Who are the unsung heroes of the Cardinals 2009 season?

By Jordan Palmer The Cardinal Nation Show

(Cardinal Nation) -- Telling the story of how the Cardinals reached the post season would mean hearing the names you would expect to hear, over and over. But there are others, we'll call them the unsung heroes who helped big-time.

Below are some of our picks for "unsung hero" honors, but you may have some of your own, please post your thought below, and we may use them in our next Cardinal Nation Show broadcast.

Blake Hawksworth would fall under this category. Hawksworth, a starter in the minor leagues was called up in June. He pitched well through his first month and a half, but his unsung hero moment came the night of July 29th against the Dodgers.

Hawksworth entered the game in the top of the 13th inning and went on to toss three scoreless innings and earned his first career win against one of the leagues best offenses.

Our next unsung hero isn't even on the roster anymore, but Brian Barden played a huge role in getting the Cardinals to where they are. Barden saw lots of playing time early in the season. He hit .385 in the month of April, and even earning "Rookie of the Month" honors.

We don't hear much about our next unsung hero. That's because he just does his job and doesn't say much. Dennys Reyes had a brutal May, June and July with an ERA over 5.40, but within the last two months he got his game together and put together a combined August and September ERA in the low 1's. He was especially nasty when called on in pressure situations with runners on board.

Joe Thurston's role may be diminished today, but it was his play early on that made him another unsung hero.

Thurston found himself a starter at third on most days before the Cardinals acquired Mark DeRosa. He hit, he fielded and added the spark that made the early summer so exciting.