Straight from the horse’s mouth, here is what the UCB website has to say about this project:

Didn’t we just leave this party?

With a postseason that joyously ran long and a participation level that was through the roof, the United Cardinal Bloggers spent from the end of October until  just before Christmas rehashing and discussing.  Now, as the calendar turns to February, it’s time for us to take up the discussions again.

This time, however, there’s a twist.

In an effort to engage our readers and followers a bit more, we are encompassing the UCB Twitter feed (@utdcardbloggers if you aren’t following it) into the discussions.  Every day, the question that the bloggers are discussing via email will be also put on our Twitter account.  Answers that are received will be eligible to be added to the transcript when the blogger posts it.

To keep things organized, we ask that you use the proper hashtag when responding to a question.  To answer the first question, use #ucb1.  The next day, use #ucb2 and so on.  The hashtag will be listed with the schedule below.

Then, during the last week of the roundtable, we are letting you–well, turn the tables seems pretty cliche there, doesn’t it?  We’ll ask you to submit a question you want the bloggers to bat around.  The best one will be put into the system and the transcript will be posted here on this site.

So that sets us up.  I-70 Baseball drew the question that would be asked last Friday and posted on Monday, February 13.  After some thought, I crafted the following question for my fellow new media writers:

The collective group here is obviously one of the foremost knowledgeable on Cardinal baseball.  You know your in’s and out’s and all about the players.  So, I am going to ask you to look at something other than the Cardinals for a second…
Brandon Phillips, Nyjer Morgan, Johnny Cueto…the Cards have had a few “enemies” over the last few years.  At the same time that these three guys still exist in this division, there has been quite a bit of change with the other teams this year.  So peer into your crystal ball for a two part question:
The answers to these can be names that are listed above or they can be new names added to the list.  All I ask is that you stay in the Central Division with your picks…
1 – Who is the biggest “Cardinal Killer” in 2012 (ie who does his talking on the field and just seems to always do his best against the team)?
2 – Who becomes the biggest mouthpiece about the Cardinals in 2012 (ie who gets on your nerves because he hates this team and is going to end up with a Carp fastball in his ear)?

Let’s get into their answers, shall we?

Corey Noles: The Daily Statesman
 I think the biggest Cardinals killer may likely be Brandon Phillips. It sure seems that he feeds off of the boos he gets when he comes to St. Louis. The funny thing about Phillips is, now don’t stone me, that he would be a great fit for the Cardinals. Through this whole mess I haven’t been able to help thinking that about him.

As far as who is the biggest tool in the NLC, that’s a tough one. I would like to think Morgan had his comment shoved hard enough in his face that he will likely shut up, but I’m never surprised by idiots. Truth be told, I can’t think of anyone off the top of my head who will likely shoot his mouth off. Frankly, at this moment in time no one is in a position for smack talk. If I have to name one though, I’m going to go with Morgan just due to his general lack of class.

Daniel Shoptaw: C70 At The Bat
I’m with Corey on the second part–I don’t figure we’ve heard the last of Nyjer Morgan.  For a man that has multiple “personalities”, I can’t imagine a little thing like reality will deter him.  He might not be as covered, especially if Milwaukee doesn’t stick around with the Cards in the divisional race, but he’s the most likely candidate.

As for the “Cardinal killer”, I’m wondering about Brett Wallace.  He’s done pretty well against the Redbirds in his time in Houston and, while the Astros won’t contend, I could see him turning around a couple of close games and sending the Cards home downcast.

Rodney Knuppel: Saint Louis Sports
Nyjer Morgan is not good enough to be a Cardinals killer. That guy is a clown. Brandon Phillips, while a good player – doesn’t put up great numbers against the Cardinals. I look for Votto or someone else to carry that load against STL.

My answer to the Cardinal Killer goes to Aramis Ramirez. Granted, he will have to try to kill the Cardinals. I just think if he is healthy, he kills STL pitching. Now, with Milwaukee, he is in a pennant race(hope not), and the hate the Brewers/Cardinals have is at a different level than the pretty boring rivalry lately of Cardinals/Cubs.

Ramirez is 33 years old. I think he still has alot of baseball left in him. I know many people think he is washed up,or simply overrated, but the guy has a career .284 batting average, over 300 homeruns and 1,100 runs batted in. Without Fielder, he will need to be an offensive force for the Brewers. Now, if Braun is out those first 50 games – ALOT of the load will land on Ramirez, and if we remember right – he is a slow starter. The Cardinals see the Brewers several times early, so it would be advantageous to keep him in check early in the year, and maybe get off to a good start against Milwaukee.

As far as the biggest mouthpiece against the Cardinals. I think the Morgan and Phillips thing will hopefully die down with Matheny at the helm. Hopefully these two clowns are not a factor for this team. I think we will see less and less “hatred” with LaRussa gone. LaRussa did alot of things to bring on the hatred, and I don’t think Matheny will. So, I don’t have a good answer for the mouthpiece. I’ll go with Albert Pujols – as the Cardinals and Angels will meet in the World Series, and El Hombre will talk bad about the Cardinals :)

Bob Netherton: On The Outside Corner
There is one player in the NL Central that makes me ill every time he steps up to the plate.   It is Casey McGehee of the the Pirates.  If he played against the rest of the National League like he does against the Cardinals, he would already have a multi-year contract in place, buying out all of his arbitration years, and still be in Milwaukee.  The Cardinals have given up the most hits, doubles, home runs and RBI’s to the former Brewers third baseman.Fortunately for the Cardinals, McGehee’s offensive numbers are going downhill faster than a box of frictionless bearings.

Nyjer Morgan is like Mikey from the Life cereal commercials.   The youngsters might have to google that one, so I’ll save you the trouble.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgB25WBeBxA   The point is that Morgan is a punk with just enough talent to stay in the big leagues, but not enough to let his playing do the talking.  But it’s not limited to the Cardinals, he is pretty much a punk to all the teams in baseball.  His own team is just as likely to put a fastball in his ear if the Brewers struggle during a possible Ryan Braun suspension.   So we can scratch Morgan off the list.

For getting on the Cardinals nerves, there is a seemingly endless supply of such players over in Cincinnati.  Even though the Dusty Baker/Tony La Russa personal vendetta is not longer in play, there is enough carryover to fuel a brawl or two.   Something tells me that we haven’t heard the end of Johnny Cueto, just yet.

So my answer is Johnny Cueto and I’ve already put all of the Cincinnati games on the calendar, so that I don’t miss a minute of any of them.

Chris Reed: Bird Brained
If he gets enough playing time, I could see Ryan Ludwick being a thorn in the Cardinals’ side. You have to figure the Cards and Reds will play every game tough as nails if they truly are the best two teams in the division, so the maneuvering will be fast and furious. Whether it be a late-inning appearance off the bench or a regular starting role, Ludwick is a guy I expect to be hitting in big-time situations. And a lot of those could be against the Cardinals.

The mouth-runner is tougher to pin down. After last year, I’m not sure what Nyjer Morgan could possibly chirp about anymore but I wouldn’t put it past him. Phillips definitely has more discretion in his trash- talk, and certainly backs it up better with his play on the field (plus he’s in a contract year…yikes). I still maintain that if you’re going to talk the talk, you have to also walk the walk. Phillips can do that. Morgan cannot. I expect to hear more from Phillips this year.

Angela Weinhold: Diamond Diaries
As far as a “Cardinal Killer,” I always say Aramis Ramirez. It doesn’t matter how much he has declined, even when he has been having a slump it seems like all it takes is a visit to Busch for him to break out of it. Even when the Cubs were terrible (isn’t that every year?) I feel like the Cardinals find ways to get beat by the lovable losers a few times a year. Seems to me like Ramirez has earned a couple of those wins singlehandedly.

Of course, I have been accused of holding grudges more than once…

For the mouthy one, it’s Nyjer. The sad thing is he has never been an overly talented player, but his mouth keeps his name in the papers. It doesn’t seem to matter how bad *he* is playing, if the Brewers are near the division lead I expect him to find new and creative ways to run his mouth. Unfortunately the crow he ate last year can’t shut him up forever. ;)

Aaron Hooks: Cards Diaspora
The biggest Cardinal Killer? ALBERT PUJOLS.

We’ve been busy giving the Cardinals verbal fellatio over not having to pay 30M a year in 2021 to the Angels first baseman that we’re forgetting that the dude is still in his prime, pissed offed about how he thinks he’s perceived around baseball, and is still the best player alive.

Carlos Beltran? Nice addition. But if we’re thinking that he’s going to fill the shoes of Pujols, we’re mistaken. We’ve taken for granted the fact that NOBODY wants to see the Cardinals 3 spot come up in the order and they’ve played accordingly. Now? It’s game on. That’s going to hurt.

And Brandon Phillips will still be the biggest irritant. He loves the attention and with the Reds expected to contend for the NL Central, he’ll get the digital ink he thinks he deserves.

Dathan Brooks: Cards Tied For First
Morgan’s not much more than a mouthpiece.  The guy sells his face on T-shirts and stuff, and shamelessly promotes himself in ways that makes Bill look like a monk.  By comparison, and I might get some crap for saying this, but I see Phillips as more of a guy who is having fun with the game more than I see him as a true jackass, like Morgan.  And FWIW, I tend to agree that BP & Carp are similar in that they can both (accurately, I think) be described as “that guy who you’d love to have playing with you, but you hate him if you play against him”.

Cardinal Killer?  Bud Norris, who else?

Ray DeRousse: StL Cardinal Baseball
Cardinal killer? Has everyone forgotten Bud Norris? Actually, the Norris thing needs to finally end this season.
As for biggest mouth, I fully expect Nyjer Morgan to (spoiler alert) do something dumb now that his exposure is increased on that team minus Braun and Fielder. Someone that dumb simply cannot help himself.

Matt Whitener: Cheap Seats Please
1. Biggest Actual Cardinal Killer: I think it has to be somebody who can actually make a difference in a game with a direct benefit for his team vs. ours in the race for the division, so Bud “Big Train Jr.” Norris is out.

I think it has to be Phillips. He may not have the greatest overall numbers against the club, but he delivers when it counts (that walkoff last year still stings now) and that’s all you need.

A darkhorse here for me is Ryan Ludwick, I think he’s going to have some at-bats when it counts against us and will deliver. Same for Scott Rolen.

2. As for biggest mouth, Morgan talks so much that it just blends together and is like the hum of an air conditioner; it’s just always there, so it doesn’t matter as much.

For actual talk & backup, I’m going back to Phillips. Because he’ll talk everywhere from on-base to Twitter, but will still be an All-Star with our biggest competition in the division, so he’ll actually be backing it up. Big difference.

Nick: Pitchers Hit Eighth
Can I choose more than one “Cardinal Killer”? As in, any left-handed pitcher with a fastball that sits 87-89? Chris Narveson, maybe?

I think the biggest mouth in the division might wind up being Dusty Baker. With Tony La Russa riding off into the sunset, Dusty becomes the elder statesman in the NL Central, and is certainly no stranger to dust-ups with the Cardinals. I could envision Dusty trying to push some teams and managers around a bit in a division that the Reds should contend in. What will be entertaining is watching Dusty try to “school” Mike Matheny strategically (remember last season’s rain-affected start against Cincy with the Miguel Batista deke?) and still failing miserably and wasting three pitchers on accident.

Kevin Reynolds: Cards N Stuff
Hmmm…for some reason, I keep thinking of Carlos Lee as the Cardinal killer…and Joey Votto emerging as a mouth :)

But it’ll probaby still be Phillips and Morgan again.

Miranda Remaklus: Aaron Miles’ Fastball
I can’t just pick one! I think Ryan Braun, once he gets his stuff straightened out, will once again but tough against us. Probably the Panda from the Giants. And Eithier or Kemp from the Dodgers.

This one is pretty easy! I think Nyjer retains the title of being the biggest…. mouthpiece! Carp will nail him in the ear this season. I can feel it! Ha! I don’t think Brandon Phillips will be that bad. He was a jerk but he seemed to chill a little with the Reds losing ways. Almost humbled him! ALMOST! B.J. Rains lovely … bordering on homer … reporting of him has softened me to BP.

Mark Tomasik: Retro Simba
1.       Got a feeling Ryan Ludwick is going to pound Cardinals pitching this year. He likes being with Cincinnati and he’s been embarrassed by his performance of the last year or so. Got a feeling he’s going to launch some longballs against the Cardinals in that Great American Ballpark bandbox.
2.       Brewers still have a burr in their saddle about being kept out of the World Series by the Cardinals in 2011. Maybe Rickie Weeks takes the instigator role and earns the Carpenter fastball in the back.

Tom Knuppel: Cardinals GM
Nyger is a tool and will be the one that gets the fastball inserted into his ear.Aramis Ramirez is the Cardinal killer.Looks to be interested series’ with Brewers.

Christine Coleman: Aaron Miles Fastball
My opinion matches what many have already said.

1 – Even though on a different Central team, I think Aramis Ramirez will continue his Cardinal Killer ways in 2012 as a Brewer.

2 – My thought is the biggest mouthpieces of last season, Nyjer Morgan and Brandon Phillips, will continue in those roles in 2012 – mostly because the broadcast media (and particularly Fox Sports Midwest) won’t ever let those storylines drop. Look at all the games last year where we had to listen to Dan McLaughlin and Al Hrabosky going on and on (and on and on) about Phillips. And, even though his talking and tweeting amounted to nothing in the end last season, Morgan will just have to start back up in 2012 – and get attention for it as well. They’re both media whores who know how to play to the broadcasters … and those broadcasters are ever so eager to give them both what they crave the most: attention.

Daniel Solzman: Redbird Rants
I think it’s either Brandon Phillprs or Nyjer Morgan.

JE Powell: STL Fear The Red
For the first part of the question I am going with the consensus. I think Brandon Phillips is a great 2nd baseman and seems to hit well against the Cards. For the second part of the question, I am going with the consensus again.  Nyjer Morgan is a loud mouth who, in my opinion, will be fueled by the fact that he ended up watching the Cardinals on TV, not the other way around as he so incorrectly predicted. I look to see more of Morgan running his yap in 2012, loud mouths usually get louder when proved wrong.

A quick scan through the National League Central rosters reveals a lot of the same names fans have come to see year after year. However, the name on the front of the jersey changes more often than you may realize. The St. Louis Cardinals have been called the 2004 Houston Astros after the additions of Carlos Beltran, Lance Berkman, and potentially Roy Oswalt. The Reds have been called the 2008 Cardinals with all the former players former Cardinal GM Walt Jocketty brought over after being ousted at the end of the 2007 season. Even the other four teams in the division seem to have a lot of players that have been with other teams in the NL Central. Why does it matter? I suppose it may not that much, other than it is a slow Hot Stove week and this seems like a fun topic to dig into. So here is my version of “Where Are They Now?”, NL Central Edition.

I looked at each team’s 40-man roster and noted each player that is currently active and has played for more than one NL Central team. I then broke down the percentage of players in the division that have played for more than one NL Central team, and finally the number of players in the division that have played for more than one team in their career as a percentage of players who have played for more than one NL Central team.

Clear as mud?

9.2%

Twenty-two of the 240 players (1 out of every 7) on active NL Central rosters have seen major-league playing time on another team within the division. Here’s the list:

Astros (4):  Carlos Lee (Brewers), Jason Bourgeois (Brewers), Chris Snyder (Pirates), Enerio Del Rosario (Reds)

Brewers(7):  Nyjer Morgan (Pirates), Jose Veras (Pirates), Aramis Ramirez (Pirates, Cubs), Alex Gonzalez (Reds), Randy Wolf (Astros), Chris Narveson (Cardinals), Corey Patterson (Cubs, Reds, Cardinals)

Cardinals (2):  Lance Berkman (Astros), Carlos Beltran (Astros)

Cubs (2):  Ryan Dempster (Reds),  Travis Wood (Reds)

Pirates (2):  Clint Barmes (Astros), Casey McGehee (Cubs, Brewers)

Reds (5):  Sean Marshall (Cubs), Bronson Arroyo (Pirates), Miguel Cairo (Cardinals), Scott Rolen (Cardinals), Ryan Ludwick (Cardinals)

25%

Here’s where it gets interesting….

I looked at how many players on each teams’ current active roster have played for at least one other team in their career.

Astros – 17

Brewers – 15

Cardinals – 11

Cubs – 17

Pirates – 16

Reds – 13

From there, I took the numbers from above (players with games played for more than one NL Central team) divided by players that have moved teams at least once. Here are the percentages:

Astros:     4/17    23.53%

Brewers:     7/15    46.67%

Cardinals:     2/11    18.18%

Cubs:     2/17  11.76%

Pirates:     2/16  12.50%

Reds:     5/13  38.46%

Any player traded or signing with another team as a free-agent has a 5/29 (17.2%) chance of landing with another NL Central team. I found it very interesting that the actual percentage came in eight percentage points higher. Much of this can be accredited to Walt Jocketty bringing several former Cardinals to Cincinatti, but the Brewers actually have the highest percentage of recycled NL Central players on their roster. Once Jeff Luhnow and the Astros head to the AL, I anticipate the ratios going down as he may pluck several free agents from his former division and former club (Cardinals).

This topic was significant to me if for no other reason than the Cardinals play 77 games within the division in 2012. The teams will know each other well just from the sheer number of times they play each other. But it must also be taken into account that the players know each other well because 25% have played for other teams in the division. I have not researched the other divisions in baseball or the other major sports, but I would be hard-pressed to believe any other division would come in at higher than 25% “recycled player ratio”. If someone out there is interested enough to do the research and prove me wrong, it sure would make for an interesting off-season research project!

2013 is Bud Norris’ first year of being eligible for arbitration. I sincerely hope you’re grinning to yourself right now, after that sentence. C’mon, though, don’t act like that thought hadn’t crossed your mind too, after yesterday’s announcement. In 2013 the Houston Astros will defect from the National League Central division, and join the American League West. This could be particularly good new for the Cardinals and their fans when it comes to Bud (“Chuck”) Norris.

“Go West, young man. No, seriously, get out of our division.”

In case you have not heard, and if you have not I have to wonder how you stumbled on it here first, the Cardinals are well within striking distance of a National League Wild Card win. In fact, going into today, they are now one and a half games behind the crumbling Atlanta Braves for the final playoff spot in the National League. To top it off, they are one of the hottest teams in baseball right now. This team could be dangerous.

Back on September 7th, it appeared the Cardinals were done for the season. The team was struggling, falling further and further out of the race, and they were wrapping up their final game of the season with division rivals (and soon to be division champs) Milwaukee. As the game wound down, the every flamboyant Nyjer Morgan decided to draw some attention and caused a brawl that seen him at odds with the Cardinals super star first baseman Albert Pujols after Morgan threw his chewing tobacco in the direction of Chris Carpenter.

While the move was classless, it quickly became apparent to most of us that it was also cowardly. The final at bat of the final series against a team that had fallen from contention, Morgan made a statement without fear of retaliation. He even went so far as to carry it over to Twitter after being ejected from the game, calling Pujols out knowing full well they would not face each other again this season, nor was there a guarantee that Pujols would be a Cardinal by the time Milwaukee returned.

Alberta couldn't see Plush if she had her gloves on!!! Wat was she thinking running afta Plush!!! She never been n tha ring!!!

September 7, 2011 9:18 pm via Twitter for AndroidReplyRetweetFavorite

@TheRealTPlush

Nyjer Morgan - T Dot

You can read 10 Things More Likely Than Nyjer Morgan Beating Up Pujols from our friends at CardsDiaspora.com for a fun look at the situation. I don’t mind, I’ll wait here for you…

Done reading? Good, let us continue.

Nyjer did downplay the situation after the game during post game interviews as captured here by 101 Sports:

This was not the first incident between Carpenter and Morgan. In fact, this one goes back quite a ways now. It was last year, while Morgan was a member of the Nationals, that he would elbow Bryan Anderson after scoring a run, despite Anderson not being in the way of the play. This spring, again while with the Nationals, Morgan would charge the mound after Carpenter pitched him inside repeatedly, though no punches were thrown. It was in August that the Brewers would visit St. Louis and Morgan would need to be removed from the dugout while he was yelling and cursing Carpenter during that late innings of a ball game.

After the September game, Carpenter would admit to yelling at Morgan after he struck him out in the ninth, which prompted Morgan to react the way he did. All in all, it is two very explosive personalities that are boiling over when they are near each other.

Suddenly, a few weeks later, the Cardinals are riding a huge surge and may be putting themselves into a position to make the playoffs. While that will not ensure a showdown with Morgan and the Brewers in the first round, it could very well put the two teams on a collision course this October.

Imagine the scenes as “T-Plush” takes to the batter’s box against Carpenter in the opening game of the National League Championship Series just to receive a fastball somewhere in the vicinity of the ear-hole of his helmet. Benches may clear. It may be as ugly as Cincinnati last season. Even still, when the dust settles, Morgan may have to take his place at first base with the very man he decided was not man enough to stand toe-to-toe with him. Can those two men coexist well enough to not start a second brawl minutes after the first calms down?

The playoff push is interesting enough. But the sub-plot that is developing may steal the show.

Be careful, Nyjer, your plan might just have backfired.

As the 2011 season winds down, the St. Louis Cardinals’ hopes for postseason play dwindle with every passing day.

Photo Courtesy of Erika Lynn

To put it in perspective, the Cardinals were 10.5 games back of the Brewers going into the three game series at Milwaukee at the end of August. It was the beginning of a stretch where the Cards were playing the Brew Crew in six of their upcoming nine games. The Cardinals won five of those six games. Can’t ask for much more than that, especially considering the Cards swept the series at Miller Park. But the series in the middle was won by the Reds, and the Brewers didn’t miss a beat in sweeping the Astros in Houston. Going into action Friday, Milwaukee’s lead in the NL Central was still eight games.

It seems even when the Cardinals win, they can’t win.

But it was a real treat to be in attendance Wednesday night at Busch Stadium. Chris Carpenter hurled a masterpiece, tempers heated up when Nyjer Morgan offered up another dose of crazy, and the Cards won to end the season series with the Brewers at .500 (9-9). That’s something, I guess.

A bit of a side conversation about the Cardinals’ chances at the Wild Card has been going on for a few weeks, and the Atlanta Braves come to Busch Stadium with the lead in that category, too. But for the Cards to have even a chance at catching the Braves, they have to sweep them this weekend. It also helps that the Brewers are hosting the Philadelphia Phillies this weekend. If the Phils take care of business in Milwaukee and the Cards take care of business at home, the race could still be borderline interesting. Is it possible? Sure. But if winning five of six head-to-head against the Brewers barely made a dent, can we even expect a miracle at this point?

Maybe this weekend is the Cards’ one last shot at postseason play. Maybe they have one big run in them still, like the Colorado Rockies and Houston Astros of years past. But even if they don’t, the team can still be fun to watch. They still have guys named Carpenter and Pujols and Holliday and Molina taking the field every day. They’re not a bad team; they never were. They just played bad baseball too many times this season. The Cardinals will still finish above .500 on the year, which I suppose is an accomplishment considering they got a total of zero innings pitched from Adam Wainwright this year and blew 23 saves as a team to this point.

Still, making excuses helps no one. Every team faces adversity; some rise above it and others fall short. And every year is different. Sometimes an 83-win team wins the World Series, and sometimes a 90-win team doesn’t even make the playoffs. The Cardinals are likely to fall somewhere in between and have a real good chance of watching October baseball from their couches at home.

But it ain’t over ’til it’s over. If you need me, I’ll be on my couch watching the game.

Chris Reed also writes for InsideSTL Mondays and Bird Brained whenever he feels like it. Follow him on Twitter @birdbrained.

As the Cardinals playoff hopes wane, fans have cast about for other things to talk about. Most of them center around what the Cardinals will do with their pending free agents. Recently it’s been whether or not Nyjer Morgan is certifiably crazy. There is one remaining on-field area of intrigue, and that’s if Albert Pujols can hit .300 for the season.

Pujols is the only man to start his career with 10 consecutive .300 AVG, 30 HR, 100 RBI seasons. Regardless of your perspective on these traditional statistics, if it can be said ‘Player X is the only player in MLB history to do Y’ that’s pretty special. Several people have tweeted today that Pujols must hit .337 over the remaining 19 games to make .300. Can he do that?

Albert has certainly hit .337 or better for ninteeen-game stretches in his career. For example – in 2001 he hit .337 or better during 75 different 19-game intervals. Yes I did manually count. If it seems like a high number, let me explain. Games 1 through 19 would be one 19-game interval. Games 2-20 would be the second 19-game interval, even though only one game has been replaced by a new game. I kept looking at the games in that way (games 3-21 is interval #3, 4-22 interval #4, and so on) until I ran out of 19-game samples. I did not carry over 19-game intervals from season to season.

Basically Albert hit .337 or better for the first 2 months of 2001, then did it again from July 21 2001 until the end of the season.

This season has been Albert’s most difficult at the plate, and the 19-game intervals I looked at bear that out. Over all the intervals reviewed (it should be 110 unless my math is off), Pujols has only hit .337 or better in eleven. The first inteval ended with the game during which he broke his arm (Interval 56). He did not reach the .337 plateau again until the July 26 – August 14 period (Interval 89).

However, the late surge is why there remains some hope he can do it. Ten of the 11 periods observed occurred after that 26 July game. His most recent hot intervals started with the 10 August game against Milwaukee and ended with the Cincinnati series last weekend. In fact, his best hitting all season has been in progress since the July 24 game at Pittsburgh. Over that 42-game stretch he’s hit .323/.397/.605, with 12 HR and 25 RBI.

The most recent 19-game interval, starting with Game #110 (17 August, again at Pittsburgh) and ending Wednesday night, has seen Pujols hit .328.

Bottom line. He’s hot right now, he’s in a sustained period of good hitting at the moment, and he’s hit .337 or better in ten 19-game intervals since the 24th of July. There’s good reason to think he can get to .300 before the last out of the season.

	Adron Chambers Center Field AAA-Memphis Redbirds 23-years-old Bats: Left Throws: Left Height: 5’10″ Weight: 185 lbs Drafted by the Cardinals in the 38th round of the 2007 MLB June Amateur Draft
Just like every Saturday here on i70baseball, the Cardinal Farm Report spotlights one of the prized Cardinal minor leaguers. This week, it is Adron Chambers, the fastest player in the Cardinals organization. I have studied just about all of the Cardinals prospects and this kid sticks out as one of my favorites. After a slow start to the season in Double-A Springfield, the 23-year-old speedster has stepped it up and has made his way onto the Memphis Redbirds roster in only his third minor league season. So far this year, Chambers is hitting .277 in 292 at bats with a .379 OBP, 59 runs, 5 home runs, 28 RBI, and 12 stolen bases. What should excite everybody about this guy is his speed. It’s truly remarkable. I know 12 stolen bases in 91 games doesn’t exactly jump out at you, but this kid is the fastest player in the Cardinals system. There is simply no doubt about it. When Chambers was in college his 40-yard dash time was a breathtaking 4.29. Think about that for a second. To put that number in perspective, Tennessee Titan’s running back Chris Johnson (fastest player in the NFL) runs a 40-yard dash in 4.24 seconds. Usain Bolt? 4.22. In Chambers’ second season in the minors, he legged out 16 triples. In 2009, that number would have been tops in the majors. When asked about his speed, Chambers explained, “I can hit the ball, but my speed is what’s going to get me through. I’m more of a Carl Crawford type of guy.” While Crawford may be a stretch, Juan Pierre or Nyjer Morgan with a little more power is very realistic. I’d project Chambers to be a .285, 85 runs, 30 stolen bases type of MLB player. Last time I checked, that is very respectable. Chambers is not going to hit for power but has the speed and range needed to player center field in the bigs. He has good discipline and patience at the plate and, because of this, draws a lot of walks. In other words, he’s your prototypical leadoff hitter. He’ll always have a high on-base percentage (.374 OBP in last two MiLB seasons) and he flies when he does reach base. With Colby Rasmus in St. Louis, the Cardinals already have their center fielder of the future, but Chambers should be a useful component of the Cardinals’ future plans in some capacity.
MiLB WEEKLY ROUNDUP
AAA-Memphis Redbirds
Record to date: 62-52, second place in the PCL American North, 3 games behind Iowa.This past week: 4-3 The Redbirds started the week off with a win against the first place Omaha Royals but then dropped the final two games of the series. Then Memphis traveled to Las Vegas and let’s just say their luck turned around very quickly. In the first two games of the four-game set, the Redbirds won by a combined 27-10 score. Game three was another slugfest, but the Redbirds were on the wrong end of a 12-10 score.Transactions: Evan MacLane was activated from the 7-day DL and assigned to Memphis (6-7, 4.29 ERA, 65 SO, 121.2 IP), Nate Robertson was assigned to Memphis, Andrew Brown was promoted to Memphis from Springfield (.282, 14 HR, 45 RBI, 252 AB), Francisco Samuel was promoted to Memphis from Springfield (7 saves, 3.08 ERA, 33 SO, 26.1 IP), Fernando Salas was promoted to St. Louis from Memphis (18 saves, 2.53 ERA, 38 SO, 32 IP), Allen Craig was promoted to St. Louis from Memphis (.322, 14 HR, 76 RBI, 283 AB)Coming up: The Redbirds will finish off the Los Vegas series tonight before heading to Reno for another four-game series. Memphis will then come home for the beginning of the Colorado Springs series on Friday.
AA-Springfield Cardinals
Record to date: 21-20 in the second half (59-52 overall), third place in the TEX North, 4 games behind NW Arkansas.This past week: 5-3 Springfield started the week by taking three of five games from NW Arkansas behind great starts by Nick Additon and Brian Broderick. The Cards did not, however, have similar success at home against Arkansas. Game one didn’t go so bad as Arquimedes Nieto got his first AA win of the season. Games two and three did not go Springfield’s way and they ended up losing the series. The Cardinals took game one of the Tulsa series last night. Transactions: Ramon Delgado was promoted to Springfield from Palm Beach (1-2, 1.57 ERA, 53 SO, 51.2 IP), Francisco Samuel was promoted to Memphis from Springfield (7 saves, 3.08 ERA, 33 SO, 26.1 IP), Kyle Mura was released by Springfield (0-2, 7.04 ERA, 3 SO, 7.2 IP), David Freese was assigned to Springfield for a rehab stint (.296, 4 HR, 36 RBI, 240 AB) Coming up: The Cardinals continue their series in Tulsa tonight in game two of four. Then on Wednesday the Cards look to take down Corpus Christi in a three-game set.
A-Palm Beach
Record to date: 20-19 in the second half (59-46 overall), second place in the FSL South, 1 game behind Bradenton.This past week: 4-2 St. Louis’ Advanced A affiliate started the week off by winning the first two games of the Clearwater series before losing the third game. The Cards got back to winning ways on Tuesday for the series-win. Wednesday marked the first game of the Dunedin game, which Palm Beach lost 11-9. Thursday’s game was rained out but they came back on Friday for a 6-2 victory.Transactions: Jesse Simpson was promoted to Palm Beach from Quad Cities (3-2, 2.87 ERA, 68 SO, 59.2 IP), Ramon Delgado was promoted to Springfield from Palm Beach (1-2, 1.57 ERA, 53 SO, 51.2 IP) Coming up: The Cardinals will start off this week with the fifth and final game of the Dunedin series before playing Bradenton and St. Lucie, both in three-game series.
POSITION PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Nick Stavinoha, RF, Memphis
.650 AVG (13-for-20), .700 OBP, 8 runs, 3 doubles, 2 home run, 9 RBI, 1 walk
Now that Jon Jay is hitting just about everything and Allen Craig has appeared to figure it out at the major league level, there really isn’t much need for Stav in St. Louis. On the season, Nick is hitting .486 with two home runs and 9 RBI in 30 at bats.
PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Scott McGregor, SP, Springfield
W, 7 innings pitched, 3 hits, 1 runs, 1 walk, 8 strikeouts
This was certainly McGregor’s best start of the season. It’s been an up and down year for him, but he was bringing it this week. This season, McGregor is 3-3 with a 4.14 ERA and 32 SO in 50 innings.

Justin Hulsey covers the Cardinals for i70baseball.com and his blog, Cardinals Front Office, that is also dedicated to Cardinal baseball.You may follow him on Twitter @JayHulsey by clicking here.