Over the weekend the Cardinals optioned center-field prodigy Victor Scott II to Triple A Memphis. As the days dwindled in spring training you could see this coming. People In High Places within the organization were dropping hints, signaling the imminent decision on...
Here’s another “Three Dudes” look at Cardinals players who warrant some attention at this moment in time … 1. SONNY GRAY I’d be surprised if Gray isn’t on the IL at the start of the regular season to give his “mild” hamstring strain sufficient time to heal. But after...
Here’s a follow-up on something I wrote about in Wednesday’s column. It’s about the importance of team defense and what it means to pitchers. As I pointed out in yesterday’s column, the 2023 Cardinals had their poorest season defensively since 1930. That’s based on...
For the Cardinals, three encouraging trends are evident in Camp Jupiter 2024. I think they’re positive developments. This doesn’t mean I’m predicting the Cardinals will win 90+ games this season and romp to a National League pennant. That isn’t my point. But after a...
What motivated the Cardinals to sign free-agent shortstop Brandon Crawford? And what does it mean for other players? Let’s take 12 swings at this, shall we? 1. The Cardinals needed protection in two ways. If rookie shortstop Masyn Winn gets off to a brutal start...
My initial reaction to the signing of free-agent shortstop Brandon Crawford: The Cardinals collected another antique! That isn’t necessarily a criticism. It’s more of an observation. Antiques can have value. Antiques can be aesthetically pleasing. Antiques can look...
In his informative baseball newsletter, analyst Joe Sheehan recently pointed out something that hadn’t occurred to me: with first baseman Todd Helton voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame for 2024, that bodes well for Paul Goldschmidt. For quality of career,...
THE REDBIRD REVIEW The Cardinals had many, many problems in 2023. Offensively the team statistically ranked among the top 10 in the majors through the end of July, but faded over the final two months because of injuries and the fatigue of chronic losing. Having noted...
Spring training is a time of expectation and reflection. You look back to last season and think about how much the Cardinals can improve in 2024. Most of the focus will be on pitching performance, and that’s the team’s most important variable. And with that, a more...