Cardinals Sweep Marlins, Send Five to Mid-Summer Classic

Still, overall, it’s hard to complain about a team that is once again tied (with Pittsburgh!) for the best record in the major leagues. And despite the aforementioned problems, some things have gone right for them recently.

– Allen Craig’s seemed to regain his power stroke. Since June 4, he’s slashed .333/.383/.560. More importantly, he drove in 29 runs in 29 games and managed to hit seven home runs after managing just three the first two months. More in him in a bit.

– Carlos Beltran, too, has been one of the consistent Cardinal hitters the last month, hitting .319/.355/.560 since June 1 until yesterday’s game.

– Arguably, though, Adam Wainwright has been the Cardinals’ MVP the last month. While other starters have faltered, Wainwright’s put in consistently good outings. Since the beginning of June, Waino’s gone 4-2 with a 2.18 ERA. He held opposing hitters to an OPS of just .573, meaning he’s made the other teams’ lineups hit like Pete Kozma.

Chris Carpenter Update

It’s being reported that the Cardinals and Chris Carpenter were highly encouraged after a lengthy bullpen session. If all goes well, in a couple weeks, he could head out for a rehab assignment.

Obviously, the team’s going to great lengths to make sure he doesn’t injure anything. Carpenter suffered a mild setback last month. Initially thought to be a herniated disc, instead it’s being reported he has ligament damage, so he’s being forced to go slowly.

Should he get sent for a rehab assignment, he would have thirty days until the team would have to make a decision whether or not to promote him to the active roster.

Five Cardinals Named to NL All-Star Roster

Before the season began, I really liked Allen Craig’s chances of becoming an All-Star; Matt Carpenter, on the other hand, I admittedly thought would struggle at least a little bit in his transition to second base from the hot corner.

Instead, he’s simply had the best season by a second baseman thus far this year. As a result, he and Craig were both named to the National League All-Star team for the first times in their careers.

Allen Craig’s posted the 26th best OPS in the majors at .861, but he’s second in the National League in RBI with 69. His ability to hit with runners in scoring position (.476, second in the majors) is well-documented, as is his ability to hit with RISP and two outs (.488, best in the majors). He’ll back up Joey Votto, who (thanks to the Cincinnati voters) managed to beat out Paul Goldschmidt, who’s having a beast of a season, second only to Chris Davis.

Matt Carpenter may not have the sexy home run and RBI totals that others do, but according to Fangraphs, he’s been the seventh-most valuable position player in baseball. He’ll back up Brandon Phillips, who (again, thanks to loyal Cincinnati fans) won the vote to start, despite Carpenter having a better season up to this point.

They will join Carlos Beltran (his eighth All-Star game) and Yadier Molina (his fifth), who both won the vote at their positions to start the game (Yadi and Carlos earned the most votes out of any position players in the NL), along with Adam Wainwright, who will make his second appearance in the mid-summer classic.

Speaking of fan voting influencing the All-Star game…