It's all relative. Yea, the Cardinals are below .500 with a negative run differential, but the NL Central as a whole is awful this year. The Cubs are the only team in the division with a positive run differential. Every other team has a negative run differential in the double digits, and the Brewers is worse than the Cards. It's not like the 2023 Cards are chasing the 2011 Brewers record-wise, they just need to keep pace with 4 other teams that are mediocre at best.