The St. Louis Cardinals are in first place. However, with the Chicago Cubs finding their footing, and the Milwaukee Brewers bolstering their lineup with a proven shortstop, remaining in first might not be the case in the coming months.

While the offense has left a lot to be desired, their clear issue going forward is pitching. The overall team ERA may not make you panic (3.82), but Cards pitchers have walked an MLB-leading 208 batters so far. Pitch command is clearly an issue early on in the season, and something that needs to be addressed with a trade.

One player may not be the answer to all of the pitching problems in St. Louis, but acquiring Max Scherzer, a seven-time All Star and three-time Cy Young Award winner, would certainly help.

Scherzer is a future MLB Hall of Famer, and St. Louis native. He grew up in Chesterfield, attended Parkway Central High School and is a current member of the Mizzou Baseball Hall of Fame. Even though he isn’t Jewish, he would most certainly become the team’s “mezuzah,” if he were to come home to St. Louis.

Not sure what I mean? According to Jewish tradition, a mezuzah, placed on the doorposts of Jewish homes, often bear the function of an amulet repelling evil. Scherzer bolstering the Cardinal rotation would certainly do the same thing, making our starting pitching staff one of the best in baseball. Not to mention, this would give the team the ability to move a guy like John Gant, notorious for stranding runners on base, to the back end of a bullpen in desperate need of sure arms.

Scherzer is showing no signs of slowing down, with a current ERA of 2.24 and already accumulating 1.4 Wins Above Replacement, increasing his career total to 63.1. The Washington Nationals are in last place and may be on track to a rebuild. If they continue to slip, I see no reason why the Cardinals shouldn’t make a move to bring him home.

Maybe it’s wishful thinking, but I think the script has already been written for Scherzer to come to the Cardinals, become battery mates with fellow future-Hall-of-Famer Yadier Molina and strengthen a pitching staff that would surely make St. Louis the team to beat in the National League.