Fan News

A 7-0 rout of the Chicago Cubs on Friday night assured the St. Louis Cardinals of an NL Central title, their first since 2009.

Despite dominating for most of the regular season, they face a whole new set of challenges in their pursuit of the 2013 World Series Championship.

Here are three reasons why St. Louis may succumb to an early playoff exit.

One of the greatest regular-season pitching performances in recent memory has come to a close.

Los Angeles Dodgers phenom Yasiel Puig was forced to leave Friday's contest against the Colorado Rockies early with a foot injury, but it doesn't sound like there's anything to be overly concerned about. 

The team's official Twitter feed had the news:

Scott Van Slyke will take over in right field after Yasiel Puig lines a foul ball off of his left foot. #Dodgers

Friday night's scolding of the Colorado Rockies marked the end of Clayton Kershaw's 2013 regular season. The southpaw has now completed six sensational years at the major league level, and over the past half-century, few other pitchers have realized comparable success at such a young age.

This one photograph simultaneously captures one of the highest and lowest points of the 2013 MLB regular season.

On the right, you have Miguel Cabrera. Cabrera was putting together perhaps the greatest individual season in baseball history until hip and abdomen problems derailed his quest for greatness in late August. Despite a poor batting average and lack of power for the entire month of September, Cabrera is still one of the favorites to win the AL MVP.

With a 7-0 win over the Chicago Cubs, the St. Louis Cardinals clinched their first National League Central division title since 2009.

The Cardinals provided the news via Twitter:

For the first time since 2009, the St. Louis Cardinals aren't heading to the postseason as a mere wild-card team.

Nope, not this year. Meet your 2013 National League Central champions.

During the MLB postseason, the best of the best are pitted against each other. Not only are there interesting battles with the teams involved, but there are also a number of matchups between players that should be watched as well.

These games will pit power hitters against power pitchers as well as speedsters against top-flight catchers. Ultimately, these in-game matchups will be ones to keep an eye on as they could lead to some of the biggest moments of the postseason.

Did you take the rest of your league to school this fantasy baseball season—or were you the one getting schooled?

Either way, this question is worth considering: What did you learn?

Sure, winning is still the name of the game in fantasy baseball—and congrats if you're on the verge of locking up your league over the season's final days—but every year also serves as a learning experience that shapes how we play the game going forward.

Seattle Mariners manager Eric Wedge will not return to the team in 2014, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports: