Tommy Pham, by sheer force of will, had one of the highest peaks for the last quarter-century of the Cardinals
The twenty-five greatest Cardinals of the last twenty-five years: #20–Tommy Pham
The twenty-five greatest Cardinals of the last twenty-five years: #21–Paul DeJong
Although not regarded as an ascending prospect, Paul DeJong became a defining example of the last quarter-century of Cardinals Devil Magic.
The twenty-five greatest Cardinals of the last twenty-five years: #22–Lance Lynn
He was never the team's ace, but Lance Lynn was a rock-solid member of the starting rotation for some of the best teams in recent memory
The twenty-five greatest Cardinals of the last twenty-five years: #23–Andy Benes
A look at Andy Benes, a player who became a star elsewhere but truly came into his own in St. Louis
The twenty-five greatest Cardinals of the last twenty-five years: #24–David Freese
A look back at the unlikely, inconceivable success story of David Freese
The twenty-five greatest Cardinals of the last twenty-five years: #25–Todd Stottlemyre
While not especially flashy, Todd Stottlemyre was dependable and the ace of a team that broke a nine-year playoff drought for the Cardinals
The twenty-five greatest Cardinals of the last twenty-five years–Honorable Mentions
A look at some of the next-best Cardinals of the last quarter-century
The twenty-five greatest Cardinals of the last twenty-five years
In October 1995, the St. Louis Cardinals hired recently-former Oakland Athletics manager Tony LaRussa. Coming off an eighth consecutive year without a playoff appearance, the Cardinals were hoping to start a new era of dominance. And the very next season, the Cardinals were one game away from the World Series. After building a 3-1 lead…
The St. Louis Cardinals are definitely going to win 85 games in 2021
PECOTA says they won't, but PECOTA is also always wrong
The Cardinals may have an outfield problem
The St. Louis Cardinals' signing of Dexter Fowler in the 2016-17 off-season will not exactly go down as one of the most prudent free agent signings of all-time, but at the end of the day, Dexter Fowler did fill a role for the Cardinals. Maybe not a $16.5 million per season role, but a role…
Why the Milwaukee Brewers are going to love Kolten Wong
He may not be as synonymous with the Cardinals as Yadier Molina or Adam Wainwright, but Kolten Wong is an indispensable part of Cardinals lore
How the Cardinals can fill the Kolten Wong void
Maybe at some point in the near future, I will wax poetic about what Kolten Wong means in the story of the St. Louis Cardinals. He was, after all, on the Cardinals for parts of eight seasons, won a pair of Gold Gloves, and has a postseason walk-off home run to his name, so while…
What to do about Matt Carpenter
It wasn't long ago that Matt Carpenter was an MVP candidate. In 2018, the Cardinals third baseman-turned-second baseman-turned third baseman-turned first baseman-turned third baseman went on an offensive tear that St. Louis baseball fans hadn't seen since Albert Pujols (or possibly Pete Kozma in 2012, I don't really remember). Despite beginning and, to a lesser…
The Cardinals acquired Nolan Arenado while keeping their wits about them
After years of rumors that would have seen them fleeced, the Cardinals were patient and made a sensible trade
Five candidates to take Curt Schilling’s Hall of Fame ballot spot
If Curt Schilling doesn't want to be on the Hall of Fame ballot, let's replace him with somebody who would enjoy it
The greatest baseball players under every president
A look at the greatest players under all 27 presidents of the Professional Baseball Era, plus predictions on the best of the next one
Are the Cardinals endangering an unprecedented run of Hall of Fame-caliber players?
You probably weren't alive the last time the Cardinals didn't have a credible Hall of Fame candidate on their roster. That may be coming soon.
What are the 2021 St. Louis Cardinals?
We know what the San Diego Padres want to be. We know, for better or worse, what the Tampa Bay Rays want to be. But what are the Cardinals?
Scott Rolen–A perfect Hall of Fame candidate for 2021
The top of the Hall of Fame ballot for 2021 is filled with feel-bad stories. Scott Rolen is a refreshing exception to that.
The indefensibility of letting Kolten Wong walk
You may have noticed that this is my first time weighing in on a moment which has now passed—whether the St. Louis Cardinals should pick up a $12.5 million option for 2021 on the contract of second baseman Kolten Wong, which it was revealed this afternoon that the Cardinals were not going to do. And…
When you stop believing the lie
Justin Turner has offered a spot-on metaphor for the lie Major League Baseball fed us in 2020.
Let’s take a deep breath about Randy Arozarena
Do you remember Bo Hart? I remember Bo Hart. I could never forget Bo Hart. Bodhi J. Hart was a 26 year-old second baseman, four years removed from being a 33rd round draft pick, languishing in the minor leagues for the St. Louis Cardinals organization when, in 2003, an injury to Miguel Cairo forced the…
Bob.
I always viewed Bob Gibson as the first modern baseball player. Like all St. Louis Cardinals fans, I grew up revering Stan Musial, even though I had never seen him play. Not only had I never seen him play, but I couldn't even comprehend the idea that he really did play. He seemed like an…
Why isn’t Jack Flaherty starting Game 1 of the Wild Card Round?
He entered the season as the ace. By many measures, he was the team's best pitcher in 2020. Why is Jack Flaherty being relegated to Game 3?
Everyone is going to hate us so much–a Cardinals/Padres playoff preview
We are at least half a decade removed from the peak of people hating the St. Louis Cardinals. Also, the Cardinals were better from 2011 through 2015 than they were from 2016 through 2020. I wonder if the two are related. Probably not. They probably just managed to overcome the objectively bad and evil things…
The Cardinals’ All-Time “Second Best Team” Team
In the middle of the St. Louis Cardinals' deeply annoying loss yesterday afternoon to the Cincinnati Reds, news broke that Albert Pujols had tied Willie Mays on the all-time Major League Baseball home runs list. As Pujols's record chases tends to do, it invited plenty of historical comparisons and general remembraces of the Cardinals legend.…
The six tiers of Cardinals transaction revisionism
Some players would be virtually impossible for the St. Louis Cardinals to have on their team. Take Alex Bregman, for instance. The Houston Astros superstar third baseman was drafted in 2015 before the Cardinals ever had a draft pick, he was never considered a player realistically on the trading block, and he signed an extension…
Lou Brock and joy
Lou Brock played his final game for the St. Louis Cardinals over forty years ago. Most of the people who will read this post do not remember seeing Lou Brock play live. On Sunday, Lou Brock died at the age of 81, following several years of failing health, but his legacy in the hearts and…
The case for standing pat for the trade deadline
As a general rule, I tend to want my sports teams to focus more on the future than the present. I don’t think this is an inherently right or wrong point of view—it’s a reflection of my own arbitrary tastes and preferences. But this year, I think I’m right. And I invite all temporary bandwagoners…
A Cardinals fan’s guide to watching the Blues since they’re actually playing this weekend
As of right now, the St. Louis Cardinals are scheduled to play their sixth and seventh games of the 2020 season on Saturday. But, given recent events, at the very least, it is probably time to plan for contingencies. On each of the last two Fridays, Cardinals games in the coming weekend were cancelled, and,…
Rob Manfred isn’t the problem, and that’s the problem
What a year that weekend was. There was already plenty of reason for pessimism in baseball, with the waves of positive tests that had already effectively shut down the Miami Marlins. And then on Friday, news broke that multiple St. Louis Cardinals had tested positive for COVID-19, forcing the cancellation of the team's Friday game…
Jack Flaherty ain’t going away
I think the Tommy Pham trade broke us. Tommy Pham was a rarity for the St. Louis Cardinals—an outspoken player. And then, at the trade deadline in 2018, he was traded. And we collectively assumed the two were related. That the St. Louis Cardinals, assumed to be a particularly small-c conservative organization even by the…
The best-case scenario of a 60-game St. Louis Cardinals season
The Los Angeles Dodgers will probably lose some games this season. The Baltimore Orioles will probably win some games this season. But an undefeated or winless season is more on the table than it ever has been before. The odds of either of these things happening are in the one in a trillion range, but…
So it’s come to this–a 2020 MLB season preview
Uh, I guess we’re doing this? The idea that baseball is going to happen is weird. I’ve been clear about the fact that I’m not convinced it should happen. Even aside from the ethical questions of devoting so many resources to a recreational activity that puts its participants at risk during a global pandemic in…
Just cancel the season already
This weekend, three St. Louis Cardinals players were revealed to have tested positive for COVID-19. I hesitate to limit this to three; hopefully I'll remember to update this post in the event that this number increases. It seems like there is a decent chance of that. Of the three players who have tested positive, two…
The Cardinals’ All-Alphabet Team
There are twenty-six letters of the alphabet. There are twenty-six players on a Major League Baseball active roster. So I had an idea. How good of a baseball team could I compile in which every player’s last name begins with a different letter? It’s pretty simple—I get one guy whose last name begins with A.…
St. Louis Bullpen is having a St. Louis-themed e-trivia night. Come play with us.
On Tuesday, June 30, 2020, at 7 p.m., the finest minds in the St. Louis area will be gathering to engage in a trivia contest to determine who has supreme knowledge of St. Louis sports. And those of us who weren't invited to that are gonna have a trivia night of our own. Sign up…
The New All-Century Team
In 1999, Major League Baseball unveiled its All-Century Team to commemorate the best players of the 20th century. This was a watershed moment in baseball analysis for me—in an era where balloting was done by paper and submitted via mail, my dad was insistent that the ballot be taken seriously, and thus I, a ten-year old,…
