Recently, I posted a series of photos and a recap of the St. Louis Cardinals Legends Camp, held in Jupiter, Fla. two weeks ago. One of the 21 former Cardinals who came back together for fun with each other and with the fans who paid for the opportunity to take the field with them was LaPoint.

The now-52-year-old pitched for the Cards from 1981-1984 and again for a half-season in 1987. LaPoint first arrived from Milwaukee in the Ted Simmons deal and departed for San Francisco as part of the cost of acquiring Jack Clark, both mega-trades engineered by Whitey Herzog.

In between, at the age of 22, the left-hander threw 8 1/3 innings in the 1982 World Series, allowing just three runs. Overall, LaPoint went 35-23 with a 3.90 ERA in his five years with St. Louis and pitched a dozen seasons in the majors with nine different clubs.

Back in 2006-2007, Rodriguez, a mysterious Cuban, passed through Argentina, Nicaragua and then the Dominican Republic before signing with the Cardinals. His bonus of $460,000 was the highest paid by the organization for an international signing to that date and is still the fifth-largest in team history (link to subscriber-only article with details).

At 6-foot-3 and 232 pounds, the outfielder has the chiseled look of an athlete, but could not put it together on the diamond. Rodriguez advanced only as far as A-Advanced Palm Beach before his release last May. He played in 259 games over four seasons as a Cardinal with a line of .276/.317/.374/.691. His long awaited power never developed.

Last July, Rodriguez signed a contract and joined LaPoint, manager of the Rockland (County NY) Boulders of the independent CanAm League. The right-handed hitter, now 24 years of age, batted .267 in 56 games and slugged .393. Rodriguez is on the club’s 2012 roster as well.

LaPoint, a native of Glens Falls, NY, is entering his 11^th season coaching or managing in independent ball. From 2002-2005, he served the pitching coach for the Long Island Ducks, and then went on to manage the Bridgeport Bluefish, both in the Atlantic League. LaPoint returned to Long Island in 2007 as manager and also served in that role in 2009-2010. In between, he was the club’s pitching coach in 2008.

Last season, LaPoint became the Boulders’ first manager, leading them to a 40-52 seventh-place finish in their inaugural campaign. The club recently announced he is coming back for 2012.

Here is hoping both LaPoint and Rodriguez find what they are looking for while in a place far from St. Louis and Cuba.

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That led to a discussion among some of the readers here as to the best Cardinal ever born in the land up North. Though the players competed in many different eras and of course played different positions, the Wins Above Replacement (WAR) stat gives us a comparison point to identify the best Canadian Cardinal of all time.

While many past and present members of the Cardinals system have played (and coached) in Canada – the Cardinals once had a minor league team in Hamilton, Ontario in fact – they will not be included here since they were not born in Canada. That group includes such luminaries as Tony La Russa and Dave Duncan (teammates with the Triple-A Vancouver Mounties in the Oakland system in 1968) , Chris Carpenter and Kyle Lohse.

New Cardinals bullpen catcher Jamie Pogue is a Canadian by birth (Guelph, Ontario), but not having reached the majors, he and his peers are also eliminated from consideration. (Interestingly, no Canadian has been a full-time manager in the majors since George Gibson of the 1934 Pittsburgh Pirates. Pogue has something to shoot for.)

In the table below, I listed all the native-born Canadian Hall of Famers that played for the Cardinals as well as all other Canadians to appear in the majors for the organization since 1925. The tables are sorted by the highest single-season WAR as a Cardinal.

As the data indicates, an old-time player, outfielder Tip O’Neill, had both the best single-season and total stint with St. Louis of any of the Canadians. With the Browns of the American Association in 1884-1889 and again in 1891, the Ontario native amassed 28.9 WAR, including 8.1 in 1887. However, since the Cardinals sadly disavow records set prior to the National League years beginning in 1892, we will place an asterisk next to O’Neill’s name and move down the list.

Pitcher Reggie Cleveland is hereby proclaimed the Cardinals MVCP, or Most Valuable Canadian Player of the modern era, though his total was just 4.7 WAR over five seasons with St. Louis. The right-hander’s best season was a 3.6 WAR 1973, his last with the club, also the best single year by a Canadian Cardinal in the modern era. (As a point of comparison, non-Canadian Carpenter’s best individual season was 5.9 WAR in 2009.)

As Cleveland’s excellent and in-depth SABR biography relates, Cardinals manager Red Schoendienst was unhappy to see the pitcher go. Red said the following when Cleveland was dealt to the Red Sox following the 1973 season, “He’s the best I have.”

Of course, Larry Walker was the finest player of this group, hands down, but was slowed by chronic injuries by the time he joined St. Louis at the end of a fine career. Walker’s best year with St. Louis was his only full season with the club and his last as a player, as he produced 2.9 WAR in 2005.

Alas, Cormier’s best St. Louis season is only fifth on the list, fourth among modern players, behind O’Neill, Cleveland, Walker and Ron Taylor.

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Making his St. Louis debut in 1945, the switch-hitting second baseman played 15 seasons with the Cardinals, including in the 1946 World Series. The 10-time National League All-Star also appeared in two more Series while with Milwaukee.

Red coached in St. Louis from 1961-64 and in 1965 began a 12-year run as Cardinals manager, exceeded in duration by only Tony La Russa. His clubs won the 1967 World Series and the NL pennant the following season. Red also served as interim manager in 1980 and 1990.

He was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1989 and his uniform was retired by the Cardinals in 1996. Red remains a special assistant to the general manager. When reporting to spring training next month, I am expecting to see number 2 in uniform with fungo bat in hand or heading between fields in a golf cart.

Today, February 2, Schoendienst celebrates his 89^th birthday. In recognition of a great Cardinals hero, I am sharing a dozen photographs of Red provided by the Cardinals Media Relations department. If you are interested, join in the discussion below to help identify and date some of the photos.

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The new website, www.cardinals.com/museum, has been launched today, January 30, with the goal of highlighting some of the team’s extensive collection of baseball memorabilia. The full collection includes 15,000 items and 80,000 photographs, which makes it the largest team-held collection in baseball and second in the game, only behind the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.

The new online exposition includes hundreds of historical photographs, virtual exhibits and educational videos that highlight great individuals and events in Cardinals history.

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If rumors that the 36-year-old is on the verge of signing with the St. Louis Cardinals for 2012 come to reality, the question will arise as to whether his favored uniform jersey number is available.

Fortunately, the answer appears to be “yes.”

New Cardinals and former Oswalt teammates Carlos Beltran (#3) and J.C. Romero (#16) have settled on different digits. And frankly, having Oswalt, a three-time All-Star and winner of 159 career games sporting those number 44 threads would represent a considerable upgrade from its deployment in recent years.

Last season, the Cardinals broke spring camp with non-roster invitee Miguel Batista donning the number 44. After the 40-year-old pitched himself off the team, the uni was passed on to another high-mileage veteran, outfielder Corey Patterson, one of the throw-ins in the Colby Rasmus deal. Patterson was so unimpressive that he was left off the post-season roster and is unsigned for 2012.

The year before, another outfielder in the twilight days of his playing career, Randy Winn, was assigned 44.

The most famous Cardinal to wear number 44 in recent years is also looking for a place to play in 2012. Of course, that is former closer Jason Isringhausen. The 39-year-old returned to MLB last season with the New York Mets after a year away but is again a free agent. Izzy pitched for St. Louis from 2002-2008 and is the club’s all-time leader in saves with 217.

When I think of number 44, however, my mind goes to “The Zamboni Machine,” Ken Reitz. The defensive specialist manned third base for the Cards while wearing the digits for two stints totaling eight years from 1972 through 1980.

For nine years during the 1960’s, pitcher Ray Washburn, winner of 68 games with St. Louis, donned number 44. Even current manager Mike Matheny wore 44 for a brief time in 2000 (see photo) before returning to his familiar 22.

Of course, until Oswalt’s deal is done, it isn’t, but it appears one minor potential problem will not occur.

Then, there is that issue of six starters for five jobs. That may become a job for number 22 to sort out in Jupiter, Fla. starting in just three weeks…

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Articles are popping up, in which the merits of trading away the catcher before he “does a Pujols” to the Gateway City are being weighed. Speculation about what was behind his decision to skip the Cardinals Winter Warm-Up for the second consecutive year continues.

In terms of value, Molina seems to be a player at the peak of his game. He is coming off his best offensive year in addition to already being the game’s best defensive backstop. As he moves into his age 29-30 season, the time to act would seem to be now. But, what should the act be?

Re-signing Molina would please many, but is that likely? Is it the best business decision for the franchise? Is a trade any more feasible? Would any other club be willing to acquire the four-time Gold Glover without first securing a commitment to an extension?

Waiting until mid-season to trade Molina no longer seems an attractive option. The new collective bargaining agreement specifies that a club acquiring an impending free agent during his final season will not receive draft pick compensation if the player signs elsewhere.

More importantly, knowing what he could potentially make in the open market next fall, at this time why would Molina commit long-term to a new team, let alone the Cardinals?

Just like Pujols and Matt Holliday before him, Molina has earned the right to gauge his worth across the game. He gave the Cardinals two of his potential free agent years when signing his last contract, but no longer has that motivation. With financial security and being at his optimal age, this is his time.

I would not fault Molina one bit for taking that path. Free agency is the model defined by the game.

Still, just as in the case of Pujols, I suspect the Cardinals will not trade Molina in the interim. He is a very popular player and a crucial one, called “our captain on the field” by Skip Schumaker this past weekend. Via trade, Molina would not fetch a replacement of the same level of skill. There would be quantity and potential quality, but likely no single player currently as good as him.

Nor is there an heir apparent in the minor league system ready to step in. I think the Cardinals will be focused on keeping the best possible team together in hopes of a repeat title in 2012. That would seem to include Molina wearing the Birds on the Bat.

Though I did not deeply consider the Pujols situation in this context earlier on, I do now. With the benefit of hindsight, winning the 2011 World Championship made the gamble of keeping Pujols until the end pay off, in my opinion.

That was a very long opening for the real motivation I had for writing this post.

This winter, I have been reading/re-reading various Stan Musial-related books, having started with the recent George Vescey-authored, “Stan Musial: An American Life.”

Next up will be The Man’s own biography, written with/by legendary sportswriter Bob Broeg back in 1964, “Stan Musial: The Man’s Own Story.”

In between is my current subject, James Giglio’s 2001 book, “Musial: From Stash to Stan the Man.”

In the latter, just last night, I read a passage that, while from another era, reminded me of what the loss of a true game-changing catcher could mean to the franchise.

On page 124, as he discussed the post-World War II make up of the Cardinals, Giglio wrote this.

“The greatest Cardinal loss remained Walker Cooper, however, who went to the New York Giants in January 1946 for $175,000. The right-handed Cooper, the best catcher in the National League, had excellent seasons with the Giants and the Cincinnati Reds in the late 1940’s. Both Musial and (Enos) Slaughter contended than the loss of Cooper cost the Redbirds several pennants, for neither (Joe) Garagiola, Ken O’Dea or Del Rice came close to equaling Cooper’s offensive production or matching his leadership on the field. Cooper’s departure cost the Cardinals not only a long-ball threat but also balance at the plate, enabling opponents to challenge Musial’s and Slaughter’s left-handed power with southpaw pitching.

“(Owner Sam) Breadon used Cooper’s dislike of (new manager Eddie) Dyer, who managed him in the minors, as a pretext for selling him despite Dyer’s plea that he would work things out. Money remained the main motive; Breadon, tired of Cooper’s constant haggling over salary, also wanted to ensure that he came out financially ahead in 1946 in the face of higher salaries.”

The Cardinals did win the Series in 1946, but clearly hurt themselves in the long haul by disposing of Cooper. Though there were certainly other contributing factors, it would be the club’s last pennant for 18 long years, including Musial’s final 17 seasons.

Cooper was sent away three days before his 30^th birthday, the same age as Molina will be this coming winter. Just like Molina, he played in three World Series with St. Louis, with his club winning twice. At the time, Cooper was a three-time NL All-Star, same as Molina today. After leaving St. Louis, Cooper went on to play another dozen years, including his final two back with the Cardinals as a reserve in 1956 and 1957. He added five more All-Star selections for a career total of eight.

Yes, this is a different time; yet the issue, then and now, is money. There is no way of knowing if the Cardinals will offer enough of it to Molina to satisfy him. Without Pujols, they may have the budget, but do they want to pay? If not, Molina will leave, perhaps of his own volition. All things considered, is trying for another title in 2012 better than the alternative?

At this point, I can only wonder how the books of the future will treat this time in Cardinals history and in Yadier Molina’s career.

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Much has been said about Matheny’s lack of coaching and managing experience, but he ran games from behind the plate for 13 Major League seasons, during which he earned four Gold Glove Awards. He is the tenth active manager across MLB to have been a catcher during his playing days.

Matheny’s selection is unusual for a franchise that has long employed experienced MLB managers. Excluding interim skipper Mike Jorgensen (1995), Matheny will be the Cardinals’ first first-time MLB manager since Ken Boyer was hired in 1978 and if he can win a title, he will be the first first-time manager to accomplish that with the club since Red Schoendienst.

Though 41 is the youngest across MLB today, it isn’t all that youthful compared to many of Matheny’s predecessors in the job. He will become the 29^th manager of the Cardinals over the last century, but only the 13^th youngest – near the middle of that population.

However, that is more about the past than recent times. Matheny will be the youngest Cards skipper since 35-year-old Solly Hemus took over in 1959. Hemus’ entire MLB managerial career ran two-plus years, during the first of which he was player/manager. (Matheny also has a two-year deal with a third-year team option.)

Hemus’ relative youth was the rule rather than the exception in the 1950’s. Starting with Marty Marion’s hiring in 1951, five of the next six Cardinals managers (including Hemus) were in their 30’s on April 1 of their first season in the job*. The only exception that decade was interim manager Stan Hack in 1958.

Perhaps it is just circumstantial that none of the five 30-somethings during the 1950’s won a pennant. Despite the presence of future Hall-of-Famer Stan Musial throughout, managers Marion, Eddie Stanky, Harry Walker, Fred Hutchinson and Hemus generally were given less-competitive clubs.

The youngest Cardinals managers in the last century were player-managers. Catcher Roger Bresnahan was 29 years of age when he took over in 1909, two months younger than another future Hall-of-Famer, second baseman Rogers Hornsby, who assumed the managerial job in 1925. At 30, “Rajah” led his 1926 club to the first of 11 Cardinals World Championships.

During the 1933 season, another future Hall resident, Frankie Frisch, took over as player-manager. He was 34. Frisch’s 1934 club brought home the team’s third World Series title.

Other Cardinals managers younger than Matheny when taking over include three more Hall of Famers, Miller Huggins (aged 35 in 1913), Branch Rickey (37 in 1919) and Billy Southworth (36 in his first shot in 1929) along with Bob O’Farrell (32 in 1927) . All except Rickey were active players along with being manager. None of them won the National League pennant (though an older and wiser Southworth later had great success in the 1940′s).

In total, 10 of 12 Cardinals managers whose stints began when they were younger than Matheny did not make the post-season. Hornsby and Frisch were the exceptions. Of course, the 12 managed during a time when the league had eight teams and no wild cards.

As a player, Matheny reached the playoffs three times, all with St. Louis, in 2001, 2002 and 2004. The latter club was swept by the Red Sox in the World Series.

Hornsby and Frisch reached the summit in their first full seasons as manager, but one might argue Matheny’s order is even taller. He is not only being given the challenge to win his first title, but to do it with a defending World Champion.

Courtesy of researcher Tom Orf, here is the full list of Matheny’s 28 managerial predecessors over the last century, presented from most recent to earliest.

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Pujols joined Paul Molitor as the only players to have five hits in a World Series game.

Most hits, post-season game, MLB history

Pujols is only the second player to ever log 14 total bases in a post-season game and the first to do so in the World Series. He is on this list twice as the result of his 10 total bases in Game 2 on this NLCS vs. Milwaukee.

Most total bases, post-season game, MLB history

The only four players with more RBI in a post-season contest than Pujols’ six on Saturday night each collected seven during three different American League Division Series in the mid-1990s.

Most RBI, post-season game, MLB history

Thanks to researcher Tom Orf for these tables.

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Among Pujols’ feats:

• His five hits tied Milwaukee’s Paul Molitor for the most in one game.

• His three-home run game tied Babe Ruth (two) and Reggie Jackson (one) for the most in Series history.

• His 14 total bases set a World Series record.

• He collected hits in four consecutive innings, setting a World Series mark.

• His six RBI tied a Series record.

Researcher Tom Orf pulled all the three-home run games in MLB post-season history. They include the Rangers’ Adrian Beltre, who launched three long balls in Game 4 of the ALDS not three weeks ago.

Three-home run games, post-season, MLB history

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In 18 past St. Louis Cardinals post-season games, the team’s starting pitcher went at least seven innings while allowing no runs. Jaime Garcia was the 19^th. He was also third to pitch exactly seven innings and that provides a very interesting observation. Those three contests in which the starter was pulled after seven while pitching a shutout are the only ones of the 19 in which the Cardinals went on to lose the game.

Unfortunately, Garcia’s Thursday performance most closely mirrored Danny Cox’ outing in the sixth game of the 1985 World Series. I don’t need to remind any long-time Cardinals fans the significance of the Don Denkinger game.

St. Louis Cardinals starting pitchers, post-season, seven or more innings, no runs allowed

Jason Motte took the Cardinals’ seventh blown save at home in the club’s post-season history. It was only the second St. Louis loss and the first such game in which the reliever with the blown save did not secure at least one out.

St. Louis Cardinals, pitchers, post-season, blown saves, home

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With the Series shifting to Arlington for Games 3, 4 and 5 on Saturday, Sunday and Monday, that may change.

In preparation, researcher Tom Orf pulled the list of the Cardinals World Series leaders in a number of offensive categories. We’ll check back after the Series to see if any of these records are broken.

St. Louis Cardinals, offensive leaders, single World Series, team history

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The NLCS Game 3 victory was Carpenter’s seventh career post-season win, tying him with Hall of Famer Bob Gibson for first place on the Cardinals’ all-time list. Coincidentally, Gibson was among the Busch Stadium attendees Wednesday, along with fellow Cardinals Hall of Famers Lou Brock, Red Schoendienst and Stan Musial.

With his fifth-ever home win in the playoffs, Carpenter broke a tie with John Tudor and is now alone atop that subset with the most home post-season wins in franchise history.

While Carpenter has enjoyed the advantage of expanded playoffs that did not exist in Gibson’s days, his accomplishments are certainly worth acknowledging here.

Overall in his post-season career, Carpenter is 7-2 with a 2.99 ERA (26 ER/75.1 IP), a .248 (68-for-274) opponents batting average and 46 strikeouts against 25 walks. Most importantly, the Cardinals have won 10 and lost just two of his post-season starts.

In Cardinals playoff history, Carpenter passed Matt Morris (11 starts, 73.1 IP, 44 SO) Wednesday night in starts, innings pitched and strikeouts. He now ranks second in the latter two categories for St. Louis, trailing only Gibson (81.0 IP, 92 SO).

Thanks to researcher Tom Orf, here is the full list of Cardinals post-season winners, including home-road splits. 56 different pitchers have won 103 playoff games, led by Carpenter and Gibson.

Of course, the Cardinals hope to see six more wins added to this total before they pack up their gear for a final time in 2011.

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Pujols went 4-for-5, with three doubles, a home run and five runs batted in. In the process, the first baseman moved ahead of former teammate Jim Edmonds at the top of the Cardinals career post-season home runs and RBI lists. (Edmonds’ final playoff RBI was with the Chicago Cubs in 2008.)

No one in National League history has now hit more post-season home runs than Pujols’ 14 and with 42 RBI, he is just five behind all-time league leader Chipper Jones.

In fact, just 11 seasons into his career, of which seven have been playoff years, Pujols now ranks in the top ten in Major League Baseball post-season history in both homers and RBI. Needless to say, he has joined some elite company.

Career MLB post-season home runs

Note that Pujols RBI rate, exactly two per every three post-season games, is third-best in the all-time top ten, after David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez.

Career MLB post-season RBI

Tied one game to one, the Cardinals return home for NLCS Game 3 on Wednesday. Pujols likely has many more post-season contests ahead in which he can further his already-impressive power and production totals.

Thanks to researcher Tom Orf for the above tables.

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While it was one of the greatest individual performances in a pressure situation in the rich post-season history of the Cardinals franchise, was it the very best?

With the help of researcher Tom Orf, I present the list of 11 Cardinals pitchers with 13 complete-game shutouts in the post-season. Bill Hallahan and Bob Gibson had two each.

Let’s look at some of the contenders.

Carpenter – He was given just one run of support in a deciding Game 5. Though it was the NLDS, it was on the road against the regular season MLB wins leader. His three hits and no walks tied for the fewest baserunners allowed among the 13.

Danny Cox – 1987. It was the deciding Game 7, though in the NLCS against the Giants. Cox was given six runs by the St. Louis offense, including four in the second inning at Busch Stadium.

Gibson – 1968. An amazing 17 Detroit Tigers struck out in Game 1 of the World Series during “The Season of the Pitcher.” The Cards scored three at home against Denny McLain in the fourth inning. I still watch the video of this most dominating performance on video every now and then. In this context, however, is Game 1 the same as an elimination contest?

Mort Cooper – 1944. Playing their local rivals, the Browns, the Cards went into Game 5 tied 2-2. Cooper received single runs in the sixth and the eighth innings and fanned 12. The two runs of support tied for least in the 12 CG shutouts prior to Carpenter’s start. The Cards finished off the Browns in Game 6.

Dizzy Dean – 1934. The future Hall of Famer threw a six-hit shutout with no walks in Game 7 of the World Series on the road in Detroit. Dean was given seven runs in the third inning with which to work.

Who do you like and why? Vote below and explain.

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Normally, one would think the home club would have a decided edge in such an important contest, but that isn’t necessarily the case. In fact, as we saw on Thursday evening, Detroit eliminated New York by winning Game 5 of the ALDS on the hallowed soil of Yankee Stadium.

In the Senior Circuit, past results of these Game 5 NLDS showdowns indicate a decided edge by the visiting club – unless the Cardinals were involved, that is.

Friday’s Cardinals-Phils and Diamondbacks-Brewers matchups are just the seventh and eighth such games in NL history. Two of the previous six should have an asterisk applied as they occurred in the strike-interrupted 1981 season, when first- and second-half winners faced off.

In the other four deciding Game 5’s, one held each year from 2001-04, the road team took three.

Interestingly, the Atlanta Braves of the NL East were the home losers each time. The collapse of the 2011 Braves helped open the door for the Cardinals to make the playoffs. That division also is the home of the Phillies, of course.

The recent losing visitor was the Cardinals at Arizona on October 14, 2001. The 2-1 defeat was nothing to be ashamed of as the Curt Schilling- (and Randy Johnson-) powered Snakes then went on to take the World Series. Future Cardinals outfielder Reggie Sanders’ homer was first run scored by Arizona that night.

Albert Pujols is the only common thread between that game ten years ago and Friday’s contest here in 2011. There are, however, other Cardinals familiar with the situation. In the most recent occurrence of an NL Game 5 road victory, Lance Berkman’s Houston Astros defeated Rafael Furcal’s Braves on October 11, 2004.

Home team results in NLDS Game 5

Thanks to researcher Tom Orf for the above table.

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The benefit to the team was clear as the four runs were crucial for the Cardinals to avoid elimination and force a winner-take-all Game 5 in Philly on Friday night.

Individually, it was a memorable night for Freese, as well. He logged one of the top 11 post-season performances in team history as measured in single-game RBI. All alone at number one is Reggie Sanders, who drove in six on October 4, 2005. The others in the top ten were all four-RBI games, now tied by Freese. Perhaps not surprisingly, the Cardinals won all 11 of those playoff games.

Freese might have been able to catch or even pass Sanders on Wednesday, but he left the contest via a double-switch in the top of the seventh inning. As it turned out, the order did not reach his number seven spot again in the game. Even so, Freese is the first player in team post-season history to drive in at least four in just three plate appearances.

Interestingly, Freese’s performance is the fourth of the top 11 from a third-baseman, most by players at any position. He joins Gary Gaetti (1996), Ken Boyer (1964) and the first four-RBI post-season game by a third baseman, Les Bell in Game 6 of the 1926 World Series.

Overall, this list includes the names of some of the most memorable post-season heroes in Cardinals history. Now, Freese will forever be among them.

Top single-game RBI performances, post-season, St. Louis Cardinals team history

Thanks to researcher Tom Orf for the above table.

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Is it the perennial winner Albert Pujols, who has come on strongly late in the season? Could it be the cleanup hitter Matt Holliday, about whom manager Tony La Russa told me Monday, “This club is built around Matt”? Then there is surprising Lance Berkman, who may receive a majority of votes for the National League Comeback Player of the Year Award.

One who gets little notice other than for his defense, as recognized by Gold Glove Awards and All-Star Game selections, is catcher Yadier Molina. In 2011, people should celebrate his offensive contributions as well.

The 29-year-old had never hit double-digits in home runs before smacking 13 this season and needs just one more RBI to match his career-best of 62 set last year. His .298 batting average and 133 hits are highest among National League catchers.

Molina’s Tuesday night double was his 30th of the season. He is the first Cardinals catcher to collect 30 or more doubles since Ted Simmons in 1980 and is only the fourth to ever accomplish the feat. As such, it is not surprising that Molina’s current OPS of .792 is not only a career best, it is almost 100 points above his eight-season average.

Simmons remains the Cardinals catching gold standard, with six of the team’s nine seasons of 30 doubles by a catcher. (He had two other seasons of over 30 doubles, as well, but fewer than 30 were while he was stationed behind the plate.) The other 30 doubles-hitting catchers are Bob O’Farrell in 1926 and Walker Cooper in 1943.

Thanks to researcher Tom Orf for the above data.

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Using the line of 40 years of age, the team actually went seven years – from 2004 through 2010 – having deployed just one such hurler during the regular season. And it was a most distinguished exception, though a brief stay. Future Hall of Famer John Smoltz concluded his playing career by making seven starts for the 2009 Cardinals.

The tide has turned in 2011, however. With the arrival earlier this month of left-handed reliever Arthur Rhodes, two months short of his 42^nd birthday, he became the second 40-year-old pitcher to appear for the 2011 Cardinals alone.

Rhodes was preceded by Miguel Batista, 40, who made the club out of spring training as a non-roster invitee. Batista posted a 3-2 mark with a 4.60 ERA in 26 games (29 1/3 IP) for the Cardinals until his June 23 release.

The 2011 duo are the sixth and seventh 40-year-old Cardinals pitchers during the La Russa-Dave Duncan era, which began in 1996. The seven pitched in parts of nine seasons.

The last 40-something Cardinals hurler prior to Smoltz was Jeff Fassero in 2003. The then-40-year-old lefty appeared in 62 games that season, posting a 5.68 ERA. He hung on for four more years in the majors, but posted an ERA over five in three of those campaigns.

When Jesse Orosco joined the 2000 Cardinals, he was most remembered as the shutdown lefty of the New York Mets clubs of the 1980’s. By the new century, Orosco was 43 years old and in his 22^nd MLB season. He appeared in just six games for St. Louis that season due to injury and finally retired after the 2003 season.

The current pitching coach of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Rick Honeycutt, came over to the Cardinals from the Oakland A’s, following La Russa and Duncan. Having been converted to relief with the A’s like Dennis Eckersley, the lefty had a nice 1996 season in a set-up role, with a 2.85 ERA in 61 games. He appeared in just two games the next year before calling it a career at the age of 43.

Eckersley was nearing the end of his Hall of Fame career when also joining St. Louis to start the 1996 season at the age of 41. Eck served as closer during La Russa’s first two seasons with the Cards, saving 66 games, though he took 11 losses as well. Eckersley pitched one more year with Boston in 1998 before hanging up his cleats for the last time.

In my assessment of the previous eight 40-plus year old pitcher years, I score four as successful and four unsuccessful. However, three of the four deployed since the early days of Honeycutt and Eck, Smoltz having been the exception, did not make the grade, in my opinion.

St. Louis Cardinals 40-year-old pitchers, 1996-current

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At nine games behind the Brewers, the Cardinals are currently at a season-worst deficit.

I asked researcher Tom Orf to pull the pertinent details of the 22 prior seasons during which the Cardinals finished in first place. In this case, the focus is on the last day the team was NOT in first place – in other words, the next day, the Cards took over first for good.

In the good news department, in eight of the 22 years, the Cardinals did not take the lead for the final time until sometime in September. In a most interesting stat to me, only once did an eventual Cardinals first-place club take its final lead in August.

The other set of data, on the right side of the table, indicates the farthest those nine teams were out of first place in number of games at any time during August and September and at what date(s) they fell to their low-water point.

Three of the 22 clubs made it to the top after August/September deficits of nine games or more. The biggest comeback was from 12 games back on August 8, 1930, followed by 11 games on August 23, 1964 and 10 games on August 5, 1942.

No Cardinals team has even hit its low-water mark in the standings in September only to later reach first place. Manager Tony La Russa’s first Cardinals club in 1996 was closest. They had their season-worst deficit in the standings as late as August 31. However, they only had 2 ½ games to make up.

Cardinals first-place clubs, last day not in first place and furthest back in the standings during August/September

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In support of the Larry Dierker SABR Chapter in Houston, help is needed to identify the ex-Cardinals player in this photo.

The chapter has embarked upon a major study that they are calling “Houston Baseball, The Early Years: 1861-1961.”  My friend Bill McCurdy sent along the snapshot in his role as principal investigator and editor in chief for their 18-member research and writing team.

As a SABR member myself, I support their efforts and hope one of the readers can solve this riddle.

Friday update

We had early guesses of Leo “The Lip” Durocher (1933-37 with St. Louis) and George “Showboat” Fisher (1930) but neither was correct. (It is really too bad that colorful nicknames have just about disappeared from baseball.)

Paula Homan, curator of the (still temporarily closed) Cardinals Museum identified the photo as from the 1925 season. The shoulder patch commemorated the 50-year anniversary of the National League. The Senior Circuit had been founded in 1875.

Paula also forwarded a panoramic photo of the 1925 team, but a positive id on the face was not possible.

St. Louis-area author Jerry Vickery came through with the definitive answer – Eddie Dyer.

It really made sense as I read Dyer’s SABR biography and learned he attended Rice in Houston before signing with the Cardinals in 1922. He continued to make Houston his home and once his playing career was over, even managed the Buffaloes for three seasons starting in 1939. Later, he succeeded Billy Southworth as the Cardinals skipper for what became the 1946 World Championship season. Dyer managed the Cards through 1950. (Links to Dyer’s managerial and playing records as well as another Cardinals headshot at Baseball-Reference.com)

I found this 1921 photo and excerpted the following text from the Rice University History Corner blog.

“Dyer’s career after he left Rice was really remarkable. He signed with the Cardinals in 1922 and pitched until he hurt his arm in 1927. He continued to play as an outfielder until 1933, but it was as a manager and baseball executive that he made his most important mark. Dyer was instrumental in helping Branch Rickey build baseball’s first real farm system and then managed the Cardinals to their 1946 World Series win over the Red Sox. He completed his Rice degree in 1936 and coached freshman football here (during baseball’s off-season) for several years. After retiring from baseball he had a very successful career as a businessman. He died in Houston in 1964 at the age of 64.”

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As the St. Louis Cardinals returned to action Friday evening in Cincinnati, rested from the four-day All-Star break, manager Tony La Russa gave each of the seven members of his bullpen the ball over just the game’s final four innings.

After taking the heat for sticking with his starters perhaps too long in several games prior to the break, La Russa took a more aggressive stance on Friday. He pulled starter Jake Westbrook after the inconsistent right-hander allowed two solo home runs over five innings.

More accurately, the seven Cardinals relievers only pitched the final 3 2/3 innings or 11 outs. The battle ended with two outs in the bottom of the ninth when Brandon Phillips launched the game-winning two-run home run off Cardinals closer Fernando Salas. The final score was 6-5, with both Mitchell Boggs and Salas logging blown saves. Kyle McClellan, not scheduled to start until this coming Wednesday, would have been La Russa’s next pitcher if needed.

Friday marked only the 13^th time since 1919 that the Cardinals used seven relief pitchers in a nine-inning game. Given today’s pitching specialization, it comes as no surprise that eight of the 13 came on the watch of La Russa and pitching coach Dave Duncan. Eight of the 13 games also resulted in a St. Louis defeat, though not the same eight.

The Cardinals record is nine relievers called upon in a Troy Percival spot start to conclude the disappointing 2007 campaign. It was at a time when rosters were expanded and the Cardinals were not preparing for post-season play.

With the exception of 2008, the Cardinals have had one seven-reliever game each season since 2004. The 2010 occurrence was on September 18, a game in San Diego during which McClellan, the Cardinals’ sixth reliever, took the loss.

Researcher Tom Orf points out that interestingly, this Friday’s game was the first time that the final pitcher in one of these seven-reliever games was saddled with the loss.

After a strong start to his reign as closer, in the last month Salas has been less than automatic. Since June 16, he has two wins and three losses and converted five of seven save opportunities.

St. Louis Cardinals, seven or more relievers in nine-inning game, since 1919

* only last reliever loss

(Including extra innings games, the list jumps to 33.)

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This doesn’t mean that I am taking sides in the current flap over Rasmus’ slump and the widely-reported deployment of his father as his batting mentor over his hitting coaches with the Cardinals. All I am saying is that the situation is not nearly as unusual as some might lead you to believe.

There wasn’t an internet in the 1970′s and 1980’s, but if there had been, I bet we would all know the name of John Hernandez, father of former Cardinals, Mets and Indians first baseman Keith Hernandez.

“John was a demanding father who immersed himself in the athletic lives of his sons, requiring them to take written tests on baseball strategy and analyzing film of their little league games to improve their swings,” wrote Ian C. Friedman in his book, “Latino Athletes.”

In a 1994 New York Magazine article entitled “The After Life,” Chris Smith said this.

“Hernandez loved the game, but one reason he played it with such fury was that his father never stopped hounding him. Beginning when Keith was 6, John Hernandez – a former minor-leaguer whose promising career ended when he was hit in the head by a pitch – tutored, drilled and badgered his son into greatness. Even after Keith became a pro, John Hernandez was monitoring every swing via a satellite dish in the backyard of the suburban San Francisco home where Keith had grown up.”

If there is one background article from this post that you select to read, it definitely should be an October 1986 article from Sports Illustrated’s William Nack, entitled “He’s Still Not Home Free.”

Nack cited the following example of a clash over hitting instruction early in Hernandez’ career with the Cardinals. Keith debuted with St. Louis in 1974 at the age of 20, but struggled the next season.

“Hernandez was hitting .250 for the Cards when they sent him back to Tulsa in June 1975. The St. Louis batting instructor, Harry (the Hat) Walker, had been asking him to hit every pitch to the opposite field, no matter where it was in the strike zone. John Hernandez had taught him to go with the pitch, to all fields, and now Keith could no longer pull the ball. Slumping, he was benched and finally sent back to Tulsa. There, manager Ken Boyer tried to help him regain his old stroke. He ended up hitting .330 in Tulsa, and that was it for minor league ball.”

In 1979, Hernandez became co-Most Valuable Player of the National League, batting a career-best .344. The next three years were much harder for the first baseman, however.

In “Cardinals Encyclopedia,” Mike Eisenbath summarized some of Hernandez’ later troubles in St. Louis.

“…He dealt with problems in his marriage and heard persistent trade rumors. The barrage of criticism was occasionally heavy concerning a perceived lack of hustle and selfishness on his part…”

Whitey Herzog dealt Hernandez to the New York Mets on June 15, 1983, for starting pitcher Neil Allen and reliever Rick Ownbey. Though rumors were swirling around Hernandez, only later did his cocaine use at the time become common knowledge as he was called to testify about it in a 1985 grand jury trial. He later said he cleaned up on his own prior to the 1983 season, but it was apparently too late for Herzog.

Despite the reasons behind the trade, it became one of the worst in Cardinals history and a spark for a then-last place Mets team. Hernandez went on to serve as a leader for the young World Champion 1986 New York club.

In the above-referenced SI article published during Hernandez’ Mets heyday, Nack wrote about John Hernandez, then 63 years of age and still a major part of his 33-year-old son’s professional preparation – like it or not.

“…John Hernandez, Juan to his son, is an obsessive and overbearing man who taught Keith how to hit and field, and the simple truth is that no one, no manager or batting instructor, knows the nuances of his swing half as well as his father does…

“For years, John’s understanding of Keith’s stroke has been the tether that has kept these two men together. Keith knows that no one can help him out of a slump as quickly as his father can, and so, throughout his career, he has often turned to his father for help. At the same time, he has felt the compelling need to break away from his father and make it on his own, to be his own man…

“…Hernandez’s friends well know the conflict. (Mets teammate Ed) Lynch says he once heard Keith say, ‘God, why doesn’t he leave me alone?’ – then a half hour later he heard Keith on the phone asking his dad for help with his stroke.”

After retiring in 1991, Hernandez stayed away from the game for a number of years. New York Magazine’s Smith explained in 1994 that the relationship between player and father/coach did not end well.

“It wasn’t physical pain though that drove him into a self-imposed exile from baseball. He shut off his mind from the game to try to erase the emotional hurt that he associated with baseball, which was tangled up with the anger at his father.

“For four years, Hernandez has talked weekly with a psychiatrist. But before father and son could go to the movies without arguing over how Keith should handle the split-fingered fastball, John Hernandez died of cancer.”

John Hernandez passed away as players reported to spring camp in March 1992, the start of Keith’s second year out of baseball since 1959. Now 57 years of age, Keith Hernandez is back in the game as an analyst for New York Mets telecasts.

Who knows if this short look back into history has any relationship to Colby Rasmus’ situation, past, present or future, other than to remind us that a close and complex relationship between a major league player and his father/coach is not unique, even for the St. Louis Cardinals.

If Rasmus is dealt away for a starter and reliever, Cardinals fans should hope their names won’t be remembered almost 30 years later for the wrong reason as are Allen and Ownbey today.

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With all the focus on New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter’s achievement of 3,000 career hits, reached on Saturday, another less nationally-interesting, yet significant milestone was reached in St. Louis that same night.

With his 1,981^st career hit, Albert Pujols broke a tie with Hall of Famer Red Schoendienst for the fifth-most safeties in St. Louis Cardinals franchise history.

Career hits, St. Louis Cardinals (through 7/9/11)

Pujols, in his 11^th season in the majors, ended Saturday just 18 hits short of the 2,000 milestone. The free agent to be should be cracking that barrier very soon.

Following is the top 30 active major league players in career hits. Pujols is currently 20th, but should move higher before the season is out. Of course, I drew the line at number 30 as that is where Lance Berkman currently resides. Note Matt Holliday is 55^th. Both he and Pujols are 31 years of age.

Career hits, active MLB players (through 7/9/11)

Footnote: With a 2-for-4 day on Sunday, Pujols enters the All-Star break at 1,984 hits and with an uncharacteristic four-day mid-July rest. His 2011 batting average is at a high point for the season at .280.

(Player links go to their pages as Baseball-Reference.com, the source of these tables.)

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Chass’ latest target is none other than a fellow Cooperstown inductee, former St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Bob Gibson.

Following a sparse, two-paragraph review of the upcoming HBO special about the late Curt Flood and his fight against MLB’s reserve clause which bound a player to a team, Chass quickly turned to his specialty, attacking others.

Chass labels the former Cardinals hurler a “tin man,” in other words, heartless, because Gibson did not come out publicly in support of his teammate Flood’s legal challenge against baseball’s owners in 1970.

Even as he completed his skewering of Gibson, Chass undercut his own position by admitting that Gibson was far from alone. In fact, the writer acknowledges that not one major league player came to Flood’s defense at the time.

In other words, Gibson was simply one of 599 other major leaguers in 1970 that did not step out of line to risk the ramifications of crossing the then-all-powerful owners.

Though other contemporaries of Flood such as Joe Torre and Tim McCarver are quoted in the article about their own indifference to the Flood situation, they were spared Chass’ slander.

Apparently one reason Gibson was singled out was because the candid former pitcher was willing to discuss the situation in depth with the HBO filmmakers, providing Chass quotes to dissect.

Another reason appears to be that Gibson’s long-tenured dislike of the press remains stuck in Chass’ craw.

“As a player, Gibson intimidated opposing batters with his blazing fastball and reporters with his menacing stare and gruff responses to questions,” Chass wrote. “In retirement he has not mellowed. He neither takes phone calls from reporters nor returns them.”

Did Chass single out Gibson because he spoke with HBO and not him?

One final question.

In his 1970 writings, did Chass spring to Flood’s defense, joining the lonely fight against baseball’s barons? Or instead, did he “wimp out,” just as his headline over 40 years after the fact accuses Gibson of doing?

One thing we have learned from the steroids era is that silence was wide-spread at the time. Moralizing after the fact about what should have been done simply creates the impression of hypocrisy by the accuser.

More than likely, the pot is calling the kettle black here and it is not becoming.

Update:  A reader provided this link from the NYT, noting that in 1971, the very brave and visionary Chass wondered if players who demand change have mental issues.

Notes: “The Curious Case of Curt Flood” is a 90-minute documentary that premieres on HBO at 9 P.M. EDT on July 13. I also highly recommend reading “A Well-Paid Slave,” a Flood biography written by Brad Snyder.

The above photo is from the aftermath of game seven of the 1964 World Series. On the far left, an exhausted Gibson is helped off the field by catcher McCarver, while Flood, number 21, is in the far right of the shot.

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The following is a description provided by site operator Andre Lower. When I get off the road and have some spare time, I plan to really explore the various options. You may want to as well.

What is the greatest Team Position in baseball history?

Have you ever even considered this question? Have you ever heard of anybody talking about this subject? Not only has this question been asked, it’s been quantified and ranked. The answer to this question is found on www.baseballbypositions.com . All 345 Team Positions for the 30 active teams are rated for their all-time performance as compared to league average for that position and then ranked in order.

Every Team Position has its own page, listing the starters for every season as well as showing the ratings for each season, the last 5 seasons through each season and all-time cumulative performances as of each season. These ratings are also graphed for easy viewing.

This website looks at baseball from a positional perspective. The foundation is the 2,800 comparative tables covering every possible combination of league, position and season. Every table features several splits, all of which are summarized in year by year chronologies. The Team Position Histories show all of the players in chronological order for each Team Position’s entire history.

A really valuable feature is the Team Lineups. This is a snapshot of each team’s season showing the fielding position starters, top reserves and most active pitchers for each pitching position. The starter rankings and team index ratings for each position gives you a good, easy way of seeing the positional strengths and weaknesses for any team’s season.

This website gives you tons of great baseball information not found anywhere else. If you want to see baseball from a different perspective, check out www.baseballbypositions.com.

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On the National League side, many know Pete Rose holds a share of the longest at 44 games, set in 1978, tying Willie Keeler’s 1897 best. If you are like me, however, you didn’t know who holds the St. Louis Cardinals record.

The correct answer is not shortstop Ryan Theriot, whose 20-game streak ended at the hands of Houston’s Cardinal killer Bud Norris and reliever Mark Melancon on Wednesday night in Houston.

Theriot’s feat was non-trivial, however, and reached more than halfway to the team record. It is tied for 32^nd-longest in team history and is the best streak by a Cardinal since Ryan Ludwick went 21 games two seasons ago.

I did find it interesting that Theriot’s .759 OPS during his streak was the lowest of any of the 42 streaks on the top list and his .326 batting average was third-worst.

Albert Pujols strung together 30 consecutive games with a hit back in his third season of 2003, the best performance by a Cardinal in the last decade. In the process, Pujols tied Stan Musial, whose 30 games in 1950 is the longest streak ever by a Cardinals left-handed hitter.

The overall team leader?

That would be Hall of Famer Rogers Hornsby. “Rajah” hit safely in 33 consecutive games almost 89 years ago, in August and September 1922.

St. Louis Cardinals longest hitting streaks, consecutive games

Thanks to researcher Tom Orf for pulling the above table.

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After Descalso’s Tuesday hit, catcher Gerald Laird was shown in the dugout rubbing the fingers on his non-broken hand together in the universal symbol for money.

“We call him D-Money,” manager Tony La Russa said about Descalso after Tuesday’s win.

This season, Descalso has now driven in nine runs from the seventh inning on with the game tied or the Cardinals down a run. This is generically called a “late and close” situation.

I asked researcher Tom Orf to put Descalso’s early-season, late-game feats into some historical perspective.

In the last 60 years, only ten Cardinals had collected at least seven late and close RBI through the end of May. Descalso makes the 11^th player to do so.

With six games to go in the month, Descalso needs just two more late and close RBI to pass his teammate Albert Pujols and join his hitting coach Mark McGwire at the top of the list as the most productive early-season, late-game Cardinal since at least 1950.

Big Mac collected 11 RBI to kick off his record-breaking 70-home run season of 1998. Pujols had ten early-late RBI in what went on to become the Cardinals World Championship season of 2006.

Descalso may not reach those kinds of heights this season, but his success in crucial situations still deserves notice.

St. Louis Cardinals, late and close RBI, through end of May, 1950-present

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Soon, it will be gone forever.

The last of the Cardinals five championships in Arkansas was in 1989. The manager was Gaylen Pitts, now a special minor league instructor in the Cardinals organization. The Travs’ skipper in their last Texas League playoff season under the Cardinals flag in 1998 was none other than current Memphis manager Chris Maloney. Washington Nationals manager Jim Riggleman led the 1985 Travs into the playoffs.

Countless future Cardinals players donned the Travelers uniform over the years. Then-pitcher Rick Ankiel, a Trav for part of the 1999 season, was the last to still be active in the system. Among the first Cardinals-supplied Travelers in 1966 were future major league pitchers Mike Torrez, Wayne Grainger and Dick Hughes.

After the Cardinals departed for New Haven, CT, then Tennessee and in 2005, Springfield, MO, the Travelers affiliated with the Angels and a new stadium was built in North Little Rock. Dickey-Stephens Park opened in 2007, ending the effective life of Ray Winder Field. Ironically, the Springfield Cardinals participated in the last-ever series at Ray Winder to close the 2006 Texas League season.

After five years of disuse and no viable preservation plan presented, the City of Little Rock decided to sell the old park to the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, reports the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. All the structures are to be torn down and the land cleared initially for a parking lot and potential future expansion.

Earlier sales were held for baseball fans to purchase artifacts. Last Saturday, the park was opened for what may be its final time. The city offered to give away the remaining wooden and iron seats, dating from 1920 and 1932, to 500 people on a first-come, first-served basis.

Fans lined up outside the park hours in advance for the chance to take home a souvenir, reported the Arkansas Times. The long-time and former general manager of the Travs, Bill Valentine, also an ex-American League umpire, was on hand to autograph the seats. Oddly, a decision was made to destroy one seat for every one given away, a decision that left a number of people disappointed and without their piece of memorabilia.

A gentleman named Brian Chilson captured the proceedings, then posted the video on YouTube.

While progress must be made, a part of me wishes this significant part of Cardinals minor league history could somehow have been preserved.

(For more details on the Cardinals’ history in Double-A, refer to “Cardinals in Double-A – 1966 to 2008”.)

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Put that together and what results is the increasing rarity of long outings or in its most extreme form, complete games. Going one step further, getting a three-game series of such performances with impressive results is almost unheard-of these days.

Yet that is what happened at Busch Stadium this past weekend.

When St. Louis Cardinals right-handed starting pitcher Kyle McClellan pitched one batter into the ninth inning during Sunday afternoon’s series finale versus Milwaukee, it concluded a weekend trifecta of Cardinals starters having gone at least eight innings each while allowing no more than one run.

Prior to the season, it would have seemed unimaginable for the 2011 Cardinals to accomplish this without either Adam Wainwright or Chris Carpenter contributing. Yet that is exactly what fans witnessed on Friday, Saturday and Sunday in St. Louis.

Along with McClellan, the standout pitchers are Jaime Garcia and Kyle Lohse.

Lohse was a hard-luck loser on Saturday despite yielding just one run over eight innings. He had the misfortune to be matched up against Milwaukee’s Yovani Gallardo’s no-hit bid. The lefty Garcia was arguably the most impressive of all, spinning a two-hit complete game on Friday during which he carried a perfect game one out into the eighth inning.

Fortunately, to help put this into a historical perspective, we have researcher Tom Orf, who painstakingly combed the records for similar series since 1920.

The last time three such games were thrown by Cardinals pitchers was 39 years ago, in 1972. Further, this is just the fifth occurrence in the last 60 years.

Other than a bulge in the 1940’s, a series of three games pitched this well was only a once-or-twice in a decade occurrence – even in the pre-pitch count and pre-closer days.

Three consecutive starts of 8+ IP and 0 or 1 run allowed vs. same team (in series), St. Louis Cardinals, by decade since 1920

In fact, Bob Gibson participated in just two of these series during his long Hall of Fame career. That is the same number in which Dizzy and Paul Dean contributed. Mort Cooper was a part of five of the eight three-start performances during the wartime 1940′s.

Lohse’s Saturday gem was only the second of the 54 individual contests in which the Cardinals lost. The other was a Nelson Briles start in July 1968.

The complete list of 17 prior three-game occurrences follows.

Three consecutive starts of 8+ IP and 0 or 1 run allowed vs. same team (in series), St. Louis Cardinals, since 1920

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