St Louis

Overall, the upcoming MLB free agency class for the 2011 offseason is fairly weak.  Unlike 2010 when baseball fans anxiously watched to see where pitcher Cliff Lee and All-Star outfielder Carl Crawford would end up, 2011 will figure to be a quiet offseason.

Could new closer Mitchell Boggs be a saving grace for the Cardinals? 

I reserve the right to answer my own question in my own time. Maybe I will answer somewhere in this article.

He doesn’t throw Hail Mary passes, wear religious articles of clothing or pretend to be as righteous as the pope, but he could be a savior for the Redbirds when they get in tight ninth innings.

Question:  What lately has been lacing Lance Berkman’s milk bone bat?  Answer:  Leather baseballs bouncing off the wood and flying out of MLB venues.

The fantasy baseball season is starting to filter out the big fish from the small ponds, the rooks from the bishops and the Cardinals hitters from the haters.

OK, we're not saying we would trade the artist formerly known as Fat Elvis straight up for Super Joe, but here are 10 compelling reasons why Lance Berkman is more valuable than the reigning NL MVP.

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All championship teams have this in common; can you guess what it is? I’ll bet my baseball heads can. 

The answer is a reliable closer—one who consistently gets the job done, especially in crunch time. 

After witnessing Big Adam Wainwright close out the Detroit Tigers in the 2006 World Series, many people in Cardinals Nation are starting to question whether or not Ryan Franklin is the man for the job.

After Friday night's excruciating blown save and subsequent loss, I planned to pen a brief debate on whether or not Ryan Franklin should keep the Cardinals' closer role.

Now, after blowing his second save in as many days, the question is whether or not Tony LaRussa will actually keep going to Franklin in save situations, where he's converted just one of his four chances.

Nicknames and baseball go together like peanut butter and jelly. 

There are literally thousands of different nicknames that baseball players have acquired though their careers, and we all have our favorites. 

Making a list of the top 50 nicknames is difficult, because there are some great players and nicknames that have to be left off the list.  So I guess I'm apologizing in advance if I left your favorite off the list.

Here are the top 50 nicknames in MLB history:

One of the most storied franchises in the world, the St. Louis Cardinals have captured 10 World Series championship trophies.

Recently awarded a Medal of Freedom by president Obama, Cardinal for life—Stan Musial—is a champion in baseball and in life.  Considered one of the best hitters ever in the majors, he's ranked somewhere on my list of all-time Cardinals rippers. 

Zip along for the ride to find out where.  Rip camera one...

At first glance the N.L. Central would seem to be a two-team race between the Cincinnati Reds and the Milwaukee Brewers. Some people add the St. Louis Cardinals to the mix because, well, they're the St. Louis Cardinals. But most analysts seem to agree that it's between the Reds with their combination of speed, power and pitching, and the Brewers, who have one of the top offenses in baseball.

But hold on!

During the first decade of this millenium, Lance Berkman was a staple in any conversation about the best hitters in baseball.

Through almost 12 seasons in Houston he had become the face of the franchise, along with Roy Oswalt, and was a former member of the Killer Bs, taking Derek Bell’s place in 2000 alongside Craig Biggio and Jeff Bagwell.

In his first three full seasons, Berkman was 6th in Rookie of the Year voting and was a two-time All-Star: