St. Louis Cardinals weekend update: Spring Training starts without Rafael Furcal, mostly

The St. Louis Cardinals' Grapefruit League schedule began on Saturday, and while that maybe wasn't news enough to get an inveterate Viva El Birdos weekend non-reader to join in, it did create a little more for us to spend the weekend speculating about than usual. With that in mind, our weekly run-down of the weekend's activity:

VEB Daily Features

Rafael Furcal injury talk continues; was the St. Louis Cardinals' backup plan really Ronny Cedeno all along?
On Friday, I wrote about how strange it's been to watch the Cardinals act like Rafael Furcal hasn't always been a terrifying injury risk.

St. Louis Cardinals' Spring Training schedule opens Saturday vs. Miami Marlins
And on Saturday we updated the Grapefruit League narratives and celebrated Pretend Opening Day by not really being all that worried when Trevor Rosenthal got shelled.

Spring Training Odds & Ends
And on Sunday, finally, azruavatar gave us a prospect update, a more detailed look at life without Rafael Furcal, and a reminder that we aren't yet in panicking range of the regular season.

Fanposts

Lohse, the last kid "picked" for kickball
This week in fanposts, abothecardinal asks an interesting question: What is it about Kyle Lohse that's made him a two-time arbitration case and, now, a two-time last-free-agent-standing?

Self-promotion

DC9 At Night: Billboard Now Counts YouTube Plays, so "Harlem Shake" is Number One
Meanwhile, I continued as the Dallas Observer's leading Harlem Shake correspondent. Is it possible that the No. 1 song in America can be something most people have only listened to for 30 seconds?

Yes, I know what you're thinking: It is important work.