Cardinals struggling for a 2nd straight season, and the NL Central's top young players are elsewhere

A model of consistency for so long, the St. Louis Cardinals are suddenly struggling to stay relevant. St. Louis went 71-91 last year, snapping a streak of 15 straight winning seasons. You have to go all the way back to 1958 and 1959 to find the last time the Cardinals were under .500 for two consecutive non-shortened seasons. This is the franchise that let Albert Pujols leave and kept right on contending.