Thanksgiving is later this week, which means that Black Friday is as well. And the Cardinals have a perfect gift that will be available that day: tickets to the Winter Warm-Up.

(And, of course, the new alternate jerseys will be widely available starting Friday too.)

The Winter Warm-Up is Saturday, Jan. 19, through Monday, Jan. 21, at the Hyatt Regency St. Louis at the Arch. The event times are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Monday.

Past popular attractions will return for 2013. Fans can interact with their favorite players through autograph sessions, play interactive games, share memories with Hall-of-Famers, meet Fredbird, find collectable memorabilia, bid on one-of-a-kind items at live and silent auctions, experience live presentations, and ask questions of players, owners, scouts, broadcasters and officials at Q&A sessions.

The prices for admission passes, which are valid for all three days of the Warm-Up, will remain the same as the last few years – $40 for fans age 16 and over, $10 for children age 5 to 15. Kids under 5 are admitted free of charge. Members of the military, police and fire departments with an active ID will receive one free adult pass, which must be obtained in person at the Busch Stadium administrative offices. Autograph tickets will be sold online beginning Wednesday, Dec. 19, through Monday, Jan. 14.

Tickets can be purchased online at cardinals.com/winterwarmup, in the official Cardinals Team Store at Busch Stadium and at Cardinals Clubhouse stores located around St. Louis.


The fact we generally refer to Albert Pujols as “That Guy Who Used to Play First Base” might show our feelings regarding him leaving the Cardinals, but he does still live in St. Louis and the Pujols Family Foundation is still there as well. And he still does great work within the community. Last Sunday, Albert recruited some of his former Cards teammates for the fifth annual Pujols Family Foundation All-Star basketball game — and it sounds like it was a terrific night.
» Continue reading “Catching Up With The Cardinals: Weekend Edition”

Dear San Francisco Giants,

Thank you for the assistance. We greatly appreciate your part in making today’s game far less stressful. 

Sincerely,

A much more relaxed Cardinal Nation

P.S. — #BeatLA, just because. 

—–

Okay, so the 2012 playoff push didn’t end with the fireworks 2011 created. But, all the Cardinals had to do was win one, or get some help.

The help came first, after the Cardinals were unable to top Mat Latos and the Cincinnati Reds last night.

Chris Carpenter wasn’t flawless, but who really expects him to be after, you know, having a rib removed a few months ago?! He did plenty, though, striking out seven over six innings, surrendering three earned runs.

The Cardinal offense struck first, scoring a first-inning run. But, that was all they could muster, going 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position on the night.

Trevor Rosenthal pitched the seventh in place of Carpenter, and let me just say, if ever there was justification of jumping a guy over AAA ball all together, he’s it. The 100 MPH fastball that struck out Joey Votto was just plain nasty. See for yourself. » Continue reading “Playoff Bound: Dodgers Out, Cardinals In”

It was an incredible night in Major League Baseball overall one year ago, Sept. 28, 2011, with the outcome of two National League and two American League games affecting in dramatic fashion what teams would play in October. One of those games, of course, was the St. Louis Cardinals against the Houston Astros.

And it was the apex of the Cardinals “September to remember.”

The Cardinals entered the game tied with the Atlanta Braves for the National League wild card lead — and they were determined to keep winning.

» Continue reading “One Year Ago Today: Game 162″

Taking on Justin Verlander is a tough assignment for anyone. For Lance Lynn, so was the Tigers’ lineup.

Last night, whether it was the pressure from the hype surrounding the pitching matchup, or simply an off night, our flame-throwing Wolf Pup looked unusually over-matched. It took 50 pitches to get through two innings, and things didn’t get much better from there — for Lynn, or the offense facing a mostly-sharp Verlander.

Here’s how Jenifer Langosch described it:

Photo Credit: @hawkelly

Lynn threw first-pitch strikes to just 14 of 25 batters he faced, largely the result of untamed fastball movement. The Tigers were aggressive early, when Lynn was too often over the plate. Detroit then found success in being patient late, driving Lynn’s pitch count up as he labored.

The Tigers scored more runs off Lynn on Tuesday than opponents had combined for in Lynn’s other three June starts.

[snip]

Verlander, on the other hand, was mostly what he usually is, though with a few more walks than is the norm. With a four-pitch mix, he limited the Cardinals to two hits through the first six innings. St. Louis finally scratched across one in the sixth, when Matt Holliday drove Daniel Descalso home with a groundout. Descalso and Carlos Beltran had knocked singles earlier in the inning.

The Cards had their chance in the seventh inning, where they scored two runs on an error by Detroit’s left fielder Quintin Berry. Then, with the bases loaded and the tying run at first base, Verlander got Craig to strike out swinging (albeit on a nasty slider that Verlander called his best ever), leaving the bases loaded yet again. For you keeping track, the Cardinals are now 10-for-52 on the year with the bases loaded.

Just a base hit would have kept the inning alive and the rally in tact. But alas …

So what’s the deal? There are only so many ways for Mike Shannon and John Rooney to tell KMOX listeners that the Cardinals are just not playing very good ball right now. (And there are only so many ways for us to write the same thing afterwards!)  » Continue reading “How Would You Stop The Slide?”

We haven’t said much about That Guy Who Used To Play First Base in a while — probably because, well, he’s gone. And he hasn’t really done much for his new team.

He did hit a home run on Sunday — I heard about it when it was announced over the PA system at the Denver Airport* — and he had two singles on Wednesday night in the Angels 6-2 win over the Twins. Things are looking up, right?

Not exactly.

Check out his reaction toward teammate Erick Aybar after that game here. And then look at how MLB spins it — “Angels playfully celebrate”? Really? “Erick Aybar and Albert Pujols goof around”? Um, OK. Flinging your glove at your teammate, looking at your elbow and then glaring? Fun! Light-hearted! Impish!

Yeah.

» Continue reading “My, Albert, What A Big Temper You Have”

Obviously, the 2012 St. Louis Cardinals are a different team than the 2011 World Champions. But what effect did the departures of Albert Pujols, Tony La Russa and Dave Duncan have on the perception of the team overall? Are they less hateable now?

That was a question raised by Bernie Miklasz Friday morning on 670 The Score radio in Chicago as he talked about the Cardinals with Mike Mulligan and Brian Hanley.

It’s no secret the Cardinals are not necessarily well liked throughout all of baseball, especially by other teams in the NL Central (and their fans). So when I wanted to know what other fans thought, I had a built-in group to ask: the other Aerys writers. I was particularly curious what the Astros, Cubs and Reds writers/fans thought. Plus I wanted to hear from a Brewers fan — which, conveniently, my friend Tracy is.

Here’s what they all had to say.

Laura Schulte, Rangers writer for Big Game Claws

I think they are much more likable with Matheny, Waino and Freese being front and center. They got younger and more affable overnight.
» Continue reading “Is It Harder To Hate The Cardinals Now?”

After last season’s speculation-filled hullabaloo with That Guy Who Used To Play First and the way it all ended, Cardinal Nation is justifiably gun-shy when it comes to players in contract years. It’s even harder to avoid skepticism when it’s a player worthy of a significant raise, no doubt one he could find on the Free Agent market.

Don't jump Yadi just yet ... he's still healing just like we are. [Photo credit: Flicker, Barbara Moore)

With a guy as beloved as Yadi (really, what other catcher gets the reception he does?), it’s hard to imagine Cards fans ever doubting him. But what can I say? Fool me once, shame on me. Fool me twice …

The National League’s premiere catcher didn’t help his cause much this week when he candidly reminded reporters that the decision to stay wasn’t entirely up to him.

“I’m open to staying here,” said Molina. “I love the city. I love the fans. I love the ballpark. But it’s out of my hands. Whatever they like to do is how it is. They let Albert go.”

Cue the collective wince.

I guess not everyone can be Adam Wainwright and offer fans as much of a guarantee as this sport provides:

“I want to finish my career here. Everyone who plays here wants to finish here. We’re very blessed to play in St Louis.” » Continue reading “In Yadi We Trust?”

Valentine’s Day is, of course, all about love.

As St. Louis Cardinals fans, we obviously love our team … on Valentine’s Day and every other day too. And those of us who are bloggers especially love the Cardinals — we willingly spend our free time watching, thinking, writing, tweeting and writing even more about them.

So, with our question for the latest United Cardinal Bloggers roundtable falling today, we couldn’t resist a question focusing on this holiday.

Our question for our blogging cohorts: what one Cardinal, past or present, would you send a Valentine to this year and why?

Ray DeRousse
stlcardinalbaseball.com

My first response to this question was Willie McGee. I really wish McGee was more a part of this organization, and if my Valentine could move him to do that, then I’d send it to him. I love you, Willie!!!

Given that my plan probably wouldn’t work, I’d send my Valentine to John Tudor. He was inspirational to me in 1985. I was learning to pitch at the time (rather than just throw),and Tudor was my major influence. Watching him work that year was like watching Michelangelo paint the Sistene Chapel. In my mind, it’s the single best Cardinal pitching performance in my lifetime (just missed Gibby).

Besides that, Tudor was a true competitor who was humble and self-deprecating. I just love the guy and always will.

» Continue reading “Who Is Your Cardinal Valentine?”

You can list them without even thinking about it — those indelible plays that immediately come to mind when someone asks about great moments in St. Louis Cardinals history. You even remember exactly where you were and what you were doing when they happened.

That’s exactly what the January project of the United Cardinal Bloggers is: to name our choices for the top five iconic Cardinals moments. It didn’t require much thought to determine them, nor any discussion, although there are certainly more we could have listed. But, five was the rule.

So here’s this week’s Friday Five, presented in chronological order.

1. “Go crazy, folks, go crazy!”

Game five of the 1985 NLCS on Oct. 14, Dodgers vs. Cardinals at Busch Stadium, series tied at two games, score tied 2-2 going into the bottom of the ninth …

We all know what happened next. Ozzie Smith stepped to the plate. The count ran to 1-2. Ozzie swung, the ball went flying and then came the famous Jack Buck call: “Go crazy, folks, go crazy!”

That was a winner — a very famous walk-off winner.

Only I didn’t enjoy it at the time. No, I was a (misguided) Cubs fan back then so was rooting for the Dodgers while watching the game in my college dorm room. And probably said a bad word or two about Ozzie …

Sorry.
» Continue reading “Friday Five: Top Cardinals Iconic Moments”

On the final day of 2011, a look back at some of the moments — good and bad, though obviously more good — that we’ll always remember from this year.

First, the bad …

The arm surgery that hurt everyone

» Continue reading “2011 Cardinals Moments We’ll Never Forget”