Chasing too many teams. If they're chasing one team, it's possible for one to just fall apart down the stretch. They're chasing four. You'd have to put Arizona in that mix. Plus, they aren't very good. When you're four games under .500, you haven't exactly shown the ability to string games together.With the Mets recent tailspin, the Cardinals are still within shouting distance of the last wild card spot.
With 14 games to play, if the Mets go 5-9(81-81), the Cardinals would have to go 9-5 just to tie. That's .642 ball. Add that to the fact that the other teams have to have a similar collapse.
The Cards are within shouting distance of spring training next year.