John Mozeliak

Cards Re-Sign Jason Motte, Avoid Arbitration

I told you the Cardinals would manage to avoid going the full arbitration route with at least some of their eligible players, didn't I? Damned right I did.Alright, it isn't exactly a shock to see the organization trying to come to terms with players on their own, rather than going through the proces ... More >>

Five Cardinals File for Arbitration

It's that time of year again, when salary arbitration comes to the forefront, as players across baseball file for a raise. It's not quite as exciting as the run-up to the annual Winter Meetings, and certainly not as much fun as when the countdown to Pitchers and Catcher Report Day begins in earnest, ... More >>

Team-by-Team Preseason Predictions: The Cardinals Are Good, But Not Good Enough

Yesterday I gave my predictions for individual award in the upcoming season. Today we turn our attention to larger matters. Team matters. This season actually promises an entirely new level of intrigue, due to the presence of an extra wild card team from each league. Whether you like the new de ... 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 >>

Five Fringe Players to Watch in Spring Training

​Spring Training is finally underway, promising an end to winter and a return of sunny days and the smell of stadium hot dogs. The St. Louis Cardinals enter the 2012 iteration of spring training looking to defend an unlikely championship, the result of a magical late-season run and one of the ... More >>

Roy Oswalt: The Dream That Just Won't Die

​​Oswalt wearing the uniform of his last team, the Phillies. I always thought those two were just a terrible fit for each other. ​I've been very skeptical of the Cardinals and Roy Oswalt as a match for quite some time now. It's not that I don't think Oswalt would be a really nice add for the R ... 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 >>

Breaking Down the Hiring of Mike Matheny as Cardinals' Manager

Matheny as a rookie back in 1994. ​The Cardinals are going to make it official today, and name Mike Matheny the new manager. All the scuttlebutt of late (including my own pick last week) had suggested Matheny was the frontrunner, as he gained a huge amount of momentum coming out of his interv ... More >>

Cardinals' Bullpen Comes Through In Big Way

La Russa kept the phone to the bullpen busy last night. It paid off.​Well, it wasn't quite the brilliant matchup of ace starters I think most of us were anticipating, but it'll do. Yovani Gallardo, ace of the Milwaukee Brewers, allowed thirteen baserunners, making it somewhat shocking the Car ... More >>

Worst Trade Ever! Cardinals Send Colby Rasmus to Toronto for Spare Parts

​Ladies and gentlemen, if you would like to see what an incompetent sports organization looks like, I have an outstanding example for you right here in St. Louis. The Cardinals today have agreed to trade away Colby Rasmus, their young center fielder, who has multiple years of club control lef ... More >>

Cardinals Still Struggling to Spell Relief

How come when he says it it's cute, but when I say it it's sexual harassment? ​The Cardinals are currently carrying eight -- count 'em -- eight relievers. So can anyone tell me why, exactly, we all had to watch one of the worst relievers in all of baseball this year blow last night's game?&nb ... More >>

How to Ruin a Roster Without Even Trying

John Mozeliak, left, and Tony LaRussa celebrate their latest brilliant maneuver. ​​Cardinal management has really outdone themselves this time. I've actually been pleasantly surprised by the job Tony LaRussa and Company have done managing the 2011 team to this point, but this is just mind-numbin ... More >>

Update: Winter Weather Wreaking Havoc on Cardinals Opening Week

You know what they say: If there's snow in the branches...​This morning, the Cardinals announced that they're also postponing a baseball game between University of Missouri and University of Illinois that had been scheduled for tonight at Busch Stadium. Cold temperatures and a forecast for evening ... More >>

Adam Wainwright Has 'Significant' Elbow Injury; Mass Panic Ensues

​Well, just in case everyone wasn't already bummed enough about the whole Albert-Pujols-is-leaving-after-the-season storyline for 2011, we now have the news that Adam Wainwright, ace of the Cardinals' staff and eternal Cy Young runner-up, has left spring training camp in Florida and is headed to t ... More >>

Albert Pujols' Statement on Failed Contract Extension

​Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols released the following statement after he and the team were unable to strike a contract extension prior to a deadline set for yesterday. As Daily RFT noted on Wednesday, the passing of the deadline doesn't mean that Pujols won't return to the Cardinals. Plent ... 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 >>

Tony La Russa and The Razzle Dazzle Kid

​Going into the long Labor Day weekend, I fully expected to be focused on the Cardinals. Sure, there was the Mizzou-Illinois game to attend, and a couple other college football games I found intriguing, and there was the Greek Festival down at St. Nicholas' church. (By the by, memo to the festival ... More >>

Critiquing the Cards' Social Media Night

Just in case you hadn't heard (and it wouldn't much surprise me if you hadn't, to be honest), the Cardinals are holding a Social Media Night on the 18th of September. They're making kind of a production of it, too, with a big panel of experts who are going to discuss their own experiences with ... More >>

Jake Westbrook's Cardinal Debut: Random, Random Thoughts

Okay, so it's a picture of a riot in LA, not Detroit. Still, it's too funny to pass up, because these people are looting a Payless Shoes, which is actually more expensive than shopping at a Payless. ​I think we can all safely say this: last night totally wasn't Jake Westbrook's fault. That's ... More >>

Cardinals Trade Ryan Ludwick in Three-Team Deal

commons.wikimedia.org​According to various and sundry sources, the Cardinals have completed a three-team deal with the San Diego Padres and Cleveland Indians that will send Ryan Ludwick to the Padres and bring Jake Westbrook to the Cards. At first blush, I really liked this deal, thought it w ... More >>

Phillies' Ryan Howard Isn't Coming to St. Louis Anytime Soon -- Signs $125 Million Contract

Image SourceA photo of Ryan Howard where he isn't playing baseball.​Today, Philadelphia Phillies management cemented its commitment to first-baseman (and St. Louis area native) Ryan Howard with a $125 million, five-year contract, with a bonus structure that could result in the slugger earning $1 ... More >>

Skip Schumaker: Two-Year Deal, Still Zero Respect

encoretheater.orgThe Elves being referred to here? The ones working behind the scenes to get the job done? Oh, yeah, that was me. ​Okay, now I don't expect a bunch of thanks or anything from everybody, but I want you all to know. I was instrumental in the Cardinals and Skip Schumaker getting a dea ... More >>

Good Game: The Post Sports Bar in Maplewood is a winner

Albert Pujols' Comments Lost in Translation -- Again?!

Wikimedia Commons​Near the end of 2006, a tempest boiled over in the local sports teapot when Albert Pujols, in an interview with reporters in his native Dominican Republic, opined that maybe he, and not Ryan Howard, was entitled to that season's Most Valuable Player award, by virtue of the fact t ... More >>

Ryan Franklin and Trever Miller Both Get New Contracts

baseball-almanac.comFace of a future LOOGY: Trever Miller early in his career with the Tigers.​The Cardinals certainly are being proactive this season, aren't they? Not only did the Cards give Ryan Franklin the new contract the two sides had apparently been discussing for some time, they also ... More >>

Game Notes: Astros 4, Cardinals 3 08/27/09 -- An Ugly Loss

failblog.org​-- I hate Brian Moehler. A lot. It never fails to irritate me when the Cardinals get shut down by some journeyman pitcher, and it happens every single time they see Moehler. Somehow, he has still never lost to the Birds, despite being an incredibly mediocre pitcher overall. Hell, take ... More >>

Russ Springer: An Opportunity Missed?

Russ Springer was claimed off waivers by the Tampa Bay Rays just the other day, and I can't help but wonder if the Cardinals didn't miss an opportunity by not putting in a claim of their own. Springer, you'll remember, spent both the 2007 and 2008 seasons with the Cardinals, pitching remarkably ... More >>

Jaime Garcia On the Comeback Trail

Cardinals GM John Mozeliak was down in Florida last night to watch Jaime Garcia pitch. Could the youngster be in the bigs this season?​One of the Cardinals' best pitching prospects - probably the best, actually, at least until Shelby Miller signs - took another step last night in his attempt to re ... More >>

Nothing Shall Come From Something, Trade Again!

And so, just like that, the Blaine Boyer Experiment comes to an end here in St. Louis. Farewell, Monorail Man, we hardly knew ye. (And barely cared.) Somehow, it just isn't as cool as Rocket Man, is it? 

Young & Restless: Will 2009 finally be a breakthrough year for top Cardinals prospects?

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 >>

How Awesome Was That John Mozeliak Chat Today?

Earlier this afternoon the Post-Dispatch allowed Cardinals fans to chat with the team's general manager John Mozeliak. The resulting dialogue reveals that not only are the Cardinals not going to do much with their roster between now and the start of the season, but that the Internet makes ... More >>

Baseball Card of the Week: Ben Sheets

It's Christmas time here in the Gateway City, and in honor of this most wonderful time of the year, I've decided that this week's Card of the Week is going to be a little bit different. See, this week, instead of featuring a player who recently won an award, or signed a big contract, or exposed ... More >>

Anthony Reyes: Relieved to be Out of St. Louis

RFT readers prove that it's never the off-season in Cardinal Nation

Tony La Russa Demands Trade for 2004 Cardinals

No Surprise: Cardinals Don't Make a Move at Trade Deadline

La Russa Announces Plan to Form Reliever Rescue Foundation

Cards Blog: Finding Strong Bats in the Minors

Cards Blog: Finding Strong Bats in the Minors

Cards Blog: What to Watch for Against the Nats

Cards Blog: What to Watch for Against the Nats

Opening Day 2008: Winning and Losing

Opening Day 2008: Winning and Losing

Why Doesn't Anybody Like Kyle Lohse?

Why Doesn't Anybody Like Kyle Lohse?

Cardinals Release Scott Spiezio

Cardinals Release Scott Spiezio

Tony's New Bitch

Tony's New Bitch