Taxes, temperatures, and a .500 record

On April 16th, the Cardinals finished the night with a record of .500.

Back then, Americans still had one more day to legally file their income taxes for 2006.

That night at the ballpark in St. Louis, the temperature was 70 degrees.

And Josh Hancock was still alive. He pitched the final two innings that evening in a 3-2 loss against the Pirates.

April 16th was a long time ago.

It took more than four months and 116 games, but the Cardinals are back at .500 after blanking the Astros last night, 7-0. It has meaning because St. Louis, because of geography and history, plays in the National League's Central Division.

In both the National League's East and West Divisions, a 64-64 record would trail the leader by 7 ½ games. In the AL Central, the Cardinals would find themselves 8 ½ back. In the AL East and West, their .500 record would produce deficits of 14 and 12 games, respectively.

But in the NL Central, a .500 record is good enough for second place and two games out of first place.

Just 24 days ago, after that disastrous road trip to Pittsburgh and Washington, the Cardinals were eight games under .500 and eight games back of the first place Milwaukee Brewers.

That, too, seems like a long time ago.

In a little more than three weeks, the Brewers have faded fast, the Cardinals are charging hard and the Cubs are the new leaders of the pack.

Tonight's an important milestone in the battle for the NL Central. Ben Sheets returns to the mound for Milwaukee. If the Brewers have any shot at turning this thing around, they're going to need Sheets to play a role. They've desperately missed their ace since he went out with a finger injury in July. It will be interesting to see how he performs against the Cubs and Carlos Zambrano.

Down in Houston, the Cardinals will face the Astros and pitcher Roy Oswalt. If the Cardinals want to experience life on the topside of .500, they'll have to beat one of the best pitchers in the game.

Oswalt is extremely tough in Minute Maid Park. His home ERA is 2.17. It's 4.94 on the road.

A check of our favorite playoff odds report (adjusted for schedule and how the team is currently playing) shows the Cardinals with an almost 30% chance of making the playoffs.

That means the Cardinals are still an underdog. But the long shot is getting shorter all the time.