Spring Training is over.  The team has gone north, first to play a pair of exhibition games in Springfield against their AA affiliate, then on to St. Louis to host the Rockies on Opening Day.
I love Opening Day.  I wouldn’t miss it.  My flight leaves Ft. Lauderdale tomorrow morning at 5:40.  I’ll be doing a lot of partying back in my old city over the next three days, so you won’t find a new post here until I get back home on the 1st.  Check out the blogs in my blogroll to get your Cardinals fix until then.

I love Opening [...]

The Cardinals beat the Orioles today 8-2, extending their winning streak to six games, and remain unbeaten in their last nine.  Adam Wainwright got the win, giving up one earned run on four hits, while striking out four in six innings.  He joins Anthony Reyes as the only other Cardinal pitcher to go six innings this spring. View the complete box score, along with a recap, here.
It looks like the roster has finally taken shape.  Today the Cards reassigned pitchers Chris Perez, Cliff Politte, and Hugo Castellanos to minor league camp, while Kyle McClellan and outfielder Brian Barton have been [...]

The Cardinals continued their winning ways today, riding a brilliant performance from pitcher Anthony Reyes to 3-0 victory over the Washington Nationals.  St. Louis is unbeaten in their last eight games.  Here’s today’s box score.

Coming in to today’s game, Reyes was the odd man out of the Cardinals’ patchwork rotation, having been beaten out by swing men Todd Wellemeyer and Brad Thompson.  Although the win may not have changed look of the starting five, Reyes’ outing did turn some heads.  Entering the sixth inning, Reyes faced only one over the minimum.  He finished the inning, and left the game [...]

Sure it’s only Spring Training.  Maybe the games don’t count.  But there is reason to be hopeful.  Since the beating they took against the Marlins back on March 12th, the Cardinals have been playing some pretty exciting baseball, winning 9 of their last 11, including an 8-4 victory over the Twins in Fort Meyers today.  Of the other two games, one ended in a tie, while the only loss during that stretch was against the Braves by only a run.  The Cards now have 14 wins, with three more Grapefruit League games to play before they head north to Springfield [...]

The Cardinals got off to a hot start against the Mets today in Port St. Lucie, scoring three runs in the first.  The Cards kept up the hot hitting throughout the game, scoring in five different innings, including a six run ninth.

The Cards’ bats were booming, scoring 14 runs on 21 hits.  Skip Schumaker, Brian Barton, Albert Pujols, Rick Ankiel, and Rico Washington all had multi-hit games.  Ankiel and Colby Rasmus each hit home runs, and Chris Duncan contributed with a two RBI single in the first.

I was forced to watch the Mets’ telecast, but it turned out [...]

Happy Easter!  I’ve got all kinds of information, so you’re likely to see multiple posts today.  How about we start with a song?  Hat tip to tangledbrett, a VEB community member, for pointing this one out.  It’s a tribute by Sam Bush to the great Ozzie Smith. Enjoy!

The United Cardinal Bloggers Group is winding down the roundtable discussions, with one more debate to be posted on Monday.  Yesterday I posted three questions to the group for open discussion.  In addition to me, we had four other Cardinal bloggers participate:

Daniel from C70 at the Bat
Haedar from Redbird Ramblings
Bryan from Rockin’ the Red
Michael from Stan Musial’s Stance

Here are the questions, and everyone’s thoughts:

1.)  Yesterday, there was some talk about who you’ve been impressed with up to this point in Spring Training.  What about the opposite?  Which players are you surprised to see having a disappointing spring? Do you think [...]

I’ll apologize in advance for the short post today.  Mix a busy day with some March hoops and there’s little time left to discuss our favorite sports team.  No worries though.  I’ll point you in the right direction.
The Orioles were visiting Roger Dean again today, with the Cardinals’ newest millionaire Adam Wainwright taking the mound.  Wainwright struggled, but the Cards prevailed, winning 7-4.  Aaron Miles, Troy Glaus, and Ryan Ludwick each had multiple hits for the Redbirds.  For a full recap, and the complete box score, click here.

The United Cardinal Bloggers continue their roundtable discussion, with today’s transcript over at [...]

The Cardinals have locked up their de facto ace long-term.  Adam Wainwright signed a four-year contract extension today worth a guaranteed $15 million, with a team option for two more years, effectively penciling him in the rotation through 2013.  The potential value of the deal is $36 million.  It’s apparent that for the right players, the Cards are willing to spend money.  The St. Louis Post Dispatch first broke the story.

Earlier this month, the team renewed Wainwright’s contract when the sides couldn’t come to an agreement on an ‘08 salary.  Matthew Leach had that story.  The new deal will [...]

The Cardinals traveled south to face the Baltimore Orioles in Ft. Lauderdale today.  The game comes after a rare off day, where manager Tony La Russa whittled his roster down to maintain only a couple of question marks.  With the final outfield spot merely a technicality, only one spot on the 25-man roster isn’t accounted for.  The final right-handed relief role remains a competition between Kelvin Jimenez, Cliff Politte, Chris Perez, and Kyle McClellan.

Brad Thompson got his first career Grapefruit League start today, going four innings, and allowing two runs on three hits with two strike outs.  The Cards [...]