The Cardinals 5-game winning streak ended Thursday afternoon. Despite the loss, the Birds finished the home stand with a 7-2 record and lowered their magic number to 19 with 27 games to play. Regardless of what transpires Thursday night, the 
Cards will be within one game of the best record in the National League, and home-field advantage in the playoffs. Let’s take a look at the Cards’ possible playoff opponents and rank them according to the threat they pose to the team’s bid for another NL Pennant.
4. Los Angeles Dodgers
Despite boasting the league’s best record for most of the season, the Dodgers do not scare me. Their rotation is decent. Clayton Kershaw and Randy Wolf are formidable, and the recent addition of Jon Garland will help. With the exception of Manny Ramirez and Matt Kemp, the lineup is pretty non-threatening. The Dodgers have been average since the All-Star break, and the Cardinals have dominated them this season. Bring on the Dodgers.
3. Colorado Rockies
The Rockies worry me more than the Dodgers because they are a hotter team. After a slow start, the Rocks have been one of the hottest teams in the league. Ubaldo Jimenez is a quality number one and Huston Street is an excellent closer, but any team with Jason Marquis as their number two starter is beatable.
2. San Francisco Giants
The Giants legitimately scare me. If playoff baseball is all about the pitching, the Giants have it. With Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, and Barry Zito, the Giants big three is comparable to the Birds. The Cards have a better offense, but they have been shut down before. In addition, if the Giants make it, they will be hot because they are on the outside looking in as it stands now.
1. Philadelphia Phillies
The Defending Champions are putting it all together at the right time. Cole Hamels has recently remembered how to pitch. The one-two punch of Hamels and Cliff Lee are as dangerous as any in the tournament, and J.A. Happ is legit as well. Great pitching and a stacked offense that includes Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utely, Ryan Howard, and Raul Ibanez make the Phillies the odds-on favorite to win it all from the National League.
Extra Innings:
- It was nice to see Troy Glaus receive a standing ovation before his first at-bat of the season Wednesday night. Glaus worked hard to get back to the bigs, and the fans remembered his 27 HR 99 RBI season from a year ago. It was even nicer to 
see him rip a pinch-hit double down the left field line in Thursday afternoon’s game.
- The Cardinals will have a tough decision if they make it to the NLCS. Who should be the fourth starter in a seven-game series: John Smoltz or Kyle Lohse? Right now, you would have to give the upper hand to Smoltz just because he is pitching. However, Smoltz would make a pretty good right-handed set-up man for Ryan Frankilin as well. It will be a good problem to have because they won’t need a fourth starter in the NLDS with the days off.
- Add Casey McGehee to the list of Cardinals killers. The rookie went 5 for 11 with 2 HR, and accounted for 9 of the 13 Milwaukee RBI in the recently wrapped series.
- I am jacked for the Arch Rivalry game Saturday afternoon. Illinois’ offense scares me. Go Tigers!
Pete Eichholz plays sportswriter on Thursday nights; you can read him here on Fridays.