Skip Schumaker came up big with a two-out RBI single in the eighth inning to spark the Cardinals to a 6-3 victory over the Cincinnati Reds. The Cards led 1-0 and 3-1, but the Reds knotted the score both times. In the bottom of the eighth, St. Louis broke free with three runs, starting with Schumaker’s single. The other two runs came on bases-loaded walks. Ryan Franklin closed things out in the ninth for the win.
Kyle Lohse was lights out for seven innings, but is still searching for his first win. Lohse gave up one run, struck out eight, and [...]

Jonny Gomes happily being pummeled at home plate. Jason Motte walking off the mound in a dazed state. The Cards lost and if that wasn’t enough to keep you up all night, the Cubs finally won a game.
Hopefully the nightmares weren’t too bad last night. It is very early in the season, but every game does count. And the Cards bullpen already leaves many questions that must be answered this summer. For everyone’s sake, it would be nice if the answers (or improvement) came sooner rather than later. Before you know it, we’ll be in Anaheim for the 2010 All-Star [...]

Today was more of what Brad Penny hoped for when he signed with his childhood team. After getting rocked in his spring debut, Penny came out sharp in his rebound game. He threw four shutout innings and allowed just one hit to help the Cards beat the Nationals 6-4.
His performance on the mound was complemented by an equally impressive day at the plate for rookie Allen Craig. Craig made his spring debut after missing every game to this point due to injury. The rookie did not disappoint. He showed the power that makes him a big league level talent, and [...]

Ryan Franklin closes games for a living. His job is to finish strong for the team. Nail down the final outs of the game for another “W.” In 2009, few closers were better than Franklin. He made his first All-Star appearance, finished with 38 saves, and a 1.92 ERA. The Cards fireman was lights out much of the year. Despite all that success, Franklin wants to make big improvements in 2010. The closer failed to close out the season effectively. A weak finish for him and the team has been on his mind all winter.
In the final month of the season, Franklin blew three [...]

Coming off one of the worst stretches of Cardinal baseball I’ve ever witnessed, the Redbirds came to my town in hopes of getting back on track against the Marlins.  I was in attendance for all three games of the series.
Game one was a nail biter that ended badly with a walk off homer from Jeremy Hermida off of Jason Motte in the ninth.  The Fish won 4-3.  The loss was the fifth straight for St. Louis.  When would it end?
One of the first things I noticed in game two was a kid in a Marlins jersey a few rows in [...]

We’re going to need more brooms.
First, the Brewers swept the Cardinals in a three game series with their win on Sunday in St. Louis.  Then the Cards did some sweeping of their own, taking all three games from the visiting Chicago Cubs.  And now, there’s a pile of broken glass somewhere under Big Mac Land at Busch, thanks to a first inning blast off the bat of Albert Pujols.  Somebody’s got to clean that up.
Pujols’ home run was measured at 418 feet, and shattered the “I” in the illuminated Big Mac Land sign on the upper deck in left field.
Pujols [...]

What started out as a well pitched and well played game, got a little sloppy towards the end of the game. Adam Wainwright pitched 7 solid innings striking out 7 and giving up 3 runs, 2 were unearned. Ryan Dempster was able to baffle the Cardinals until the 5 th inning when Joe Thurston doubled home Yadier Molina and Khalil Greene. After advancing to 3rd base on the throw home to get Greene, he was knocked in by a Skip Schumaker line drive to the outfield. Adam Wainwright kept the baby bears in check until the 7th. His defense behind [...]

Here’s a real tongue twister:
Brian Barton to Braves for Blaine Boyer to boster bullpen.
That’s right.  In somewhat of a surprise move today, the Cardinals traded outfielder Brian Barton to Atlanta for right-handed reliever Blaine Boyer.
During their most recent road trip, the Cards found themselves long on innings, but short on arms.  The club shuffled pitchers on and off the 25 man roster to help eat some of those innings in games where the starters didn’t throw their share.  The final game of the Chicago series was the perfect time for a rain out, and thanks to today’s off day, the [...]

After my trip to St. Louis for another exciting (but dissappointing) Opening Day, and being on an airplane during last night’s game, I was pretty excited to watch my first Cardinal telecast tonight. More on my trip in a minute.
The Cards were hoping to get a solid performance from tonight’s starter Todd Wellemeyer en route to a win over Pittsburgh, and at least, an opening series tie.  Instead, the Colonel was roughed up for 5 runs on 12 hits.  He also walked a pair, and needed 93 pitches to get through 5 innings.
Even though he didn’t particularly have a good [...]

First and foremost, welcome to the new site.  And don’t worry about missing out on any of the over opinionated content that you’re used to reading at Mike on the Cards.  Aptly named Redbird Rants will give you all that and more.  I’ve teamed up with another blogger, David Frissell, to help give more ranting and raving about the Cardinals than you can probably stand.  We hope you enjoy the new digs, and visit and comment often.
Now on to baseball.  With just one week of Spring Training remaining, the Cardinals still have several questions concerning the makeup of their 25-man [...]