Matthew Leach, the Cardinals beat writer for MLB.com, was kind enough to answer some of my questions on the major storylines so far in the season. Below, find his thoughts on Albert Pujols’ future in St. Louis, the rise of David Freese and Colby Rasmus, what to expect come October, and more.

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 [...]

Bronson Arroyo may not strike any fear into opponents or fans when he’s on the mound. He doesn’t rank as a superstar in this league. But he does win games. And that is No. 1 in the pitching job description after all. Arroyo won 15 games in each of the past two seasons, while eating up innings for a frustrating Reds club. Today, Arroyo did more of the same, going eight innings and giving up only one run in a 2-1 win for Cincinnati. The workmanlike performance gave the Reds its first win of the season and avoided the sweep. And [...]

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 [...]

A new opening day… same old result! Opening Day is the only time that all 32 Major League teams and their fans think that they have a shot at the playoffs. So like always, I had it planned out in my head how the Birds were going to make their run into the playoffs. Solid starting pitching, the MVP of the league, and a young crop of arms in the pen to shut the door when the game is on the line. These 3 things working together on a daily basis would surely get the Cardinals to the 90-95 wins [...]

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 [...]