I think the highly offensive explosion of the AL, will dominate the Cards pitching staff, which is simply what happened last year. The Cards ran into Houston, which gave them a big run for their money. While Carpenter is a good pitcher, he isn't a big playoff pitcher. I'd rather have El Duque in the playoffs over Carpenter. In fact, how many playoff starts does he even have? He didnt pitch in last years playoffs, and he was with the Blue Jays before that. Theres too many "ifs" with the Cards. Edmonds isn't doing squat, hes having a down year. I know that much for having him on my fantasy team. Pujols IS the Cards offense. It should be interesting, but I highly doubt they'll win it. If Houston makes it, I pick them over the Cards. Statistically, I think they were better last season. Theres a month left, and their roster is pretty banged up and inconsistent. The bullpen isn't as good. The pitching troubles of Mulder and Morris are the same, throw in Suppan and Marquis, and you have a team on the brink of failure come playoff time. I think the Angels have a better team then the Cards, but their win/loss column doesen't show it, because the AL is a tougher league imo.