Viva El Birdos: FanPosts

More Halladay

2009-07-09T05:31:14Z

The most recent buzz has just come in about Roy Halladay saying the the Cardinals may have serious interest via Mlbtraderumors.com

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2009/07/cardinals-have-real-interest-in-halladay.html

I know there has been a couple posts about him already I want to lay out some of the things that need to be looked at in order for us to be able to acquire Halladay.

First of all, the Cardinals will actually have some spending money in the offseason if the aqcuire Halladay. Heres how I have the Cardinals set roster for the 2009 offseason.

Pujols-16m

Halladay- 15.75m

Carpenter-14.5m

Lohse-8.875

Wainwright-4.65

Molina-4.25

Ludwick- About 3m

Franklin-2.5m

Reyes- 2m

Schumaker- about 1.5m

Rasmus, Motte, McClellan, Ryan, Thompson, and Kinney-.4

That puts our total payroll up to about 75.5mil give or take. That with only 16 roster spots filled.

Many of the other spots will most likely be filled with minor leaguers. Here are some minor leaguers that I believe have a chance to make the club out of ST and fill in: (bold signifies could be used in trade already)

Joe Mather

Jess Todd

Clay Mortenson

Jaime Garcia

Daryl Jones

Pagnozzi

Jon Jay

With that situation we'd still need 2 (or 3 if LaRussa's still around) more pitchers, a fifth starter, and 1 or 2 more relievers. Garcia is my guess for fifth starter. Todd would be my reliever if he's not going to Cleveland. All of our pitching vacancies would most likely be filled from within.

Now for offensive needs we still need: 2 OFs, 1 3B. a util/infielder, and a backup catcher.

For OF I say we use Daryl Jones if he's not going to Toronto, and Jon Jay, Joe Mather, or a Free Agent. For 3B I say we should go with Craig or a FA, possibly Chone Figgins. For catcher I pick Pagnozzi or Anderson.

Now for an OF spot and/or 3B we still need some power. So we would have to dip into free agency. We have around 20 million to spend if I calculated the payroll above correctly.

Some possible FA targets, some of which unlikely are:

Chone Figgins

complete list here:

http://mlbcontracts.blogspot.com/2001/05/2010-free-agents.html

So pick 1-3 of those guys depending on the caliber, mix in some cheap minor leaguers and you have yourself a ballclub.

To be honest I can not decide whether Halladay is good or bad for the team. It would deplete our farm system, and would not help our terrible offense at all, but if we could get some offense for 20 million in FA, Ludwick gets back on track, who knows what could happen if you have the best rotation in all of baseball.

We could start to lean towards an offense built for speed it we sign Figgins and get to keep DJ. We'd still have some pop with Pujols, Rasmus and Ludwick. So I say if we keep Jones and sign Figgins and maybe Derosa or Dye, then we should pull the trigger.

Now a little from the other end of the spectrum:

We don't make the trade. Our rotation is Carp, Wainwright, Lohse, FA, Garcia

Our lineup could be:

Schumaker, Jones, Pujols, Wallace, Rasmus, Ludwick, Molina, Pitcher, Ryan

Plus we'd have about 30 million to spend in free agency with that lineup.

It's a tough call and I can't decide unless I'm in the room with the negotiations, to see just how much we'd have to give up.

Poll

From those two scenarios, which one?

Tickets to All-Star Sunday w/ Futures Game!

2009-07-08T21:14:46Z

Hey yall, I have two tickets to All-Star Sunday w/ Futures Game available. I bought them last year when they went on sale, but that was before I learned that I would be transferred out to Georgia. I paid $220 for the two tickets, so I would like to recoup as much of that as I can. If you are interested (I know, I know, time is getting real short), make me a reasonable offer and I will overnight them to you so you have them in time. They are great seats (section 172, row 20) located in LF.

If we can work it out, I will accept Paypal. Please leave a comment. I will give my email to you after a few offers.

Rasmus miscellany

2009-07-08T20:55:29Z

As my name may suggest, I have been looking forward to this season for some time. I am hardly unique in that regard, as Colby Rasmus is likely the most hyped prospect in our system since the guy he replaced in center was snapping 12 to 6 curveballs in Florida (Pujols emerged on the scene so quickly the hype could not possibly keep up with the production). To this point, Rasmus is more than living up to the hype.

I think it's a good time to take a look at where his season, as it stands now, stands up in Cardinal history amongst his peers. By peers, I am looking at hitters 22 years or younger with 250+ plate appearances. Before I even dig into the numbers, it is useful to note that there have only been 40 players in Cardinal history that meet this criterea, and there are 63 seasons amongst these players. Some of the names with duplicate seasons include Simmons, Pujols, Musial, Medwick, Hornsby.

Just filtering it out to this level thins the herd to the point where you are picking from a group whose talent far exceeds your random group of athletes. If you are playing in the majors at 22, you are expected to have a long and productive career, and this was as true during the beginning of the last century as it is now. That being said, let's take a look at where Rasmus stands in some categories amongst these 63 seasons with 250 plate appearances....

Rate stats

BA - Rasmus currently rates 19th at .288. Musial tops the list by hitting .357 in 1943. He appears twice ahead of Rasmus, as does Pujols, Hornsby, Medwick, and Simmons. Templeton (1976), Bill DeLancey (1934), Chick Hafey (1925), Frank Snyder (1915), Jack Smith (1917), Wattie Holm (1924), Hernandez (1976), and McCarver (1963) are also ahead of Rasmus at this point.

OBP - Rasmus rates 23rd at .330. It is pretty much the same cast of characters ahead of him with a handful of exceptions and additions.

SLG - Rasmus rates 6th at .504. Albert Pujols 2001 season leads at .610. He also is ahead of Rasmus with his 2002 season. The others ahead of him are DeLancey's 1934 season, Musial's 1943 season, and Medwick's 1934 season.

ISO - Rasmus rates 4th at .216. Pujols 2001 season leads at .281. Pujols 2002 season and DeLancey's 1934 season are the only other 2 that are better.

OPS+ - Rasmus is 15th at 119.

And a couple counting stats....

Doubles - Rasmus already rates 19th with 19. If he is able to continue this pace and double his output with 38 then he will be 6th behind Musial, 2 Pujols seasons, and 2 Medwick seasons.

Homers - Rasmus already rates 8th with 11. If he can double his output and finish with 22 he will only trail Pujols 2 seasons.

So I think it is safe to say that Rasmus is entering pretty rarified air here. Of course, I chose to do this right in the middle to end of a torrid hot streak so a big disclaimer needs to be stated. Still, it is just as possible we are just witnessing the start of something. Only the next few months will tell for sure. On top of it all, nothing here accounts for plus defense at a premium position either, and this adds substantially to the value he brings.

A few general thoughts crossed my mind when I ran these on B-Ref. First, at the beginning of the year one of the last things I was concerned about is his ability to draw walks. I would have listed it as a top strength. I take a little added optimism in that fact personally, but maybe that is my bias shining through. To my eye, he does not look like he is taking an overly undisciplined approach. He is being very aggressive, but I don't see him chasing pitches way off the plate. I see him going after pitches on the edges - he can improve there and likely will. I also think he will have more opportunity to show this as pitchers start showing a more appropriate level of fear towards his power. Which leads me to my second thought.

I think we sell Rasmus short of his abilities when we cap him as 25-30 HR potential, with strong emphasis on the word potential. He very well may cap out around that level, but I think his potential ceiling is higher than that. With his current performance, he is validating his season in AA a couple years ago. That kind of power, at that age and that level, is virtually unheard of. Last year's season in AAA justifiably altered peoples projections downward, but I think it is just as reasonable to move them back upward based off what we're seeing now. I accept the possibility that this is a flukey hot streak, but I also know that power is almost always the last tool to blossom. We can say whatever we want, but I think it is dangerous for the organization to cap his power potential this early in his career.

After all that, I want to just make one disclaimer. I am not proclaiming him a hall of famer, or anything of the sort simply because he's having a good start at such a young age. This is, of course, just half of one season. He's always shown a great deal of streakiness. The plate appearances are so miniscule in size that he could hit a terrible slump for 2 weeks and drop like a rock in many of these measures. I made a mention to Ankiel above - things can obviously change in a hurry. That all goes without saying, but after taking a look at the numbers and who they compare to I think I needed to say it anyway.

Still, even though it is just a start to a career, it is impressive. As pleased as we all are with Rasmus right now, I think what he is doing to this point is probably even a little bit better than many of us realize given his age.

Cardinals and Injuries/Announcements

2009-07-08T16:42:22Z

Is it me, or do the Cardinals have serious credibility issues with their announcements concerning injuries?

When the Cardinals first announced DeRosa would miss a few games with a sore wrist, I told a friend that I was sure that inevitably "a few days" was going to be weeks or months, not days, because the Cardinals always seem to be wrong when they say something about injuries. And now DeRosa's "2-3 days" has morphed into a DL stint, just like when Kyle Loshe got hit by a pitch, he went from not having to miss any starts, to one start, to well over a month.

Over the last few years, whether it was comments about injuries and/or return times for Glaus, Loshe, and DeRosa this year, or Carpenter, Mulder, Edmonds, Duncan, Ankiel, and Tyler Johnson in previous years, what the Cardinals say about players' health often seems to be wildly optimistic and consistently inaccurate. The initial diagnose of a problem is often wrong, and even when correct, the projected recovery time is rarely accurate.

Is this endemic to the sport, a deliberate attempt to mislead, a symptom of the difficulties of the medical profession, or simply a sign that they are not getting good medical advice? Are they simply having bad luck?

Any thoughts?

Cardinals express interest in Roy Halladay.

2009-07-08T05:00:54Z

"MLB.com's Jordan Bastian has a source that says over a dozen teams have asked about Halladay, with the most serious interest expressed by the Cardinals, Yankees, Mets, Brewers, Dodgers, Angels and Red Sox."

There you have it, the quote says it all. The Cardinals seemed to have shaken off the fear of another Mark Mulder blunder and have at least expressed some interest in acquiring Mr. Halladay.

Now, i know as much as anyone that this really isn't the biggest of news, as Im sure every team could use Halladay, and the Cardinals might merely be checking in to see what the price is, but I think that the word "serious" really seems to echo the sentiment that, coupled with the trade of Mark Derosa, the Cardinals are interested in winning now.

What would a potential deal like this include? That's a good question. It would most certainly have to include Wallace, as Halladay will command a Type A status in his contract year, which is a 1st round pick for the club that owns him. Toronto especially would like some SS depth, as they may lose Scutaro to FA. There's a big problem there though, as the Cardinals are not strong in that position, and it gives a lift up to teams like the Phils, Brewers, White Sox, etc.

So I ask you fellow Cardinal fans, does Halladay intrigue you to the point of gutting the farm?

Poll

What is your stance on Halladay, and would you go get him?

Wrist injuries (we've earned this)

2009-07-06T16:38:06Z

Instead of writing about any of the good suggestions I got, I'm going to post on something that actually worries me this time. As of this writing we've got two starters (Boog and Dero) and one guy who was slated to be a starter (Mather) all with some degree of wrist injury. I'll try to avoid the cliches (I think we all have heard a wrist injury saps a player's power for a pretty long time).

The wrist is made up of the distal ends of the bones of the forearm and eight carpal bones. It's encased in a series of ligaments that form a layer of connective tissue wrapping around the wrist, along with a series of ligaments that connect the carpal bones to one another. The ligaments really do most of the work, and this allows for a huge range of motion.

Wrist injuries come in a few main types. Bone fractures are breaks in the bones that make up the wrist. Sprains are injuries to the ligamentous sheath of the wrist (usually an incomplete or complete tear). Strains are injuries to the muscles, however since the primary muscles are further up the forearm, there aren't really any common wrist strains.

A broken wrist usually means one of a few specific bones. The most common fracture is to the distal forearm.

via www.orthosupersite.com

Depending on the exact nature of the fracture, the distal forearm fracture is actually the best wrist break to have. This is because it's actually an arm bone that is broken, and it often heals just fine and in a relatively short amount of time with a caste. More severe forearm fractures require some form of fixation either a plate and screws attached directly to the bone itself or an external fixator. Evan Longoria had a similar fracture (pictured above is a Colles radius fracture, his was a fracture of the tip of the ulna, even less serious) late last season and he was back in time for the playoffs. Yadier Molina probably had a similar injury in 2007 when his wrist was broken by a foul ball.

More significant problems arise when you break bones in the jumbled bunch (the carpals) above the forearm. These bones are tightly connected to one another, and a break rarely occurs without some amount of displacement. Pain during movement is what limits players' power and it can last for a long time after the original break.

via www.ucgc.org

(The first metacarpal is the base of the thumb, the tip of the ulna is that bump on the outside of your wrist)

This is is exactly what happened to Joe Mather, who broke the hamate bone of his wrist in 2008 and had surgery to remove it (probably the whole bone). Apparently this surgery didn't do the trick as he had a second less specific wrist surgery to end his 2009 season. The removal of a broken wrist bone is necessary in some cases to avoid complications resulting from the lack of blood supply to the carpal bones. Even if this isn't the case, the bones usually take longer than normal to heal because of this lack. Mather's wrist is scary because of the lingering nature of his problems. For all we know he could have nerve damage or necrosis.

Wrist sprains occur in any of the four main ligaments that form the sheath of the wrist (one is on top, one bottom, and one on either side), or in one of a number of smaller ligaments that stabilize the joint. They are just like other sprains and are treated with wraps and time.

As an aside, Brendan Ryan hand a cortisone injection in his wrist. Cortisone is a corticosteroid that suppresses the immune system and is used to combat inflammation (a painful immune response). I really can't find any information on Ryan's reputed history of wrist problems, but cortisone doesn't exactly cure anything, so depending on if this is arthritic or ligamentous, it could easily crop up again.

Mark DeRosa strained a tendon in his wrist (tendons connect muscle to bone, ligaments connect bones to other bones), and has not played in just under a week. This injury is probably of a lingering nature as even the day after the trade (June 28) he had his left wrist heavily taped.

via upload.wikimedia.org

In any case it's probably nothing too scary and should be fine in a few days.

Brewers imploding?

2009-07-06T13:57:05Z

So the Brewers got beat this past weekend 3 of 4 to the Cubs, and have fallen out of first in the division. Just in time for the Cardinals to roll into town.

When the Brewers had a rough start both this year and last, Ryan Braun called out his teammates in the press. Both times this was done the team responded positively. Yesterday, he went on record to say "They threw the ball a lot better than our starters did," in reference to Cub starters. And also called out Doug Melvin to make a move to improve the team ""We're at the point right now where it would be important for us to go out there and acquire somebody," Braun said.

The point, here, is that it appears that Mr. Braun is not intentionally doing it, but he is throwing his pitching staff and his GM under the bus. The last thing a playoff contending team wants is internal strife. The other players on the team may like and even respect Ryan Braun, but the probably do not appreciate being told that they are not doing a good job in the press by a fellow teammate. And the worst part about it is that this is the 3rd time Braun has responded this way publicly.

The problem with Braun's actions is that although he is an All Star and one of the best players on the team, you are not supposed to air your dirty laundry in public. And you don't do things to upset your teammates. Its a 25 man effort to get to the playoffs and some players may play a more instrumental role in that quest than others, it is still a team effort.

Would Cardinal fans be alright if Albert Pujols said things like this in the press? Would Cardinal management be upset if one of its star players told them how to do their job? Would the Cardinal pitching staff be upset if he were telling them they werent doing a good job? No, he is a veteran and a professional. And although Pujols is the best player on the team, he wouldnt deride or talk down to his fellow teammates or call them out.

Everyone in the game is a professional athlete. They get paid to do a job. If they do not execute, they know they are not executing, they dont need teammates to tell them so. The motivation comes from being a professional, not from words or personal challenges or cheers from fans.

If this action creates the resentment in the Brewer clubhouse that it possibly could, the NL Central will be fought out between the Cards and Cubs. And although the Brewers need a pitcher to really ramp things up, they have stayed very close in a very competitive divsion, but if it causes resentment, the Brewers will have no one to look beyond than its star player Ryan Braun.

CARDINALS/DOMINICAN BASEBALL DOCUMENTARY

2009-07-06T04:37:15Z

Hey everyone,

I am the producer of a documentary that I think you'll like. The film is about baseball in the Dominican Republic and shows what it is like for players like Pujols, Big Papi and others to make it the pros. I think Cardinals fans will particularly like this film because we spent some time at the Cardinals Dominican Camp and give an inside look at your farm system.

Anyway, the film gives you a different perspective on the game that I think a lot of you will enjoy. You can get see the trailer and get the DVD here: http://www.roadtothebigleagues.com

I'd love to hear your thoughts...

The pitches the Cardinals throw.

2009-07-04T07:53:24Z

A lot has been made about the pitch selection of the Cardinals. Some have complained we throw too many high stress pitches and avoid the low-stress stuff. But how does it break down? For the purpose here I am going to combine the % for sliders and cutters. The data from fangraphs doesn't see to match all that well with what pitchers are often said to be throwing. For instance Carp is listed as throwing more sliders than cutters. First lets look at the total team data.

As a team we throw

58.5% Fastballs, 21st most. (#1 Mariners, 69.7%)
20.3% Sliders and cutters, 10th most. (#1 Cubs, 28.1%)
12.7% Curveballs, 2nd most. (#1 Astros, 14.2%)
8.1% Changeups, 27th most, (#1, Indians, 14.9%)

And the resuts we get

Fastball, 15th @ -7.3 (Dodgers +37.9, Indians -59.2)
Slider & Cutter, 10th @ +21.5 (Athletics +51.3, Nationals -16.1)
Curveballs 1st @ +21.5 (Twins -8.1)
Changeups 26th @ -6.9 (Blue Jays +27.9, Rangers -19.6)

And the same but for just the starters.

58.4% Fastballs, 17st most. (#1 Mets, 68.2%)
17.4% Sliders and cutters, 14th most. (#1 Blue Jays, 26.8%)
14.0% Curveballs, 4nd most. (#1 Astros, 15.9%)
9.3% Changeups, 22th most, (#1, Indians, 17.8%)

Results

Fastball 12th @ -5.5. (Dodgers +20.1, Indians -43.9)
Slider & Cutter 6th @ +16.9 (Diamondbacks +23.4, Phillies -7.3)
Curveballs 1st @ +23.9 (2nd Dodgers 17.7, Twins -8.3)
Changeups 28th @ -9.9 (Blue Jays 19, Phillies -18.7)

As a team our starters have been getting the best results of any team with the Curveball. What's more interesting is of all the secondary pitches no other teams has gotten more value than we have. Wainwright (1st overall) and Carpenter (11th) really use it to great effect.

The other notable is the Changeup where we don't use it often, and we we do the resuts are not good. Kyle Lohse +4.8 is our only regular starter with a net positive changeup. Wellemeyer -12.3 has the bulk of the damage.

Nothing else really stands as a team.

Individually Wainwright is somewhat odd. FB -16.2, SL +8.4, CB +13.9, CH +0.7. He is getting killed on his fastball but dominating with his secondary stuff. He is currently ranked as having the #1 CB, #4 CH, and gulp, 2nd worse FB by result in the majors.

Five players I'm watching in July

2009-07-03T22:56:24Z

Picking up on HL's meme that the Cards need "Two Bats and an SP," I nominate the following players as the keys to a successful month and beyond.

The daily core is pretty well established; however TLR doesn't always play ~~Rasmus~~ them everyday: Yadi, Boog, Skip, Rasmus, & AP. I don't think there's any reason to monitor these guys. They're givens. DeRosa will also be in the lineup the majority of the time

First the "two bats" to watch: Ryan Ludwick &. . . wait for it: Troy Glaus. If Ludwick returns to 2008 form, we have found one bat. Even close to that performance will be acceptable. The most recent games have been encouraging and I'm hopeful. Glaus is ready to begin swinging in his rehab. His last four seasons he has averaged .368 wOBA. If his shoulder allows him to throw at least as well as Thurston, Glaus will be an upgrade and DeRosa can platoon at 2B with Skip and play LF platoon w/Ank/DunK. If neither Ludwick or Glaus can perform this month, I believe Mo will make a deal. The wildcard in this scenario is Brett Wallace. A strong month in Memphis may find the Walrus in StL despite the FO's wishes. And of course Chris Duncan and Rick Ankiel may have a hot streak to help, but given what they've done so far, I'm not that optimistic.

The SP situation is a little clearer. As I wrote in the daily thread, Wellemeyer's last start is an encouraging first step. Two more just like it and we have found our SP. Welley's WHIP last year was 1.25; this year it's 1.66, and for his career, 1.47. His FIP the first 1 1/2 years in StL was 4.56. In 2009, it's 4.81. Can Welley return to his previous form? Someone worth watching.

I will also be watching Kyle Lohse to see if he can return to pre-injury form. His season WHIP (1.22) is better than last year's (1.30), but his FIP is higher (4.03 to 3.87). Carp, WW, and Pineiro have been solid so far, and while Jo-el may regress some, there's no reason to believe they all won't continue to be competitive. Again if Wellemeyer or Lohse prove inconsistent this month, I think Mo will look for a deal.

So there are my five to watch in July: two bats (Ludwick, Glaus, Wallace) and one SP (the Colonel and Lohse). Who will YOU be watching and why?

Poll

Who are your key Cards to watch this month?

Nothing Short of a Machine: Albert Pujols (nice article i found)

2009-07-03T05:09:18Z

The machine. Prince Albert. Fat Albert. Phat Albert. Albert Pujols goes by many nicknames, and in the era of the pharmaceutical long-ball, should be dubbed “The Natural II.” He has been hitting 450 foot home runs since age 16 and has frightened pitchers andmanagers alike since he set foot in a batter’s box. He was recently voted baseball’s most feared hitter. Pujols has yet to total less than 32 home runs in a season and just notched his 30th round-tripper of 2009 this week. He has only two more strikeouts (32) than home runs, and sans back-story would be a prime suspect for drugging. To counter any notion that he could possibly doping is Pujols’ track record. He has put up similar numbers at every level, from high school to the majors; and has done so through use of nothing more than extreme discipline. Pujols ended his high school career with over a .500 batting average, and in his first game at Maple Woods Community College, he managed to both hit a grand slam and turn an unassisted triple play. Scouts eyed this wonder-child, but were still hesitant in drafting him. Pujols slipped to the 13th round of the 1999 M.L.B. Draft. This is rumored to have been the result of a poor tryout with Tampa Bay The scout who reported being unimpressed resigned. Good call. The St. Louis Cardinals, who took Pujols with the draft’s 402nd overall pick, offered a $10,000 bonus. He declined and chose to instead join Kansas’ Jayhawk League, an independent association for post-collegiate players. The Cardinals’ management quickly upped their ante to $70,000, Pujols agreed, and he was sent to their single A-affiliate, the Peoria Chiefs. In Peoria, Pujols quickly became a star, earning the Midwest League’s MVP title. He progressed through the St. Louis farm system ranks and was called up in 2001 after then-third-baseman Bobby Bonilla injured his hamstring. He never looked back. In his rookie campaign the man they call The Machine ran away with R.O.Y. honors, posting a gaudy .329 batting average, launching 37 home runs, and batting in 130 runs, all the while collecting a chump-change $200,000 salary. He has since been voted to 7 All-Star Games, won two MVP awards, and added a Gold Glove for good measure. His career .334 batting average is the tops among active players and his 349 home runs (through 7/1) put him at a hall of fame pace for his career. His consistency is unparalleled. And not to be ignored, his loyalty to the Cardinals’ organization is something to take note of and admire. Flatly put, if Albert Pujols ever tests positive for drugs: I will not watch another baseball game. As far as I am concerned, he is this generation’s Ken Griffey Jr. A lone clean talent in a sport polluted by cheaters.

Ank vs. Dunc: Who Would Get Voted Off?

2009-07-02T21:29:50Z

So, we have 2 redundant outfielders with similar skillsets. If we had the choice to "vote one off" the proverbial Cardinal island, who would it be?

First, let's look at Chris Duncan's statistics... he has 1286 career plate appearances, .817 OPS and .352 wOBA. I think it is safe to say that he is more "clutch" than Ank, but I wouldn't say by a huge margin. He has a better eye, but his defense in the outfield is not as good. His RF/G (range factor per game in LF) is 1.5 for his career. He doesn't have as good an arm as Ankiel, I think we could all agree with that. Duncan has 9 errors in LF for his career. By WAR, Duncan is 3.7 WAR for his career (.1 WAR for this season, his ceiling being in 2006 at 2 WAR).

Ok, Ankiel.... Rick has 963 plate appearances, or about 75% of the major league hitting experience of Chris Duncan. Since they've both been hurt off and on, I think Ank is more of a work in progress, which is pretty much just my opinion. Ank's career OPS is .786, which includes some time as a pitcher. Not drastically less than Duncan. His wOBA is .337, again, kind of in the same league of hitting capabilities imo. He's also a faster runner fwiw. In left field, Ank has a RF/G of 1.6 in left field, but has shown better numbers in RF and CF, so I think he may improve if he gets more playing time there. He has a rifle for an arm, and he could probably be a much better left fielder than Duncan if he gets more playing time there. By WAR, Ankiel is 3.8 career since 2007, again pretty comparable to Dunc.

So I think I prefer Ankiel at this point, but they are so close that I'm not sure what to make of it...

Ank's pros and cons:

less playing time in the outfield as Duncan, some of it playing while hurt. He is a better defender.
Ank has slightly more power than Duncan career-wise (higher ISO, idential SLG%)
Ankiel does not have a good batting eye, Duncan's is better. Ank does not handle pressure well.

Dunc's pros and cons:

the guy is a stretch to call an outfielder. the only reason he should be playing the OF is if he has power, which he doesn't really have a ton of (I'm not sure that I buy the argument that he will have more next season)
Duncan has good plate discipline, not great though. He goes through streaks like Ank does.
Duncan is not the fastest runner in the world, and is as cringe-inducing to watch in the outfield as Ank is to watch hitting.

So, not a ton of difference between the two, but I'd have to give a slight edge to Ankiel, if for no other reason, he has more speed and a better arm. They both could just be slumping this year and could swing out of this, and I'd love to hear everyone's opinions about this, because one of them should be riding the bench a lot more often, and I'd have to say that should be Duncan. Lastly, I'd like to note that Duncan's BABIP in 2009 is a lot higher than Ank's in '09, so I think that Rick has been a little unlucky (and at least he puts the ball into play more often).

Poll

Ankiel or Duncan, who should be playing more? Who should be voted off?

Every Cardinal Matters Segment: Request

2009-07-02T20:26:23Z

Can I make a request for a weekly segment on vivaelbirdos that I think many people would enjoy? As Cardinal fans I believe we have a passion for players unlike any other city in Major League Baseball. Also, i have developed the motto over the years of, "Every Cardinal Matters". It is undeniable that without Sidney Ponson in 2006 - we MIGHT NOT have won that world series. Yes, Yes, I know. He didn't do a whole lot - however, he did win 4 games for us. We only won the division by 1.5 games ahead of the Astros (and only 3.5 of the Reds?!). Without Sidney Ponson, we might have lost those 4 games - thus, missing the playoffs. Now, I am not saying he was the best Cardinal - nor worthly of top highlight in this segment. I am saying though that there are Cardinals that have played an influential impact on the system - and the fans - that go unnoticed because they weren't Rolen, Edmonds, McGwire, Pujols, Ozzie, etc. Below is a list of such players that I think new Cardinal fans should be educated on - as well as a few older ones (since 1990ish [im on 21]) would enjoy having a discussion on. This segment could include Highlights of career, why did they leave?, and if possible "Where are they now segment?". Below I have compiled a list of Cardinals that I would personally enjoy having on this segment: (Note: These are just my favorites - and may not have led to the most impressive Cardinal teams - but I still love them!)

Placido Polanco
Craig Paquette
Bo Hart
Stubby Clapp
Keith McDonalad (his story is just sweet - if you don't know it - you will after this segment!)
Todd Stottlemyrs
Tom Pagnozzi
Todd Zeile
Kent Bottenfield

If you have others that you would enjoy hearing about - post them in the comments below. I think this would be a fun segment that we could do weekly (or maybe just every scheduled off day to keep people checking the boards)

- thanks for letting me have your time. I hope to hear from you. please rec if you would like to see this segment!

- Tigr

Addition by subtraction

2009-07-02T15:07:04Z

So the Cardinals are 80 games into the season and everyone seems to be concerned about who the cardinals should go after to help bolster our team and make a playoff run. Who should we "add" to the team to make it better? I have an idea...how about addition but subtraction. Take a look at this line and tell me if you would like this player to play 71 of the 80 games played so far.

games: 71 AB's: 187 AVG: .219 HR: 1 RBI: 19 SB: 3---CS 2

Who is this player....that would be Joe Thurston.

My point here is maybe the Cardinals don't need to make an "Impact trade" or get an "Impact bat". Maybe what they need to do is quit giving playing time to players that hurt them. We don't need to ADD things to be successful, we need to SUBTRACT the negatives.

Personally, I like Thurston. Seems to be a great guy and hustles in everything he does. But we just DFA'd a guy who put up these kinds of numbers. His name was Adam Kennedy. I'm sorry, but if I'm a manager, having a charming personality would not be the difference between DFA-ing and keeping (and playing) two players who put up similar (crappy) numbers.

Just my thoughts....whaddyathunk??

What about #61?

2009-07-02T11:45:45Z

Is Roger Maris' homerun record on the table again?

It's no slam dunk that Pujols will keep up the same pace suring the second half, but lets just say for arguments sake that he does. What happens if he reaches or eclipses 61 homeruns without the aid of his chemist? My opinion is that all of numbers of players who are found to have used PED's should be stricken from the record books, if not worse. Pete Rose is out forever (or until a new commish comes along) for an offense which is not nearly as damaging to the game as our current group of juicers. In my mind if Pujols gets to 62 then he is the single season record holder. And in ten years he'll pass up Hank Aaron to become the career homerun leader.

Game 80 Overflow

2009-07-02T02:29:18Z

This just in the the news team news center, Adam Wainwright is awesome. Dude flat out shut down los gigantes tonight. it's a shame the umps screwed him out of a potential win. he really was the stopper the Cards needed him so desperately to be. at least DeRo seams to not be as hurt as we all feared. that's also some much needed good news.

oh, and this breaking news just in to our news center studio's.

And Albert Pujols is ridiculous

Why put so much stock in the Farm?

2009-07-01T21:45:35Z

I've never done this before, so give me a bit of slack, please. :) Or just shred me, that will probably be more fun.

I don't understand why the Cards put so much stock in building up their farm system. I know it's nice to have a few top prospects that can get the call up late in the year when the rosters expand or when a player hits the DL for an extended amount of time, and hopefully get some production. But why not sell the farm for major league proven talent. I'm not saying that there is a bunch of that out there through trade or FA right not, but let's look at the top farm systems and how it translates to wins in the Big Leagues.

This is the list of top farm systems as rated by Keith Law @ ESPN back in January w/ my comments of course.

1. Texas Rangers - When is the last time the Texas Rangers have actually been relevant? 1999?

2. Tampa Bay Rays - This farm system has produced a bunch of talent and it shows.

3. Oakland Athletics - Made it past the LDS once since 1992

4. Atlanta Braves - Been 1 of the top systems for years. What did it get them? 14 division titles and 1 world series ring. Oh I forgot about half empty stadium at home playoff games.

5. Cleveland Indians - Been to the playoffs twice in this decade

6. St. Louis Cardinals - We see how this has been working out.

7. Boston Red Sox - With adding big name free agents, their farm system has come up and filled the holes. No negatives to this organization other than they are on the east coast.

8. Florida Marlins - Probably the best team to do more with less. Seem to keep on winning with prospect power.

9. San Francisco Giants - 3 play off runs this decade, 1 world series appearance, but we'll put an * next to the flax seed oil

10. Baltimore Orioles - Been to the playoffs twice since winning the series in 1983. That was 1996 and 1997.

So out of the top 10 farm systems there are 3 teams that actually use that young talent and it translates to wins? Was is not more fun to sign a Larry Walker, or a Will Clark and make a run at the Championship. Isn't the whole idea of even playing the game to win it all? Do you remember the heartbreak in 2004 or the feeling you got when Wainwright threw that final pitch in 2006? That was sitting on the edge of your seat, nail bitting, life or death actual pinch myself I might be dreaming emotion. That's why I love baseball and that's why I love the Cardinals. I acknowledge that I may be way off base here, but sell the farm, land the free agent, make the trade and get us back to when over a half a million of us stood on the sidewalks lining the streets leading to Busch Stadium to catch a glimpse of our, yes I say our, World Series Champion Cardinals!

Okay, you can begin shredding me now.

Thanks.

Bring on The Walrus!

2009-07-01T15:35:29Z

Friends, the era of The Walrus is upon us. In his last 10, he's hitting .447, bringing his AAA numbers into the ridiculous range he's put up at every other level. Also: He has an awesome nickname. DeRosa was a nice addition, but we've got more holes to fill. The best way to fill one of those holes is with Brett Wallace, and that's not a fat joke.

What better options do we have? Joe Thurston's been picked off twice just as I've been typing this post. Khalil Greene is going to be back and effective about the same time as Mark Prior.

I say, we bring him up and let him play every day for a few weeks. DeRosa (assuming he's not broken) plays more 2B than OF, Skip plays a little 2B but spends more time spelling the underperforming corner outfielders. It's taken Wallace a couple weeks to find his stroke at every level, but once he's found it, KAPOW!

If Wallace really has a hard time, he goes back down and you're no worse than you were before. If he starts to hit, he's a huge asset. Even if Glaus comes back, Wallace could get a shot in left if our outfield is still an offensive black hole. You know Tony would do it. Hell, Tony started Dennys Reyes in left yesterday, just to increase his versatility.
Walrus, Walrus, Walrus...

Pujols vs McGwire; help!

2009-06-30T22:54:26Z

Hey guys, I'm having a rigorous debate between a friend and I about who was a better player, Albert Pujols or Mark McGwire; Now, I clearly know the answer is Pujols, but I can't seem to find any statistics to back up my claim; I tried searching on Google with no good results, and I did use fan graphs as a source, but my friend insists it's irrelevant because the two haven't played in an equal length of time; anyway, without actually starting another discussion on the issue which I'm sure has been beaten to death over and over again(or has it?) can anyone link me or guide me to a good discussion on the topic or if there are any good stats to back up my claim. I know I've read some commentary on the relative subject here but can't find it anywhere! Any help would be great! Thanks!

Bernie loves RBIs as a measuring stick for offensive talent

2009-06-30T22:44:23Z

Bernie Miklasz, ladies and gentlmen, has had it. And he's not going to take anymore. He's had with you whiners out there who don't think that Mark DeRosa is an "impact bat." That term, of course, is a TLRism traditionally reserved for Matt Holliday. (Oh, and Bernie's had it with the folks pining for Holliday, too. I'm unsure if that includes TLR.) Bernie begins:

Mark DeRosa is not a judy hitter: One can only laugh at the whining by the minority (but loud) minority of media and fan voices out there who pan the DeRosa trade because he isn’t an "impact bat." You’d think that the guy was just barely a notch above, say, Brian Barden or Joe Thurston. Do these folks even bother to do any homework? Have they paid any attention to the 2009 season?

I will begin by saying that any time one can find a way to insult Go-Go-Joe and his right-handed counterpart in the "replacement player" hyrdra that has been third base for the Cards this season, I am usually all for it. And, yes, I'm excited to see Bernie's term paper entitled, "DeRosa: Impact Bat," which is apparently based on...three months of baseball. What? That's a little more than 300 PAs, which should never be the baseline by which anyone measures a player's ability as a hitter. What's that? Oh, excuse me, Crash. Yes, you can type. No, no problem at all. Go ahead...

Bernie, do you know what the difference between hitting .300 and .250 is? It's twenty-five hits. Twenty-five hits in five hundred at-bats is fifty points, okay? Wait? What? Excuse me. Do you know the difference between hitting .300 and .250 is in about half of a season is? Twelf and a half hits. Yes, I know you can't have a half of a hit, but I'm talking math here, Meat. Twelve and a half hits! There's three months in a half of a season; that's about twelf and a half weeks. That means if you get just one extra flare a week (and a half a flare in that half-week)--just one--a gorp...you get a "groundball with eyes"...you get a quail, just one more dying quail a week...and you're in Busch Stadium.

Thanks, Crash. That was great. No, no, man. It was great. You absolutely do NOT need any new material. I'd like to add one thing, just one. Bo Hart hit .277 in 322 PAs back in aught-three. Really, Crash. What, you don't believe me? Well, get off my front yard lazy boy and go look that shit up. See? I told you. Look, man, I'd love to go hit some balls at the cage, but I've got to read over Bernie's midterm paper. Yeah, okay, have fun. Say "hi" to Annie for me.

Okay, sorry about that. Back to the Miks.

At the time of the trade that sent DeRosa from Cleveland to St. Louis, DeRosa was 18th in the majors in RBIs. He had more RBIs than Matt Holliday, Chipper Jones, Chase Utley, Jim Thome, Hanley Ramirez, Miguel Cabrera, Carlos Lee,Lance Berkman, Adrian Gonzalez, Paul Konerko, Ryan Zimmerman, DavidWright, Kevin Youkilis, Mike Lowell, Nick Markakis, Miguel Tejada, Andre Ethier, Matt Kemp, Derrek Lee, Carlos Beltran, James Loney, Nate McLouth,Johnny Damon, Scott Rolen, Vernon Wells, Jermaine Dye, Bobby Abreu,Brandon Phillips, Alfonso Soriano, Dan Uggla and J.D. Drew.

James Loney!? What!? He OPS'd .772 in his first full season as a big league first baseman and is OPSing .731 this season. Why in the blue blazes of Hades is he on your list?

Runs batted in. "RBIs" to the baseball card enthusiasts amongst us. I see that Bernie has read Joe Morgan's book, even if he doesn't cite to the source material of how to measure a good hitter (or, "impact bat" if you live in the Gateway City):

Run production is how you measure hitters. Wins and losses are how you measure pitchers. Batting averages and ERAs are personal stats.

--Joe Morgan in Baseball for Dummies

Run production, which includes RBIs, as the measuring stick of a hitter. Not BA, not OPS, not WAR, not WS, not VORP. RBIs. In order to bat in a run, a runner must have reached base before one steps to the bat. Thus, without runners on-base in front of you, your likely to have less Runs Batted In than players who are fortunate enough to bat with runners on-base in front of them. Mark DeRosa played for Cleveland. He has 88 PA with runners in scoring position. He has gone 22-for-76 in those situations, walking 8 times, being walked intentionally once, and hitting a sacrifice fly 3 times. With men on, DeRosa has had 157 PAs and 45 RBI, which is good for 90 percent of his RBI total.

Still, 50 RBIs is 50 RBIs, man, and that's better than a whole shitload of great impact bats. I mean, clearly Mark DeRosa is better at hitting than Chase Utley. Clearly. He has 50 fucking RBIs! And, Utley, has...51 RBIs. Well, when Bernie wrote the column, DeRosa must have been ahead in the RBI tally by all of one or two RBIs. Clearly better. Oh, and Utley has knocked in his 51 runs in 143 PAs with men on. Yes, Utley has more RBIs in 14 fewer PAs with runners on-base. That's impact, man, deep impact--like the crappy movie from a few years back. What's more,Utley's hit 11, yes 11, solo HRs. DeRosa has 13 HRs total. Utley's OPS? It's .991 and he plays second base like he's channeling his inner Oquendo. D-Ro? His OPS is .782 this season. Yet, the Bern thinks that DeRosa is as impactful, or perhaps moreso because of his RBI total, than Chase Utley?

A quick rundown of the other players whom DeRosa is more impactful than:

Hanley: 52 RBI (now) in 147 PAs with runners on

Miggy: 47 RBI (now) in 139 PAs with runners on

Wright: 40 RBI in 170 PAs with runners on (even though he's hitting .356/.435/.514/.949 with men on)

Puma: 45 RBI in 150 PAs with runners on

Aside from showing that Bernie is a little disingenuous with his representations, this shows how silly the comparison is. Who cares if DeRosa has 1, 2, 5, or 10 more ribbies than [name your impact bat]? DeRosa's OPS is .782, which isn't horrible or anything, but he's replacing Joe Thurston and the Go-Go's at third, who have "hit" .223/.300/.368/.668 (this includes a game from D-Ro). So, he's an upgrade by a whopping 120 points of OPS, which is a shot in the arm offensively no matter how you look at it. We don't need to be hailing him as a mightier driver in of runs than Miggy or Hanley or The Puma, because that's just a bald-faced distortion of his offensive talent and only serves to underline the worthlessness of RBIs as an indicator of hitting talent. Way to use your platform, Bernie. I tip my "STL" cap to you.

De Rosa had as many RBIs as Adam Dunn and as many homers as Thome. DeRosa had more homers than a long list of guys including Holliday, C. Lee, D. Lee, C. Jones,Brad Hawpe, McLouth, Zimmerman, Wright.

DeRosa no longer has "as many RBIs as Adam Dunn." Trust me, Bernie, he's on my Fantasy Team. (I mean, c'mon, Bernie. This blog posted on my Google Reader this afternoon and it's already factually inaccurate.) And while D-Ro may have "as many homers as Thome," Big Jim has had his 13 jacks in 87 fewer PAs (because Big Jim doesn't play in the field any more during Inter-League). This is a silly sentence, Bernie, and the P-D should expect better.

DeRosa may not be, say, Ryan Howard in the slugging department.

Or, Thome, or Miggy, or Puma, or Dunn, or Hanley, or Youk, or Gonzalez....In fact, they have a stat, "Slugging Percentage," that measures slugging. You see, it weights hits so that HRs are worth four times as much as singles. Albert Pujols leads the world in this category and Mark DeRosa, well, he's 80th in MLB in that category with a .446 slugging percentage. Furthermore, after an admittedly quick skim, it seems that every slugger you list slugs more than him. If "impact" means "slugger," then D-Ro is not at the top of the heap.

But he’s been one of the better run producers in baseball this season.

Um, see above, where I quote Joe Morgan in Baseball for Dummies. That is how Joe Morgan grades batsmen.

I have no idea what the mewling is all about; what exactly did you expect GM John Mozeliak to do here, more than a month before the trade deadline? Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams were unavailable, and Stan Musial wasn’t prepared to come out of retirement. Do you see any other sluggers being offered or traded these days? Where are they? And what is an "impact" bat, exactly? If adding a guy who has more RBIs than Beltran, Berkman and Utley isn’t "impact" in your book, then please educate the rest of us. Thanks.

"If adding a guy who has more RBIs than Beltran, Berkman and Utley isn't 'impact' in your book, then please educate the rest of us. Thanks...," Wow, that's what it says. Really. I mean, wow. Education is the most valuable of all commodities. My parents instilled that in me.

Beltran has been on the DL for a week. Remember when you were in New York for the series versus the Metropolitans and he did not play a single inning? Beltran was OPSing .9fucking52 before his knee put him on the shelf. He had driven in 40 runs in 142 PAs. Oh, and he hit .356/.458/.585/1.042 with men on. D-Ro? .304/.365/.529/.894 with men on. That's good, but it's not Carlos Beltran good. In fact, Utley is OPSing 1.106 with men on and The Puma is OPSing .902 with men on. So, if your barometer is performance with runners on the base paths, which apparently Bernie's is because he is using RBIs as his measuring stick, all three of those guys are better than Mark DeRosa. What's more, each OPSes higher than D-Ro for the year: D-Ro, .782; Beltran, .952; Utley, .991; and Puma: .891. Inferring that DeRosa will have more impact on the Cardinals than those three have on their respective teams is utter nonsense.

Any GM, manager, beatwriter, fan, or Fantasy Baseball participant would gladly take Beltran (pre-injury), Berkman, or Utley when posed with the question: "Which of the following two MLB players is more of an "impact" bat? Mark DeRosa or Beltran/Puma/Utley?" This is not to say that DeRosa will not have an "impact," just not as big of an impact as some other, better offensive player. That statement is just silliness.

2. Enough already, for now, about Matt Holliday...

I agree. Moving along, then. (Although, folks should read about Beane's astronomical asking price.)

3. If anything, the Cardinals should be looking for a starting pitcher...

Hmmm. I'm intrigued. Go on...

Todd Wellemeyer has the third-worst ERA (5.53) among MLB starting pitchers and is allowing more base runners per nine innings than any big-league starting pitcher. After being plugged into the rotation as an injury replacement for Kyle Lohse, Brad Thompson was terrific for a while but has gotten bopped around in his last two starts, allowing two of the lesser offenses in the NL (Mets and Giants) to rack him for 9 ER in 11 IP.

Legend has it that The Almighty Duncan saw the foolish Royals cast off a rough-around-the-edges reliever in whom the saw potential. The Cards acquired this hurler int he midst of The Lost Season of Oh Seven." Duncan then instilled in this pitcher the virtues of throwing strikes low in the zone, throwing a sinker to induce groundballs, and pitching to contact. The pitcher thrived and USA Today wrote not one, but two, stories about The Almighty's incredible coaching powers, one featuring a prominent quote by the young Royals castoff on the front page of the Sports section. Now, The Colonel has an ERA of 5.53 (gasp!) after posting one of a mere 3.71 last season. Of course, it should be pointed out that there is this newfangled stat entitled "Fielding Independent Pitching," or, "FIP" to the nerdy seemhead crowd. Wellemeyer's was 4.51 last season, suggesting that his ERA should have been high. And, it is 4.81 this season, suggesting his ERA should be lower. Further delving into Wellemeyer's morass, it should be noted that his good slider is being thrown 6 percent less as a share of his overall pitch count than last year and his changeup has been horrendous this season (4.6 above average value last season; -12.7 value below average this season). Perhaps, scrapping the changeup is in order. No, I don't know how he'd retire lefties in doing so, but it's not like he is now. They are hitting .347/.426/.614/1.040 against him for the year. That's better than Mark DeRosa! Very impactful.

The Faberge Egg propagandists would have you believe that the Cardinals can install one of the Class AAA pitchers from Memphis, but they are not an upgrade at this point.

For starters, insulting folks whose website I frequent really rankles me. "Faberge Egg propagandists?" Where I come from, you might as well call us "communists." This makes the lot who believe in building from within to be blindly devoted to prospects at all costs. If you bother to read Future Redbirds, or, comments on this blog, I think that most folks here take a reasoned and objective view toward the value and ability of the kids on the farm. Sure, some spats with the Proven Veteran adherents will erupt, often bringing out the worst in both camps. Nonetheless, this sentence prompted me to order a faux Faberge Egg for my office and while I'm not Octopussy or a communist, I feel that building our club on a foundation of cheap, homegrown propsects is essential to our sustained competitiveness. And, more to the point, how do you know that Mitchell Boggs or Blake Hawksworth wouldn't be an upgrade over The Colonel or Brad Thompson?

But, the real issue, which is being distorted by Bernie's clever framing, is how do we know that they can't do a largely equivalent job for cheaper, allowing us to divert payroll elsewhere come next spring (like for a Proven Veteran bullpen arm to replace Perez)?

4. Question for the minor-league experts: I wanted to say this up front — I’m being sincere when I ask this: is there anything down below that suggests the Cardinals are well on the way to developing a power-arm starting pitcher? The guys who keep coming up here – Mitchell Boggs, P.J. Walters, Clayton Mortensen — tend to nibble and throw a lot of pitches instead of going after hitters. Seems to me that this is a genuine void in the system; perhaps Lance Lynn (at AA Springfield) fits the profile.

So, what are they? "Faberge egg propagandists" or "minor-league exerpts?" What this open question really demonstrates, I guess, is that Bernie knows nothing about the farm system, about prospects, or about player development. So, when he calls "minor-league experts" "Faberge egg propagandists," it is name-calling born out of complete ignorants. (This isn't terribly surprising since name-calling generally is started by ignoramuses.) It makes me wonder why Bernie doesn't take a few minutes out of his day this offseason to educate himself so his columns and blogs are not founded on ignorance.

If there’s someone in the system who is a legit hard thrower (a starter, not a reliever) please let us know. This is another reason why the Cardinals must sign No. 1 draft pick Shelby Miller, who is a power arm.

Yes, we must sign Miller because we don't have someone with legit, top-of-the-rotation raw stuff. He would quickly become the prized Faberge Egg. It's a brilliant scheme, really. If Miller isn't signed, then we can get a "DeWallet" column. If he is, then we get three years of "Faberge Egg" columns calling on Mo to trade Miller for the next DeRosa-type "impact" run producer. In a way, it's brilliant...

5. DeRosa vs. the NL Central: I was curious as to how the new Cardinal did as a Cub against the rest of the NL Central in 2007-2008...

Why? I mean, he played for the Cubs in both seasons, so he didn't face Zambrano, Dempster, Harden, Marshall, etc. Ben Sheets and CC left. The Pirates have by and large maintained their core of young starters, but they are doing way better this year, so the comparison probably isn't apt. There just isn't enough of a sample size against the pitchers to draw anything meaningful from how DeRosa hit against players wearing a certain cap and jersey...

Overall in 2007-2008, DeRosa had 14 homers and 79 RBIs in 500 ABs against Central teams; only 13 players had more RBIs in intramural competition, and only seven had more doubles.

YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OH MY GOD! YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Mark DeRosa has the 14th most fucking RBIs versus NL Central teams in 2007 and 2008!!!!!!!! I take it all back. He is an impact bat like Beltran/Utley/Puma, only better and more impactful!

Viva El Birdos: FanPosts

More Halladay

From those two scenarios, which one?

Tickets to All-Star Sunday w/ Futures Game!

Rasmus miscellany

Cardinals and Injuries/Announcements

Cardinals express interest in Roy Halladay.

What is your stance on Halladay, and would you go get him?

Wrist injuries (we've earned this)

Brewers imploding?

CARDINALS/DOMINICAN BASEBALL DOCUMENTARY

The pitches the Cardinals throw.

Five players I'm watching in July

Who are your key Cards to watch this month?

Nothing Short of a Machine: Albert Pujols (nice article i found)

Ank vs. Dunc: Who Would Get Voted Off?

Ankiel or Duncan, who should be playing more? Who should be voted off?

Every Cardinal Matters Segment: Request

Addition by subtraction

What about #61?

Game 80 Overflow

Why put so much stock in the Farm?

Bring on The Walrus!

Pujols vs McGwire; help!

Bernie *loves* RBIs as a measuring stick for offensive talent

Bernie loves RBIs as a measuring stick for offensive talent