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Happily Ever After

Posted on October 30, 2011 at 1:37 AM
Once upon a time, there was a baseball team.

This baseball team wasn't the richest team, though it wasn't poor by any means.  It wasn't the strongest team and it wasn't by any means the fastest team.  It wasn't even considered the best team within its region, much less in all the land.

This team had many players that made up its merry band.  It had the Warrior, who could battle teams with amazing firepower and also could undermine them with guts and guile, depending on the situation.  It had the Young Gun, a man who started building his legend early and then continued to develop it.

There was the Legend, one known far and wide as the most intimidating, the most amazing, the most everything of players.  Aiding the Legend was the Hired Hand, imported indirectly from the mountain tribes to help the Legend in his times of trial.  To go along with these two was the Rival, a man that had started out as a fierce member of an opposing tribe, only to become a trusted member of this team.

There were others, of course.  The Local, the Phenom, the Lefty, the Poet, the Gunslinger, the Finisher.  All sorts of names and characters made up this unique team.

Every year, the Lords of Baseball held a contest in the fall of the year, when the leaves were changing and the north winds began to blow.  This contest was to see just which team would be able to hold the title of Best Team and feast on the adoration of those that followed these brave and intrepid men.  Teams came from far and wide, down long and winding roads, to get to the tournament, well knowing that only eight of them would be allowed inside the gates once they arrived at their destination.


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Spring Love

Posted on March 9, 2011 at 7:40 AM
The old baseball saying is, never fall in love too early in spring.  A day after a rough outing for Lance Lynn, Brandon Dickson had one of his own.

Dickson worked through a couple of innings just fine, but that third inning was a disaster and enough to cost the Cardinals the game.  As with Lynn, there was an error behind him, but still, allowing five runs overall and four in the eighth isn't going to help him unseat Kyle McClellan.  The second time out for both major challengers to McClellan was a shaky one, so if he comes out with another strong performance this time around, it could be he all but slams the door on the opportunity.

That old saying has to be recalled with another Cardinal prospect as well, since Matt Carpenter is just tearing up the Grapefruit League.  Another great day at the plate, as he went three for three and drove in a run with a walk, plus he played some very solid defense.  Obviously, Carpenter is going to start in Memphis, but if I were Nick Punto, I'd be rehabbing about as hard as I could.  If Freese goes down, right now it looks like Carpenter could step in and get the team through.

Mixed day for Nick Stavinoha, who is trying to make a longshot bid to make the team.  Two hits off the bench does you right, but missing home plate on a headfirst slide when you are the tying run late in the game....that doesn't.  There's not much room for Stavinoha anyway, as noted by the fact he's learning how to catch to up his value.

Jaime Garcia wasn't great either yesterday, continuing what's been a bit of a rough spring by going three innings, but allowing three walks and three runs in that time period and throwing 63 pitches.  Garcia has been able to work out of some jams--just allowing three runs with as many baserunners as he had yesterday is something--but he's got to more efficient with his pitches.  The bullpen can't be going 3-4 innings for him and 3-4 for McClellan on a regular basis.

There's a story in the Post-Dispatch talking about the Cardinals' outfield defense, Honestly, the outfield defense hasn't even been a consideration for me.  Matt Holliday did very well out there last year, Colby Rasmus is still learning but is above-average out there, and while I don't expect much out of Lance Berkman save catching the balls he can get to, Jon Jay and Allen Craig should fill in fine in the late innings.  With this groundball staff, I'm much more concerned about the lack of range for Ryan Theriot and Skip Schumaker than I am about Lance Berkman.

Let's get to today's Approval Ratings, shall we?

Going into, the fanbase didn't quite know what to make of Matt Holliday.  He'd only been a Cardinal for the last half of the season and one of the last memories they had of him was dropping the fly ball in the NLDS.  He had resigned with the Cards, which helped him, and he tallied a 84.5%, which was pretty solid.

Holliday had a slow start last year, but came along and became a great addition to the lineup.  That was reflected in this year's scoring, as he moved all the way up to 91.1%, getting a mention from all 62 voters.  I personally rang up a 97 for him, because he's done just about everything you can expect out of a major signing like that.  Some other comments were that he was one of the only ones that displayed putting their personal best into every game and that he's given all we could ask for.  One voter even expects him to be the face of the franchise in 2012.

Tony La Russa always draws his share of criticism and controversy, and it's no surprise that all 62 voted on TLR as well.  Last year, La Russa had ticked upwards and moved over the 80% level, but whether it was because of a different mix of voters, a missed October in 2010, or his comments about the Pujols situation, he freefalled (freefell?) this year to 70.8%.  I've always been more on the Tony bandwagon, rating him at a 90 this year.  Others were not so generous, with some mentioning that he's worn out his welcome.  Even those that were pro-La Russa, that believed he always wanted to win, said he drove them nuts at times.

Finally, our media member is Rick Horton.  Normally, I wouldn't have put Horton in this list, but with the news that he will be basically a third equal member of the Fox Sports Midwest broadcasting team, doing play by play with Al Hrabosky and color with Dan McLaughlin, it seemed a good idea to get a feel for what Cardinal Nation thought about him.

While it could have been much worse, it wasn't exactly a ringing endorsement.  Horton wound up with a 72.2% mark.  The strongest comment in favor of him was that he "wasn't as bad as people make him out to be."  I personally gave him an 84, because I'm a generous grader and he could be much worse, but I will say I was not enthused when I heard for the FSMW announcement.

Cards and Braves are playing two today, with a B game this morning and the regular game at the regular time.  It's on Braves radio, so fire up your MLB At Bat app or head over to MLB.com to listen to it.

I'm on the UCB Radio Hour tonight, regular time, regular place.  Join me and let's talk Cardinal baseball!

Freese-ing Them Out

Posted on March 8, 2011 at 11:45 AM
We've been waiting for David Freese to get into the ballgame.  Apparently, so has he.

On a day where everyone was hitting, perhaps the loudest noise of all for Cardinal fans was the sound of Freese's bat as he stroked two hits and collected three RBI, all without injuring himself.
He also handled his only chance in the field without incident as well, bolstering optimism that the third base conundrum will be less of an issue than we expected.  (Side note: you can see Derrick Goold discussing Freese in this video.)

Even with his strong start, though, the Cardinals aren't going to deviate from the plan.  Freese will sit today when they take on the Boston Red Sox and still alternate days playing and not playing.  Cardinal fans are breathing a little easier today, though, with him finally getting on the field.

Freese wasn't the only one that had a strong day yesterday.  When you win 10-4 over the Twins, I guess that's not too surprising.  Looking at the pitching first, Jake Westbrook went three scoreless innings before stumbling a bit in the fourth.  Still, 3 2/3 innings with just one run allowed is much better than the 50-pitch two inning outing he had in his first shot.  Every pitcher is key this year, of course, but having Westbrook eat innings will be very valuable to a pen that may get used a lot every fifth day.

Lance Lynn didn't have quite the same type of outing this time as he did in his first appearance.  He allowed two earned runs in his two innings, with two walks and a strikeout.  He wasn't helped at all by Colby Rasmus's error in center, dropping a fly ball that might have changed the complexion of the inning.  The Twins announcers were talking about him trying to get people to chase the off-speed stuff and it just wasn't working, as he'd get ahead of batters but not be able to put them away.  I'm sure there was a discussion between him and the pitching coach on that after the game.

Jon Jay, Allen Craig, and Matt Carpenter all wound up with two hits, with both of Jay's being doubles.  Carpenter and Jay also tallied two RBI.  I had no idea that Carpenter was five for eight this spring.  I realize that Dennis makes a strong point urging caution with the results from the spring, with good reason, but it is nice to see the kid having an impact.  If Freese does go down, it could be Carpenter getting the call, especially if Nick Punto isn't going to be available.  (Are you like me?  Have you quickly forgotten Punto is part of this team?)  He'll at least have some confidence that he can compete at the big league level and probably will start out in Memphis, being just a phone call away.

Most fans are more focused on the other Carpenter, however.  Chris Carpenter may have to miss Friday's start, as he felt a twinge in his hamstring going less than full bore during Sunday's session.  However, he went again today and reported no problems, so it may be that he gets back on the mound Friday.  We'll see how the evaluation Wednesday goes.  You know they aren't going to rush him, but he does need a couple of starts to help build up to going deep into games.

The other injury from last week, Mitchell Boggs,  threw at full speed yesterday and reported no problems.  Sounds like that back issue is...wait for it....behind him, though I worry that might be something that flares up during the season.  There will likely be suitable fill-ins at Memphis, though, if it does.

Time for today's approval ratings.  We start off with the closer of the Redbirds, Ryan Franklin.  Franklin has never been the strongest of statistical candidates and he has his detractors as well.  That said, he's gotten the job more times than not, which will bring some warm and fuzzy feelings to a fan base.  Last year, he polled at a 69.7% clip, with his late season 2009 collapse still fresh in people's minds.

After another year of pitching the ninth, this year Franklin moves up to 72.8%.  Some people thought that he "doesn't have what it takes anymore" while others rated him much more highly.  For the record, I gave him an 86, because he has been fairly reliable, plus I gave him bonus points for his Twitter presence.

Dave Duncan is our management person of the day.  While his good friend Tony La Russa could be considered the lightening rod for this organization, Duncan tends to miss out on a lot of stuff thrown Tony's way.  Last year, he was marked at 87%, making him one of the highest non-players surveyed.

Duncan makes it three years in a row with rising stock as he gets a 87.9% from this year's polled Cardinal fans.  Duncan was considered "as good as it gets" but one did note he always looked like he was at a funeral in the dugout.  To complete the record, he got a 94 from me.

Our media member for the day is the Cat, Jim Hayes, from Fox Sports MW.  Jim typically does pieces for the pregame show, as well as interviews of the players before the game.  He will also join the guys in the booth during the third inning to talk about different aspects.  Fair disclosure: I met Jim as part of the FSMW tour last year and, while I liked him before, that time spent probably helped push to his 95% rating from me.

Hayes seems to be a love-him-or-hate-him kind of figure, as he wound up with a respectable 76.1%, but there was a lot of deviation in the scores, as there were a few 100s and a few in the 50-60 range.  He was termed "a clown" by one while another one loved his inside jokes with the players and announcers.  I've had this discussion on Twitter before, so I know he doesn't suit everyone's taste, but I think he enlivens the broadcast notably.

Cards are on KMOX again today, taking on the Red Sox.  Jaime Garcia will be on the mound looking to continue where he left off last time out.

Playing Pepper 2011: Boston Red Sox

Posted on March 1, 2011 at 3:00 PM
Two years ago, I started a series I called Playing Pepper, where I asked questions of bloggers of each major league team about the season to come.  Not only was that informative and entertaining, it led to the spawning of the Baseball Bloggers Alliance.  With spring training coming up, it's time to get back into shape by again playing a little pepper.

Boston Red Sox (89-73, 7 GB and third in the AL East)

For the first time in quite some time, the Red Sox found themselves going home when the regular season concluded instead of pushing on into October.  That might have flown in the pre-Idiots days, when the team was still cursed, but nowadays, that kind of failure has to be fixed and fixed quickly, so the Sox plunged into the markets and came up with two big fish, Carl Crawford (via free agency) and Adrian Gonzalez (via trade).

So was that fishing expedition enough to push this team back into a deep October run?  I consulted a panel of Red Sox bloggers to get their opinion.

Christine E. writes for the blog Boston Red Thoughts, which will be celebrating its fifth anniversary this year, a major milestone in blogging terms.  Christine is also the president of the Boston BBA chapter and you can follow her blog on Facebook, though she's yet to jump into the Twitter stream.

Jeffrey Brown is over at Sox #1 Fan, proclaiming his thoughts on the Boston nine.  You can also find him on Twitter.

Allan is an old-school blogger.  No Facebook, no Twitter, just his thoughts over at Joy of Sox, where this will be his ninth season of writing.  Allan is also the author of Babe Ruth and the 1918 Red Sox and was one of the first members of the BBA.

After the jump, we'll find out which free agent will make the biggest impact and where these bloggers expect the Red Sox to be at the end of the season.


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A Pain In The Back

Posted on March 23, 2010 at 8:08 AM
The Cardinals split up the squad yesterday and wound up with two wins, including a huge eighth inning that brought them from behind against the Red Sox.  So what's the major story today?

Albert Pujols's back, of course.  The man gets a hangnail, Cardinal Nation hyperventilates.  With good reason.

This is starting to trouble me just a bit.  I know that the front office is saying they aren't concerned, and obviously they would know much more than I do on the subject, but to have this happen again this spring just seems disconcerting.  While it sounds like if this was the regular season he'd probably play, it worries me that this will be something that carries into the season. As most of you probably do, I get the twinges in my back and wouldn't want to try to be swinging a bat with that kind of discomfort.

Everything will be fine, right?  It's only spring, it's only spring.....

However, with AP not being able to go yesterday, we weren't able to see Pujols and Holliday back-to-back.  Matt Holliday was back in the lineup, which helped alleviate some concerns, because if both of them hobble to the starting line, there's going to be a lot of concerned Redbird faithful.  Holliday seems to be completely healed up from the rib cage strain, swinging at full speed and getting a double against the Red Sox.

The biggest on-the-field news came on the pitching mound, though.  Jaime Garcia threw against the Astros and was very solid, allowing only one run over four innings.  As a pitcher, if you get Yadier Molina testifying for you, that has to go a long way.  Garcia has done all he can this spring to get a roster slot and it does sound like Tony La Russa is watching.  If Kyle McClellan or Rich Hill gives them a reason to send him down, they might, but right now Garcia might have edged in front of both of them.

Adam Ottovino got his relief appearance in and did fairly well.  He struck out two, though he did allow a run.  I don't think he pitched himself out of contention for a slot at all.  As we examined yesterday, it's possible that he and Garcia would go north, though it'd take some other work to make that happen.  I still think he's a bit of a longshot, but it could happen.

There are 31 left in camp after the Cards sent out some players yesterday.  That leaves six more to remove, mainly in the pitching staff with Ruben Gotay getting sent down.  Just two more weeks until the bell rings!

Two more Cardinal Approval Ratings to get to.  Last year, Colby Rasmus was an unknown quantity, which was reflected in his low 66.0% score.  After a full rookie season, Cardinal Nation has warmed somewhat to the quiet outfielder, bumping him up over ten points to 76.8%.  Colby topped out at 95 and bottomed out at 49 over the 66 ballots.

John Rooney also was ranked last year, pulling in a 80.9% score.  A number of voters didn't express an opinion this year, as he only showed up on 60 ballots but he stayed fairly steady, slipping down to 76.2%.  Rooney hit both extremes, with one 100 and one 0.

Off-day for the Cardinals today, so hopefully Pujols will be back to work tomorrow!

Back Against It

Posted on March 9, 2010 at 7:55 AM
The biggest news from Cardinals camp yesterday didn't come out of the matchup between the Cards and the Red Sox, between Chris Carpenter and Josh Beckett.  The news of the day was made before the game even started and hopefully hasn't put the team's back to the wall.

Albert Pujols didn't make the trip yesterday as scheduled due to back stiffness, instead seeing a chiropractor for an adjustment.  Now, anytime Pujols has so much as a hangnail, Cardinal Nation starts grabbing the paper bags, having hyperventilation of the non-prospect kind.  For good reason, of course--as Pujols goes, so go the Cardinals.  Even with the solid club that John Mozeliak has put together for 2010, the foundation is AP and without him, it's a much tougher climb.

If the reports coming out of the team are true, this is more precautionary than anything, that if it was the regular season he might play through it.  We'll see more when he takes the field on Wednesday and hopefully this will be the last report of such things.  It'd be a shame for him to finally have that elbow feeling good to be then sidelined by his back.

The game had some interesting facets as well.  Carpenter wasn't sharp, it sounds like, but he was still fairly effective.  It's always good to see Carp go out there and be the pitcher we know he can be.  After so many injuries, last year seemed like a mirage--if you looked too close, it would vanish and those promises would be empty.  It didn't happen last year, though, and as he said yesterday, you don't really worry about every start being his last.  Well, at least too much.

Brendan Ryan is coming along quicker than expected, according to reports.  Which is not the way Cardinal injuries usually go, but it's a welcome change.  I'm still not 100% that Ryan won't start the year on the DL, but at least now it looks like the chances of that happening are starting to decrease.

It's a big day in prospect circles.  There will be a lot of focus on the Nationals game, where Stephen Strasburg is to make his spring training debut, but closer to home, Shelby Miller is likely to get into today's game against the Twins.  Odds are it'll be his last appearance with the big squad, getting sent to the minor league camp afterwards, but still it'll be intriguing to see him on the mound, giving the team a glimpse of the future.

Adam Wainwright should get the start today against Minnesota, so looking forward to seeing the Wagonmaker back in the saddle.  And i you've not voted in the Cardinal Approval Ratings, best get to it!

Splitting The Weekend

Posted on March 8, 2010 at 8:08 AM
Two games, one win.

The Cards finally broke the seal on the win column this weekend.  After falling Saturday in extra innings to Florida, they were able to get a win against the Marlins on Sunday.  Kyle McClellan had a very solid start, but had to since his main competition, Rich Hill, was just about as good.  McClellan went three innings of one-hit ball, while Hill came in and struck out two in his two innings, though he did allow a wind-aided home run.

I don't know that this outing tells us a whole lot about McClellan, though probably a little bit.  He's not an unknown quantity.  We know that he can get batters out, especially in a short outing.  He's gone two or three innings before in the bigs.  (OK, three innings just once, but the point holds.)  The key is going to be when he starts lengthening out his starts and facing the bats two or three times.  Will he make adjustments?  Will the batters catch up to him?  Can he keep the focus and stamina through a longer time on the mound?  While there's no indication that these questions will be answered in a negative fashion, we still need to wait until his next start (and possibly the one after that) to get a good feel for him as a starter.

In Hill's case, it was good to see that the "dead arm" he had earlier in camp has apparently cleared up, at least somewhat.  Seeing if he can handle the longer outings will be something to keep an eye on as well.  His command apparently was fairly strong, though he did throw as many pitches in two innings as McClellan did in three, which is something to watch.  Both of these guys go again Friday, with Hill going first, and the most intriguing battle of the spring picks up again then.

The other news from the weekend was that the first cuts were made, as ten were sent to the minor league camp.  While some of these guys will still get a little filler time with the big club during the spring, they'll do most of their work with the minor leaguers.  Not really any surprises on there--Charlie Zink's blowup this week apparently cost him quickly--but I think the most surprising thing to me is that Shelby Miller wasn't on the list.  His batterymate, Robert Stock, was, so I was expecting to see his name, especially since players will still go back and forth.  Apparently they think there is still value in Miller hanging with the big kids.  I'm looking forward to him getting into a game, and wouldn't be surprised if that doesn't happen today or tomorrow.

The UCB roundtable is still going strong, with the transcript of this weekend's question up over at Stan Musial's Stance.  For the complete schedule and links to the transcripts that are up, check over here.

If you haven't already, be sure to put in your entry into the 2010 Cardinal Approval Ratings!  Already 46 entries in, so I'm looking forward to how they shake out.  The deadline is Friday, so head on over and get them in!

Today's an exciting matchup, even if it is spring training.  The Cardinals travel over to Boston's spring training camp for a game that will pit Chris Carpenter against Josh Beckett.  That one should be a lot of fun!

Playing Pepper 2010: Boston Red Sox

Posted on February 26, 2010 at 11:57 AM
Last year before the season began, I posed five questions to a blogger for each team, so as to get to know the rest of baseball.  I focus so heavily on the Cardinals that sometimes the rest of MLB can pass me by.  That went very well, so much so that it spawned not only a postseason edition but was part of the impetus for the formation of the Baseball Bloggers Alliance.

So this year, I've brought Playing Pepper back, with a little bit of a twist.  Instead of five questions, I posed 10 questions, and this year every team got the same set.  Plus, tapping into those BBA connections, I sent them to every blogger representing that team in the BBA.

We'll try to do two a day in a general alphabetical order, but things may change depending on responses.

Boston Red Sox
2009 Finish: 95-67, second in the AL East, AL Wild Card, lost in ALDS

Ever since the Sox took card of the Cardinals in the 2004 World Series, I can't say that I've been a huge fan of the franchise.  I've got some friends that follow them, as does my brother to some extent, but I've just not been that interested in the non-cursed version.

That said, the BBA has some excellent Boston bloggers and a number of them took the time to humor me and answer the Playing Pepper Ten.  Inside, read the answers from Brian of BoSox Injection, Rob from The Bottom Line and Allan from The Joy of Sox.
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Postseason Playing Pepper: Boston Red Sox

Posted on October 6, 2009 at 10:00 PM
If you were reading this blog before this season started, you may remember a series I did called "Playing Pepper", where I asked five questions of a blogger covering each major league team.  With the season coming to a close, I thought I'd tap into the talents of the newly formed Baseball Bloggers Alliance and ask five new questions of the bloggers covering the postseason teams.

The American League Wild Card has a familiar face, as the Red Sox seem to have owned that for the history of the WC.  Of course, that doesn't make them any less dangerous in the postseason, as they've shown a couple of times in the past five years.  I caught up with Christine of Boston Red Thoughts and Tim from Inside the Monster for their thoughts on the Boston club.

C70: What is the Red Sox's strength going into October?

ITM: The strength of the Red Sox heading into the playoffs is its' starting pitching. Many across baseball, in especially here in Boston, believe we have two number 1 starters in Josh Beckett and Jon Lester. There has been questions about each players' health after Beckett was scratched from his last start and Lester took a line drive off his knee/quad in NY last weekend. Lester will start tonight and Beckett on Saturday, presumably meaning Lester will start game 1 of the ALDS. Couple that with Clay Buchholz and Daisuke Matsuzaka pitching well down the stretch and one would assume this team goes as far as their starting pitching takes them.

I would also consider the bullpen a strength of this team with 3 power arms in Bard, Wagner and Papelbon. Lastly the veterans on this team and playoff experience can't hurt. The majority of this team went to game 7 of the ALCS last year, and another high percentage of those players won the World Series in 2007. Players like Ortiz, Becket, Pedoria and Youk have been around the block in October before. 

BRT: When they are firing on all cylinders, I like their chances against any team in a short series.  This Red Sox team is well rounded and, with the exception of a bit of a shaky bench, could win it all...

C70: What worries you about the team?

BRT: The injuries--as with every team, it's the end of the year--they are tired, and beat up.  But it's the little nagging injuries that could really hurt the Sox, Jed Lowrie's wrist, JD Drew's shoulder, Mike Lowell's hip, Josh Beckett's back, etc etc...

ITM: A few things worry me about this Sox team. First is their line up ability to hit good pitching. The addition of Victor Martinez in the middle of line up definitely makes them more formidable, however in game 7 of the ALCS in 2008 they scored 1 run and lost 3-1. Matt Garza shut them down in that game and Zack Greinke shut down the Sox last week in KC. The Angels pitching staff doesn't worry me as much, but pitchers like Sabathia and Verlander can definitely quiet the Sox bats. 

Secondly, the health of some key players worries me. Mike Lowell got a cortisone shot in his hip yesterday and Josh Beckett had a back spasm which was reported as minor but still kept me up for a few nights.

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A Lost Cardinal Weekend

Posted on March 30, 2009 at 9:30 AM
Friday, Saturday, Sunday.  Three games that the Cardinals played against AL foes.  Two of them with what portends to be close to the Opening Day lineup.  And the Cardinals couldn't win any of them.

None of them were blowouts and the Cards had a chance to win at least two of them, but still, running into this kind of streak after such a strong spring training is a little disappointing.  You'd hope that it's just one of those things, some strong opposition more than a struggling team, but the team has lost a total of five in a row, which doesn't completely coincide with the World Baseball Classic wrapping up and players returning to camp, but enough that you have to start wondering whether some of that early spring success was inflated due to the fact the Cards didn't have much depletion of their roster.

Let's take a quick look at the games.  Friday, they lost on the road to the Red Sox 11-8 in extra innings.  This one almost was a spectacular game, as the Cards scored four in the ninth to take the lead, only to cough it up in the bottom of the inning.  There were good things from the game, of course.  David Freese had a great game, going three for four with a home run and driving in two.  Khalil Greene and Albert Pujols both had two hits. Chris Perez threw an inning and struck out two.

The disturbing thing, though, was the outing of Kyle Lohse, who gave up 11 hits and six runs (five earned) in five innings.  The Sox hit him hard, but Lohse did dance out of trouble until the sixth, where it really came crashing down on him.  Dennys Reyes didn't really set the world on fire either, allowing three hits and a run in his inning of work.

Of course, days like that happen and if it wasn't in the middle of a five-game losing streak, maybe it gets shaken off.  But so often in spring we look for signs and portents in everything, so outings like that within a couple of weeks of the start of the season can raise some eyebrows.

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Heroes
Lance Berkman (24)
Albert Pujols (19)
Matt Holliday (15)
Chris Carpenter (10)
Kyle Lohse (9)
Yadier Molina (9)
Ryan Theriot (8)
David Freese (7)
Jaime Garcia (7)
Jon Jay (7)
Jake Westbrook (6)
Allen Craig (5)
Kyle McClellan (5)
Colby Rasmus (5)
Edwin Jackson (4)
Skip Schumaker (4)
Daniel Descalso (3)
Rafael Furcal (2)
Gerald Laird (2)
Nick Punto (2)
Marc Rzepczynski (2)
Fernando Salas (2)
Mitchell Boggs (1)
Daniel Descalso (1)
Lance Lynn (1)

2010 Top Heroes: Matt Holliday and Albert Pujols (24)
2009 Top Hero: Albert Pujols (28)
2008 Top Hero: Albert Pujols (25)

Goats
Ryan Theriot (12)
Albert Pujols (11)
Jake Westbrook (10)
David Freese (8)
Ryan Franklin (7)
Jaime Garcia (7)
Fernando Salas (7)
Kyle Lohse (6)
Kyle McClellan (6)
Colby Rasmus (6)
Skip Schumaker (6)
Miguel Batista (5)
Chris Carpenter (5)
Daniel Descalso (5)
Matt Holliday (5)
Jon Jay (5)
Jason Motte (5)
Allen Craig (4)
Rafael Furcal (4)
Tyler Greene (4)
Yadier Molina (4)
Lance Berkman (3)
Mitchell Boggs (3)
Gerald Laird (3)
Edwin Jackson (2)
Trever Miller (2)
Corey Patterson (2)
Marc Rzepczynski (2)
Matt Carpenter (1)
Maikel Cleto (1)
Tony Cruz (1)
Octavio Dotel (1)
Mark Hamilton (1)
Lance Lynn (1)
Nick Punto (1)
Arthur Rhodes (1)
Eduardo Sanchez (1)
Raul Valdes (1)
PJ Walters (1)

2010 Top Goat: Brendan Ryan (14)
2009 Top Goats: Rick Ankiel and Todd Wellemeyer (13)
2008 Top Goat: Troy Glaus (13)

    Cardinal Nation Approval Ratings (March 2011)
    Adam Wainwright 94.7% (down 0.9%)
    Matt Holliday 91.1% (up 6.6%)
    Albert Pujols 90.4% (down 8.3%)
    Dave Duncan 87.9% (up 0.9%)
    Derrick Goold 87.8%
    Chris Carpenter 86.9% (down 6.7%)
    Matthew Leach 85.5%
    Mike Shannon 84.9% (down 4.6%)
    John Rooney 84.3% (up 8.1%)
    Yadier Molina 83.7% (down 8.3%)
    Colby Rasmus 81.8% (up 5.0%)
    Pop Warner 76.7%
    Jim Hayes 76.1%
    John Mozeliak 74.1% (down 12.0%)
    Ryan Franklin 72.8% (up 3.1%)
    Bill Dewitt 71.0% (down 12.0%)
    Tony La Russa 70.8% (down 10.2%)
    BJ Rains 70.4%
    Ricky Horton 69.1%
    John Vuch 68.9%
    Jeff Luhnow 66.4%
    Skip Schumaker 64.1% (down 17.0%)
    Al Hrabosky 63.2% (up 19.0%)
    Mark McGwire 62.5% (down 10.7%)
    Dan Lozano 58.7%
    Joe Strauss 57.5%
    Kyle Lohse 55.1% (down 11.7%)

    2009
    Rick Ankiel 83.9%
    Chris Duncan 69.1%


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