- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 1,152,127
- Reaction score
- 59
You must be registered for see images attach
Cardinals-Cubs rivalry has another chapter to write — and neither team knows exactly who it is originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
When I was growing up, certain series felt bigger than the standings. Cardinals v. Cubs was one of them. It didn't matter if one team was in first place or fourth place. It didn't matter if the game was in St. Louis or Chicago. The uniforms alone made it feel important. You knew there would be packed crowds, split allegiances, plenty of trash talk and a playoff atmosphere even in the middle of the summer.
That's what makes this weekend's three-game series at Busch Stadium so intriguing. The Cardinals and Cubs are once again battling near the top of the National League Central. Yet unlike many years in this rivalry's long history, neither team enters the weekend looking like a clear contender or a clear pretender.
Instead, both teams arrive carrying the same question. Who exactly are they?
One of baseball's oldest rivalries still matters
The Cardinals-Cubs rivalry dates back to the 1880s and remains one of the oldest and most passionate rivalries in professional sports. Often called the Route 66 Rivalry or the I-55 Rivalry, it stretches far beyond baseball. Families across Illinois, Missouri and throughout the Midwest have spent generations arguing over which franchise owns regional bragging rights.
The Cubs hold a narrow edge in the all-time regular-season series, but the Cardinals counter with one of the greatest championship resumes in baseball history. St. Louis owns 11 World Series titles compared to Chicago's three. The rivalry has produced nearly everything imaginable.
There was the famous 1886 "$15,000 Slide." There was Ryne Sandberg's legendary performance in "The Sandberg Game" in 1984. There was the unforgettable Mark McGwire-Sammy Sosa home run chase in 1998. There was the clubs' first-ever postseason meeting in 2015 when the Cubs knocked off a 100-win Cardinals team in the National League Division Series.
Every generation has its moment. This weekend brings another opportunity.
MORE: Astros get terrifying update for rest of American League as Josh Hader nears return
The Cubs have been impossible to figure out
No team in baseball has experienced more dramatic swings this season than Chicago. The Cubs looked like one of the best teams in baseball through early May. They opened the season 27-12 and appeared ready to run away with the NL Central.
Then everything changed. Chicago lost 14 of its next 18 games. The Cubs were swept by Milwaukee. They were swept by Houston. A six-game losing streak quickly erased much of the momentum they spent weeks building.
Just as quickly, they appear to be finding themselves again. The Cubs arrive in St. Louis after taking the final two games of their series in Pittsburgh, including a victory over Paul Skenes on Thursday.
At 31-26, they're still very much in the division race. The numbers suggest they should be. Chicago has scored 272 runs this season compared to St. Louis' 235. The Cubs own a plus-19 run differential while the Cardinals sit at minus-10.
Ian Happ leads the club with 12 home runs. Nico Hoerner leads the team with 32 RBIs. Alex Bregman has a team-high 59 hits. Michael Busch owns the club's best on-base percentage at .367.
On paper, this looks like a team capable of making a run. The problem has been consistency. The Cubs have spent two months alternating between looking like division favorites and a team searching for answers.
The Cardinals keep finding ways to stay relevant
The Cardinals have taken a different path to nearly the same place. At 29-25, St. Louis enters the weekend just a half-game behind Chicago despite being outscored on the season.
That shouldn't happen. Yet the Cardinals have spent decades proving that style points rarely matter.
For much of May, St. Louis looked like one of baseball's hottest teams. The Cardinals won 15 of 19 games at one point while taking series from the Dodgers, Brewers and Padres. Then came another cold stretch.
The Cardinals enter the rivalry series riding a four-game losing streak after being swept in Milwaukee. Like the Cubs, they remain difficult to evaluate. The biggest reason they've stayed in contention has been Jordan Walker.
Walker has emerged as one of the best hitters in the National League, batting .300 with 15 home runs, 42 RBIs and a .944 OPS. No player in this rivalry enters the weekend swinging a hotter bat.
Ivan Herrera has quietly posted a .390 on-base percentage, while Alec Burleson is hitting .282 with 35 RBIs. The Cardinals don't always look dominant. But somehow they continue to hang around.
The standings say one thing. The numbers say another.
That's what makes this series fascinating. The Cubs and Cardinals are separated by only half a game in the standings. Yet they arrive there in completely different ways.
Chicago owns the better run differential, more runs scored, more walks and a higher team OPS. St. Louis owns the better winning percentage in close games and has repeatedly found ways to survive despite statistical warning signs.
Neither team has looked like the Dodgers. Neither team has looked like a rebuilding club. Both teams have spent the first two months hovering somewhere in the middle.
That's why this weekend feels important. Not because it will decide the division. Not because it will determine a playoff berth. But because it may tell us which team is finally ready to become something more than a question mark.
Three games that feel bigger than three games
The best rivalries don't need first place on the line. They don't need October baseball. They just need history.
The Cardinals and Cubs have been playing meaningful games against each other for nearly 140 years. They've fought for championships, division titles, playoff spots and bragging rights.
Now they meet again with both clubs searching for momentum. The Cubs are trying to prove their recent collapse was only a temporary stumble. The Cardinals are trying to prove their recent slide won't erase an otherwise promising season.
After the world sees both teams play Sunday night, one team will leave Busch Stadium feeling a lot better about itself. The other will spend another week wondering what might have been.
For baseball fans, that's exactly what a Cardinals-Cubs weekend should feel like.
It's Cubs. It's Cardinals. It's Busch Stadium. It's summer nights.
More MLB news:
- Jordan Walker’s breakout is changing everything for the Cardinals
- Colton Cowser delivers historic Orioles moment when Baltimore needed it most
- Paul Skenes suddenly looks human again as Pirates’ problems keep growing
- Cardinals may have accidentally created the perfect baseball atmosphere
- James Wood delivered one of baseball’s rarest moments in win
Continue reading...
