Coming out of the All-Star Break on July 15, 2011, the St. Louis Cardinals found themselves tied with the Milwaukee Brewers for first place in the NL Central. Nevertheless, with only a 49-43 record, the Cardinals weren’t exactly cooking and were facing several issues with their roster.
The Cardinals co-ace, Adam Wainwright, had Tommy John surgery during the off-season and would miss the entire 2011 season. Ryan Franklin had struggled in the closer’s role and would be released in June. In fact, the whole bullpen would be reworked before the end of the season, with only Mitchell Boggs and Jason Motte surviving to the end of the season.