The Cardinal Nation blog

Former St. Louis Cardinals pitcher John Smoltz accepts three broadcasting jobs.

Comparing St. Louis Cardinals spring vs. regular season batting average and ERA during the 2000-2009 period.

A wild idea reportedly offered up in an MLB brainstorming session seems to have many overly concerned while a key member in the room denies it even came up.

Offering up some links to interesting St. Louis Cardinals-related reading around the web.

With Thursday’s first spring training game upon us, I looked at St. Louis Cardinals spring records during the La Russa era with an eye toward the regular season.

Catch me talking St. Louis Cardinals spring training baseball news with Matt Perrault and Ken Miller on KXnO FOX Sports Radio 1460 in Des Moines today (Wednesday) at 5:45 p.m. Central.

The St. Louis Cardinals full system rosters are refreshed to reflect spring training camps, both major and minor league.

Stan Musial isn’t the oldest or even second-oldest former St. Louis Cardinals player living. The latter is the relatively-unknown Freddie Schmidt.

The St. Louis Cardinals have announced a new program to add money to tickets for spending at the ballpark. Like anything, there are both benefits and risks.

Spring training television and radio plans for the 2010 St. Louis Cardinals.

In addition to a change in personnel, the St. Louis Cardinals Midwest League affiliate’s games will no longer be on radio.

A quick check of recent news items pertaining to the St. Louis Cardinals’ chief rivals from Chicago.

Wanting to set the record straight about his contract status, the Cardinals first baseman takes his story directly to the fans.

FOX Sports will carry eight St. Louis Cardinals Saturday afternoon games during the 2010 season.

Those working for and around the St. Louis Cardinals today reach back to the 1940’s.

New and changed uniform numbers for players invited to St. Louis Cardinals major league spring training.

A search through baseball history is underway to identify a most unusual Stan Musial photo.

For the ongoing services of outfielder Matt Holliday, the St. Louis Cardinals and agent Scott Boras carried out an intricate dance for months.

The St. Louis Cardinals wouldn’t have to wait until their arbitration cases are settled to make their next move, but they may have good reasons for doing so.

Preliminary spring training television and radio plans for the 2010 St. Louis Cardinals.

Autograph prices at the St. Louis Cardinals fan event, Winter Warm-Up, demonstrate an appreciation of the down economy.

If the Cardinals ever reach the point of considering the unthinkable, trading Albert Pujols, Mark Teixeira’s history provides an important lesson.

Why the conditions may be right for the St. Louis Cardinals to move to lock up Albert Pujols.

Now that the Cardinals have agreed to terms with outfielder Matt Holliday on a record-setting new contract, is the jury in on the big trade that brought him to St. Louis in the first place?

Erroneous news on a supposed new Matt Holliday offer from the St. Louis Cardinals is amplified all over cyberspace before being pulled.

Why might both Scott Boras and the St. Louis Cardinals consider a shorter-term contact for free agent Matt Holliday?

Is Mark DeRosa’s reported two year, $12 million deal with the San Francisco Giants out of line with the market? If not, why didn’t the St. Louis Cardinals jump in?

Some major league clubs have advantageous leases that offer flexibility but shackle their communities. Others carry stadium-related debt.

The St. Louis Cardinals ventured into unfamiliar territory when making their first-round pick in the 2009 draft.

The agent of former Cardinals outfielder Chris Duncan is making some interesting claims.

The MLB Players Association plays a powerful, but almost-invisible role in placement of top free agents.

There may be something for Matt Holliday to learn from this week’s Johnny Damon saga and a similar story from over two decades ago.

Can the St. Louis Cardinals learn anything from a dissection of the New York Yankees’ 2008 pursuit of Mark Teixeira?

The sweetest amateur free agent signing in St. Louis Cardinals team history quickly went sour.

The St. Louis Cardinals are getting to the point where they need to force Scott Boras to declare his hand regarding Matt Holliday.

A pair of former big bats from the Colorado Rockies are now free agents. The St. Louis Cardinals are thinking about at least one of them.

Brian Walton joins Friday “Sportsnight” on St. Louis’ KTRS 550 at 8:05 p.m. Central.

The progression of St. Louis Cardinals spring training ticket prices since 2000.

Passed over in the Hall of Fame veterans committee vote was the winningest St. Louis Cardinals owner ever, Sam Breadon.

Rather than retiring the number of every new Hall of Famer, the St. Louis Cardinals need a two-tiered system.

Whitey Herzog and the other six most-winning St. Louis Cardinals managers in club history are either in or locks for the Hall of Fame.

St. Louis Cardinals history remains in mothballs while development project flounders.

Why is the Matt Holliday contract situation causing heightened emotions across Cardinal Nation?

Recent comments attributed to management and the union are positive, but will they actually get to work on it?

Based on Tuesday’s arbitration offers, the St. Louis Cardinals may get four compensatory picks, but exactly where they will fall in the 2010 draft is unclear.

Brian Walton joins minorleagueball.com’s John Sickels and host Jeff Erickson of Rotowire.com on Fantasy Focus on Blog Talk Radio Tuesday at 1:00 p.m. Eastern time.

How the St. Louis Cardinals went from 59 players eligible for the Rule 5 draft down to 21.

A net of four veteran jobs may be lost on the St. Louis Cardinals year-to-year. Does that mean anything?

A significant discrepancy in a widely-used database reflecting the St. Louis Cardinals’ player payroll has been corrected.

The St. Louis Cardinals owner during a record period of prosperity is being considered for election to Baseball’s Hall of Fame.

With distance a problem in spring training, would the Cardinals benefit by a possible move of the Chicago Cubs to Naples, Florida?

A collection of recent St. Louis Cardinals-related links of interest with a little commentary sprinkled in.

A collection of recent St. Louis Cardinals-related links of interest with a little commentary mixed in.

It looks like a number of big money teams will get in on the Matt Holliday chase. Every one decreases the Cardinals’ dwindling chances of retaining him.

The St. Louis Cardinals have passed up the potential opportunity for 16 additional draft picks the last four seasons.

A review of the St. Louis Cardinals early draft picks over the last six years, with special focus on regular versus compensatory selections.

A San Francisco article offers additional insight into Tony La Russa’s future plans.

A long-term contract with a two-year out for Matt Holliday might not be as crazy as it first may sound.

Brian Walton joins FantasyPros911.com’s Lenny Melnick and Paul Greco on their weekly Talking Baseball Live show on Blog Talk Radio Wednesday at 8:15 p.m. Eastern time.

St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Rick Ankiel will become a free agent. It may be best for all involved for the 30-year-old to move on.

As the old saying goes, figures never lie and liars never figure. Have it your way – 2009 is the fifth highest total attendance in history or the biggest single-season loss since Harry Truman was president.

To kick off the off-season, a quick look at those who may have played their last game as St. Louis Cardinals.

Two perspectives on the Cardinals chances of coming back against the Dodgers based on past League Division Series.

Catch Brian Walton talking Cardinals baseball with Matt Perrault and Ken Miller on KXnO FOX Sports Radio 1460 in Des Moines today (Friday) at 6:05 p.m. Central.

Matt Holliday’s error did not end the 2009 NLDS, yet the blueprint for the blame game has been in place for a long time.

Historically-based factoids from the Cardinals’ NLDS game one loss Wednesday night.

Now available in relief, two veteran Cardinals starters have been there before.

Dana DeMuth and his crew of five umpires have been assigned to work the St. Louis-Los Angeles NLDS.

No Cardinals minor league skipper with at least six years of service has won a higher percentage of regular season games than Chris Maloney.

2009 is the third time this decade that the St. Louis Cardinals entered the final month with a double-digit lead. That hasn’t yet meant much in October.

The St. Louis Cardinals have not played well in recent Septembers. That doesn’t mean they will fail in October, however.

The Cardinal Nation blog has again been highlighted on KSDK Channel 5, the Sunday home of the St. Louis Cardinals. This time, the focus was on three 15-game winners – if Joel Pineiro can squeeze out one more…

Looking back at recent 1-0 St. Louis Cardinals defeats, including Friday’s game with Atlanta

With three weeks still remaining in the regular season, speculation over Matt Holliday’s future is getting out of hand

Re-starting an earlier series by reviewing the top St. Louis Cardinals minor league managers in a number of statistical categories

Cardinals pitcher Chris Carpenter’s win, low hits allowed and strikeout rates are now in Bob Gibson territory. That is a pretty rare place, indeed.

Joel Pineiro is striving to join two St. Louis Cardinals teammates with 15 or more wins. It would be just the 21st time for the franchise since 1901.

There is a greater benefit from increased ticket sales than just adding better players. It also means a stronger economy and more jobs.

On Friday, Cardinals outfielder Ryan Ludwick had five hits and five RBI, a rare combination

The 2009 St. Louis Cardinals have serious contenders for each of the major National League individual awards. To pull it off, they would have to go where no team has gone before.

The St. Louis Cardinals left-hander is sitting down opposing hitters at a historic rate.

The Cardinals don’t recognize 10,000 wins, but the records set by their players during their early, unrecognized years are in the books

St. Louis Cardinals pitcher John Smoltz has gotten out of the blocks quickly with his new team – almost as fast as did Andy Rincon back in 1980.

A new study ranking minor league sports markets provides mixed results

The Cardinal Nation blog has again been highlighted on KSDK Channel 5, the Sunday home of the St. Louis Cardinals. This time, the focus was on Chris Carpenter’s strikeout to walk ratio.

The Cardinals aren’t the only club to not recognize play during the 1880s while in the American Association, but not doing so muddies the historical water

Controversy over 10,000th win drives explanation by Cardinals organization

22-year-old Colby Rasmus already has two walk-off home runs this season, tying the franchise record

A 2008 New York-Penn League championship did not stem the flow of red ink from the Batavia Muckdogs’ operation

The Cardinals post-1932 franchise season record for stolen bases by a catcher is held by three men. Believe it or not, Yadier Molina is approaching – fast.

While Matt Holliday’s hitting surge as a Cardinal is good for the present, will it damage his chances of remaining with the club in 2010 and beyond?

In 2009, St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Chris Carpenter is delivering the best season in franchise history in terms of strikeout-to-walk ratio

Who attends St. Louis Cardinals spring training games and how often do they do it?

On Saturday, Albert Pujols drove in his 100th run of the season, again.

New Cardinals third baseman Mark DeRosa has eight home runs in his first 22 games with the team

Albert Pujols has two games with multiple extra-base hits this week, something he has done with great frequency

Who is the only St. Louis Cardinal to drive in seven runs in a game without the benefit of a home run?

Calling out a pair of excellent articles by Houstonian Bill McCurdy that look back at some notable players from the Cardinals’ affiliate in Houston. Yes, THAT Houston.

Albert Pujols’ last at-bat game-winning hit on Wednesday was the 28th of his career

The Cardinal Nation blog again highlighted on KSDK Channel 5, the Sunday home of the St. Louis Cardinals