One of the strangest runs in St. Louis Cardinals history may continue beyond this season
Tommy Edman, Nolan Arenado, and the Cardinals players who could break a century-old franchise record in 2021
Breaking Brad: The great lie of Albert Pujols’s legendary 2005 NLCS home run, and why we should stop telling it
Albert Pujols did not break Brad Lidge. And that makes his home run even better.
The statistical case for (and the emotional case against) signing Albert Pujols
Thursday's news that Albert Pujols, the greatest living St. Louis Cardinal, was designated for assignment by the Los Angeles Angels invited a whole host of emotions. Pujols, in the final year of a ten-year contract which lured the long-time Cardinal to Anaheim in the Fall of 2011, is by any measure a shell of his…
The folly of the beanball war
Even if beanballs weren't dangerous, they are an inherently losing baseball move
Oh hey, another reason to hate the three-batter minimum rule
Over the last several years, Major League Baseball has worked hard to expedite its games, and in and of itself, I'm glad they're doing this. Baseball games do take too long, and unlike the spikes in game time which happened at the turn of last century, it's not because there's this sudden offensive explosion. This…
Nolan Arenado is what he is
Following his go-ahead home run in the eighth inning of his first game at Busch Stadium, Nolan Arenado was annointed as a superhero. Sure, St. Louis Cardinals fans would have been excited had John Nogowski or whoever else hit the home run, but because it came off the bat of Nolan Arenado, a player deemed…
Matt Carpenter is out to make all of the haters repent
Last night, Matt Carpenter hit his first home run of the 2021 season for the St. Louis Cardinals, and admittedly, it was a pretty weird experience. It wasn't an especially game-significant home run--besides the offensive explosion of the fifth inning rendering it moot, it only bumped up the Cardinals' win probability from 77% to 89%.…
On Nolan Arenado’s curtain call, since I guess we’re worrying about curtain calls now
On Thursday, Nolan Arenado hit a go-ahead two-run home run in his first home game as a member of the St. Louis Cardinals. As often happens at Busch Stadium, the roaring crowd demanded that Arenado, following his return to the Cardinals' dugout, hop back out and salute the crowd. He did, the crowd got excited…
I guess this is happening–a borderline reckless 2021 MLB preview
Today is Opening Day in Major League Baseball, a day which the league will happily tell you should be a holiday, and a day which I will happily tell Major League Baseball should be on a weekend if they want us all to watch baseball all day. The good news is that, unlike last season,…
Why the Milwaukee Brewers are the biggest threat to the 2021 St. Louis Cardinals
Despite the Cardinals acquiring the bigger name, the Milwaukee Brewers had the best off-season in the National League Central
The end of the road
A look ahead to a season in which we inevitably look back.
The twenty-five greatest Cardinals of the last twenty-five years: #1–Albert Pujols
For eleven glorious seasons, the Cardinals got to experience one of the three greatest first basemen who ever lived.
The twenty-five greatest Cardinals of the last twenty-five years: #2–Yadier Molina
The "Yadier Molina can't hit well enough to stick around in the Major Leagues" takes are now old enough to drive
The twenty-five greatest Cardinals of the last twenty-five years: #3–Jim Edmonds
Before Jim Edmonds, the Cardinals were a sideshow for Mark McGwire. Once Jim Edmonds arrived, they were a serious contender.
The twenty-five greatest Cardinals of the last twenty-five years: #4–Adam Wainwright
A look at Adam Wainwright, from postseason hero reliever to staff ace to innings-eating veteran
Could a lineup of former St. Louis Cardinals beat the current St. Louis Cardinals in 2021?
This doesn't even seem possible. The St. Louis Cardinals should easily have a better team in 2021 than the total sum of their former players. It would be one thing if the Cardinals had spent the last several years trading away their best players for prospects who may never come to fruition. But the Cardinals…
The twenty-five greatest Cardinals of the last twenty-five years: #5–Scott Rolen
You may not think the guy who used Limp Bizkit as his walk-up song because it repeatedly said a homophone of his name is "subtle", but Rolen was one of his generation's great quiet stars.
The Cardinals’ looming outfield disaster
According to Dan Szymborski's ZiPS projection system, which projects the performance of every player and team in Major League Baseball, there are 411 players designated as "outfielders"--this is, if you do some basic back-of-the-napkin math, obviously far more players than there are spots, but this incorporates tons of lifelong minor leaguers and players who aren't…
The twenty-five greatest Cardinals of the last twenty-five years: #6–Matt Carpenter
Matt Carpenter had one of the strangest origin stories of any superstar in franchise history
The twenty-five greatest Cardinals of the last twenty-five years: #7–Mark McGwire
You just had to be there.
The twenty-five greatest Cardinals of the last twenty-five years: #8–Chris Carpenter
For a rehab project from Toronto whose best-case scenario was decent back of the rotation starter, the Chris Carpenter experiment worked out pretty well for the Cardinals
The twenty-five greatest Cardinals of the last twenty-five years: #9–Matt Holliday
Matt Holliday was never the best player on the Cardinals, but he was a consistent number two for some of the most potent lineups in franchise history
The twenty-five greatest Cardinals of the last twenty-five years: #10–Matt Morris
A look back at Matt Morris, who was probably better than you remember.
The twenty-five greatest Cardinals of the last twenty-five years: #11–Ray Lankford
The Cardinal of the 1990s remained a star well into the Tony LaRussa era
The twenty-five greatest Cardinals of the last twenty-five years: #12–Edgar Renteria
Even if Edgar Renteria's World Series accomplishments with other teams are his most iconic moments, the shortstop's best seasons came in St. Louis
The twenty-five greatest Cardinals of the last twenty-five years: #13–Brian Jordan
A look at Brian Jordan, the two-sport star who became one of the most well-rounded Cardinals in recent memory
The twenty-five greatest Cardinals of the last twenty-five years: #14–J.D. Drew
J.D. Drew may end up being viewed as the 21st century Ernie Broglio, but like Broglio, Drew was also a heck of a Cardinal
The twenty-five greatest Cardinals of the last twenty-five years: #15–Woody Williams
The Cardinals acquired Woody Williams to be a future Remember Some Guys guy, but instead, they were delighted when he became A Guy.
The twenty-five greatest Cardinals of the last twenty-five years: #16–Carlos MartÃnez
For his first eight seasons, he has turned out to be the opposite of whatever you thought he was going to be
The twenty-five greatest Cardinals of the last twenty-five years: #17–Kolten Wong
The recently-departed now-Milwaukee Brewers second baseman crafted an exhilerating eight-season career in St. Louis.
The twenty-five greatest Cardinals of the last twenty-five years: #18–Ryan Ludwick
Ryan Ludwick wasn't a great Cardinal, but he filled a very necessary void for the team at a very necessary time
The twenty-five greatest Cardinals of the last twenty-five years: #19–Darryl Kile
It is impossible to discuss Darryl Kile without discussing his death, but it is malpractice to discuss Darryl Kile without discussing his life.
The twenty-five greatest Cardinals of the last twenty-five years: #20–Tommy Pham
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: #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?
