St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Jaime Garcia is one of the most dominating pitchers on the team when everything around him is satisfactory. When it’s not, a team such as the Philadelphia Phillies can tag him for eight runs in three innings, as they did Friday in Philadelphia.

Garcia has struggled on the road throughout his career. He has a 15-12 record with a 4.40 earned-run average in road games, but he is 20-11 with a 2.45 ERA in his career at Busch Stadium where he is more familiar with the surroundings and can comfortably prepare for a game the same way every time.

But one more change might have factored into Friday’s poor performance. Regular catcher Yadier Molina had a day off for the first time all season. Tony Cruz got the start instead.

So without his regular home routine and normal catcher, Garcia gave up eight runs on nine hits and two walks. Sure, third baseman Ty Wigginton made a throwing error in the first inning to make four of their eight runs unearned, but four of the Phillies hits went for extra bases, so Garcia got hit around regardless.

Unfortunately, Garcia has too many of those nights, and that keeps him from being one of the better pitchers on not only the Cardinals, but in Major League Baseball.

He has the stuff. He throws his fastball in the low 90s with movement, he has a knee-buckling curveball and owns a changeup that is as good as any top-tier left-handed starter in the game. And when he has those pitches working correctly, he has the potential to throw a no-hitter.

But he also has nights when he can’t command those pitches and simply gets crushed.

That has been the main problem Garcia has fought throughout his five-year career. He looks like a pitcher who can dominate, and at times he does, but mind games tend to get in the way of him being a consistent pitcher who can fill a spot near the top of the rotation.

The problem is Garcia now has five years of big-league experience, and he hasn’t been able to get over those issues.

The Cardinals are aware of these issues. They’ve even manipulated the rotation in recent years to try to minimize the times Garcia has to pitch on the road.

And while it’s great his team is trying to help him out, Garcia has to get past those concentration issues at some point or he is going to become the next Oliver Perez, a left-handed starter who came up with the San Diego Padres in 2002.

Perez, who is now a reliever for the Seattle Mariners, had electric stuff when he debuted and even posted a 2.98 ERA with 12 wins for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2004, but his inconsistency kept him from being Johan Santana or any number of other great left-handed starters.

For the most part, Garcia has had a good start to his 2013 season. He pitched well in spring training after recovering from a shoulder injury and started this season well in his first start on the road. He held the Arizona Diamondbacks to one run in 5.2 innings April 2 in Phoenix and then made two solid starts at home before the Phillies shelled him Friday.

Maybe Molina’s absence had more to do with the poor outing than anything, or perhaps he simply had an off night. All pitchers do. But Garcia is going to have to get beyond those relatively minor differences in each start if he is going to not only help the Cardinals in 2013, but also live up to his long-term potential.

One of the best infographic artists has an amazing book out there called Flip Flop Fly Ball.

We have talked with and about Craig Robinson in this space before.  This time, we bring your attention to a recent project that Craig undertook – building famous baseball players out of Legos.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I know we are supposed to talk about Royals and Cardinals baseball here at i70, but sometimes you reach out and find something fun and baseball related and you just have to share.  There are no Royals or Cardinals players in the images below, but there are nine pretty awesome Lego creations of some great players.

Keep an eye over at Flip Flop Flying to track down any more that Craig makes.

Use the controls below to look through the nine images of Pete Rose, Dennis Eckersley, Jose Bautista, Sergio Romo, Randy Johnson, Mark Fidrych, Andre Dawson, Barry Bonds, and Fernando Valenzuela.  Please note: all images are the property of Craig Robinson.

Fernando Valenzuela

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Fernando Valenzuela - He finished his career with the Cardinals, but he was most famous as a Dodger.

Bill Ivie is the editor here at I-70 Baseball
Follow him on Twitter here.

St. Louis Cardinals players reported to Jupiter, Fla., last week to kick off spring training 2013, but that first week was full of contract talk instead of baseball talk, an unfortunate situation that has become the norm at Cardinals camp in recent years.

The Cardinals even went bigger than usual in the first week this year by having three contract announcements, but at least two of those were positive announcements. The organization picked up the option on manager Mike Matheny’s contract for the 2014 season, and it signed general manager John Mozeliak to a three-year extension.

The other announcement wasn’t so joyful. Adam Wainwright and the team said contract negotiations with the pitcher are not active at the moment, and there is not a timetable for when that situation will be put to rest.

All of these are necessary procedures for a Major League Baseball organization, but it takes away from the excitement of spring training and shifts the focus away from what we all want to enjoy: players on the field preparing for the upcoming season.

Unfortunately, early spring training workouts have been an afterthought in the past three seasons.

In 2010, Albert Pujols arrived at spring training camp in much the same situation Wainwright walked into camp this year. Pujols was headed into the final year of his contract with the Cardinals, and people spent an incredible amount of time talking and analyzing Pujols’ situation, nevermind the team was actually preparing for a season that would end with a World Series championship.

Spring training in 2011 wasn’t as bad, but that’s more because the result turned out much better for the Cardinals. Pujols had left the Cardinals and signed with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in December 2010, but the Cardinals had another important part of their team heading into the dreaded final year of a contract.

That important player was Yadier Molina. People were already speculating about him joining Pujols in Anaheim after his contract expired at the end of the year, but Molina and the Cardinals squashed that talk early in spring training when he signed a five-year, $75-million extension to stay with the club.

Then came this year, and the Cardinals are again stuck in contract negotiations with a star player. It’s anybody’s guess how Wainwrights contract situation will play out, but that’s what keeps people talking about it even though we are less than a week away from the start of actual spring training games.

Understandably, high-profile contract negotiations are part of the way of life for Major League Baseball teams these days as salaries rise to the next astronomical amount and the performance-enhancing drugs topic refuses to go away.

However, the quality of life for teams, players and their fans might be better if people spent more time talking about exciting new players or position battles instead of off-the-field issues.

Spring training is a seemingly magical time of year when teams go to the tropics to work on aspects of their game so they are ready to debut for an excited fan base when they return home for Opening Day.

Baseball is great when it is little more than those quaint storylines. It’s too bad much of that gets overshadowed by the modern realities of the sport.

The St. Louis Cardinals entered the offseason with a shopping list that includes a shortstop and a left-handed relief pitcher. Unfortunately, those are currently two of the most talent-thin positions in Major League Baseball.

The Cardinals’ regular shortstop for the 2012 season, Rafael Furcal, hit .264 and had an on-base percentage of .325 in 121 games before he tore an elbow ligament that ended his season. Those certainly aren’t terrific numbers, but he ranked 11th in baseball in batting average and eighth in on-base percentage. He also played his typically solid defense throughout the season.

Furcal expects to be healthy by Opening Day, so the Cardinals will have to either be satisfied with his production, take a chance that late-season star Pete Kozma will continue his remarkable play or try and find an upgrade elsewhere.

Various rumors say the Cardinals are interested in Cleveland Indians’ shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera, who ranked eighth in batting average and fifth in on-base percentage last season. That could be an option, but the Cardinals would likely have to part with at least two young pitchers and a position player.

That’s a high price to pay when the team already has serviceable players on its roster, especially when the list of above-average shortstops who might be available is likely limited to Cabrera and Texas Rangers’ shortstop Elvis Andrus.

The biggest problem is simply a shortage of very good shortstops. Cabrera and Andrus have spots in most top-five lists of shortstops, along with Derek Jeter, Troy Tulowitski and Jose Reyes. Starlin Castro would also receive consideration.

The next tier might include a veteran player such as Jimmy Rollins or a young player such as Alcides Escobar who has played well for a year or two, but has yet to establish themselves as a consistent all-star caliber player.

The lack of supply at the shortstop position also means demand is high, which could cost the Cardinals dearly in terms of young players and prospects if they make a move for a shortstop this offseason.

Pitching, particularly hard-throwing, young pitching, is currently a position of strength for the Cardinals, except for left-handed relievers.

Although there aren’t many high-quality shortstops currently roaming infields at big-league stadiums, there might be fewer left-handed relievers.

The Cardinals have lefty Marc Rzepczynski in their bullpen, but he had a 4.24 ERA last season and certainly can’t carry the load alone, as the Cardinals found out in the National League Championship Series against the San Francisco Giants when Rzepczynski posted a 6. 75 ERA and the Giants faced right-handers when Rzepczynski wasn’t available.

But, the same problem faces the Cardinals for left-handed relievers as it does for shortstops. There aren’t many available, especially at a relatively moderate price.

Left-handed reliever Jeremy Affeldt recently signed a three-year, $18 million deal with the Giants, and the best options in free agency are pitchers such as Brian Fuentes, Will Ohman and Wesley Wright.

Those aren’t exactly household names. While that isn’t a requirement for the position, the Cardinals would be foolish to think they would be much better off heading into the 2013 season with one of those pitchers as their second left-handed option in the bullpen.

Rumors also link the Cardinals to non-tendered pitcher Tom Gorzelanny, who threw well for the Washington Nationals last year, posting a 2.88 ERA in 46 innings. Gorzelanny could be a better option, but he is sure to draw interest from several teams and command a fairly high price given the weak market at the position.

Fans can yearn for the Cardinals to make moves to address both positions, but there just isn’t much talent in stock at either spot.

Thankfully, a better shortstop or left-handed reliever isn’t going to determine whether or not the Cardinals will be good next season. The Cardinals have enough talent to be a good team, but those spots could be important factors when the team has to beat other playoff-caliber teams late in the season or the playoffs.

But given the current market at those spots, many other teams could be in similar positions.

November 30^th, 2012

Springfield, MO – The Springfield Cardinals have been named by Baseball America as the Minor League Team of the Year in 2012.

Springfield captured their first Texas League Crown by defeating the Tulsa Drillers in the North Division Finals in five games before besting the Frisco RoughRiders in four games.

The St. Louis Cardinals Double-A Affiliate was littered with talent including seven of the Top 30 prospects according Baseball America and Texas League Player of the Year, Oscar Taveras. The 20-year-old outfielder was the first Springfield player to lead the league in batting average (.321), doubles (37), extra-base hits (67) and total bases (273) while finishing in the top five in home runs (23), RBI (93), runs scored (83), triples (7) and slugging percentage (.572).

The Cardinals boasted five Post-Season All-Stars including Taveras, second baseman Kolten Wong, and pitchers Trevor Rosenthal, Keith Butler and Seth Maness.

“We are honored to be named the 2012 Team of the Year by Baseball America,” Vice President and General Manager Matt Gifford said. “This is a tremendous honor for arguably one of the best teams in Springfield Cardinals history. It’s a tribute to player development and the coaching staff for putting together a great club and to the players for their hard work throughout a long season.”

First year Double-A Manager Mike Shildt guided the Cardinals to a 35-35 record in the first half before the team hit their stride in the second half, winning the North Division Second Half crown with a 42-26 record. Overall, Springfield finished a franchise best 77-61, the best record in the North and third best record in the league. For Shildt, the 2012 title was his third straight after capturing back to back Appalachian League titles in 2010 and 2011 with Johnson City.

Springfield will open up the 2013 season on the road in Corpus Christi April 4^th before returning home to Hammons Field April 11^th for a six-game homestand against the Hooks and San Antonio Missions.  Season Ticket Packages are on sale now. Please call (417) 863-0395 or visit www.springfieldcardinals.com for more details on how you can become a season ticket holder.

ST. LOUIS, November 1, 2012 – The entire St. Louis Cardinals family is saddened by the passing of Ernie Hays, retired Busch Stadium organist, last night at the age of 77.

“We are deeply saddened by the passing of Ernie Hays,” Cardinals Chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. said. “Ernie’s music shaped the soundtrack of Cardinals baseball for nearly four decades. He was one of the premier sports organists in the country, and a valued member of the Cardinals family. The entire Cardinals organization extends its sincere condolences to his wife Loreta and his entire family.”

A St. Louis native, Hays began playing piano at the age of seven. He finished high school in Houston, Missouri, and majored in music at Drury College and Southwestern Missouri State University in Springfield. Hays served four years of active military service with the United States Navy before returning to St. Louis and earning an engineering degree from Washington University.

Hays’ sports music career began in 1971 when the Cardinals installed an organ in Busch Stadium II, and he quickly became a fixture at major St. Louis sporting events. Hays soon started playing for the St. Louis football Cardinals, the St. Louis Blues, and the St. Louis Stars and Steamers soccer teams in addition to area college teams. It was at a Steamers game where Hays first played “Here Comes The King,” the popular Budweiser beer advertising jingle, and a now staple at every Cardinals game. Hays is credited in St. Louis with popularizing batter “walk-up” songs, as well as the intro music for relief pitchers. Hays retired from the Cardinals in 2010 after 40 seasons.

Instagram Fan of the Day Promotion Announced
Fans encouraged to follow @cardinals on Instagram & share their original fan photo memories using #cardsgram

ST. LOUIS – September 26, 2012 - The St. Louis Cardinals announced today that they have launched the Cardinals Instagram Fan of the Day promotion to showcase original, fan-generated photos via the Cardinals social media as part of the team’s end-of-season fan appreciation efforts.

“We are celebrating the best fans in baseball by asking them to share their favorite original Cardinals photo with us,” said Bill DeWitt III, President of the Cardinals. “Thanks to cell phone technology and apps like Instagram, even amateur photographers can take some pretty cool photos.”

Dewitt said the team is urging fans to share original photos of their favorite baseball moment or of themselves, family or friends enjoying Cardinals baseball or just showing their Cardinals pride. To participate in the contest, fans must be at least 18 years of age and on Instagram, follow the team’s account (@cardinals) and tag their photo with the hashtag #cardsgram. Fans can tag as many photos as they like and view photos from other participating fans by using #cardsgram in the search bar ofInstagram.

Everyday throughout the rest of the 2012 season, including hopefully well into the postseason, the Cardinals will showcase one lucky fan’s photo each day on the Cardinals Instagram account, as well as the team’s Facebook (facebook.com /cardinals) and Twitter (@cardinals) pages. The Cardinals Instagram Fan of the Day’s photo will be shared with more than a million fans that follow the club’s official social media channels. Fans can learn more about the Cardinals Instagram Fan of the Day contest atwww.cardinals.com/cardsgram .

A CHAMP’S PERSPECTIVE PRESENTED BY BUDWEISER TO AIR LIVE ON MLB.COM AND CARDINALS.COM
Tony La Russa to reflect on 2011 season from Peabody Opera House on January 13 at 7:00 p.m. (CST)

NEW YORK, January 12, 2012 – Tony La Russa, in conjunction with the Animal Rescue Foundation (ARF), will host “A Champ’s Perspective” presented by Budweiser from the Peabody Opera House in downtown St. Louis on Friday, January 13 at 7:00 p.m. (CST). The live commentary with La Russa and special guest Bob Costas will air online at MLB.com and Cardinals.com and cover baseball strategies, including those implemented during the St. Louis Cardinals 2011 season from Spring Training to Opening Day to the dramatic run to the National League Wild Card and ultimately to Game 7 of the World Series, where the Cardinals won their 11th World Championship.

“A Champ’s Perspective” presented by Budweiser also will include video highlights from the 2011 season and an audience Q&A session with La Russa. Proceeds from the event will benefit ARF and 19 animal rescue organizations in the greater St. Louis area. Visit MLB.com, Cardinals.com or ARF.net for complete details.

In Baseball, everyone knows that offense wins innings; defense wins games, and pitching wins championships. However, what about the man behind the mask? The catcher is part of both defense and pitching. From working with the pitching staff on a personal and professional basis, to calling every pitch, the catcher makes sure that pitching stays on course, and if things go awry, they right the ship and reset the course. Catching is one of the most overlooked positions in Baseball, and it is the most crucial to a championship ring.

So where does Yadier Molina fit into all of this? He is considered the best of the current generation at the catching position, and his defensive skills are almost impeccable. At 28, his fielding percentage over the past eight seasons is .993 behind the plate, and his average caught stealing percentage is 44 percent. This season, he had the fewest stolen base attempts against him in the majors at 46. His arm, his defensive skills, and his awareness behind the plate are outstanding, and it is present almost every game. Granted, his caught stealing percentage was only 29 percent this past season, but when the league average is around 20 percent, his numbers have come down from godlike to above average. In 2005, he threw out 64 percent of would be base stealers, one of the highest percentages ever. His skills are so refined behind the plate, that when his knee was bothering him in the World Series, he sat back on one knee, and just picked bouncing balls like a shortstop. His defensive play is what puts him in the same class with greats like Thurman Munson, Yogi Berra, and Ivan Rodriguez.

What is impressive is even though his defensive numbers are so stellar; his hitting has become another great weapon in his arsenal He batted .305 last season, with 14 home runs, 32 doubles, and 65 RBI, all career bests. His offense continues to shine, and on the biggest stage, his average gets even better. In his 3 World Series appearances, he is batting .341 with 4 doubles and 10 RBI. Since his rookie season in 2004, his bat continues to improve, and how he will grow and improve next season is continuing to build up.

The numbers might give a good look at how good a player is on the field, but they never show the intangibles. The trust, the respect, and the presence felt by teammates in the clubhouse and on the field can never be measured by statistics. Last season, when you would watch a game, you might see Molina look to the dugout twice in a game for a possible defensive shift. Other than those occasional glances, he was the leader on the field. He called every pitch, he called every snap-throw, and he made sure the defense knew how to play each hitter. When he deals with a struggling pitcher, his tone and reaction is different depending on the pitcher. With guys like Lance Lynn and Chris Carpenter, he is a calm, soothing presence that comes out to relax the pitcher and make sure he is free of tension before the next pitch. With others, like Jason Motte, he has to pump them up and get the adrenaline flowing for them to focus and put everything behind the ball. These are some things that cannot be measured with mathematics, and they are some of the biggest focal points of being a battery mate as a catcher.

With these amazing numbers and intangible qualities, how do you not build a team around a catcher with all five tools? With Albert Pujols gone, it seems like the pressure will be on the shoulders of veteran leaders like Molina, however. Rising stars like David Freese and Allen Craig, along with new Cardinals Outfielder Carlos Beltran; Molina’s job becomes a lot easier at the plate. His defensive play will always be a cornerstone of the Cardinals organization, and it is the how aggressive his nature is. He is one of the many faces of the Cardinals, and he will continue to grow to one of the big names in baseball.

The Cardinals Hot Stove League Show Debuts
Presented By U.S. Cellular
In Depth Coverage of Offseason Moves and Other Team News

ST. LOUIS (November 30, 2011)- Gather around the Hot Stove this winter as the “Cardinals Hot Stove League Show presented by U.S. Cellular,” keeps you up-to-date on all the latest free agent signings, trades, and personnel moves made during the off-season.

Hosted by Kevin Wheeler and Mike Claiborne, the “Cardinals Hot Stove League Show presented by U.S. Cellular” will air on 1120 KMOX and select Cardinals Radio Network affiliates from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. (Central Time) every Monday night beginning on December 5th and running through March 26th.

The focus of the show will be on Cardinals baseball, with an additional emphasis on Major League Baseball as a whole. Topics will also include the Cardinals minor league system, as well as business and community issues.

Guests will include Cardinals manager Mike Matheny, general manager John Mozeliak, broadcasters Mike Shannon and John Rooney, front office officials, and current and former Cardinals players.