Cardinals lurk in familiar position at All-Star break

ST. LOUIS -- Tony La Russa sees plenty of parallels between the 2012 Cardinals and last year's crazy comeback World Series champions.

La Russa notes with a twinkle in his eye that both teams were six games above .500 heading into the second half of the season. The old skipper has seen his share of games and agrees with his rookie successor, Mike Matheny, that there's plenty of untapped potential.

Of course everyone knows what happened last fall.

"Look at how many hits they took," La Russa said in Kansas City before managing the National League's 8-0 romp over the American League in the All-Star game. "I think they've done a real good job of hanging in there with adversity. The second half is going to be very exciting, and they're going to be a part of it."

The Cardinals are 46-40 and in third place in the NL Central but just 2 1/2 games behind the surprising Pirates heading into a three-game series at second-place Cincinnati that starts tonight. Though co-ace Chris Carpenter is out for the year with a nerve injury to his shoulder with surgery scheduled for Thursday, they're about to get Lance Berkman back from knee surgery and left-hander Jaime Garcia is expected to rejoin the rotation next month.

Cardinals shortstop Rafael Furcal connects for a single Sunday in St. Louis. (TOM GANNAM ~ Associated Press)

"I'm sure I'm driving people crazy with my optimism, but to me the best is still there somewhere," Matheny said. "Hopefully we can put it together for a long time."

Whatever their problems, they have nothing to do with the missing Albert Pujols. There's been more than enough offense.

The Cardinals spent the Pujols money wisely on two All-Star starters, right fielder Carlos Beltran and shortstop Rafael Furcal. Beltran leads the National League with 65 RBIs, is among the leaders with 20 homers and made it to the second round of the Home Run Derby on Monday. Furcal is the most productive NL leadoff man with 36 RBIs, and he has one of the majors' strongest arms at his position.

Beltran got a warm reception in Kansas City, where he began his career.

"I enjoyed every moment," Beltran said. "It's like they haven't forget the good years I had here, even though it was eight years ago."

Carlos Beltran

There are six St. Louis All-Stars counting catcher Yadier Molina, who missed the final series heading into the break on bereavement leave. Matt Holliday and David Freese saw action as reserves Tuesday, and Lance Lynn is an 11-game winner in his first season in the rotation as Carpenter's replacement.

"Obviously you miss Albert," Holliday said. "But Carlos has had an Albert Pujols-type first half."

First base offense has been robust. Though Berkman has played just 13 games, Allen Craig has 13 homers and 44 RBIs in just 46 games. Matt Carpenter also had a productive stint there.

Matheny's task will be shoehorning as many bats as possible into the lineup when Berkman comes back. He used Matt Carpenter at second base for one game earlier this season after giving him plenty of early practice at that spot. It's not inconceivable that Craig could appear at that spot down the road, although he hasn't spent much pre-game time working there.

"I don't rule anything out," Matheny said. "Just see how our team's doing, how the offense is producing, how everything looks as a whole. I haven't put a whole lot of thought into it at this point because things just kind of seem to work themselves out."

Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina catches a pop up during a game earlier this month in St. Louis. Molina is batting .304 with 13 homers and 45 RBIs this season. (CHRIS LEE ~ St. Louis Post-Dispatch)

The Cardinals appear well situated for a run against Pittsburgh, which last had a winning season in 1992 and likely is due for a bit of a fade, and the Reds. They'll need to improve in three major areas to make sure.

* Bullpen consistency: On days when the starter gets yanked early, bridging the gap to solid setup man Mitchell Boggs and closer Jason Motte has been a challenge. It's been rough going for Marc Rzepczynski and Fernando Salas, both of whom have ERAs above 5.00 after being major assets last year.

* Off and on offense: They're No. 2 overall in the majors, trailing only the Texas Rangers. They're second in average at .275 and fourth in runs with 426 and have scored in double digits 10 times. Yet they've been shut out six times and held to two or fewer runs 15 other times, including five straight games in mid-June.

Way too many ups and downs.

"When we're having trouble, we've got to do what we can to jump-start things," Matheny said.

Lance Lynn

* Rotation fatigue: The thinking entering the year was the innings load needed to be closely monitored with Lynn and Adam Wainwright, who missed all last season after reconstructive elbow surgery. The rotation now is minus innings-eating Carpenter.

Lynn worked six shutout innings against Colorado in his last pre-break start to quiet speculation he might be worn down from the heavy load. Lynn gave up more than a run per inning in the previous three starts.

"I've felt the best I have all year," Lynn said before the All-Star game. "I just wasn't executing. It seemed like one pitch cost me. I was riding high and then I was riding real low pretty quick, and that's what baseball does to you."

Lynn thoroughly enjoyed the All-Star experience and had been hoping to pitch.

"For the guys you play against to vote you in, that means they think a lot of you," Lynn said. "Hopefully I can keep having the success I've had."

The Cardinals were 49-43 at the break last year. They stumbled into the second half by losing four of five before mounting the surge combined with the Braves' collapse that opened the door for one of baseball's most stirring never-say-die tales.

So far, Holliday gives this season a grade of "all right."

"I know we'll be ready," Holliday said in Kansas City. "We've got to play better than we did in the first half, and I'm confident in our team."