Matt Holliday hurt his finger while swinging a bat in the on-deck circle Tuesday night. Doctors found the tendon for the ring finger on his right hand inflamed when they examined him on Wednesday. Holliday will miss this weekend’s series with Philadelphia.

Hurting one’s finger while warming up has to qualify for weirdest injury ever, right? How unlucky can you be? Unfortunately, the Cardinals are no strangers to freak injuries. Here’s a short list of other odd injuries that have recently befallen the franchise.

Freese breaks toe, 2010. While rehabilitating from an earlier injury, part-time third baseman David Freese dropped a weight plate on his left foot, breaking his big toe. He missed the rest of the season.

Matheny cuts hand, 2000. Mike Matheny was a Gold Glove catcher for the Cardinals in 2000, and the team returned to the playoffs for the first time in 4 seasons. On the last Friday of that regular season Matheny received a hunting knife as a birthday present; since it was wrapped, he didn’t realize it was a knife until after he had opened it and almost sliced the ring finger off his right hand. Matheny missed the 2000 playoffs.

Osborne cuts hand, 1996. In Tony LaRussa‘s first year as manager, and a year after finishing 19 games under .500, the Cardinals were NL Central Champions, headed to the post-season for the first time since 1987. Dutifully, Cardinal management provided champagne for the players to enjoy the day they clinched the division title. At some point, one of the bottles was broken, and as (un)luck would have it, Cardinal lefty Donovan Osborne cut his pitching hand grabbing that bottle. 1996 was the best year of Osborne’s career, and based on ERA+ he was the ace of the staff. Osborne got shelled in two of his three post-season starts, including Game 7 of the NLCS against Atlanta.

Cox breaks ankle, 1986. Danny Cox was an 18-game winner for the NL Champs in 1985, combining with Joaquin Andujar and John Tudor to form a formidable rotation for the Cardinals. In a harbinger of the season to come, he jumped off a 3-foot seawall while fishing during spring training and chipped a bone in his right ankle. The surgery to remove the chip, and subsequent recovery, caused the righty to miss the first month of the 1986 season. St Louis staggered out of the gate, was 10 games under .500 on 31 May, and finished 79-82.

Coleman and the tarp, 1985. Quite possibly the most famous of all the Cardinal freak injuries. Vince Coleman, arguably the fastest man in baseball, the 1985 NL Rookie of the Year, owner of 110 stolen bases, was run down by the 1.5 MPH automatic tarp machine before Game 3 of the 1985 NLCS against the Dodgers. Without him as the catalyst for their attack, St Louis put up a puny .309 OBP and recorded only 8 successful steals (they were caught 8 times) during the rest of the post-season (13 games).

Matt should only be out 4 or 5 games. The bad news: that’s 38% of the Cardinals remaining games. Trying to make up 4 games on Atlanta with 13 left to play just got a lot harder.

Mike is a life-long Cardinals fan currently sitting in San Diego with his fingers crossed. He blogs about the San Diego Padres.

Few names in St. Louis Cardinals history elicit a wider range of emotions and opinions than that of Rick Ankiel. To be fair, few players in Major League Baseball history have had the kind of career Ankiel has had.

It seems impossible that Ankiel will only turn 32 this July. He made his Major League debut back in 1999…less than a week after the Cards inked a new draft pick named Albert Pujols to his first professional deal. Ankiel the pitcher was young, left-handed, and threw hard. On a pitching staff decimated by injuries, Ankiel saw action in nine games (five starts), throwing 33 innings with an eye-popping 10.6 K/9. His potential was intoxicating.

Ankiel’s 2000 regular season proved to be the coming out party Cardinals fans were hoping for. He made 30 starts, going 11-7 with a 3.50 ERA (tops in the Cards’ rotation) and 194 strikeouts in 175 innings. Ankiel even batted .250 with 2 home runs to boot. He finished second to Rafael Furcal for NL Rookie of the Year and helped his team win the division title. It really was a storybook year.

Unfortunately, the final chapter was a disaster. Again decimated by injuries, the Cards’ rotation was thin going into the 2000 Division Series against the Atlanta Braves. Tony LaRussa decided to pitch rookie Ankiel in Game 1 and ace Daryl Kile in Game 2. It was a move LaRussa would ultimately regret. After two easy innings, Ankiel spiraled into one of the most epic meltdowns in baseball history in the third inning of Game 1. He allowed four runs on two hits, four walks, and five wild pitches…and we’re not talking overthrown offspeed pitches that hit the dirt and skip by the catcher; these were back-to-the-screen, out-of-this-world wild pitches. Lost the ability to pitch wild pitches. The Cardinals eventually on the game and Ankiel laughed his performance off afterward, but the event was but a precursor of what was to come for the 20 year old. The Cards swept the Braves in that series, and faced the New York Mets in the NLCS. Ankiel started Game 2, but this time couldn’t even make it through the first inning. Again, pitches were thrown to the backstop. Ankiel’s control was gone. He would appear in relief later in the series, throwing wild pitches and walking batters again. The Cards would lose the series to the Mets, but they also lost their phenom pitcher who, just a couple of weeks earlier, looked like the best young hurler in the game.

Ankiel’s control problems followed him into the 2001 season, eventually earning him a demotion to AAA. It was the first step of what would become a long descent to rookie-league ball. After somewhat of a bounceback by the end of 2001, Ankiel would miss all of 2002 due to injury and eventually would have Tommy John surgery in 2003. In 2004 he would return to the Cardinals, pitching in five games in relief but showing none of the control issues that derailed him earlier in the decade.

It wouldn’t be long before his demons returned, though, and Ankiel announced in 2005 that he was giving up pitching to become an outfielder. After all the promise, disappointment, speculation, hope, and confusion, Ankiel’s career as a pitcher was apparently over.

Ankiel had to again visit the lowest levels of the minor leagues, but he would not be deterred. He battled injury and learned familiarity with a new role and made it back to the St. Louis Cardinals, this time as an outfielder, in 2007. Cardinal fans delivered standing ovations for Ankiel in his first game back; he thanked them by hitting a home run. A couple days later, Ankiel hit two home runs in a game (aside: I happened to be in the right field bleachers, in the first row overlooking the bullpen, that day…the homers were close enough that I could pick myself out in the TV replays I saw later that night). He hit .285 in 2007 and mashied 25 home runs in 2008. As an outfielder, the arm that was responsible for ridiculous curveballs and mid-90s heat as a pitcher proved to be an asset at gunning down runners trying to take an extra base. Ankiel had good speed and good instincts. He made catches the team hadn’t seen since Jim Edmonds’ heyday, even crashing head-first into the wall on one play and having to be carted off on a stretcher.

Perhaps it was his late start, or perhaps it was beginner’s luck run out…but Ankiel would regress to become an average hitter who struck out too much. The Cardinals had good players like Colby Rasmus pushing toward the big leagues, and 2009 was Ankiel’s last year with the Cards. His career with the Redbirds ended as a cruel irony in the ’09 Division Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers: in Game 2, Ankiel—mainly known for his defense by that point—sat on the bench and watched while Matt Holliday muffed the line drive that ultimately cost the Cards the game, and Ankiel’s only two at bats in the series both resulted in strikeouts—what he was most known for as a pitcher.

Since leaving the Cardinals, Ankiel signed a one year deal with the Kansas City Royals in 2010, eventually got traded to the Braves mid-season, and signed a one year deal for 2011 with the Washington Nationals. He still has some pop, but he still strikes out too much. His defense is above average, however, and he is a threat to throw runners out at any base from anywhere in the outfield. Ankiel will never be an elite position player, and he may not have much of a career as a starter if he cannot learn better plate discipline. But he is one of those natural athletes who can meet any challenge put before him. Every once in a while, the idea of Ankiel taking the mound again one day is floated by fans or writers, and though the answers given by his managers vary, Ankiel has never publicly said he’d like to try pitching again.

Ankiel is the ultimate enigma. How he lost his pitching control remains a mystery to this day. How he could come back years later and have a successful run as an outfielder is almost as impressive as his rookie campaign. It’s doubtless Cardinal fans would love seeing Ankiel succeed. As a visiting player, he will probably always get just a little more applause at Busch Stadium than his teammates. But no matter what he does, Ankiel will always be most remembered as the flame-throwing southpaw pitcher with the ankle-breaking curve…and what might have been.

Chris Reed is a freelance writer who also writes for InsideSTL Mondays and at Bird Brained whenever he feels like it. Follow him on Twitter @birdbrained.

The 1945 Monarchs were far from being one of the best Monarchs squads put together, but their historical significance is great thanks to the impact their shortstop would soon have on baseball and America itself. Below is a look at the pre-season and first half of the season that Jackie Robinson spent with the Kansas City Monarchs.

Pre-Season: March 20—May 5

The Monarchs began convening in Houston on Tuesday, March 20th. Players trickled in over the next several days. Jackie had to conclude his basketball coaching duties at Samuel Houston College in Austin before making his way to Houston on the 27th. The Chicago Defender reported that Jackie “looked good” in his first workouts. According to Arnold Rampersand’s biography, Jackie was dismayed that “Spring training consisted of actually playing baseball games rather than getting prepared for the coming season.” He only had five days to shake off the rust before competing in the Monarchs’ first pre-season exhibition on April 1, an Easter contest in San Antonio against the mysterious Engle’s Minor League All-Stars. According to the Defender, Jackie “showed up well at shortstop, accepting nine chances with but one error and figuring in three fast double plays.” The teams dueled for 14 innings before ending the game in a 4-4 tie. The Monarchs stuck to the South during the pre-season, playing games in San Antonio, Houston, Ft. Worth, Dallas, Birmingham, Montgomery, Atlanta, Memphis, Little Rock, New Orleans, Waco and Oklahoma City. Their opposition was usually the Chicago American Giants, Memphis Red Sox or Cincinnati-Indianapolis Clowns.

Just 21 days after joining pro baseball, Jackie was in Fenway Park trying out for the Boston Red Sox—sort of. Politicians and sportswriters were holding the Red Sox brass’s feet to the fire on integration, and basically forced them to hold the tryout that also included Negro Leaguers Sam Jethroe and Marvin Williams. (Jethroe went on to be NL rookie of the year in 1950.) Boston coaches said the right things after the tryout, that they were “impressed” and the players “looked good,” but to no one’s surprise, none of them were pursued by the Red Sox. But Jackie’s name was already in the mix of potential players to integrate MLB.

The pre-season exhibition schedule lasted over a month, and in the few game results I’ve scraped together, the Monarchs went 6-6. Jackie hit 4-for-7 in the two games for which I’ve seen box scores.

First Half: May 6—July 4

The Negro American League season was split into halves, with the winners of each half to face each other in a league championship. The first half kicked off in Kansas City’s Ruppert (or Blues) Stadium at 22nd & Brooklyn. The Monarchs faced a familiar foe in the Chicago American Giants. Pregame activities commenced at 2:00, and the first pitch was scheduled for 3:00. The Monarchs batting order looked like this:

1. Jesse Williams, 2B
2. Walter Thomas, RF
3. Jackie Robinson, SS
4. John Scott, CF
5. Herbert Souell, 3B
6. Othello Renfro, LF
7. Lee Moody, 1B
8. Frank Duncan, C
9. Booker McDaniels, P

The Monarchs cruised to a 6-2 victory, and Jackie had a fine debut with an RBI double, stolen base, and a run scored. Jackie continued tearing the cover off the ball throughout the first half—he hit .481 in the 12 games I have his numbers for in the first half.

Future Hall-of-Famer Hilton Smith had a day to remember on May 13 when he pitched a complete game victory in addition to going 2-for-3 at the plate with a double, run scored and three RBI. The third Hall-of-Famer from the ’45 squad, Satchel Paige, debuted with the team on May 30 in Chicago. Satch gave up two runs on three hits and a walk in six innings of work, and struck out six. Jackie had a banner day at the plate that day: he was perfect with three walks, two singles, a double and a triple in seven plate appearances combined in the doubleheader. The Monarchs first eastern swing of the year started on June 17 with a game in Yankee Stadium against the Philadelphia Stars. Jackie started the Monarchs winning rally with a single.

A week later, the Monarchs faced a stacked Homestead Grays team in Washington D.C. Seven future Hall-of-Famers took the field that day. In addition to three Monarchs (Jackie, Hilton & Satchel) the Grays featured Jud Wilson, Cool Papa Bell, Buck Leonard and Josh Gibson. Jackie had another perfect day, this time reaching base safely in all eight plate appearances over the doubleheader.

The team had a hot start to the year and was 14-5 through June 17. Things fell apart from there however, and they dropped eight of their last nine games to finish third in the Negro American League. They would have to take the second half if they wanted a shot at the league championship.

Final first half standings from the July 6 Kansas City Call:

I’ll cover the second half soon here at i70baseball.com. I’ve relived the 1945 Monarchs season in depth at my blog Jackie With The Monarchs.

Every year, the group known as the Baseball Bloggers Alliance places their ballots for various awards to be announced at the end of the season. This year, it is my pleasure to place the votes for the St. Louis Chapter of the Baseball Bloggers Alliance in the category of Rookie Of The Year. The award is officially titled The Willie Mays Award.

The National League this year has shown some diversity amongst the teams. Highly competitive races came down to the last few weeks of the season, highlighted by three teams and the men that guided them. In my mind, the top three managers to be considered for the award are listed here….

3 – Jaime Garcia, St. Louis Cardinals
I will probably catch some heat around Cardinal Nation for not placing Jaime higher in consideration for this award. Truth be told, he put together one of the most impressive seasons of a rookie pitcher in recent memory. That being said, the team, as a preventative measure, shut Garcia down in the early part of September for the remainder of the season. After costing him two or three more starts, the team also made it very hard for voters to seriously consider him in post-season award conversations.

Even after the team had shut him down, Garcia would finish with 13 wins in 28 starts and a 2.70 earned run average. He struck out 132 batters, walked only 64, and even threw a complete game shut out, just for good measure. A “dark horse” candidate for this award in the early part of the season, it seemed that Garcia was overlooked by everybody in baseball that was not following the St. Louis Cardinals. Garcia will not take the award home this season, but being considered in the top three is an accomplishment in its own right.

2 – Buster Posey, San Francisco Giants
What Buster Posey lacked in patience at the plate, he certainly made up for with solid contact and the presence on the field of a veteran. Posey took charge of the Giants’ pitching staff while putting together a season that would make most veteran catchers proud.

Posey would come on strong, hitting 18 home runs and driving in 67 runs over the course of 2010. Add into those number his 23 doubles and Posey would post a slugging percentage of .505 while hitting an impressive .305. He would only strike out 55 times, but only walk a total of 30 times. When Posey came to the plate in 2010, he came to hit, and he did just that. If Posey can learn some patience at the plate, the Giants will be talking about this young, talented man for a very long time.

1 – Jason Heyward, Atlanta Braves
He was the favorite to win this award when teams broke camp in Spring of 2010. What Heyward did throughout the year, despite a stint on the disabled list, was not a disappointment in the slightest.

Heyward would match fellow rookie Buster Posey’s 18 home runs, drive in 72 runs and hit a respectable .277. What set him apart was his approach at the plate – though he would strike out an alarming 128 times, he would also walk 91 times, showing some patience and veteran style approach. A .456 slugging percentage and 29 doubles showed many pitchers that he was a force at the plate and moved him to the top of most ballots on the rookie award categories. In the long run, Heyward is ready for greatness in Major League Baseball, and that greatness is coming sooner rather than later.

There you have it, my picks for the Willie Mays Award for the Baseball Bloggers Alliance.

Bill Ivie is the editor here at I-70 Baseball as well as the Assignment Editor for BaseballDigest.com.
He is the host of I-70 Radio, hosted every week on BlogTalkRadio.com.
Follow him on Twitter here.