Everyone around town has been focusing on the Cubs losing a series to their bitter rivals, the Cardinals. I hate to see the Cards embarrass the Cubs as much as anyone, but the weekend’s outcome aren’t what’s bugging me.

Cub fans spent all of their energy mourning the 2023 season because the team “just fell short” of the playoffs. Even though there are plenty of examples of teams eking their way into the postseason only to have success, the 2023 Cubs were never trending in the right direction. I moved on from this perceived narrow failure to look at the bigger, brighter picture. The 2023 Cardinals were God awful and trending in the wrong direction. The local media constantly undervalues the Brewers and still focus their attention on the Cards.

It’s not my job to figure out why the St. Louis offense has been sputtering the past two seasons although I have some guesses. What I do know is the Cards aren’t the offensive threat they used to be. During the 2022 season, they scored 772 runs but dropped to 719 runs in 2023 (good for 19th in all of baseball).

Forgetting the unrealistic projections for the ’24 Cubs offense, at the very least, they should have been able to put the Cards in the rear-view mirror for the foreseeable future. Furthermore, the biggest excuse for their offensive shortcomings is the weather. One of the most painful Wrigley tropes is how the Cubs bats will heat up with the warmer weather.

As bad as the Cubs are right now, St. Louis isn’t much better (35-35). In fact, they are by definition mediocre. Their offense has only generated 269 runs and the Cubs have eked out 298 runs. Yet, that doesn’t account for any more wins.

When the Cubs finally faced their NL Central foes in May, they won the first two series, but have lost the last six series. As bad as everyone thinks the division is, the Cubs haven’t taken advantage of that situation. The Reds and Pirates are perceived as the teams on the rise and if that’s the case then the Cubs have to stomp the Cards and Brewers and play .500 against the new kids on the block.