Ryan Ludwick

Five Great Walkup Songs That Baseball Needs Now

Do you know why Lance Berkman was, empirically speaking, the single most badass Cardinal of the past decade? (Yes, empirically. It's been scientifically proven.) No, it wasn't the awesome soundbites he routinely handed out, or the wicked sense of humor. On-field exploits? Ha! Don't make me laugh. ... More >>

Chris Carpenter's Five Best On-Field Obscenities

In honor of the (possible), end of Chris Carpenter's time in St. Louis -- not to mention a potentially career-ending situation -- we here at the Riverfront Times thought it was high time we took a look back at all the biggest moments from his tenure here.No, not his tenure as the staff ace for one o ... More >>

Jon Jay and The Curse of a Starting Job

Jon Jay: Looks like a greater starter until he actually is.​Last year at the trade deadline, the Cardinals got rid of one of their most productive, talented offensive players -- an outfielder -- in search of pitching help. They felt confident moving Ryan Ludwick in the three-team deal with the Cle ... 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 >>

Cardinals Stuck in Routine: Rehire McGwire and Duncan for 2011

Will leftover buns score runs next season? Ehh.​Meet the new bosses, same as the old bosses. So it shall be in the Cardinal clubhouse again in 2011, as the club has agreed on contracts with pretty much the entire coaching staff, including Dave Duncan and Mark McGwire, the only two anyone real ... More >>

The Ryan Ludwick Deal in Hindsight

commons.wikimedia.org​Ryan Ludwick is coming back to St. Louis, y'all! Okay, so he's not coming back the way you're probably hoping. He'll just be coming back to play against the Cardinals as part of a San Diego Padres team which suddenly finds itself in the midst of a fight for its playoff l ... 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 >>

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 >>

Albert Pujols: The Weight of Being The Mang

Remember that pose?​Another series, another bad loss trying to go for a sweep. It would be funny if it weren't so frustrating. The deciding moment of the game yesterday was a telling one, a moment that for me summed up nearly everything that's been wrong with this season. It was the bottom of ... More >>

The Cardinals Weekend Review: A Royal Letdown

This Royal did NOT start against the Cardinals over the weekend; however, I'm convinced he could have thrown six shutout without much of a problem. ​So the 2010 edition of the I-70 series went about as poorly as one could possibly imagine. The Cardinals managed to lose two of three, Aaron Miles pl ... More >>

Tuesday Tussle: Part 1, Albert Pujols Was Right To Tell Off Tony La Russa

Image sourceTLR and El Hombre just needed some space after Friday's game against the Angels​The Cardinals were up by four runs in the eighth-inning of Friday night's game against the Angels when Tony La Russa's meddling finally made Albert Pujols snap. With two outs, the manager ordered Ryan Ludwi ... More >>

Tuesday Tussle: Part 2, There's No Crying (or Gum Violence) in Baseball, Mr. Pujols

You talkin' to me!? How dare you!​If you haven't heard by now, Cardinals manager Tony La Russa had the audacity to ,um, manage his team Friday night. It didn't sit well with Albert Pujols. With Pujols up to bat in the eighth inning with two outs, La Russa had Ryan Ludwick attempt to steal second b ... More >>

St. Louis Cardinals Twitter Accounts You Should Follow

​Keep up on the latest 140-character bursts of news, humor and statistics related to the St. Louis Cardinals on Twitter with this list of accounts you should follow, curated by the RFT staff. The tweeters below are all real people with opinions and we've excluded those Twitter accounts that simply ... More >>

Is McGwire to Blame for Cardinals' Lack of Offensive? The Numbers Don't Suggest It

So a little over a month into the season, the Cardinals' pitching, particularly the starting pitching, has been absolutely exquisite, while the offense has been, um, let's see...what's the opposite of exquisite? Maybe not the opposite, actually; how about something that's well short of exquisite but ... 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 >>

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 >>

Rockies vs. Cardinals 9/27/09: The Photographer Who Caught the Catch That Probably Wasn't

​In just a moment we're going to hear from Craig Welling, a Denver blogger who snapped a photograph that was the source of much argument and consternation around the Interwebs last week.First, some background. On Tuesday RFT sports blogger Aaron Schafer dipped into a brewing controversy surro ... More >>

Rockies vs. Cardinals 9/27/09: The Photographer Who Caught the Catch That Probably Wasn't

​In just a moment we're going to hear from Craig Welling, a Denver blogger who snapped a photograph that was the source of much argument and consternation around the Interwebs last week.First, some background. On Tuesday RFT sports blogger Aaron Schafer dipped into a brewing controversy surr ... More >>

An Extension for El Piñata?

Sure, he hasn't actually pitched like a piñata this year, but it's just too good a nickname to stop now. ​Apparently, Joel Piñeiro really wants to stick around with the Cardinals a while longer. He has reportedly told his agent to get a deal done that will keep him here if at all possible.&n ... More >>

Postgame Thoughts, 18th June: Double You. Tee. Eff.

-Okay, so Jo-El Pineiro crapped the bed quite mightily in the first inning, but he certainly had some help from the defense. Just an ugly inning all around, the sort that we really haven't seen too many of from the Cards lately. Typing that, I find myself a bit surprised, to be quite honest. It ... More >>

Tigers at Cardinals: Anatomy of a Beatdown

Sunday night, the Cardinals played the Cleveland Indians on ESPN and were dominated. Not just beaten, but absolutely humiliated by the sinister wizardry of one Clifford Lee. Last night, that same Cardinal squad blew Justin Verlander right off the field, with five runs in a mere four innings. I think ... 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? 

Baseball Card of the Week: Ryan Ludwick

The time has come. The time is now. Tonight we witness The Return. Well, actually, those capital letters may be a little misleading. See, Ryan Ludwick is coming off the DL tonight, which is a pretty damned dramatic thing. However, seeing as how this team seems to constantly be welcoming some playe ... 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? 

Brendan Ryan? Over Ryan Ludwick? Really?

So I'll go ahead and ask it. The question that has to be on the mind of every single Cardinal fan in the city this morning, after last night's loss to Arizona.Brendan Ryan? Over Ryan Ludwick? Really? Brendan Ryan with the Springfield Redbirds.I was watching the game last night, listening to Dan ... More >>

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

The Cardinals' Missing Millions: Gordon Gaffes on Team Payroll in Column

You know, I ordinarily try to avoid putting too much weight into anything I read about baseball in the mainstream media, non-Derrick Goold division. It just seems like if you want even halfway competent analysis on the sport, you have to look at a baseball-only outlet these days. Not sure why, but t ... 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 >>

Cardinals Avoid Getting Stuck In the Middle with Arbitration for Ludwick, Ankiel

Well, the Cardinals managed to get both of their high-profile cases under contract and they didn't have to go to arbitration on either one. With the announcement yesterday that the Cards and Ryan Ludwick have come to terms on a one-year deal, thus avoiding arbitration, the Cardinals have manage ... More >>

RFT readers love Laurell K. Hamilton's vampire stories, Albert Pujols, and foodie trivia

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 >>

Albert Pujols, Kevin Slaten, Ryan Ludwick and the '08 MVP

Well, the writers got it right. Hallelujah. And yet, even as I celebrate Albert Pujols winning his supremely deserved second MVP Award, I still just can't let go and simply be happy about the results. Even thought Jack is wearing this shirt for Kobe, it's still pretty cool. I bet he's a Pujol ... More >>

What If: The Cardinals Acquire San Diego Ace Jake Peavy

Tony La Russa's Message to Cardinal Fans

Watching Cardinals' Bullpen is Second-Worst Pain Ever

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

Cardinals at the Crossroads

We Try to Figure Out the Role of a Bench Coach

Troy Glaus Will Complete Cardinals' Offense

Izturis' Triple Tells Us of the '08 Cardinals

The Cardinals: Where Do They Go From Here?

Ludwick Leading Cardinal Offense, Really

Cards Blog: Pujols Finally Gets Some Rest

Cards Blog: Pujols Finally Gets Some Rest

Cards Blog: An Inning-By-Inning Soap Opera

Cards Blog: An Inning-By-Inning Soap Opera

Simply Offensive: The Cardinals' Attack

Simply Offensive: The Cardinals' Attack