Adam Wainwright

RIP The Sporting News -- After 126 Years, Finally Irrelevant

The Sporting News has never had a swimsuit issue. For most of the first century of its existence, it didn't even have color photography. Instead, it had box scores. Lots and lots of box scores. And a special section for participants in fantasy leagues. Yes, TSN, founded in St. Louis in 1886 by the ... More >>

The Lohse Legacy

Okay, so it isn't exactly as exciting as The Bourne Legacy, but it works better from an alliterative angle, right? Of course it does. Plus, so far as I know, Jeremy Renner isn't any good at baseball. So we've got that going for us right off the bat. (If Jeremy Renner is actually an ex-minor league b ... More >>

Previewing the Cardinals and Giants

On Friday night, the Cardinals managed one of the greatest (if not the greatest), comeback in postseason baseball history, erasing a six run deficit en route to defeating the Washington Nationals. It was the largest deficit any team has ever overcome in the playoffs, and in typical Cardinal comeback ... More >>

Cardinals at Nationals in Game 5: The Showdown

It all comes down to this. The Cardinals and the Washington Nationals are all knotted up at two games apiece in their National League Division Series matchup, with the deciding game to be played tonight. The Redbirds played one game for all the marbles a week ago, when they took on the Atlanta Brave ... More >>

Can Cardinals Rebound in Game 2 of NLDS?

After the Cardinals beat the Braves in the first-ever Wild Card slash play-in game, I kind of thought things might be falling into place for this team. Don't get me wrong; the Braves lost that game more than the Redbirds won it, going all 2006 Detroit Tigers and throwing away their chance to win lik ... More >>

Opportunity is Knocking; Will the Cards Answer?

It is both obvious and cliched to say that any series this time of year is pivotal. After all, you get down to the end of August, and every single out of every game has potential implications, much less entire series. But after taking two of three from the Cincinnati Reds over the weekend (yay! ... More >>

History Repeating for The Cardinals?

It was a good weekend for the Cardinals. Like, a really good weekend. A really really good weekend, in fact. They swept the Milwaukee Brewers, looking like a legitimate title contender for the first time in quite a while. The Pittsburgh Pirates and Cincinnati Reds played each other, with the Re ... More >>

Lance Lynn Impresses in his First Start for the Cards: Let the Lynnsanity Begin

I haven't seen anyone else make the 'Lynnsanity' joke just yet, so I'm officially taking credit for it myself. I'm also copyrighting it; if Jeremy Lin can copyright Linsanity, then Lance Lynn should be able to copyright his version. Or, he could, if a certain clever, enterprising sports columnist ha ... More >>

Cy Young, MVP Predictions for 2012 MLB

You know, as a semi-professional sportswriter there are a few things toward which I am genetically predisposed. (Why semi-professional? Because I do get paid, but my talent and behavior are both, well, somewhat short of what is usually termed professionalism.) I love to hear myself talk, for one thi ... More >>

Kyle McClellan Back On the Block?

​For most of the offseason it's been a poorly-kept secret the Cardinals are trying to move Kyle McClellan. They signed him back in January to a $2.5 million contract for the 2012 season, and pretty much from the moment the ink dried on the deal K-Mac's name has been floating around as potential tr ... More >>

Roy Oswalt Sez: Call Me Back in July

​So, after months of dancing and dodging, hemming and hawing, flirting and some other word that starts with an F, Roy Oswalt finally came out and made it official yesterday: Eh, just call me back in a couple months. Oswalt announced yesterday he isn't going to sign with any team at the m ... More >>

Cards Win Beltran Sweepstakes

It's like Ed McMahon dropped by Busch Stadium yesterday, with a big check that read 4.0 WAR in the dollar amount box. ​Christmas came a little early for Cardinal fans this year. For the Cardinal offense, too. The Cards agreed to terms with Carlos Beltran yesterday on a two-year deal for appro ... More >>

The Reds' All-In Risk

Walt Jocketty, gamblin' man. ​While the Cardinals wait for the Carlos Beltran/Coco Crisp/other random dude interested in making a couple million a year for throwing a ball around sweepstakes to sort itself out, the rest of the NL Central is changing. The Cincinnati Reds had been remarkably qu ... More >>

Chris Carpenter: The REAL World Series MVP

In Carp we trust.​You know what's really a dick move? Just a couple days after a thrilling, beautiful victory in the World Series, and just one day after a parade that brought together thousands of strangers in the streets to celebrate a shared joy, taking to task the guy who won the Most Valuable ... More >>

More Bullpen Hijinks in Houston

​You know, it's beginning to feel like pretty much an everyday occurrence, writing something about the current state of the Cardinals' bullpen. I suppose it's understandable, though; the relief situation for the Cards this year is rapidly becoming the single biggest defining characteristic of this ... More >>

Matt Holliday Lost to Appendicitis

Holliday, moments before the appendectomy caught up with him. ​The 2011 baseball season is exactly one game old. So far, here's the good news: David Freese's ankles have yet to catch on fire, Colby Rasmus looked good in game one, and Albert Pujols should be significantly more affordable after a se ... More >>

Is It Time to Worry About Jaime Garcia?

commons.wikimedia.org​Last year Jaime Garcia was the darling of spring training. He came in the longest of longshots, a talented youngster coming off a 2009 spent mostly rehabbing from Tommy John surgery, expected to spend most, if not all, of 2010 proving his health and mettle in Triple A. He lef ... More >>

The Cardinals Have an Infield Question; The Import Market May Have an Answer

​Okay, before everyone gets all pissed off at me, I don't have anything personal against Skip Schumaker. I don't. Scout's honor. I mean, I don't really get the whole handsome thing with Skip, but that's mostly a matter of taste. I'll swoon at the mere mention of Joe Mather, and every so often in j ... More >>

Five Cardinals You Don't Ever Want to Piss Off

​So the great fracas that was the Reds/Cardinals series is over, with our boys in red roundly thumping their boys in red and taking over sole possession of first place in the National League Central. The series was an outstanding one, full of drama and heartbreak and brilliance on both the offensi ... More >>

Some Jeff Suppan-Induced Thoughts on Trading for Cliff Lee

commons.wikimedia.org​So I'm watching the Cardinals play, suffering through watching Jeff Suppan pitch, and it got me thinking about who the Cards might be able to get to replace him. Now, it's not that Suppan has actually been all that bad since returning to us; he's certainly been better th ... More >>

Previewing the Padres

commons.wikimedia.orgAdmit it. That's a creepy effing mascot. ​​The Cardinals travel to San Diego tonight to begin a series against the surprising Padres, who sit atop the NL West. Looking over at the other dugout, the Cards just may see a mirror image of themselves, a team succeeding mostly on ... More >>

The Philadelphia Story: A Progress Report One Month In

​It was supposed to be the Cardinals' measuring stick for the young season, this trip to Philadelphia. Up until now the Cards had looked like the 700-pound red gorilla of old, stomping on opponents left and right and running up a big lead over the rest of a mediocre division. Going to Philly, thou ... More >>

The Most Momentous Moments of the Aughts: The Cardinals

So on this last day of the decade, I had myself a thought. "Aaron," I thought, "You should really try to do some sort of decade-long wrap for St. Louis sports." ​"You know what, Aaron? That's an excellent idea!" I paused for a moment, considering the notion further. "Now why didn't I think of ... More >>

Ryan Franklin vs. Matt Holliday: Playing the Blame Game

​So the question must eventually be asked, you know. I don't want to have to ask it, and I'm sure you probably don't want to have to try and answer, but the question will not just go away. So here goes. Who was really at fault for the Cardinals ninth-inning, two-out implosion Thursday night? ... More >>

NLDS Game One Recap: Dodgers 5, Cardinals 3

Okay, so it wasn't quite the start the Cardinals were hoping for. Okay, so maybe that isn't quite strong enough. ​Going into last night's game, the Cardinals should have been confident. Hell, even I was confident, and I am never, ever, ever confident when it comes to October baseball. Th ... More >>

Back In the Saddle (Hopefully, Anyway)

For the past couple of weeks, I've been feeling really kind of rough. Not sick, necessarily, but just not all that well. Every few days, I would feel a little better, but then the next day it would be right back down. I had a hell of a time mustering the wherewithall to complete much of anything. No ... More >>

Josh Kinney v2.0: Now 65% More Awesome

To this point in the 2009 season, the Cardinal bullpen has been one of the most consistent strengths for Tony La Russa's squad. The offense was brilliant early, then fell apart completely at the seams. The starting rotation has been mostly strong, but injuries and less than sterling performances fro ... More >>

Khlosure for Khalil

At last, the suspense is over. Our long national (or at least local), nightmare is over. We finally know who the player to be named later in the Khalil Greene trade is. The Cardinals and Padres completed the deal that brought Greene here yesterday, with Luke Gregerson, a right-handed relie ... More >>

Top 10 Stories about the 2009 St. Louis Cardinals

Spring training is officially underway, with real, no-foolin' games being played and everything. The beginning of a long, twisty road that leads through summer and into autumn, hopefully ending late in October with a nice, new piece of hardware to add to the trophy case at Busch Stadium.At the very ... More >>

Bloggers React to Cards GM's Infamous Online Spat with Fans

UPDATE: More comments from Chuck Brownson, a blogger at Viva El Birdos, are at the bottom of this post.In July 2007 I wrote an article for the RFT about the increasing influence that statistically-minded baseball blogs were starting to have on the day-to-day operations of the teams they cover. In ad ... More >>

The Winter Meetings, Day One: A.J. Burnett, Anyone?

My father called me just a little while ago, all excited. Apparently, Fox Sports is reporting that the Cardinals are going to major players for A.J. Burnett. He heard in on the radio on his way in to work; a cursory search of the Fox Web site leads us to Ken Rosenthal's story. Rosenthal usually has ... More >>

Cardinals Pass on Arbitration for Isringhausen and More

At 11:00 p.m. central time on Monday, baseball's arbitration deadline passed. And one of the most puzzling storylines of the off-season began.

Awards Time: The Best of the Cardinals and the Cardinal Blogs

I've spoken in the past of the United Cardinal Bloggers project, I know. Well, see, it's the time of year when those of us who take part in such things all gather 'round the flickering monitor screen and take a vote. We vote on things large and small, exquisite and banal. And then, when all the vote ... More >>

Born to Lohse: Extending Kyle Lohse's Contract Won't Win the Cardinals a Championship

Looper vs. Lohse: Fight to the Death!

The Cardinals: Where Do They Go From Here?

Opening Day 2008: Winning and Losing

Opening Day 2008: Winning and Losing

The Cards aren't likely to challenge for the pennant this year. In a way, that'll make them all the more interesting to watch.

Which Cardinal Has the Longest Dinger?

Which Cardinal Has the Longest Dinger?

Josh Hancock: Tales from the East Side

Josh Hancock: Tales from the East Side

Tony La Russa's Manhattan Project

A top-secret squad of "Shadow Cardinals" improves with age at a remote training center in Kansas