Cardinals have provided fireworks

Happy Fourth of July

Lets say Mr. Peabody sets his WABAC machine to last winter and you can tell yourself that the 2011 St. Louis Cardinals will run into the following problems:

* Adam Wainwright will miss the year with an injured right elbow and is the first of a dozen players to be put on the disabled list before July 1;

* All-Star closer Ryan Franklin will go from converting 27 of 29 saves last season to being cut altogether by June 29; Six people 'liked' this news.

* Joe Pettini will manage the club during a trip to Chicago and Cincinnati when Tony La Russa misses a week with a case of shingles;

* Matt Holliday goes on the DL twice in the first three months;

* Chris Carpenter goes eight starts between wins to begin the year 2-7;

* David Freese returns to DL for a second straight year, forcing Albert Pujols to play third base at times;

* Lance Berkman, who hit .248 with 14 home runs last year, will have 20 homers and hover near .300 by July;

* The Brewers and Nationals sweep the visiting Cards to start a 3-12 June swoon;

* Pujols, who didn't sign a contract extension before the season started, fractures his left forearm and goes to the DL;

Now despite all of that, would last-winter you believe future you that the Cardinals are in first place on July 1?

Ladies and gentlemen, that's the NL Central-leading Cardinals, who lead the Brewers by a game heading into Saturday night with the surging Pirates and stumbling Reds each three games back. Updated standings can be found here.

At 45-38, the Cardinals are on pace to win 87 games. That's one more than last year when St. Louis finished five behind the Reds.

A week ago fans were lining up to tweet the death of the #stlcards having lost Pujols and five of six games.

But a sweep of the Orioles in Baltimore featured the return of Freese, who went 5-for-12, and Nick Punto, 4-for-8, to the lineup while Carpenter got a complete-game victory.

Following a weekend series at Tampa Bay to end interleague play, St. Louis will host the Reds and Diamondbacks before the All-Star Game. A road trip to Cincinnati, New York and Pittsburgh follows the break and starts the second half in which the Cardinals play division rivals 47 times out of 70 games.

A baseball season is a marathon and until a team's magic number is zero or is eliminated from the race, it's not over.

Forget Wainwright, losing four starters -- Pujols, Holliday, Freese and Schumaker -- for an extended period of time along with reserves Gerald Laird, Allen Craig, Punto should devastate most teams. The bullpen lost two guys on one night -- Brian Tallet, Bryan Augenstein -- while Kyle McClellan, who got Wainwright's rotation spot, also missed a start.

All that missed time has allowed seven rookies to make their debut (eight when Brandon Dickson pitches). Pujols may not get Pipp'd but the kids have been fun to watch and Berkman has turned into a nice insurance policy should Pujols test free agency.

McClellan has also gone 6-4 in his first 13 career starts, Jaime Garcia (7-3), Jake Westbrook (7-4) and Kyle Lohse (8-4) have given St. Louis the seventh-best ERA in the NL for starters.

The bullpen, however, has been hardest hit by the setbacks and ranks 12th in the NL with a 4.17 ERA along with 15 blown saves. But the Cardinals are 33-4 when leading after seven innings and 37-3 when leading after eight.

Will GM John Mozeliak bet the farm on a postseason run come the trade deadline to boost the bullpen?

Can the Cardinals limp into the playoffs and take down the Phillies?

Has his injury made Pujols less of an attractive free agent?

One things certain about the 2011 Cardinals, they're not dull. Then again, that was evident this winter even before Mr. Peabody's WABAC machine showed up.