Tonight, Nolan Gorman will (likely) become the first Cardinal born in the 2000s. A look back at each decade's first ever St. Louis Cardinal.
Was Albert Pujols the greatest Position Player Pitcher in history?
I watched almost zero minutes of the St. Louis Cardinals game on Sunday night. I was busy making and eating dinner, and by the time I got to checking the score of the baseball game, it was uncompetitive and there were three Games Seven in the NBA and NHL postseasons available to watch that night…
A brief history of St. Louis’s greatest sporting triumphs over every major North American sports market
Tonight, the St. Louis Blues will square off against the Colorado Avalanche in Game 1 of the National Hockey League's Western Conference Semifinal. And if the Blues defeat the 2021-22 President's Trophy winners, awarded to the team with the league's highest points total, it will without question be the greatest St. Louis over Denver triumph…
Where does Nolan Gorman fit in with the 2022 St. Louis Cardinals?
After entering 2022 with already-high prospect expectations, St. Louis Cardinals minor leaguer Nolan Gorman is crushing baseballs at alarming rates. In 95 plate appearances with the AAA Memphis Redbirds, Gorman has 11 home runs and a 1.067 OPS. A third baseman by trade, Gorman has played exclusively at second base this season while in the…
The confounding Wednesday suspensions hypocrisy
Let me be very clear: I hate hit-by-pitches. They are an unavoidable part of baseball, of course, and most of them are unintentional and relatively harmless, but in a perfect world, pitchers simply would not throw baseballs that hit pitchers. I hate when guys on my favorite team get hit; I hate when guys on…
Is Moisés Gómez the best player in professional baseball? An investigation
If you had never heard of Moisés Gómez a few days ago, you were certainly not the only person to read this article who hadn't, a thing I can say with absolute certainty because I, person actively writing this article, will eventually read the article, and I hadn't heard of him. Admittedly, I am not…
How the 2022 St. Louis Cardinals rotation stacks up to a former World Series champion
I'm not going to sugarcoat it (too much): I am not optimistic about the St. Louis Cardinals' starting rotation. It is the reason that I am predicting the Cardinals to finish a few games behind the Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Central this season despite a superior starting lineup. But it's also fun, and…
The 2022 St. Louis Cardinals and the next generational passage
On September 23, 2005, 22,472 fans gathered into Milwaukee's Miller Park to watch the hometown Brewers face the St. Louis Cardinals on a Friday night. The Cardinals had already clinched their second consecutive National League Central title, while the Brewers had recently been officially eliminated from Wild Card contention, so the stakes were minimal--if I…
There is absolutely nothing wrong with a “fan favorite” signing
I will start off by acknowledging my prior history--I was and am extremely skeptical of the St. Louis Cardinals' signing of Albert Pujols for reasons that I have published in the past and about which I will expand upon in a moment. But it would be willful ignorance to pretend that what the Cardinals did…
A 2022 (mostly just two teams in the) NL Central preview
The 2022 National League Central. Five teams enter. Three teams try to compete. Two teams actually compete. A division preview.
The 2022 St. Louis Cardinals Are Better Than You Think
With the Major League Baseball owners’ lockout officially in the rearview mirror of the baseball world, and Opening Day now just over a week away, the St. Louis Cardinals enter the 2022 season in a familiar place. Coming off of their third consecutive playoff appearance and second straight 90+ win campaign in seasons where Covid…
Albert Pujols and the myth of the burned bridge
Albert Pujols never had to forgive St. Louis because he never felt mad at St. Louis because he's smarter than us.
A borderline playoff team is worse now
The argument for the St. Louis Cardinals signing Albert Pujols is entirely sentimental. There is a reason that Albert Pujols was never seriously tied to another Major League Baseball team this off-season—his value is entirely based on what he did over a decade ago for the team which signed him. He is the slowest runner…
Who is the most likely player to keep the St. Louis Cardinals WAR streak alive?
For each of the last 11 seasons, a different Cardinal has led the team in Wins Above Replacement. Who is the most likely to extend the streak in 2022?
What Jack Flaherty’s future says about him, the Cardinals, and you
Of all the days that could be commemorated as among the darkest days in modern St. Louis Cardinals history, December 11, 2015 makes no intuitive sense in terms of where it falls on the calendar, and for future generations of fans, it will make even less sense. And yet, with the exceptions of days on…
What are the ripple effects of the Corey Dickerson signing?
Here is my initial take on the St. Louis Cardinals' signing of veteran outfielder Corey Dickerson to a one-year, $5 million-plus-incentives contract: Sure. It's a boring signing, which does not make it a bad signing. Corey Dickerson has bounced around, with the Cardinals being the seventh MLB team for the 32 year-old. He was an…
The St. Louis Cardinals should be in on the Cincinnati Reds and Oakland Athletics firesales
What the Cincinnati Reds and the Oakland Athletics are doing is awful for baseball. These are both teams which had winning records in 2021 and were winning and playoff teams in 2020. They are teams that were not going to enter 2022 as division or postseason favorites, by any means, but neither team was in…
A look back and forward at the Nolan Arenado trade
Major League Baseball trades are rarely swindles. Even for the ones that, in hindsight, seem lopsided beyond comprehension, the people that make the trades are generally, if not prophets, reasonable people with the best interests of their teams in mind. The trade that sent Fernando Tatis Jr. (and marginal pitcher Erik Johnson) to the San…
Okay, screw it, the Cardinals should just sign Carlos Correa
I really, truly do not believe St. Louis Cardinals fans properly appreciate Paul DeJong. I understand why that is. His offensive profile can be pretty unpleasing at times--the home runs are certainly cool, but a guy who strikes out somewhere in the 20-30% range is suboptimal statistically and dreadful aesthetically. His base running numbers are…
The Juan Yepez and bullpen strategies are sound, but they’d look even better with more rotation depth
Even for the highest spending teams in baseball, contributions from players making the league minimum salary are inevitably vital for a World Series championship--this should very much remain the case through the minimum salary bump that has come with the new collective bargaining agreement. The likes of Mookie Betts or Clayton Kershaw were obviously indispensible…
Albert Pujols still doesn’t make sense for the current-day St. Louis Cardinals
In 2021, following a dreaful month and a half start to the season, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim released Albert Pujols. Pujols, whom the Angels signed coming off one of the finest first eleven season stretches in baseball history, had been a major disappointment since departing the St. Louis Cardinals for the Los Angeles…
The ten worst owners in St. Louis sports history
In sharp contrast to previous Major League Baseball work stoppages, there is a decidedly anti-ownership fervor that had been largely absent. While those who have sided with the Major League Baseball Players Association will occasionally fixate on those who side with ownership (or, as is more often the case, those who posit false equivalencies between…
It shouldn’t have come to this
In 1889, future Hall of Famer John Montgomery Ward, one of the premier players of early professional baseball, helped form the Players' National League of Professional Base Ball Clubs in retaliation to discontent with how players in the National League and American Association were being paid. The league's eight teams were populated largely by defectors…
In baseball’s labor negotiations, one side is giving you what you want
When John Spano purchased the National Hockey League's New York Islanders in 1996, the franchise's future was hanging in the balance--the once-dynastic team was a decade and a half removed from its glory years, and with teams occupying the same metropolitan area, the New Jersey Devils and New York Rangers, having won a Stanley Cup…
Bill James and the realm where sabermetrics falls short
Even among those who ostensibly support the Major League Baseball Players Association in the current owner-instituted Major League Baseball lockout, it can be difficult to facilitate real, honest-to-God empathy. I get it--while the union is not incorrect in stating that the majority of its membership are not extraordinarily wealthy multi-millionaires, the league's current minimum salary…
Tom Brady and the joy of arbitrary hate
You don't have to have a good reason to hate your favorite athletes. It's way more fun when you don't.
What would Adam Wainwright need to do in 2022 to deserve Hall of Fame induction?
Adam Wainwright is the greatest St. Louis Cardinals pitcher since Bob Gibson, and arguably the greatest St. Louis Cardinals pitcher in history other than Bob Gibson. The minute Adam Wainwright is eligible, he will easily cruise into the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame, with the only possible road block being if he gets caught…
Curt Flood, Ted Simmons, and the labor heroes of the St. Louis Cardinals
Curt Flood and Ted Simmons are among the greatest St. Louis Cardinals of all-time and were among the sport's leaders in player empowerment.
The pending Nolan Arenado conundrum
Nolan Arenado filled a major hole for the 2021 Cardinals, but a pair of third base prospects may give the team an abundance going forward
Let’s take a deep breath and build a Hall of Fame ballot
There are thirty candidates. Only ten can make the ballot. Let's fake-vote.
Constructing a dream 26-man roster for the last 26 years for every team in Major League Baseball
In which we dig up a years-old thought exercise, modernize it slightly, and do it thirty times
Take Ozzie Smith’s name out of your mouth when making a Omar Vizquel Hall of Fame case
It is impossible for me to conceive of a semi-credible argument for Omar Vizquel, who is presently on his fifth ballot for the National Baseball Hall of Fame, without mentioning the name of Ozzie Smith. Smith, who was elected to Cooperstown on his first ballot, is the embodiment of a specific type of shortstop--one renowned…
Who is the greatest “overpaid” St. Louis Cardinal?
As you have likely heard, but which likely has not yet tangibly impacted your experience as a consumer, Major League Baseball owners locked out its players on December 2. Despite implications from commissioner Rob Manfred, this was not a requirement of MLB owners, as the league's collective bargaining agreement had not expired, but it was…
Wander Franco and the ten Cardinals pre-free agency extensions of the 21st century
Upon being called up to the Tampa Bay Rays on June 22, 2021, twenty year-old shortstop Wander Franco earned the Major League Baseball minimum of $570,500 for the remainder of the season. The extension which Franco signed with the Rays on Tuesday pays him more than that per each of his 308 career MLB plate…
The Steven Matz signing is a good signing as long as it isn’t the only signing
Since debuting with the New York Mets in 2015 as a lesser-but-not-insignificant prospect in the young pitching core that guided the Mets to their first World Series in *checks, assumes it must be many many decades based on how Mets fans discuss their futility* fifteen years, Steven Matz has been an aggressively average pitcher. Both…
Which is the superior Rick Hummel Bit: Matt Cain or Trea Turner?
Sports media is an often far too self-serious business. While most other subsections of the media landscape view sports journalism as access-based propaganda (often true) and no more dignified than entertainment reporting (almost always true), its practitioners frequently treat what they are doing as though asking Giovanny Gallegos what he was thinking when Christian Yelich…
How good is Dakota Hudson, and why will that define the Cardinals’ off-season?
In 2019, the season in which he threw 70% of his Major League Baseball innings to this point in his career, St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Dakota Hudson accomplished something that had not been seen in Major League Baseball since 2003 and which no pitcher came particularly close to accomplishing in the two subsequent MLB…
If the NL adopts the designated hitter, how should the Cardinals fill the position?
Occasionally lost the hubbub about the pending free agency signing period is that we are looking down the barrel of some contentious labor negotiations. And an oft-cited potential ramification is the institution of the designated hitter in the National League. To be frank, I don't really get it. This isn't because I have a strong…
An alternative to my Just Sign Max Scherzer plan
Yesterday, I wrote a long post about all of the top ticket free agents available this off-season. I noted that Carlos Correa and Corey Seager are great players and will be a wonderful fit for somebody, but that since the St. Louis Cardinals do not have a pronounced weakness at shortstop, with both Paul DeJong…
Which free agent should St. Louis Cardinals fans covet the most?
The time will come, likely quite soon, for keeping our expectations in check. It may soon be time for St. Louis Cardinals fans to talk themselves into how Actually If You Think About It Anthony DeSclafani Is A Game-Changer, but for now, let's fantasize. It's probably a bit unfair to the Cardinals to dismiss immediately…
How the Cardinals helped launch the Atlanta Braves World Series run (and why that shouldn’t bother you)
When it comes to making trades, the primary directive, particularly when dealing with teams which are not your direct divisional rivals, ought to be for teams to improve based on the context of their own specific situation. During the Walt Jocketty era as general manager of the St. Louis Cardinals, there was this weird tinge…
The twenty greatest baseball plays of the 21st century
Why yes, Game Six of the 2011 World Series will be present.
Oliver Marmol, like most good managerial hires, is a conventional and boring one
Demographically, there is a fair amount about Oliver Marmol, who it was first reported by The Athletic's Katie Woo and then confirmed by every baseball reporter under the Sun will be announced this morning as the sixty-fifth manager in the history of the St. Louis Cardinals, that is striking. Marmol, upon taking reigns of the…
If Mike Shildt was a baseball problem, an internal option isn’t the solution
Let me start off by saying that I think the decision by the St. Louis Cardinals to relieve manager Mike Shildt of his duties was a very stupid one. Shildt was not a perfect manager--he lacked what I would consider an optimally quick hook when it came to pulling starting pitchers--but he was undeniably successful--his…
If I were the St. Louis Cardinals, I simply would have scored more runs yesterday
0 for 12 with runners in scoring position. Zero extra-base hits. Three totals players who got any hits. The St. Louis Cardinals lost last night and concluded an extremely up-and-down season on a sour note and they have nobody to blame but their offense. Over their final twenty meaningful games in the regular season--until they…
The Cardinals should destroy the Dodgers
I am not a fan of the Los Angeles Dodgers, but I am fascinated by them. For years, while consistently winning the National League West and being among the sport's biggest championship threats, the Dodgers were among the sport's biggest spenders, but they were also building a juggernaut less through big-ticket free agents and more…
A completely objective ranking of the ten MLB playoff teams by likability
If you are a fan of one of the ten teams which will participate in the Major League Baseball postseason of 2021, you don't need these rankings. You will root for your team, and there's nothing more to say about that. And that's the way sports work. Your allegiance is not an intellectual pursuit--it is…
The National League Wild Card game is anyone’s to win
In 2011, the St. Louis Cardinals were heavy underdogs in the National League Division Series against the Philadelphia Phillies. While the Cardinals had rallied in September to overcome a massive deficit in the Wild Card race, with an 18-8 record in the season's final month, they finished twelve games behind the Phillies, who had arguably…
The (Probably) Cardinals Vaccine Paymaster Belongs in the Hall of Fame
Yesterday afternoon, Kalyn Kahler of Defector dropped a fascinating report, published under layers of anonymity, about a Major League Baseball player, labeled "a possible future Hall of Famer", who took an aggressive approach to making sure his teammates were vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus, going so far as to offer payments to vaccine-hesitant teammates in…
These aren’t your father’s (or possibly older brother’s) St. Louis Cardinals
When the St. Louis Cardinals last won the World Series, their current starting catcher, Yadier Molina, was on the field. Adam Wainwright was in the dugout as a Cardinals employee but not a 2011 Cardinals player, having been shelved for the season in Spring Training due to Tommy John surgery. Matt Carpenter had appeared on…
A new re-evaluation of the Paul DeJong extension
The Cardinals are paying Paul DeJong over $6 million this season, and now he's in Memphis. How does his 2017 extension look in the wake of his recent downturn in performance?
St. Louis Bullpen 