They’ve gotten surprisingly good pitching from a staff that has one highly regarded starter (ace Adam Wainwright with a 3-1 record, 2.60 ERA) and several pleasant surprises (Braden Looper 5-1; Kyle Lohse 3-1; Todd Wellemeyer 3-1). But it’s also that hard-playing collection of no-name youngsters and revived veterans who have sparked the Cardinals with hitting from every spot in the lineup (.281 batting average is third best in the NL) who are made to order for La Russa and his pedal-to-the-metal managerial style.

Shedding former all-stars on the downside of their careers and replacing them with young unproven minor leaguers trying to make a name for themselves is not exactly the worst way to go for a franchise in transition from champion-in-decline to youth-infused work-in-progress.

It still all hinges on MVP Albert Pujols (.348 batting average, six home runs, 24 RBIs and 34 walks) who personifies La Russa’s old “play a hard nine” philosophy. That philosophy didn’t always work with an aging roster of veterans who simply tired of his relentless managing style. But with former All-Stars Scott Rolen and Jim Edmonds gone, the Cardinals have a roster of players most of baseball is unfamiliar with. The players know that if they don’t play hard there are several players behind them more than willing to press as hard as La Russa pushes them.

As he sat at his desk scribbling game notes and glancing at his lineup card, La Russa began to scan the names that were not starting this particular game.

“(Skip) Schumaker’s not playing. Brian Barton’s not playing. Brendan Ryan’s not playing. Jason LaRue’s not playing. Aaron Miles isn’t playing. But with each of those five guys, I’m not thinking, ‘oh man, if he’s not playing, I’m worried that we’re going to have a drop off in intensity,’ ” said La Russa.

Every night, he surrounds Pujols with all these interchangeable parts in the infield and outfield, and somehow it has worked because playing time is the ultimate motivation for any player who has a passion for the game.

“That’s probably the most confident thing I can say about this team,” La Russa said. “I know that we are going to play hard. I’ve been saying it since we got started. I may not know how good we are, but because these guys are willing to fight hard every night, we’re going to give ourselves a chance. You knew that when we started because all of those guys knew coming in that there was an opportunity (to play) here. It wasn’t like there were going to be guys who were frustrated because no matter what they did, they didn’t have a chance (to play).”

La Russa peeked over his wire-rimmed glasses and smiled. “Things were set up right for guys to come in here and make an impression,” he said.

The impression now is that it’s fun to watch these rebuilding Cardinals, and that’s something even the biggest optimist never saw coming.

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