Kyle McClellan

The Cards Get Their (Left-Handed) Man

Baseball's Winter Meetings are over, and the various and sundry general managers, along with their entourages, are back on the respective roads to their respective homes. It was eventful to be sure this year, with plenty of incoming television money bolstering several teams' spending abilities. The ... More >>

The Cards Turn Back the Clock -- To 2003

Hey, who here remembers the year 2003? Yeah, I sure do too. It was a magical time for our great nation; Coldplay had yet to become the source of shame they would later, Mitsubishi commercials simultaneously aroused us, irritated us, and kind of made us want to buy our girlfriends pink Kangol hats. N ... More >>

The Return of the Filthy Sanchez

The Cardinals made a roster move today, attempting to shore up a recently shaky bullpen by recalling Eduardo Sanchez, aka Dirty Sanchez, aka Filthy Sanchez, aka Fast Eddie, aka Fritz von Filthington, aka The Southern Dandy (note: none of these are real nicknames, but they all should be), from Triple ... 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 >>

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 >>

Of Adam Wainwright & Backup Catchers: Spring Training Notes 03/13/12

​Thanks to the magic of modern technology, I got to watch Adam Wainwright make his second start of the spring this afternoon; it was extremely comforting to see him back on the mound. You can forget about an injured pitcher surprisingly easily, thanks to the occasional nature of their appearances ... 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 >>

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 >>

Jaime the Headcase and His Pitching-Impaired Friends

​The Great Big Grudge Match between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Milwaukee Brewers got off to a mighty thud of a start yesterday, with the Brewers shellacking the 'Birds 9-6. Things started out okay, but the beating came up in a hurry, courtesy of a six-run fifth inning and a pair of Cardinal p ... More >>

Arthur Rhodes: Cardinals Throw More Crap At the Wall

Now tell me that's not a face that inspires confidence. ​The Cardinals yesterday came to terms with the latest in a long, long line of reclamation projects, signing 41-year-old Arthur Rhodes to a contract which will make him the club's new LOOGY. (Left-handed One Out GuY.) The Cards have been dang ... More >>

Five Best Tweets From Cardinals Epic 8th-Inning Meltdown

Cards recovering from nasty case of twitterhea.​Starting pitcher Kyle McClellan handed the Cardinals' bullpen a 2-1 lead headed into the eighth inning last night. Five pitchers later, the Cardinals finally escaped the top half of the eighth -- down by a score of 2-10 on five hits, four walks and t ... More >>

Reviewing the Cardinals' Draft -- Rounds 6-10

​When we last saw our red-clad heroes, they were trapped deep in the bowels of the 2011 draft, having just attempted to extricate themselves with the help of a polished sinker-y righthander from Oregon State named Gaviglia. He was the first pitcher taken by the Redbirds, after a truly bizarre run ... More >>

Cardinals Call Up Pitching Prospect Lance Lynn; But Why Is He Starting Tonight?

Lance Lynn looks a little frustrated. I know just how he feels. ​I must admit, this team continually finds a way to confuse and flabbergast me at every turn. Just when I think I have a proper handle on things and can see the path ahead, BAM! Out of left field, here comes another head-scratcher.&nb ... More >>

Kyle McClellan to Hit the DL; Who Takes His Turn?

The Cardinals' current roster. ​It looks like Kyle McClellan is headed for the disabled list. He's scheduled to have an MRI on his hip today, and all indications are that he'll be placed on the DL shortly afterward. K-Mac was pulled from his last start with discomfort in the joint, and it's a ... More >>

Game Notes: Cardinals 3, Padres 1, May 23

commons.wikimedia.orgA sight that used to be so common, but has been a bit rare of late. ​Ladies and gentlemen, our long national nightmare is over. Albert Pujols has hit a home run. Sure, that may not seem like the biggest deal; I remember a time when Albert Pujols hitting a home run wa ... More >>

Kyle McClellan's Pitching Success Defies Explanation

Kyle McClellan's 2011 season to date, shown here in lithograph form. ​Kyle McClellan became the third pitcher in baseball to reach five wins yesterday, throwing eight innings of one-run ball to beat Chris Narveson and the Milwaukee Brewers. He gave up four hits, walked three, and struck out three. ... More >>

Game Notes: Cardinals 8, Diamondbacks 2

Oh, sure. I could have found a picture of an actual puma, but tell me those aren't awesome. ​Title of the novel based on tonight's game: The Puma's Roar. Well that certainly was exhilarating. The second time the Cards have scored more than six runs this season, and the second in a row, i ... More >>

Is The Cards' Bullpen Fixable?

Oh, Billy Mays. We still miss you. ​We all saw the disaster over the weekend in San Francisco. Don't pretend you didn't. The Cardinals' supposed closer, Ryan Franklin, blew two more saves, giving him three on the season in four tries. In both games, the Cards were a single out away from winning be ... More >>

5 Lessons From the Cardinals' First Three Games

All right, listen up, kids. This moderately attractive and no doubt long-dead teacher from Pleasantville is gonna learn you up reeeaal nice. ​One series in the can, god only knows how many more to go in the baseball season. Unfortunately, 2011 hasn't exactly begun in stellar fashion for the Redbir ... More >>

Smoke 'Em If You Got 'Em: Think of the 2011 Redbirds as your emphysemic, three-pack-a-day uncle

Augenstein In, Salas Out As Cards Finalize the 'Pen

Augenstein and his sidearm funk last saw the majors in 2009. ​The Cardinals made their roster official yesterday, as they announced Daniel Descalso and Bryan Augenstein will both make the club's Opening Day roster. Descalso will serve as a utility infielder, while Augenstein becomes the final righ ... More >>

K-Mac Keeps Rolling for Cardinals

Corvus brachyrhynchos, also known as the American Crow. I hear they're delicious broiled. ​Kyle McClellan is clearly gunning for me. He wants to make me look like a fool. He wants to destroy the last tattered vestiges of my once-glorious credibility. And as painful as it is for me to watch him do ... More >>

Lance Lynn Gets His First Shot At the Limelight

Lynn during his time pitching for the University of Mississippi. ​Lance Lynn, suddenly one of the most intriguing names in Cardinals' spring camp, made his 2011 debut yesterday in the Cards' 3-2 victory over the New York Metropolitans of Port St. Lucie, Florida. (I envision one day all major leagu ... 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 Keys to the Cardinals' Second Half

Hey, it's a key, it works. (Also a forgotten classic of power pop you should totally pick up if you ever see it like at a yard sale or something.) ​The second "half" of the baseball season kicks off for the Cardinals tonight (and I put "half" in quotes because technically we passed the halfw ... More >>

A Brief Interlude of Niceness For Jason Motte

​The Cardinals haven't been playing very well lately, plain and simple. The offense has been wildly inconsistent, the defense has been ragged, the pitching is beginning to show definite signs of stress. And to top it all off, the few nights all three of those potential stumbling blocks are avoided ... More >>

What Now For the Cardinals Rotation?

What? It's appropriate. See, 'cause everyone wants to push the panic button. Get it? ​Going into last weekend, the Cardinals had one of the best starting rotations in all of baseball. Anchored by dual Cy Young contenders, the Cards' rotation had been the bedrock for their success to this poin ... More >>

Game Notes: Cardinals 6, Redlegs 3 -- 7th April 2010

​Well, I think it's pretty clear by now the 2010 Cardinals aren't going to lose a game this year. I can honestly say, after viewing them for two entire games all the way through, this may be the single greatest athletic entity in the history of the world. Move over, '27 Yankees, the Cardinals are ... More >>

Cards Pitcher Dennys Reyes to Open Casual Family Restaurant

Image via​Stan Musial. Albert Pujols. Ozzie Smith. Dennys Reyes?That's right: The Cardinals pitcher announced this morning that he will join the ranks of current and former Redbirds who have opened restaurants in St. Louis when Dennys's, a casual family restaurant, debuts in Affton this summer."I' ... More >>

The Redbird Relief Race Heading Into the Home Stretch

Coming into spring training, the Cardinals only had a few real holes to fill. Well, perhaps not holes to fill, really, but at least decisions to make on how best to utilize their resources. Ryan Franklin and his awful beard will once again be closing games for the Cardinals this season. The res ... More >>

Rich Hill's Sinking Ship

boobalikes.comWhat? Oh, come on. That's a funny picture and you know it. ​It's looking more and more as if the Rich Hill Era is probably going to end before it begins here in St. Louis. Since Hill joined the team, I've been rooting for him to win the vacant fifth spot in the Cardinals' rotati ... 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 >>

Game Notes: Cardinals 13, Redlegs 0, 1/10/09 -- Carpenter Does it Himself

The Cardinals have had many, many great hitting pitchers in their long and illustrious history. Bob Gibson hit 24 home runs in his career and posted a .751 OPS in 1970. Mark Mulder was a designated hitter during his college career at Michigan State, as was Dan Haren at Pepperdine. Jason Marquis is a ... More >>

The Cardinals Second Half Preview

First, and most importantly, you'll have to forgive the lack of a clever title. I thought and thought, then thought some more, and really just didn't like any of the options I came up with. Some were too obscure, some not obscure enough, some didn't make much sense, still others lacked any tie to th ... More >>

Mark DeRosa Joins the Cardinals

When I heard last night that the Cardinals had acquired Mark DeRosa for Chris Perez and a player to be named later, I went through what I like to call a three part response. Part one: "Hey, we got DeRosa! Sweet! Good job getting a deal done, Mo. Glad to see them upgrade the team." Part two ... More >>

Roster Problems

Yesterday afternoon, we saw what was, in my ever so humble opinion, the best start so far this year from a Cardinal go to waste. Chris Carpenter deserves some apologies, and a better outcome next time out. The question, of course, is how do you get him a better outcome next time? 

Cardinals Post-Game Notes: April 16, 2009

Just a couple of quick impressions from the Cards' first contest of the year against the Chicago Nine.  

Last Night: Tony Takes his Best Shot with Brad Thompson

That very well may have been the worst game of the year. Now, I know that it's only the ninth game of this young season. I don't mean it was the worst so far. I mean that if we actually see a worse game all season, it's going to shock the living shit out of me, because honestly, I just don't se ... More >>

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

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 >>

Looper vs. Lohse: Fight to the Death!

It Could've Been Worse: Cards vs. Cubs Wrap-Up

Joe Mather a Bright Spot in a Frustrating Season

The Case for Kyle McClellan as the Cards Closer

Four Positive Notes for the Cardinals at the All-Star Break

Royally Beaten: Cardinals Try to Avoid Sweep by Royals Today

Izturis' Triple Tells Us of the '08 Cardinals