Two Positives and Negatives for Cardinals during month of August

The St. Louis Cardinals have 24 games left on their regular season schedule. While it's a longshot they'll get to the postseason, they have actually done quite well for a team that traded away four star players in the offseason and began its first rebuild in over three decades.

Despite being 68-70, there have been a lot of success stories coming out of St. Louis this year. The month of August has come to a close, and there are certain things that went well, while other things didn't quite pan out in their favor.

Here is a look at the positives and negatives from last month.

Positive: Joshua Baez's Debut

On August 15, the Cardinals called up Joshua Baez, and he became the first player in Major League Baseball history to not only hit three home runs in his debut game, but to do so in his first three at-bats. His bat has cooled off some since that day, but he has also hit two home runs since then, and that was done in a very short amount of time.

The Cardinals may have found their answer in left field for the future. While Baez could stand to cut down on the strikeouts, his power is undeniable, and his first game was a memorable one for both himself and the Cardinals.

Negative: the injuries

Late in the month, the injuries started to pile up. On August 21, St. Louis put right-hander Andre Pallante on the IL with elbow inflammation. That same night, Hunter Dobbins was forced to exit his start and was subsequently placed on the IL.

Masyn Winn landed on the IL at the end of their series with the Philadelphia Phillies, but it didn't stop there. In the finale of their series with the Baltimore Orioles, Blaze Jordan sprained his ankle, and he may be done for the season, and if that wasn't enough, the Cardinals had to sideline JJ Wetherholtdue to wrist tendinitis, which likely puts an end to his chances of winning the National League Rookie of the Year award.

This has led to St. Louis falling below .500, and while not every injured player is done for the year, the IL is crowded.

Positive: Navy caps return

At the end of July, the Cardinals surveyed their fans on the current state of the uniforms. One thing they asked their fanbase is whether or not they wanted to see the beloved navy caps return for the majority of road caps.

The Cardinals hadn't used these as a regular cap since 2012, though they hadn't phased it out just yet. Fans gave a resounding yes to the question, and now, the navy caps are their primary road caps again. It doesn't have much, if anything to do with the results on the field, but fans can rest assured that the organization listened to their pleas.

Negative: .500 record over August

The Cardinals actually started off the month playing solid baseball and even won series against the New York Yankees, Chicago Cubs and Phillies. But over the last two weeks, things went south. They were swept in Philadelphia the second time they faced the Phillies, lost two games to the Baltimore Orioles and also lost a series to the Pittsburgh Pirates.

After starting the month hot, the Cardinals ended it with a thud and now find themselves well out of postseason contention. The month of September looks to be a little bit lighter, but that may not help much considering that they lost to two sub .500 teams.

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