Reading Time, 5 Minutes:

* The Cardinals close the first half of the season with a weekend series at Houston, and this is the perfect time for a strong finish. Getting swept at Coors Field was awful, but it happens, and to an extent it was a fluke, only because the STL bullpen had been so reliable for the first three months. But the Cardinals have to put that behind them and begin the process of reversing a long and disappointing stretch of baseball. They're  27-32 since May 4 and that isn't a fluke. Before the Cardinals break for the All-Star game, it would be nice to see the players take a stand and send a message that the second half will be different. It would be healthy for them to restore some confidence and fight back. This is a bad Houston team, one that is near the bottom of all MLB rankings in offense. And yet the Cardinals allowed the Astros to come into Busch Stadium earlier this season and sweep three games. That series let us know that something wasn't quite right with the Cardinals. First up? The great Bud Norris faces them Friday night at Minute Maid Park. Seriously, how long are the Cardinals going to put up with this? Declare yourselves, boys.

* The Cardinals can spin it as they choose to spin it, but I'm not buying. Until I see Chris Carpenter pitching like, well, Chris Carpenter I'm just going to assume that he was dinged and damaged a bit by line drive that smoked his right forearm in the June 28 start vs. Arizona. Perhaps it's mechanics, as Carp says. But is it not possible for mechanics to be thrown out of rhythm due to the slightest of physical discomfort?

* Houston's bizarre Bud Norris is 4-0 with an 0.35 ERA in four career starts against the Cardinals. He's 4-8 with a 6.75 ERA against everyone else. And this season at home Norris has an ERA of 7.89. The Cardinals face him Friday night. It's time to put an end to this nonsense -- yes, even if Cardinals hitters have to take a crowbar to the mound. (Just kidding about that last part. Yes, really.) Norris, by the way, got the nickname "Bud," because of Budweiser beer. Houston Chronicle columnist Richard Justice tells us that when Norris was a really young kid, he was at a restaurant for a family gathering, heard his relatives ordering Budweisers, and starting babbling, "I want a Bud, I want a Bud." I don't think Justice is making this up. But this is just another reason why the dude must lose a game to the Cardinals.

* I think Adam Wainwright is the perfect man for the job. If Wainwright can't outpitch Norris in this one, if Wainwright can't muffle an Astros offense that has struggled to score runs, then maybe it's a sign that this just isn't the Cardinals' year.

* Scouting the Astros: 35-51, 13.5 games out, 5th place in the NL Central. They've been playing better as of late, having won 5 of 7 and 9 of 15 ... among the 16 teams the Astros rank 15th in runs per game (3.5), 15th in batting average (.237), 16th in onbase percentage (.295), 16th in slugging (.349) and 15th in homers (56). But there's been a recent power surge; the Astros have hit 9 homers in their last four games ... Lance Berkman is batting .253 / .365 / .466 which is well below his career averages in all three categories ... Berkman is batting only .216 as a RH hitter ... wonder if the Astros regret giving a six-year, $100 million deal to LF Carlos Lee? He has 12 homers and is batting only .240. Over the last three seasons Lee's slugging percentage has regressed from .569 to .489 to this year's .401. And Lee's deal doesn't run out until after the 2012 season. Yikes... Hunter Pence has also fallen off; he's batting .260 with a .310 OBP ... CF Michael Bourn is the Astros' best player with a WAR value of 1.7 ... the Astros are pitching better than it would appear. Their overall ERA of 4.43 ranks 13th, but the pitchers suffer from some poor defense. Astros starters have a fielding independent ERA of 3.90, which is fourth-best in the NL... Brett Myers, who goes against the Cardinals Saturday, is 4-0 with a 2.68 ERA at home ... the Astros called up catcher Juan Castro with plans to give him the starting job, but he's only 7 for 40 ... free-agent signee Pedro Feliz (3B) is having an awful year, batting .223 / .248 / .308.

* Tough series for the Milwaukee Brewers: In losing four straight at home to the San Francisco Giants, the Brewers were outscored 36-7, committed six errors that led to 10 unearned runs, and went 3 for 42 with runners in scoring postion. Yes, the same Milwaukees that split a four-game series at Busch last week.

* Spain over the Netherlands in the World Cup Final. I think the Dutchmen are under a lot of pressure, given the previous World Cup failures in Holland's past. Germany reached the finals and locked up against Spain; the Germans changed their approach and capitulated to the enormity of the moment. Will that also happen to Holland? Yes, Spain was the pre-tourney favorite, but Spain has never been this far before. Spain will play a solid, steady game and find a way to win. Xavi is a tremendous player, perhaps the best in the world right now. And David Villa has the magic touch in this tournament. One more thing: this dude Robben is a very good player, one of Nederland's best, but if he starts diving again on Sunday I hope he gets a red card. Or at least a slap in the face. It's annoying as hell, watching this guy flop around after minor, incidental contact as if he'd been felled by a shot fired by Leon Czolgosz ...

Thanks for reading ...

-Bernie