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Cardinals news and notes: Fowler, Spring Training, and defense

In which I recap yesterday’s March Madness, by which I mean the VEB posts! Get it?! No, please, don’t leave, not yet...

By John J. Fleming
MLB: Spring Training-Washington Nationals at St. Louis Cardinals Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

Yesterday was St. Patrick’s Day. Did you know the greatest Patrick in Cardinals history by Baseball Reference Wins Above Replacement is Patrick “Patsy” Donovan, who played for the Cardinals in 1900 and acted as player/manager from 1901 through 1903? Also, his Wikipedia page lists him as the greatest Irish-born player in MLB history, though the Baseball Reference Play Index disagrees, instead listing Tommy Bond, a 19th century player who was the first Irish-born player to play in MLB. He played for six now-defunct, mostly old-timey sounding franchises: the Brooklyn Atlantics, Hartford Dark Blues, Boston Red Caps, Worcester Ruby Legs, Boston Reds, and Indianapolis Hoosiers.

Also it’s possible some of these teams weren’t actually in MLB but rather the American Association. Also it’s possible that none of these players whom none of you have ever seen play actually existed. Maybe this is all an illusion. Maybe we are all living in what is actually just a simulation.

Whatever, I’m ranting, let’s get to the actual #content from yesterday.

  • I wrote about how the 2011 Cardinals eschewed a well-rounded, fundamentals-oriented approach to team building and instead just hit a bunch of dingers. Basically, even if the Cardinals’ improved defense for 2017 has been overly hyped, it probably won’t matter much if the Cardinals hit half a billion home runs.
  • The red baron’s write-up of Jack Flaherty, his fifth-ranked prospect in the Cardinals organization, was re-posted on Friday.
  • Lil scooter wrote some stuff about Dexter Fowler, who can explain. Explain what? Well, read the post, because I can’t explain.
  • VEB head honcho/Flaming Lips frontman Craig Edwards fielded some questions about a potential Yadier Molina extension, Tommy Pham vs. Jose Martinez, and presumably what it was like working with Miley Cyrus.
  • Josey Curtis wrote about Spring Training roster cuts, the easiest part of any coach’s job.

I have another post coming later this morning. Don’t miss me too much.

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