First of all. Take that, “experts” who called the Cardinals a 5th place team. In that regard, the 2008 St. Louis Cardinals have exceeded expectations. Last year on this date, St. Louis was 26-31 and 5 1/2 games behind the first place Milwaukee Brewers. As of today, the Cardinals are in second place, but only 3 games behind and have been well over last year’s high-water mark of 1 game below .500 with a record of 36-27. Here are three factors in the season’s success.

1. Addition by subtraction: That was how Whitey Herzog rationalized trading Keith Hernandez. Jim Edmonds and Scott Rolen made a lot of money for guys who contributed very little offensively in 2007. Edmonds’s numbers had been on the decline since 2004 until reaching dismal career lows in batting average (.252), on-base percentage (.325), slugging percentage (.403), home runs (12), and RBI’s (52). At the age of 37, his best years are clearly behind him.

Rolen had through a similar tailspin. He got off to a decent start in 2006 considering he was coming off major shoulder surgery. His pre-All Star break power numbers (14 homers, 28 doubles, .577 slugging percentage, .976 OPS) were projected to improve as he gained strength. Those numbers dropped considerably the second half and even sat out the clinching game of the Division Series complaining of shoulder fatigue. In 2007, his run production was almost non-existant. Tony LaRussa was fuming when he learned in July that Rolen had a sore shoulder. Eventually, Scott shut it down on August 31 to have more surgery. His relationship with the skipper had been strained since the 2006 postseason. He burned his bridges in St. Louis as he had done in Philadelphia, and he was traded in January.

Edmonds and Rolen made up two thirds of the 2004 MV3′s (Albert Pujols the other third of that group), but were nothing but dead weight in 2007. They provided great moments in their tenures with the Cardinals, but the time came for them to move on so the roster could be injected with younger talent.

2. Blue collar pitching staff with strong performances: Local pundits argued that the offense looked decent, so starting pitching was the big unknown. Could relievers turned starters Braden Looper and Todd Wellemeyer improve upon 2007? What kinds of contributions could we expect from Mark Mulder, Brad Thompson, Matt Clement, or Joel Piniero? Looper and Wellemeyer are tied for the team lead in wins with 7. While that stat is probably not an accurate measure of pitcher’s effectiveness, but they have done enough to give their team a chance at winning. Wellemeyer’s peripheral stats during the month of May made him the rotation’s best that month. The big question is whether Todd can keep this up is still a question. Adam Wainwright has established himself as staff ace. As the season has progressed, fans are probably the most optimistic about Chris Carpenter’s return given the amazing recovery rate from Tommy John surgery. But after 1998 when Matt Morris, Alan Benes, and Jeff Brantley were expected to make significant contributions after recovering from injuries, we shouldn’t get too excited until he has back on a major league. Things haven’t exactly worked out with Mulder and Clement.

3. Contributions from youngsters: Skip Schumaker has established himself as a solid leadoff whether playing left, center, or right. Rule 5 pick Brian Barton has made a strong contribution as a backup outfielder. Ryan Ludwick has become a force hitting behind El Hombre. Kyle McClellan now has an important role pitching out of the bullpen. Chris Perez has a recent snag, but he has done well thus far as 8th inning setup man. The minor leagues have strong pitching talent who have already gotten some time on the big club. Mike Parisi and Mitchell Boggs have already logged some big league time.

I would classify the attitude of Cardinal Nation as one of catious optimism. Too many things could happen between now and the end of the season. The Milwaukee Brewers led the NL Central for most of last year before having an abyssmal August. The Chicago Cubs look almost unstoppable. Injuries have hit Cardinals in the last week. Wellemeyer may miss his next start with elbow inflamation. Joel Piniero was expected to miss one start, but he has been slow to recover and his replacement Mike Parisi got lit up in his two starts.

For now, we can only hope the 2008 St. Louis Cardinals are in a good position to reach the postseason two months from now. Tony LaRussa preaches taking things one game at a time, one series at a time. Former NFL coach Jim Mora’s famous 2001 news conference– which ended with him saying, “Playoffs? Don’t talk about playoffs! I just hope we can win a game!” – happened during a miserable season. But TLR’s message keeps his players from getting too complacent. Even if his team was running away with a division lead in June, mentioning the P-word is not a good idea.