I could have swore I heard in March that the Royals were supposed to contend this year. I don't know why since they've gotten destroyed this week. Because in the end, they're still the Royals. And they're still not very good. yeah, it's kind of annoying that the cards' natural rival is a small-market perennial doormat. Do they even think of themselves as rivals? The Cards have always been pretty good for the most part, and the Royals have been garbage, at least during the time of interleague play. No Cardinal fan that I know considers the Royals a rival.