central a chance to take the division, but there aren't going to be many MLB analysts predicting anyone other than St. Louis to win the division now.