They do have a crappy lineup, and they do have a crappy pitching staff. But just like in 2006, it's not stopping them from outperforming those pesky little facts. How come we never have any years like that? 1998's about as close as we've come to something like that. I think the 98 team was a good bit better than this Cardinal team, though. In 2001, the Cubs basically rode Sammy, Lieber, Wood and a decent bullpen to playoff contention into September. That was another one. But you'll notice on neither occasion did we make it to the World Series. Or come close.