The St. Louis Cardinals know a mid-season drought should only be temporary—injuries, slumps, and the like are issues every ballclub encounters.
Although they boast a strong lineup on paper, the Cardinals are in trouble at the 2010 season midpoint: Two starting pitchers and an All-Star outfielder are injured, and the Redbirds’ big bats have yet to live up to their potentials.
An obvious cure for injury and lack of performance is to go to the bench, but sometimes the bench simply cannot get the job done. So, franchises make larger adjustments—they make trades.
These mid-to-late-season transactions sometimes turn out to make the difference—the right pitcher can win a World Series game, the right pinch hitter can score a winning run.
The 2010 Cardinals need one of these late-season guys, and they need him soon.
If the Cardinals want to regain the lead on the NL Central, they’re going to need more than luck.
The following is a look at some of the players who have had a huge impact on the Cardinal ballclub during the second half of the season.