Comparing the 2013 St. Louis Cardinals to Other Cardinal Postseason Qualifiers of the Wild Card Era

The Miami Marlins beat the Washington Nationals on Sunday afternoon behind a stellar start from Tom Koehler. When Logan Morrison caught Jayson Werth's foul popup for the game's final out, the Nats were mathematically eliminated the from postseason contention. Washington's fate was inextricably intertwined with that of three National League Central clubs. The St. Louis Cardinals, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Cincinnati Reds are all* postseason bound. It's just a question of which club will avoid the nasty, brutish, and short Wild Card game.

*The Nats are still alive in the postseason hunt. Their elimination number is 2. I incorrectly relied on erroneous tweets in concluding that Natitude was dead. It lives as Washington arrives in St. Louis with a postseason berth still possible.

The Reds thumped the Pirates 11-3 on the banks of the Allegheny River. Cincinnati's victory on Sunday won the three-game series and pulled the Redlegs in a tie for second in the Central. At 89-67, the Pirates and Reds sit 2.0 games back of the Cardinals, who were unable to complete a sweep of the Brewers in Milwaukee. The Cardinals' magic number to clinch the division title is five--for both Pitt and Cincy. Any combination of Cards' wins and Reds' losses that totals five means that the Cardinals will finish ahead of Cincinnati in the final Central standings. Likewise for Buccos' losses and Birdos' wins.

Tony La Russa arrived in St. Louis for the 1996 season and promptly won a division title. Bud Selig's expanded postseason format helped the 88-win Redbirds qualify for the franchise's first postseason berth since winning the 1987 National League Pennant. It was the first of what became on Sunday 11 postseason appearances in 18 seasons. This year's team has a chance to be one of the best clubs in this golden age of Cardinals baseball.

*In 2001, the Cardinals and Houston Astros both finished 93-69. The Astros won the tiebreaker for postseason seeding. Nonetheless, the Cardinals posted a "National League Central Division Champions" decal on the Busch Stadium outfield wall. I'm calling that season's postseason berth a Wild Card even though the season is considered to be the first shared division championship in MLB history.

The Cardinals have notched 91 wins and have six games left to play. The Redbirds return to the football-damaged confines of Busch Stadium with a chance to do something not done since 2009: win a division title. Depending on how the season concludes, this incarnation of the Cardinals could join rarefied company. Tying 2002's win total is possible if not probable. 2000's 95-win total seems more probable, if difficult.