After a successful regular season run, the St. Louis Cardinals sputtered in the first round of the 2009 Major League Baseball playoffs. Since the end of their postseason run, the Cardinals have one big question mark: Will Tony La Russa return as manager?
La Russa, who has coached the Cardinals for 14 years, says that he will make an decision soon.
“I know the organization needs an answer. I told them when I figure out whether there’s fire in there or not I’ll let them know. I’m not going to take forever,” said La Russa to the Associated Press.
The Cardinals easily won …read more

Albert Pujols enjoyed one of the finest seasons of his Hall of Fame career in 2009, however apparently he wasn’t completely healthy. On Tuesday, the St. Louis Cardinals slugger had arthroscopic surgery on his troublesome right elbow. The Cardinals expect him to be ready for the beginning of next season.
While the reason for his surgery isn’t known, sources indicate that the surgery was likely in regards to bone spurs. Last offseason, Pujols had surgery on the same elbow to correct nerve irritation.
In 2009, Pujols had 47 homers, 135 RBIs, 124 runs, 16 steals, a batting average of .327 and an …read more

The Los Angeles Dodgers were dominant early in the 2009 baseball season. That domination seems to be returning. By defeating the St. Louis Cardinals 5-1 on Saturday, the Dodgers completed a three-game sweep of the Cardinals.
The Dodgers had many stars on the night. Manny Ramirez was 3-for-5 with two RBIs, while Andre Ethier was 3-for-5 with two runs and two RBIs. Starting pitcher Vicente Padilla pitched seven innings and gave up four hits and one walk while striking out four.
The Cardinals got two hits from Albert Pujols but that wasn’t enough. St. Louis not long ago was one of the …read more

Since heading from the Boston Red Sox to the St. Louis Cardinals, John Smoltz has been a much improved pitcher. However, if you want to see his next start, you’ll have to wait a little bit longer. Due to shoulder tendinitis, Smoltz has been forced to skip his next start.
With the Red Sox, Smoltz was 2-5 with an ERA of 8.33. With the Cardinals, it has been a totally different story. In four starts, he’s 1-1 with a 3.27 ERA. In 22 innings with St. Louis, he has 28 strikeouts and only one walk.
Smoltz’ next start was going to be …read more

On Sunday, Albert Pujols had the day off — or so the Pittsburgh Pirates hoped. In the tenth inning, Pujols hit a pinch-hit blast off of Matt Capps to put the St. Louis Cardinals up 2-1. Ryan Franklin closed it out in the bottom of the tenth to pick up his 37th save of the season.
That the homer came off of Capps is significant. The last time Pujols faced Capps, the reliever was ejected for hitting Pujols in the ribs with a fastball. However, Pujols said that it wasn’t a matter of revenge.
Said Pujols: “Not revenge. What I’m trying to …read more

One of the best stories of the 2009 Major League Baseball season has been the return to greatness by Chris Carpenter of the St. Louis Cardinals. With a win against the Milwaukee Brewers on Wednesday, Carpenter won his tenth consecutive decision.
In his first three years with the Cardinals, Carpenter was very good. His best year came in 2005 when he won the NL Cy Young Award with a 21-5 record and an ERA of 2.83. But then after going 15-8 with a 3.09 ERA in 2006, Carpenter’s career was derailed.
In 2007, Carpenter pitched in the first game but then missed …read more

Alfonso Soriano has had a lot of trouble with his left knee this season. On Saturday, the Chicago Cubs sent Soriano in for an MRI on his knee. The results showed that there is no structural damage — only tendinitis.
Soriano and his $136 million deal hasn’t been too productive this season for the Cubs. He is hitting .243 with 20 homers, 55 RBIs and 63 runs. The 33-year-old has now seen his home run total dip in four consecutive seasons.
With the Cubs 9 games behind the St. Louis Cardinals in the NL Central, Chicago may opt to keep Soriano out …read more

Matt Holliday was starting to heat up for the Oakland A’s. On Friday, Oakland sent Holliday back to the National League by trading him to the St. Louis Cardinals. In return, the A’s got three minor league prospects.
On the season, Holliday is hitting .286 with 11 homers and 54 RBIs. He’s also sporting a .378 on-base percentage and 12 stolen bases. The 29-year-old slugger was traded to the A’s prior to the season after playing for the Colorado Rockies during the first five years of his MLB career.
While his numbers with the A’s were good, they weren’t close to his …read more

After being the star of the All-Star festivities that took place in St. Louis, Albert Pujols was back to work on Friday. Against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Pujols hit two homers to help the Cardinals win by a final count of 6-1.
In the fourth inning, Pujols hit a solo shot to put the Cardinals up 1-0. The Cardinals doubled their lead to 2-0 when Pujols hit a homer in the sixth inning. Thanks to Chris Carpenter, that’s all St. Louis needed to score.
In eight innings, Carpenter carved up the D’Backs. He scattered seven hits and one walk while striking out seven …read more

To add a little bit of pop to their lineup, the St. Louis Cardinals have traded for Mark DeRosa. In return, the Cleveland Cavaliers received Chris Perez, a relief pitcher, and a player to be named later.
The Indians acquired DeRosa in the offseason in a deal with the Chicago Cubs. The 34-year-old DeRosa was playing third base for Cleveland. On the season, he is hitting .267 with 13 homers, 50 RBIs and 47 runs.
The acquisition of DeRosa should help the Cardinals in their fight with the Milwaukee Bucks for the NL Central title. Currently, the two teams are tied atop …read more