Midwest Sports Fan Blog

An hourlong rain delay was just what Jaime Garcia needed to refocus.

The St. Louis Cardinals knocked out Bronson Arroyo in the fifth inning and their rookie left-hander overcame a shaky start in a 12-4 victory over the Cincinnati Reds on Monday, forging a first-place tie in the NL Central.

“I think in the first inning, sometimes it’s kind of like a shaky one for me because I’m learning,” Garcia said. “After the delay I was able to stay focused, stay in the game mentally and physically.”

Albert Pujols extended his streak of reaching base to nine straight plate appearances with two intentional walks and a single in his first three at-bats. He finally made an out in the fifth inning, hitting into a double play. Pujols added an RBI single in a five-run sixth, one day after hitting three homers at Chicago.

Click here to read the full article – By R.B. Fallstrom of Associated Press

Mark McGwire drew a standing ovation before the Cardinals’ home opener Monday, a clear sign many St. Louis fans have forgiven the former home run king for using steroids.

There was an immediate burst of applause even before the official introduction prior to the game against the Houston Astros. McGwire is the Cardinals’ new hitting coach.
“It’s always exciting here for opening day,” McGwire said before the game. “I’m sure it’s going to be awesome. I’m sure my stomach is going to be turning.”
McGwire was riding in the back of a dark blue flat bed truck around the warning track in the team’s annual procession. He showed up on the jumbo scoreboard just behind manager Tony La Russa and third base coach Jose Oquendo.
Cheers for McGwire dwarfed the response both La Russa and Oquendo received. After bounding out of the truck, he shook hands with Cardinals Hall of Fame Stan Musial.

Click here to read the full article – By R.B. FALLSTROM of The Oakland Tribune

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St. Louis Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols did not make the cross-state trip for Monday’s game against the Boston Red Sox because of discomfort in his lower back.

The three-time National League MVP did not play Sunday against the Florida Marlins — a scheduled day off — and is not expected to play against the Minnesota Twins on Tuesday, a game also being played in Fort Myers.

“We’ll definitely give him tomorrow,” said Cardinals manager Tony La Russa. “Even if we were home, I don’t think he’d play. We’ll see how he feels on Wednesday.”

Pujols first experienced discomfort in his back on Sunday. Joe Mather will take his place at first base against the Red Sox.

Click here to read the full article – By Associated Press of ESPN.com

Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig admitted at baseball’s quarterly meetings that he agonized over the statement he put out in reference to Mark McGwire’s admission that he took steroids during a good portion of his career.


Selig was unwilling to take his commissioner hat off and give his reaction to McGwire’s statement as a baseball fan.

“Look, I am the commissioner,” Selig said. “My public statement, which I wrote over and over and over, says exactly how I feel on the matter. I just don’t want to add to that. I painstakingly went over it. I went over and over it while I watched the Packers game Sunday night. They gave up so many points and scored so many that I had about five hours to re-write it about 100 times.”

Selig said he found out McGwire was going to speak up about his steroid use before the public did.

“I knew beforehand, but not much,” he said. “I’ve talked a lot about it to [St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa] and [Cardinals owner] Bill DeWitt. We’ve talked about it since they made him their hitting coach.”

Click here to read the full article – By Bruce Levine of ESPNChicago.com

The Cardinals see left fielder Matt Holliday as a unique talent within this year’s free agent pool, and they apparently do not envision themselves as bidders for the market’s presumptive second choice should Holliday defect.


General manager John Mozeliak confirmed Tuesday that the Cardinals’ priority signing would shift away from offense if Holliday proves too pricey for the club to retain.

“We’ll see how the market develops,” Mozeliak said. “Is (Jason Bay) a possibility? Sure. But right now it’s fair to say he’s not one of our top priorities.”

The Cardinals have yet to submit a formal bid to Holliday’s agent, Scott Boras, and are unlikely to do so until free agents can begin accepting bids from all clubs on Saturday. The Cardinals continue to view Holliday as their offseason priority but have also constructed alternatives with starting pitching, not hitting, as a centerpiece.

Click here to read the full article – By Joe Strauss of ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH

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OK, EVERYBODY. TAKE a deep breath. Count to three. Find your happy place. And quit worrying, if only for a minute, about the St. Louis Cardinals’ slip-and-slide slouch toward this postseason. Sure, the Cards were 4-9 the last two weeks of the regular season, giving us pause as they jetted off for their playoff visit to Los Angeles tonight.


Guess what? In 2006, when the Cards were about to win a World Series, their record the last two weeks of the regular season was … wait for it … 4-10. Think about that: 4-9 on the eve of the playoffs this year, 4-10 on the eve of a Series win three years ago.

The last month of this season, the Cards went 14-16. The last month three years ago, the eventual Series champs went 12-17.

And then they went 11-5 in the ‘06 postseason, winning the division series in four games with San Diego, the NLCS in seven games against the New York Mets, and the Series in five games with Detroit.


Click here to read the full article – By of bnd.com

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Troy Glaus rejoined the Cardinals on Tuesday and pronounced himself ready to play, but exactly how much he’ll get to play is in question.


Glaus, who has dealt with one injury after another this year, was most recently sidelined with pain in his left oblique. He was not with the team on the first two stops of its current three-city road trip, instead staying in St. Louis to get treatment. He made improvement, though, so he caught up with his teammates at Great American Ball Park.

“I’ve been hitting for six days,” he said. “Taking grounders, throwing, doing everything.”


Click here to read the full article – By Matthew Leach of MLB.com

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