Dear Cardinals Nation,

I know tonight may feel like a sign of the apocalypse, but please don’t fret.

The last 12 or so months have been crazy for us Cardinals fans from the death of our top prospect Oscar Tavares, the Miller-Heyward trade, and another postseason run.

The Redbirds did amazing things in 2015! Our team never used injuries as an excuse as many teams would have this season. Ultimately, I think it was a blessing in disguise. The injuries paved the way for the Cards to open the cupboard full of young talent.

The hype about young talent around the league, especially in Chicago, came ad nauseam. Guess what? We have just as much, if not more, young talent than ANY team in the league. Wong, Wacha, Martinez, Grichuk, Piscotty, Pham, Rosenthal, Siegrist, and oh yeah, if we sign that Heyward fellow add him to the list too. What does all this mean? The Cardinals are not going anywhere, despite what you may have heard elsewhere.

As for the Cubs, they’re an extremely good team. Still, including the postseason, we finished 12-11 vs Chicago in 2015. They were the hottest team in baseball, trending in all the right directions in October. Meanwhile, we’re doing the exact opposite, and still gave them a helluva fight in the NLDS (oh to have the 2nd inning of game 2 back…).

Our 2015 record, including postseason, in games Jon Lester pitched? 5-1. Games Jake Arrieta pitched? 2-3.

The future is bright Cardinals Nation! GO CARDS!!!