The Cardinals ended their five game winnings streak with a loss to Milwaukee Brewers tonight in the opener of a four game series with the Friars.   Even though the loss brings the Brew Crew even with the Redbirds in the standings, the part that stings is the lack of effectiveness from the St. Louis bullpen.
After yesterday’s heroics from Aaron Miles, it’s easy to forget that the Cards wouldn’t have even been in that position if it wasn’t for another faltering relief performance.  With the game on the line, former closer Jason Isringhausen blew yet another save opportunity, sending the game to [...]

A dramatic come from behind win yesterday has put the Cardinals in position to sweep the Padres in today’s fourth and final game of the series.
Todd Wellemeyer got off to a rocky start, allowing five runs in the first two frames, but settled in and lasted 6.1 innings, earning him the win.  He’s now 8-4, with a 4.22 ERA.  Both Randy Flores and Russ Springer failed to record an out, but Ron Villone came in to put out the fire in the sixth.  Ryan Franklin earned his fourteenth save, pitching the final two innings.
The Cards were trailing 5-0 into the [...]

The St. Louis Cardinals are a fun team to watch.  No one could have predicted the club to be in the position they’re in.  After winning the first two games of the second half, the Cards are 12 games over .500, at 55-43, trailing the division leading Chicago Cubs by only 3 games.  The Small Bears are the only team in the National League with a better record than the Cardinals.
The San Diego series started with another gem from starter Kyle Lohse.  He’s now 12-2, with a 3.35 ERA, and as close to automatic as you can get.  Rick Ankiel [...]

The break is over.  Back to baseball.  Before we get to the upcoming series against the Padres, I thought I’d throw out some random thoughts that I didn’t get posted earlier in the week.
First, how about that home run derby?  Josh Hamilton put on a show, and it was fun to watch.  If you weren’t rooting for the guy by the end of the night, then you don’t have a heart.  It’s a shame he couldn’t take home the trophy.
The All-Star parade was really cool, but the on-field pre-game festivities stole the show.  It was an amazing celebration of baseball’s [...]

Back in March, just before the start of the season, the United Cardinal Bloggers had a pre-season roundtable discussion on the state of the ball club, and what we expected from the Cardinals in ‘08.  Now at the All-Star break, the Cards find themselves right in the thick of a pennant race, and the UCB had our second round of discussion.  Each of the participating blogs tossed out a question.  Here’s the question I posted,  the responses, and the links to the other blogs:
There is an obvious need for an upgrade in the middle infield for next season. There are some pretty [...]

Kyle Lohse is at it again.  In game one of the final series before the All-Star break, Lohse shutout the Pirates for seven innings, allowing six hits and striking out three, before handing it over to the bullpen.  Lohse now sports an 11-2 record, and lowered his ERA to 3.39, putting him neck and neck with the best pitchers in the National League. If he keeps this up, the Cardinals should look very seriously at a long-term extension for him.
Following Lohse was left-handed rookie Jamie Garcia, making his Major League debut.  Garcia just turned 22 three days ago, and the kid [...]

Crap.  Well, maybe it was bound to happen sooner or later, or maybe it’s only temporary, but after today’s loss in Philadelphia, the Cardinals now find themselves trailing two teams instead of one.
It’s never too early to scoreboard watch, and today we saw Milwaukee pummel Colorado 11-1, and leapfrog St. Louis for second place in the Central.  The Cards haven’t been playing all that well as of late, losing both of their last two series.  First the Brewers improved their team, then the Cubs countered.  Now seeing third place today is like a kick in the nuts.  It hurts for [...]

I’m back!  My trip to St. Louis over the holiday weekend was awesome.  I got to watch some Cards/Cubs baseball, drink lots of beer, and hang out with some family and friends.  I’ll talk more about the trip later.
For now, after a very impressive start from Joel Pineiro in last night’s win over the Phillies, the Cardinals dropped game two of the series 4-2.  The buzz about tonight’s game, however, isn’t really about the loss.  Instead, as the title reads, Mark Mulder, getting his first start since September of 2007, lasted just a third of an inning before experiencing some discomfort in [...]

As I write this, the Mets are crushing the Cardinals 11-1 in the seventh.  It’s actually kind of a relief that it’s not a nail biter, because I’ve got to be at the airport at six o’clock in the morning.  So if the lead holds (ha!), the Cards will have split the series. The three game set with the Cubs could be huge.  I can’t wait!
Funny thing about my flight.  It leaves here and connects in Chicago, before finally arriving in St. Louis at one.  It’s not really my idea of a good time, so I’ll have to make the best [...]