St. Louis Cardinals acquire star outfielder Matt Holliday from Athletics for 3 prospects - PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Matt Holliday wanted to join his new team quickly, so he hopped on a train with his wife and two sons and got to the ballpark in plenty of time. [KTVI Sports Headlines]

What a fantastic acquisition for the Cardinals! Between Holliday and DeRosa, the Cardinals lineup has been extremely bolstered. Couple that with Ryan Ludwick's return to form and Rick Ankiel showing signs of life, and you now have what could arguably be the best lineup in the NL.

The next priority is to solidify the starting rotation. Carpenter, Wainright and Pinero are solid, but Lohse and Wellenmeyer have been inconsistent. While adding another arm like 'Doc' Halladay would be awesome, all we really need is for Kyle and Todd to get a little of their control back so that they can regularly provide 6 - 7 innings of yeoman work.

We can't stress enough though that one of the most important, and under-appreciated differences between this year and last has been Ryan Franklin and the total lack of blown saves. With the bats hitting on all cylinders, the rotation pitching well, and the bullpen continuing to be rock solid, this team has the playoffs dead in their sights.