Cardinals news and notes: Pirates, Pham, and the agony of defeat

So, this weekend happened. Hard to argue it didn’t, really. As much as you might want to deny it, this weekend very much happened. And in case you were blissfully unaware of the St. Louis Cardinals happenings which happened, here’s what you may have missed.

• You know Tommy Pham, the Golden God of the 2017 Cardinals which have made our lives worth living this summer? Well, Ben Markham noted some ways in which he is still improving and how he could wind up being even better than his excellent 2017 level of performance. Reading this made me very happy and it could make you very happy too!
• In slightly more grim news, the red baron reminisced about the five most painful losses of the 2017 season for the Cardinals. Somehow, I only attended one of them! A less fun read than Markham’s, to be clear, but a good snapshot of the mixed feelings we will all eventually feel about this season.
• The Cardinals played the Pirates this weekend and on Friday, they won a fun game and...wait, I don’t get to talk about that one? That’s not in my news and notes jurisdiction? Dang. Oh well. In case you are a glutton for punishment, check out Jon Snowzeliak’s recap of Saturday night’s game, a contest it appears I had the great pleasure of missing, and VanHicklestein’s recap of Sunday’s game, which I must with a heavy heart report was as bad as he makes it sound.

Oh well, perhaps the Cardinals will destroy the Cubs and Brewers in the next week. Or perhaps, by the next time I write a news and notes post, the season will be over. Gee, that would be bad. Win, you gallant and silly baseball boys!