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Cardinals news and notes: Wong, Leake, Cubbies

The attractiveness of Redbirds explained (as well as yesterday at VEB)

By Alex Crisafulli
Scott Kane/Getty Images

The Washington Post, my local paper, published a fine article on Friday titled, "Fine feathers: Why red birds look so fit and sexy." The birdos we love and cheer for are of the red variety and if you ever wondered why they have that strut that they do, especially when rounding third after walking off against the Cubs, WaPo has the answer. From the article:

"To produce red feathers, birds convert yellow dietary pigments known as carotenoids into red pigments and then deposit them in the feathers,"Miguel Carneiro of the University of Porto in Portugal, who co-led one of the two studies published Thursday in Current Biology, said in a statement.

"It was known that some birds have the ability to synthesize red ketocarotenoids from the yellow carotenoids that they obtain in their diet, but the gene or enzyme involved, and its anatomical location, have been obscure," added Nick Mundy of Cambridge University, an author on the second study.

Pretty much what I always suspected.

Here's what you may have missed yesterday at VEB:

Kolten Wong

We're no longer allowed to say Kolten Wong is off to a rough start in 2016 because it's simply no longer true. So says I.

Mike Leake

Joe Schwarz analyzed Mike Leake's last three starts and the adjustments he's made to find his recent success. A good Mike Leake would be a welcome addition to a rotation that's struggled in 2016.

Farm Report

Josey Curtis has you covered if you want to read about Alex Reyes' first start following his suspension as well as other goings on down on the farm.

Adam Wainwright

Waino wasn't particularly sharp last night against the Cubs but lil scooter noted that he's slowly inching his way back (hopefully) to the Wainwright we've all come to know.

Cardinals vs. Cubs

The Cardinals are in the middle of a series with the Cubs, who they should destroy. They won in dramatic, walk-off fashion last night so expect them to really bring the pain tonight and Wednesday afternoon. Here's the game thread as well as the excellent recap from last night's thrilling 4-3 win, and an excellent tweet from our friend Van Hicklestein to boot.

Enjoy the Cardinals destroying the Cubs tonight, everyone.

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