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…
In my opinion, Lars Nootbaar
Is St. Louis's love of its new backup outfielder ironic? Does it matter?
Setting a Cardinals postseason roster (because that’s a thing we can start actually planning out!)
Tomorrow, the St. Louis Cardinals will begin a three-game series against the Milwaukee Brewers, a team with no motiviation. The Brewers clinched the National League Central on Sunday and are mathematically locked into the NL's second seed. Because Brewers manager Craig Counsell is a fairly smart guy, you can rest assured that if the Brewers…
An eight-game winning streak and the validation of two once-maligned trades
If you take a long enough view and accept a narrow enough range of acceptable outcomes, one can both-sides pretty much any baseball trade. For instance, last weekend's visit from the San Diego Padres brought the return of Tommy Pham, whose departure from the St. Louis Cardinals via trade in 2018 was much-maligned and frequently…
So, um, we doing this?
And just like that, the St. Louis Cardinals are in a playoff position. A week ago, the Cardinals were firmly in single-digit odds to make the postseason, trailing both the San Diego Padres and Cincinnati Reds for the National League's second Wild Card spot. And now, the Cardinals' playoff odds, effectively staked entirely in the…
Are the Cardinals overrepresented or underrepresented in Gold Glove victories?
Yesterday, on his daily video for STL Today, columnist Benjamin Hochman asked whether St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado would win the Gold Glove this year. To which I will give you the simple answer: Yes. Should Arenado win the Gold Glove? That's arguably the more interesting question. By Defensive Runs Above Average, Arenado…
The Brandon Dickson and Ali Sánchez promotions are exactly what you think they are
This afternoon, it was reported, initially by Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat, that when the St. Louis Cardinals' roster expands from twenty-six to twenty-eight players tomorrow, the new additions will be pitcher Brandon Dickson and catcher Ali Sánchez. The news brought inquisitive replies of "Who?", which is generally not considered a good sign when…
St. Louis Bullpen 