Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

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Midseason Reviews for Preseason MLB Team Predictions, In Which I Eat Lots of Crow

Hey, you guys remember way back when, before the season really got going, and I made a whole bunch of predictions? Sure you do. I predicted MVP winners and Cy Young winners and a bunch of other stuff like that. I predicted stuff for teams, too; stuff like division standings and won/loss records. It ... More >>

The Dream is Over: Roy Oswalt Signs With the Rangers

So much for the early-season cavalry, folks. On the same day which would later see Jake Westbrook take the mound and get clubbed for five runs, the Texas Rangers signed Cardinals' fans' (and, ahem, certain sports columnists'), favorite target for signing speculation, inking Roy Oswalt to a one ... More >>

Albert Pujols Gets Post-Game Hit, Which Sadly Won't Improve his Average

Albert Pujols went 2-for-5 last night for the Angels and picked up two RBI, bringing up his average to .198. He might have broken .200 if his post-game hit on Erick Aybar counted.

Walt Jocketty's Two Worst Trades, And Why Cardinals Fans Should Still Feel Worse

You may or may not have heard yet, but Josh Hamilton had himself quite a game last night. The Texas Rangers outfielder became just the 16th player in major league history to hit four home runs in a single game as part of a 5-for-5 night that saw him collect 8 RBI and 18 total bases. Bizarrely e ... More >>

Albert Pujols' Cars Well-Suited for Southern California, Even If Slugger Is Not

A lot has been made about Albert Pujols' struggles at the plate this year. After 28 games as a member of the Los Angeles Angels, Pujols is hitting just .196 with seven RBI's. (He did hit a home run yesterday, ending his longest drought without a homer.)Still the questions persist: Is Pujols putting ... More >>

Albert Pujols: Still Great, But Not the Same Guy

There's a really interesting article up right now over at Baseball Prospectus, the venerable analysis site, regarding a subject very near and dear to Cardinals' fans' hearts. What makes it extra nice is the folks at BP have made the full thing available free right out front, rather than sticking it ... 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 >>

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 >>

Sports Illustrated Picks Reds to Win NL Central; And Guess Who's on the Cover?

​Sports Illustrated is out with its annual baseball preview. And surprise, surprise the cover fronts Albert Pujols and fold outs with comparisons ranking him among baseball greats DiMaggio, Williams and Aaron. SI also picks Pujol's new team, the Los Angeles Angels, to win the World Series.As for t ... More >>

Cards to Hold Afternoon Press Conference to Announce Yadier Molina Contract Extension, Reportedly Worth $75 Million

He may be Albert Pujols's good friend and hitting disciple, but it appears that he won't follow Pujols's lead when it comes to delaying contract negotiations. The Cardinals will hold a press conference at 1 p.m. (CST) this afternoon from thier Spring Training complex in Jupiter, Fla., to announce ... More >>

High Drama as Pujols Arrives at Spring Training

We journalists pride ourselves on our skill at descriptive writing. It shows that we are poets, not mere hacks. Sometimes we do a pretty good job. Sometimes we get carried away. A fine example of the latter is a very brief story from the Associated Press (239 words total) about Albert Pujols' early ... More >>

Albert Pujols Plans to Report to Camp Early

(c) Topps Inc​The presumptive Anaheim Angels first baseman told ESPNDeportes.com that he intends to report to spring training a week earlier than position players are scheduled, because "For the last 12 years I've lived in the city of St. Louis, where it's cold ... I'm going to try to get there (T ... More >>

The 2011 Unreal News Challenge

Albert Pujols Can Buy a Lot of Wheaties for $254 Million

St. Louis Cardinals fans might still be coming to terms with Albert Pujols' departure for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. The marketplace, however, has already responded. Seen today at Schnucks:​(Of course, since this commemorative box of Wheaties Fuel features Albert's handsome mug but no St. ... More >>

Pujols Thanks Fans In Newspaper Ad

In conclusion: Thanks, mang.​Albert Pujols has a message to Cardinal Nation -- if anyone happens to stumble across it.The words from the newest member of the Los Angeles Angels can be found buried waaaay back on page C10 of the sport section in today's Post-Dispatch. In a full-page, paid advertise ... More >>

JC Corcoran on Pujols Signing with Angels: Eh, I'm 50-50.

Vaya con Dios, literally.​Adios, mang. Albert Pujols reportedly signed a 10-year, $250 million dollar offer today to join the Los Angeles Angels. The deal includes a no-trade clause. Even more shocking than that news is that shock-jock JC Corcoran got it wrong -- again. Last month Corcoran twice a ... More >>

Will This Year's World Series Have The Worst TV Ratings Ever?

Black nor white: Cardinals in the World Series doesn't necessarily mean poor TV ratings.​You hear it each time the Cardinals enter the World Series. "Oh, the television execs must be dying! A mid-market team in the series? Ratings will be horrendous!" Yes and no. That dire prediction proved to be ... More >>

Keith Law Releases New Prospect Rankings; Two Cardinals Make the List

​Keith Law, ESPN's prospect guru, released his updated rankings of the top 25 minor league prospects Tuesday, and the first couple names on the list aren't really all that surprising. The Angels' Mike Trout, who began the year atop virtually every prospect list in creation, is still there, followe ... More >>

Five Picks for Cardinals' Rule 5 Draft

Players line up to be fawned over and poked at in preparation for the Rule 5 draft. ​Baseball's Winter Meetings will come to an end today, with the annual Rule 5 draft one of the final items on the itinerary. In case you aren't familiar with the Rule 5 draft, here's a decent overview of how it all ... More >>

Cardinal Trade Targets From the Department of Dumb Ideas

A bad idea, but way more fun than these others. ​Okay, so I know things aren't great around here in Cardinal country just right now. The team is scuffling, the injuries are piling up, and we're all still a little peeved over Ryan Ludwick being traded. And I also know, given the time of year, that ... More >>

2010 MLB Draft: A Mock Draft You Can Set Your Watch To

It's Christmas in June! ​Finally, Draft Day is here, and I'm as giddy as a small child the day before Christmas, shaking all the packages and trying to figure out what might be in that really big one with my name on it. Unfortunately, no amount of shaking or clever examination of the boxes is goin ... More >>

Pining For Pineiro: Ex-Cardinal Off to a Brilliant Start This Season

commons.wikimedia.orgPlease come back to us, Jo-El! ​I don't know if anyone else has been following the performance of one Joel "El Pinata" Pineiro since he left the Cardinals this past offseason, but I have. Not out of some sort of masochistic impulse to see the Cards' moves turn out badly and se ... More >>

Cardinals Ticket Prices Up 24 Percent in Secondary Market

​According to SeatGeek.com, a website which compiles data on the costs of tickets for various sporting and music events in the secondary market, the St. Louis Cardinals' overall ticket prices are up 24 percent going into 2010 over the second-half of last year. This should come as no surprise, ... 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 >>

Chad Ochocinco and the Neo Fascist League

​​​​Sunday in San Diego went off without a hitch. Chad Ochocinco didn't wear his fallen comrades jersey, the NFL didn't fine him for it, and the teapot tempest which threatened for most of the week blew quietly over. Roger Goodell, seen here in a stock photo, is best known for getting N ... More >>

The Year of the Collapsing Closer

​When people look back at the Yankees' 2009 World Series Championship (it's going to happen, sadly; get used to the idea), there will be talk of Alex Rodriguez finally breaking through and becoming the clutch genius we all knew he had locked away inside him, or Derek Jeter leading the Yanks to the ... More >>

Getting Behind the Angels

​With the Cardinals out of the playoffs, I've had to decide what team I'm going to root for the rest of the playoffs. Sure, I could just watch the games impartially and enjoy the sport itself, but where's the fun in that? No, I'm one of those people who are always going to set up a team to root fo ... More >>

Post-Season Throwdown: What They're Saying in New York, Denver, Minneapolis

​Coming off the three-hour, 54-minute letdown last night in Los Angeles, there's nothing we want more than to look ahead to this afternoon's Game 2 start time of 5:07 p.m. and put Matt Holliday's plate failures and Chris Carpenter's perplexing inability to find the outside of the plate behind us.T ... More >>

Ten of Baseball's Unforgettable Wild Card Teams

Cards Blog: Finding Strong Bats in the Minors

Cards Blog: Finding Strong Bats in the Minors

Hits Galore

Baseball blogs make a successful pitch for legitimacy.

La Russa Palooza

Five nights in November with the "Card-Carrying Rocker"

Foul Ball

Whitey Herzog takes a vicious swing at money-driven modern baseball, where only the wealthy win -- and the fans always lose

Tom's Tidbits