So, it has happened. The Cubs are the darlings of baseball – again. Maybe this year. Sports Illustrated’s Midwest cover a few weeks ago titled their Cubs story: Cubs: Out of The Desert, into the World Series (Finally). I've heard this spiel before. My father and his father and his father before him have heard this as well. To be fair, the Cubs did pull it together during my great-grandfather’s lifetime – 1908 was the year of the franchise’s last World Series victory. Also, to be fair, the Cardinals have a losing record vs. the Cubs (roughly 1,097-1,127). But this week, the greatest rivalry in baseball returns to Busch Stadium. The Cubs do have a great roster this year, currently 9-3 on the season, but it’s early, and the All-Star Break hasn’t destroyed their game yet. The Cubs franchise only has 2 World Series victories (1907, 1908), and the Cards have 11 World Series victories (three times in my lifetime)!

The Cubs received a setback to their roster last week when slugger Kyle Schwarber was placed on the Disabled List, but that doesn’t seem to have affected the team as much as I expected. The Cardinals are still missing Jhonny Peralta, Mitch Harris, Jordan Walden, Brayan Pena, Ruben Tejada, Lance Lynn, and Tommy Pham. But the Cards showed the depth of the team this week as their bats have come alive. Watch the video below of yesterdays game vs. the Reds.

I feel as if our disabled list is like hockey’s penalty bench. I'm filled with anticipation of what the team will be when everyone is off the bench and healthy (although a 7-5 record is a great start). And speaking of hockey, how ‘bout them Blues?!

There is no question that the Cardinals dominate based on their farm system, and it definitely helps rookie players (such as Diaz, Hazelbaker, and Piscotty) to learn the big-league style of play from a team that is regularly competitive. One announcer this week brought up that the Cards create great players out of athletes who are discarded from other teams. There’s plenty of evidence that the Cards can train players with great raw skill to produce hits, runs, and fielding.

Or perhaps the problem has more to do with a man whose goat cursed the entire Cubs franchise when they were denied admittance to Wrigley (which still hasn’t seen a World Series victory). But either way, it’s a great game, and it’s a great rivalry. That’s the beauty of baseball – fans can vehemently disagree about the best team yet sit side by side and cheer on the game that has been left relatively unchanged since the last Cubs World Series victory.

Catch the game on your home for sports in the Tri-State: ESPN 105.3 FM. Go Cards!

Upcoming Games

DateTimeOpponentProbable Pitcher
Monday, April 187:09 PMVs. Chicago CubsMike Leake
Tuesday, April 197:15 PMVs. Chicago CubsJaime Garcia
Wednesday, April 2012:45 PMVs. Chicago CubsCarlos Martinez
Friday, April 229:40 PM@ San Diego PadresTBD
Saturday, April 237:40 PM@ San Diego PadresTBD
Sunday, April 243:40 PM@ San Diego PadresTBD

Game times and pitchers are subject to change. Go to stlcardinals.com for the most up-to-date schedule and information.

NL Central Standings

TeamWinsLossesPercentageGames Back
Chicago Cubs930.7500
St. Louis Cardinals750.5832.0
Pittsburgh Pirates760.5382.5
Cincinnati Reds660.5003.0
Milwaukee Brewers570.4174.0

105.3 WJLT ESPN Evansville only airs games via radio broadcast. Online listening can be found at mlb.com. 

More From My WJLT 105.3