When the Cardinals were playing like a 100 win team and their pitching was healthy and good, I think it made sense to prefer to play them in the WC game. Their depth would be less of a factor, and we wouldn't have to face Cole in a one game playoff. Now, though, all of their pitchers are hurt or struggling, and they don't scare me at all in a 5 game series. You don't want to face Cole twice and Liriano once, who we match up terribly against, while we can only throw Arrieta once. Arrieta vs the Pirates for one game is absolutely the best case scenario for the Cubs' World Series chances.