90 wins. Have you got the over or the under?

Obviously I hope I’m wrong, but I’d guess the under for several reasons. In line with the primary reason that’s already been mentioned, I’d also list the rotation and the absence of anything remotely resembling a functional bench or effective managerial leadership.

It will take the pitching to hold up and stay healthy, and one or two guys to ramp it up on offense in order to get to 90 wins.

We need at least one more guy to go “Burly” on us, say Gorman or even Siani.

We remind me some of the ‘64 team. Exactly 60 years ago we were struggling, going nowhere, but Lou Brock and then Mike Shannon came out of nowhere to spur the offense. Plus the established Bill White went from 32 RBI around July 1 to finish at 102. Then Barney Schultz stabilized the bullpen.

We need that – someone, or better yet two guys that really get going – say Arenado and Gorman. And in addition we can’t have a starter or bullpen pitcher go down. No room for error there.

My feelings are similar to KCB. It has been an easier segment of the schedule. Last night, they were saying it was “like a playoff game”. Realistically, it is the likes of the Pirates and other .500-ish clubs that are competitive with these Cardinals. The best team they played this month was KC and the Cards were swept at home. They have scored three runs over two games in Pittsburgh. That won’t cut it.

P.S. With a few bold deadline acquisitions, that could change. But this is not a bold operation.

Their win pct is .525, that works out to 85 wins. The Pythagorean w-l works out to 77 or 78 wins. I hope they can pull off 85 wins. The effect of deadline deals has been mentioned. I am nervous about that.

We will probably get a little boost at the deadline but I agree with stl25 that we look like a 87-88 win club. That should be good enough to get a wild card spot.

I’ll take the under

Brass paperweights in the lineup and regular paperweights on the bench is not a recipe for success. Some of the young hitters are doing great, but they are not middle of the order power bats. The pitching has carried us, but its looking like it will not hold up. There is nothing in AAA ready to help. I doubt anyone thinks Mo can or will fix all this at the deadline.

Why?

I’ll take the under on 90 wins but the over on 80 wins.
To make the playoffs we know exactly what needs to happen:
1. We win 6 more games than the Brewers or,
2. We do 2 of the following 4 things; 2 more wins than the Mets, 4 more wins than the D-Backs and/or the Braves, or 5 more wins than the Padres.
At this point I’m pretty pessimistic that we will make the playoffs. Hopefully this team proves me wrong.
*Note – these are the wins needed to not have to rely on a tiebreaker.

We are a little farther down the road from when this thread started, and 90 wins looks less probably.

It is also doubtful that there will be October baseball for the St. Louis Cardinals. The stove will likely be warming up early this year.

Amongst the negatives, Noot’s disappointing season doesn’t get much attention. He’s been hurt, but when he’s not he hasn’t been a factor.