Dakota Hudson was bummed. I would've been too.  The Cardinals no-hitter drought continues. The Cardinals haven't had one since 2001 when Bud Smith did it in September of that year against the Padres.But with 111 pitches in the 7th inning I don't think there was anyway Hudson was going the distance, so Mike Shildt did the right thing. 

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Just one team. But already a million or so suggestions for the team name for the new MLS team heading to St. Louis. Quite a few hope to salute a former St. Louis Rams owner named Enos.  TKO (The Kilcoyne Opinion) says all of this is good news because it means we've learned our lesson.

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The Cardinals were saved on Sunday by a player who delivered 5 RBI. For the season, he's 8 for 22 with 3 homers. It's just that you don't see him very often. Lane Thomas is the subject of the latest TKO (The Kilcoyne Opinion) presented by Suntrup Ford.

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The Cardinals have an emerging ace in Jack Flaherty. The timing is great because of the playoff push, but the Cardinals are not cashing in on his winnable starts. In his last six starts, Flaherty has only given up four earned runs. In those games the Cardinals have won 3 and lost 3. 

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The Cubs were on pace to win 88 games.  And that was before Jon Lester gave up 10 earned runs on Tuesday night. It's a year where the National League Central is wide open. The Division title is there for the taking. TKO (The Kilcoyne Opinion) wonders why the front office isn't ready to pounce.

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ST. LOUIS – You think it’s tough being a Mizzou fan? Try being a Mizzou player at SEC Media Day.

 

Quarterback Kelly Bryant was peppered with questions. The theme was the same: why’d you transfer from Clemson to Mizzou of all places?

 

It wasn't long after Bryant arrived in Columbia that NCAA sanctions also arrived. Coach Barry Odom said Bryant could leave if he wanted but the quarterback said he was staying.

 

There won't be a Kelly Bryant era at Mizzou. He’s only there for one season. However, he did go 16-2 as a starter at Clemson.

 

And it’s giving even skittish Mizzou fans the hope this could be a special season for the Tigers.

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The Kilcoyne Opinion (TKO) salutes a long-time family friend, Margie Baxendale (Mrs. B), as she turns 90.

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On Thursday, it was Ryan O'Reilly's turn to take the Stanley Cup back home. The Blues center was in cozy Seaforth, Ontario, Canada. The Blues provided footage as he took the Cup to his 99-year-old grandmother. 

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Would you take a guaranteed spot in the NL Wild Card Game right now or roll the dice and hope for a Central Division title? Made your decision? Well, think about this: in the current National League standings, that one-game wild card would pit the Cardinals against the Washington Nationals.

And the Nationals have a pretty option to pitch in a winner-take-all game: 7-time All-Star and 3-time Cy Young winner Max Scherzer.

There’s still a long way to go in the season – 60-plus games, in fact. The Nationals could fall off, the Cardinals could take off; but the bar in St. Louis needs to be high. Not just division titles but a World Series win. So the correct answer is – you go for the division win.

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