When it was announced that the MLB Draft was moving from June to join the All-Star festivities, the thought was to bridge the gap with the next wave of potential stars. It also coincided with the end of short-season leagues so after a year of internal debate, the decision was money-driven but will pay off [...]
Initially this week’s plan was to get my first Draft post up and then wonder how long the two Springfield sluggers would still be down the highway for a road trip. One bad series in New York later was all it took and quickly forgotten by one notification in my inbox. The Cardinals announced just [...]
Back when the Rockies were rumored to be moving a certain all-everything third baseman, most trade scenarios for St. Louis revolved around the guy with the same first name as the centerpiece. Fast forward to 2022, however, and it seems like a matter of days or weeks before both Nolans are sharing the same clubhouse [...]
What do a small school signing, a free agent pick-up and a position change all have in common? To answer that riddle, first look at the marquee name who will get most of the publicity for Springfield this summer. Jordan Walker merits plenty of attention and will be the main focus for teams in the [...]
After a much-needed break from everything negative in June, the Cardinals celebrated turning the calendar. This week brings plenty of optimism for the organization as multiple players sporting the Birds on the Bat are honored in Colorado. It started with the Future Stars game as Memphis teammates Nolan Gorman and Matthew Liberatore earned spots on [...]
As the schedule finally moves away from May showers, all four of the St. Louis affiliates approach this week searching for momentum. Memphis needs to stabilize the rotation but two straight weeks of solid play have the Redbirds inching ever closer to a winning record. Peoria seemingly has not been able to outlast injuries to [...]
When looking at just how unique the new Minor League model has started out, the internal debate quickly turned into something hard to explain. The game of baseball has always revolved around stats nearly as much as wins and losses unless you are a franchise that embraces tanking. After two weeks and not a single [...]
Sometimes the calendar gifts you days such as today that require paying extra attention. The Cardinals can claim later that they planned it all along, but Matthew Liberatore deserves extra attention and with good reason. He isn’t the youngest St. Louis pitcher starting today (Ludwin Jimenez has that honor) although each of the four potential [...]
In what turned out to be largely a week to forget, by far the most impressive stat was that each of the four minor league clubs participated and completed all six scheduled contests. Yes, the results count and can be scrutinized but if that is what you are looking for – this slice of the [...]
After I left active duty in 2005, my job as an Army contractor took me all over the world. One unexpected benefit of that was having to attend a class at Fort Gordon in Georgia that coincided with Spring Training for the Cardinals. During one of my breaks, I learned another classmate was also a [...]
Growing up around the game of baseball, it was always a treat to make the trip to Davenport right along the Mississippi River to watch potential future stars. This was back in 1994 when the Astros had their affiliate in the Q-C, and little lefty starter Billy Wagner was the next big thing. You didn’t [...]
With all of the changes in general that happened to baseball over the past year, it does feel nice to add some normalcy to the equation. Enter the Texas League which might very well have been how the sport decided on the unique scheduling for 2021. The newly-named Double-A Central kept the North and South [...]
