St Louis

An already deep Cardinals rotation added some surplus on Friday, inking Miguel Batista and Ian Snell to minor-league deals. The Post-Dispatch reports that Batista can become a free agent if he's not assured a spot on the big-league team by the final week of Spring Training, and that Snell has a similar option for June 1.

The Cardinals sent offensively anemic shortstop Brendan Ryan to the Seattle Mariners on Sunday, receiving fireballer Maikel Cleto in return.

Ryan became dispensable earlier this offseason when the Cardinals added shortstop Ryan Theriot.

The St. Louis Cardinals made their first move toward upgrading their offense on Tuesday, trading right-hander Blake Hawksworth to the Los Angeles Dodgers for shortstop Ryan Theriot.

Theriot became expendable earlier this week when Los Angeles signed Juan Uribe, who can play multiple infield positions like Theriot, but has a little more pop.

I know I am about week late with this, but with a busy work schedule and all the other things that went on in baseball last week, I couldn’t get to it.  I just wanted to comment on the St. Louis Cardinals re-signing RHP Jake Westbrook.

Kudos on both sides on getting this done.

Westbrook is a perfect fit in St. Louis

What does a baseball manager who starts off his career with a new organization by drawing the publicized rage of a legendary organization’s most prolific shortstop do to recover his image?

What does a future Hall of Fame baseball player near the end of his career do to recover his image after going through a messy divorce at home and a nasty public spat with the new manager?

Colby Rasmus may have a one-way ticket out of St. Louis this off-season, if the reports are true he’s unhappy with the Cardinals. 

Rasmus has denied asking to be traded back in July, but Albert Pujols made a pointed comment this weekend that if Rasmus didn’t want to play for the Cardinals, then he should be traded.

Tony La Russa was also quoted as saying it’s up to management, not Rasmus or his teammates, to decide whether he remains in St. Louis.

Coming into the 2010 baseball season, there was no clearer choice than the St. Louis Cardinals as National League Central Division champs.

They had Albert Pujols, the best player in baseball, and possibly the best 3-4 combination in Pujols and Matt Holliday.

Their starting rotation, led by co-aces Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright, was thought to be one of the best in baseball.

When we think of great hitting catchers, we think of Yogi Berra, Johnny Bench, and Mike Piazza. Two are already in the Hall of Fame, and the other is well on his way.

But when reading the list of Hall of Fame catchers, you'll see names like Ray Schalk, Roger Bresnahan and Rick Ferrell. For a position that has been pretty underrepresented in Cooperstown, some pretty weak candidates have gained entrance to baseball's most hallowed hall.

The planets are back in alignment.

After two grand slams, a benches-clearing brawl, a rain delay, and a series to remember, the St. Louis Cardinals have returned to their usual perch atop the National League Central.

Rivalries have always played a huge role in sports, and we all know the fun in rooting against a team we hate.

In the past, rivals have been compared in a number of ways, from who has the best current team to who has won the most championships to who has the best fans.