We're in with help from two MVP candidates

With the Washington Nationals losing yesterday, it officially puts the Cardinals in the playoffs. The Cards are in for the 10th time in the last 13 years with two World Series championships. The bumps in the road aren't getting any easier and we still have a long road ahead if are going to be World Champs again.

With all the injuries we overcame, Mike Matheny's questionable decisions, and a Pittsburgh Pirates team that just won't go away how did we get here? A few good men... yes that is a great movie but it is also the heart of the St Louis Cardinals this year. If we didn't have the year we are getting from Yadier Molina and Matt Carpenter I think we would have been done a few months ago. Not taking anything from the contributions of Allen Craig, Matt Adams, Joe Kelly, Edward Mujica and many others who have excelled, the leaders of the team are Molina and Carpenter. These two have to be considered the top picks for MVP with their excellent year.

Sure, it's easy to look at Carpenter's numbers and believe he should be on top. After all he is only leading the league in hits, doubles, runs scored, and not to mention he broke Stan the Man's record for doubles by a left-handed hitter as a Cardinal on Saturday. He is also our spark-plug leadoff hitter and has done very well with his ability to work the count, see extra pitches and is not afraid to hit with two strikes.

But not so fast because there is another player on the team who has also had an impressive year offensively but more importantly has excelled in anchoring a rookie pitching staff. That would be the one and only Molina who seems to be getting better with age. Before his knee injury and having to go on the disabled list he was at the top in batting average. How do you value a MVP on your team or in the league? Basically you try to picture what the player has done for the team and how they would have done without him. I know my opinion is that Molina is far more valuable than that other catcher in San Francisco because he brings the complete package of offense and defense to the table. Not only can he hit for average he can halt the other team's stolen bases, and guide our young pitching staff with his outstanding game calling.

My vote for MVP is Molina because of his ability to control the game. I am a huge fan of all the Cardinals and of Matt Carpenter but I think if we would have been without Molina for an extended period of time we would have been in big trouble. Maybe it is time to start developing Molina junior because bad knees get worse over time.