1. The Cardinals need to weather the storm for one month
Even before Pujols’ injury, the shine on the Cardinals’ hot start was starting to fade. After ascending to the top of the overall major league standings at 38-26 on June 9, St. Louis lost seven straight and fell behind the Brewers in the National League Central before rebounding with wins Saturday and Sunday to even the division leaderboard.
It’s the first four weeks of Pujols’ absence that are the real challenge. If he returns on the early side, which would be roughly July 19, he’d miss 22 games, including six against their divisional rival Reds, four against the surprising Diamondbacks and three each against the NL East-leading Phillies and the AL East’s resilient Rays.
If the Cardinals are still in reasonable shape through those four weeks, they may be able to ease Pujols back in or allow him to miss the full six weeks, as their next four series are all against sub-.500 foes — the Mets, Pirates, Astros and Cubs — against whom the Redbirds are already 12-5.
