Behind only the Yankees in terms of World Series titles, the St. Louis Cardinals are among baseball's royalty. No shortage of iconic players that have soared higher than those birds on the bat. The last two Cardinals' championships came with La Russa in the dugout,

The St. Louis Cardinals must balance long-term interests and near-term contention leading up to the July 31 trade deadline. That's a challenging needle to thread, but the current realities in St. Louis are such that they must do so.