The buddy system seems to be at work again for the St.Louis Cardinals and Oakland Athletics. The Cards traded for 
The deal was a key addition for the Cards, who are locked in a tight four team race with the Cubs, Astros and Brewers. Albert Pujols, who has 34 intentional walks already this year, will now have a legitimate bat hitting behind him in the line up. Holliday was hitting .286 with 11 homeruns and 54 RBIs with the Athletics. This is despite his troubled transition from the National League as a member of the Colorado Rockies. He also recently changed his batting style back to his former stance and trademark leg kick and was enjoying his strongest month with a .338 batting average, 3 homeruns and 14 RBIs.
The Athletics receive former 2008 first round pick Brett Wallace, a slugging third base prospect from the Cardinals and two other lesser known prospects. Whether Holliday decides to stay with the Cards is speculative, given Holliday’s impending free agency and St. Louis’ reluctance to deal with his agent, Scott Boras. The last big bat trade between the two teams was in 1997 when Mark McGuire was the centerpiece of the deal featured his Athletic departure. McGuire went on to hit 70 homeruns in his first full year with the Cardinals.
I think this is a trade that will keep the Cards in the driver’s seat in the National League Central division. I think that they will be in the finals come this post season. They also have added Julio Lugo from the Redsox to play shortstop and earlier received a slugging utility infielder by the name of Mark DeRosa from the Indians. I am sure the acquisition of DeRosa made the Cubs really glad to see him come back to haunt them. But these moves give the Cardinals a potent top of the order line up and balance out what has become a formidable line up once again. Holliday went 4 for 5 with one RBI and the Cardinals beat the Phillies of Philadelphia 8-1 on Friday night in a matchup of division leaders.
“Honestly,” Holliday said two weeks ago, “I’m just looking forward to something really springboarding me to a great second half – and the rest of my career.”
I think he just found the something he was hoping for. He is in a pennant race with the first place Cardinals.
