With the World Baseball Classic underway, 13 Cardinals from their 40-man roster are away from camp to compete in the WBC. In Jupiter there’s another competition going. This fray involves a bunch of Cardinals that can benefit from the extra playing time created by...
Too many of my columns are overly long, and I don’t want you to work so hard when reading them. I plan to compensate by dropping in some shorties on a regular basis. Let’s go skimming … Here are my early-spring impressions of the five-member rotation. As a bonus, I’ll...
We haven’t talked about starting pitching for a little while, so let’s revisit the Cardinals’ plans for their rotation and take a look at the projections from FanGraphs and Baseball Prospectus. This won’t surprise you, but the outlook isn’t encouraging. Many Cardinals...
The offseason is winding down for the Cardinals. The St. Louis pitchers and catchers report to spring-training headquarters in Jupiter on Feb. 15. The position players check in on Feb. 20, and the first exhibition game (vs. Washington) is set for Feb. 25. It’s...
Hello, again. It’s time for me to dive back into my review of individual Cardinal players for 2022, and what their performance can tell us about what to expect in 2023. I’ve reviewed all of the position players, the regular starting pitchers and most of the relievers....
Over at FanGraphs, our friend Dan Szymborski has released the Cardinals’ annual ZiPS forecast for 2023. Dan developed the projection system, which generates considerable curiosity and discussion among front offices, statheads, and baseball intelligentsia. And the damn...
Every baseball player goes into a new season with something to prove. It doesn’t matter if he’s a star. It doesn’t matter if he’s a bench piece. Doesn’t matter if he’s a starting pitcher, a reliever, or a specialist. I was thinking about this the other day, and...
THE REDBIRD REVIEW My goodness, where did that come from? Well, the Cardinals’ five-run lightning strike of a comeback in the 9th inning came from the same place where the old Albert Pujols turned young again … the same place where the young hitters turned into old...
THE REDBIRD REVIEW The St. Louis Cardinals became a different team in August. A much better team in August. Their offense was the best in baseball. Their starting rotation was hardened by two crucial trades. They repeatedly rallied from deficits and jolted opponents...