Cardinals fan: Division is Reds’ for the taking

Not sure if this was meant to be a reverse-jinx or anything; and believe us we’re nuts enough about sports to try everything into tricking the sports Gods, but we got an interesting e-mail from a Cardinals fan today:

Not to sound like a jerk or anything, but I have said all along that I had no concern about the Cardinals winning the division.
Well, I was wrong.
We all vastly overrated this team. They are dead in the water. They are not in a slump, they just aren’t that good the lineup is flawed with WAY too many K’s. Pujols has elbow, back, knee problems and looks like an average baseball player. Holliday has killed this team, no other way to put it. Failure after failure. more than anything, they strike out at an alarming rate, are TERRIBLE baserunners and the numbers prove it, and are shockingly poor fundamentally, especially for a Cardinal team that prides itself on the opposite.the pitching is the best it’s been in years.
while we wait for offense, what will more than likely happen is the pitching staff will wilt, and then they will have a prolonged losing streak. could be an ugly summer in StL the division is there for the taking. You (Reds) may have a 4-6 game lead by the time you leave StL next week enjoy it.
We email back: ‘Is this a trick’
He responds:
not at all. I am serious. None of you probably watched the Cards in SD the last 2 nights, but I live in Cali so it’s not too late for me. they look horrid. the baserunning last night was atrocious. they’ve let Jerry Hairston beat them with HRs 2 nights in a row, wasting Wainwrights best stuff ever, and yet another amazing start from Jaime Garcia and his 1.14 era.they look so frustrated, and Tony is about to explode. you can feel some ugliness coming.
While I appreciate the acknowledgement that the Reds are also in this division; I’d like to introduce my good friend; Cardinals Fan, to my other three friends.
Cardinals fan, please meet space bar, period, and capital letter. The ‘ugliness coming’ just may be your grammar.