And then there were two (teams in St. Louis) - A Hunt and Peck

I understand this is a Cardinals blog, but please humor me for just a second. This will not take long.

I have written about the Rams on here only one other time when I discussed a new talk show featuring a staff of only women gimmickly named "We Need to Talk", and how some mean boys made me feel like I did not belong in the sports world when I said I liked the Rams. I hated feeling like that.

With the news that the Rams are moving, those feelings have returned. Instead of mean, fourth-grade boys, however, it is billionaire owners telling me I do not belong. That I am not a good enough.

I feel this way because no matter how hard I try, sports are very personal to me. It is why I felt betrayed when Albert Pujols left, why Jason Heyward signing with the Cubs made me feel sick, and why I cried myself to sleep the night Oscar Taveras died. It is not something I can easily explain. Maybe it is the time and effort spent with the players at the forefront of my thoughts. Maybe it is the shared identity of being a part of St. Louis. Maybe it is a character flaw.

The St. Louis Rams are why I love sports today. The Greatest Show on Turf made me fall in love with the thrill of victory and is why I sought it out in other forms, like baseball, hockey, basketball, and anything else I could find. That team made me love competition. Without the Rams I would not be writing for Viva el Birdos. Football made me love baseball. And that is why the Rams will always hold a special place in what is left of my heart after they tore it out.

Best of luck in Los Angeles.

Go Cardinals! Go Blues!

Imagining a Cardinals move from St. Louis | Viva El Birdos

And now, back to your regularly scheduled programming.

what else is going on in baseball...

• The Dodgers now have 6 former GMs in their front office | FOX Sports
• Lazaro Armenteros eligible for free agency | MLB.com
• Miami Marlins sign Wei-Yin Chen to 5-year, $80 million | Fish Stripes
• The biggest remaining hole on every American League roster | SBNation.com
• More than half the teams in baseball think they're going to have a top-5 rotation | SBNation.com
• Who improved at the plate in the second half of 2015? | FOX Sports
• The Risk of Signing Ian Desmond | FanGraphs Baseball
• Vital questions as Spring Training looms | MLB.com
• 5 hitters who could have breakout 2016 seasons | MLB.com
• Early 2016 MLB Spring Training guide | MLB.com
• Chris Archer's hair has grown so long, he needs a bigger hat size for this upcoming season | MLB.com

what the cardinals are up to...

• Do St. Louis Cardinals need to make big move? | FOX Sports

KNOW THINE ENEMY...

the nl central

• Chicago Cubs remove Kyle Schwarber NLDS-clinching home run ball from atop video board in right field | FOX Sports
• Reds agree to deal with Alfredo Rodriguez | reds.com