After the Omaha Storm Chasers lost three of four games to the Reno Aces in the PCL Championship series, the Kansas City Royals called up starting pitcher Jake Odorizzi, relievers Tommy Hottovy and Nate Adcock, catcher Adam Moore and infielder Irving Falu this week. Besides Odorizzi, the other players were on the 40-man roster. The Royals added Odorizzi to the roster to protect him from this winter’s Rule 5 draft.

Of the five, Odorizzi is the only one without Major League experience. Odorizzi, 22, the Royals top pitching prospect, is a leading contender for the Royals 2013 starting rotation. Between AA Northwest Arkansas and AAA Omaha, he pitched a combined 26 games, 25 of them starts. Odorizzi compiled a 15-5 record with a 3.03 ERA, 145.1 innings pitched with 8.4 SO/9 and 3.1 BB/9.

The Royals plan to have Odorizzi start this Sunday’s game against the Cleveland Indians. He could make a bullpen appearance, since he has over five day’s rest. The Royals want to give Odorizzi a taste of the Majors before his chance to join the rotation in 2013.

Hottovy, 31, spent the 2012 season in the bullpen between Omaha and Kansas City. In 41 games with Omaha, Hottovy compiled a 2-2 record with a 2.52 ERA, 50 innings pitched with a 11 SO/9 and 2.9 BB/9. In a couple of brief stints with the Royals, Hottovy had a 4.05 ERA, 6.2 innings pitched with 8.1 SO/9 and 4.1 BB/9 in six games. He provides lefty bullpen depth.

Adcock, 24, shuttled between Omaha and Kansas City as a starter and reliever. In Omaha, Adcock appeared in 26 games, 25 as a starter. His record was 8-6 with a 5.53 ERA, 99.1 innings pitched and 5.4 SO/9 and 2.7 BB/9. In Kansas City, Adcock pitched eight games out of the bullpen and made two starts with a 0-3 record with a 2.67 ERA, 30.1 innings pitched with a 4.7 SO/9 and 3.6 BB/9. Adcock had pedestrian 2012 numbers and his call-up provides bullpen depth and a chance to make the club as a starter or reliever in 2013.

Moore, 28, makes his 2012 debut with the Royals after being acquired off waivers from the Seattle Mariners July 12. Moore’s last time in the Majors was from 2009-2011, where he played in 68 games with the Mariners. Moore split his 2012 Minor League season between AAA Tacoma and Omaha, appearing in 59 games with a .259/.326/.413 average, 33 RBI and 38 strikeouts and 19 walks. As a backup catcher providing the Royals with depth, Moore could make a start or two by the end of the season.

Longtime Royals farmhand Falu, 29, spent most of the 2012 season with Omaha and is back with Royals for the rest of the season. Falu appeared in 88 games with Omaha with a .329/.375/.463 average, 50 RBI and 41 strikeouts and 28 walks. In his previous time with the Royals, Falu played 15 games with a .321/.333/.434 average, five RBI with nine strikeouts and a walk. If Yost remembers Falu is on the team, he could play a few games this season.

With 14 games remaining and the Royals heading towards another losing season, Yost will give these players limited playing time in games against the Chicago White Sox and Detroit Tigers, A.L. Central contenders. Yost wants his “best” players in those games. The five are likely to see playing time against the Cleveland Indians, fourth place in the A.L. Central.

Of the five, Odorizzi shows the most promise for 2013. The other four players will get opportunities as role players with the Royals, provide Minor League depth or continue their career with another team.

ST. LOUIS, Mo., August 31, 2012 – The St. Louis Cardinals announced today that they have placed SS Rafael Furcal on the 15-day disabled list with a right elbow strain. Furcal suffered the injury during Thursday night’s game vs. the Washington Nationals.

Replacing Furcal on the 25-man roster is shortstop Pete Kozma. Kozma is making his second appearance at the Major League level, spending two separate stints with St. Louis in 2011 making three starts while appearing in 16 games. With Triple-A Memphis this season Kozma has played 131 games, hitting 16 doubles, 11 home runs with 63 RBI. Kozma will wear uniform #38, and is in Manager Mike Matheny’s lineup for tonight’s game, batting 8th.

In addition, the club has announced they will activate OF Lance Berkman from the 15-day D.L. before Saturday night’s game in Washington D.C. Berkman, who has been on the disabled list with a right knee injury since August 3, will have missed 27 games at the time of his activation. He has been on a rehab assignment with the Memphis Redbirds since August 24, and is 4-17 in six games. Tomorrow, September 1, teams can expand their rosters beyond the 25-man limit, so no counter move is necessary.

Last week we talked about Jake Westbrook.  Today we look at the other half of the back of the St. Louis Cardinal rotation.

Kyle Lohse has had an adventurous 4 years in St Louis.  Signed as a free agent before the 2008 season, he posted arguably the best season of his career in 2008.  The Cardinals rewarded him with a multi-year deal, although the fanbase had some misgivings about it based on the size of the contract he was awarded.  Eager to prove his doubters wrong he started 2009 on fire, finishing April with 4 victories and a sub-2.00 ERA.

Then things derailed.  He was hit on the right forearm by Phillies pitcher Joe Blanton in his next start and was never quite as dominating. He did two stints on the DL before the All-Star Break, then had an ERA of 5.72 the rest of the season.  During the first two months of 2010 he was actually worse (ERA 5.89).  Lohse was eventually diagnosed with exertional compartment syndrome in his right forearm and had surgery to repair the damage.  He gamely came back to the rotation in August of that year; opponents said thank you by hitting .389 on balls in play off him the rest of the season.

After a full off-season of rest, and a good spring, Lohse seemed ready to reprise his 2008 form, and early in 2011 he did.  Through the first two months of last season he posted a 2.13 ERA and a 3:1 K/BB ratio.  Lohse was back.  Then he got hammered by the Cubs on June 4 at home and spent the next three months with an ERA north of 5.00.  In his last August start against Pittsburgh the light appeared to come on again; in September, when the Cardinals needed him most, he was sterling.  In 4 September starts he posted a 1.37 ERA an a 4:1 K/BB ratio.  His playoff outings were ultimately forgettable, although for his first 5 innings in Philadephia he was awesome.

Lohse lives and dies with his change-up.  Last season his change-up was his most devastating pitch, and more valuable than any season since that 2008 campaign.  Nineteen percent of his pitches were a change-up in 2011, the highest percentage of his career.  He compensated by throwing fewer curveballs and sliders; of the former he threw 37% fewer than he had in 2010, the latter about 12% fewer.  His slider was pretty effective (wSL of 4.1 by Fangraphs), but his curveball was just average (wCB 0.3), so that decision on which pitch to throw less frequently was the right one.  What’s interesting is in his previous good season with St Louis, his curveball was far more dangerous (wCB 5.9) even though he threw it about the same frequency (6.7%) as he did in 2011.

Although controlling and spotting his change-up is key to his overall success, it is the ability to throw the curveball to good effect that will define Lohse’s season.  It may be he lost the feel on that pitch due to the forearm injury; it hasn’t been there for him since the 2008 campaign, based solely on the weighted pitch values posted at Fangraphs (-1.0, -1.0, and 0.3 the last 3 seasons).  If Lohse can regain that pitch in 2012 he will be the dominant, consistent pitcher he was in 2008.  If he can’t, he will likely continue to have stretches of sublime pitching intermingled with stretches of throwing BP to major league hitters.

Watch for Lohse’s curveball during his spring training starts.

Aside from Aramis Ramirez no other NL Central third basemen surpassed the 100 games played mark. Only David Freese sniffed the 100 game mark in 2011, falling just short at with 97. Though it’s tough basing everything off of a post season run Freese showed the kind of hitter he can be in the postseason. It is dangerous evaluating off of postseason hype, but Freese should have had this breakthrough in seasons prior. Assuming health, which for him could be a big gamble, he can put it all together and be a .280-25-100-90 work horse on the hot corner.

As it stands now Freese is more of less in a class by himself among the NL Central third basemen. Not quite at the Ramirez and Rolen level, but well above the likes of what takes the field for the Astros, Cubs, and Pirates. Here is who he be measured against moving into 2012.

Ian Stewart split the 2011 season between the Rockies and Triple-A Colorado Springs, totaling two stints in each spot. He batted .156 with six doubles in 48 games with the Rockies and hit .275 with 14 home runs and 42 RBIs in 45 games in the Minor Leagues. A change of scenery might help Stewart, who hit 25 home runs in 2009 and was considered a rising star but never gained a solid footing in the Majors.

Reds third baseman Scott Rolen was limited to 252 at-bats in 2011, hitting .242 with five homers, one stolen base, 36 RBIs and 34 runs scored.  Rolen continues to deal with injuries and shoulder problems which again cut short a season. The 36-year-old has only reached 350 at-bats once in the past four campaigns and is a significant injury risk for 2012. When healthy he is one of the game’s best at the hot corner and his defense alone will keep him on the field.

For the Astros Jimmy Paredes hit .286 with a pair of homers, five stolen bases, 18 RBIs and 16 runs scored in 168 at-bats during his rookie season. Paredes didn’t distinguish himself in his initial Major League action but he didn’t look out of place either. The 22-year-old didn’t hit for a lot of power in the Minors so his upside for 2012 isn’t very high from a power perspective but Paredes has shown he can hit for average. Which for the Astros happens to be the case for most of the roster.

Aramis Ramirez completed his sixth season with at least 30 doubles and 25 homers. He got off to a slow start, hitting two home runs in the first two months of the season. Ramirez has a career .261 average in April and playing in Miller Park early in the year could help him boost those numbers. Ramirez has a lifetime .270 average and .503 slugging percentage at Miller Park, hitting 15 homers and 25 doubles there.

Pedro Alvarez was a big disappointment in 2011, as he hit four homers, stole one base, drove in 10 runs and scored eight times while hitting .191 in 235 at-bats.  Alvarez entered 2011 as a budding prospect but got off to a slow start and was eventually sent to the Minors. He didn’t show much more after returning to the Bucs in September and is a major question mark heading into 2012.  The addition of Casey McGehee gives the Pirates another option at third base, though the club has insisted that Pedro Alvarez will get the first crack at holding onto the starting role.

Our towns David Freese missed time early in the season due to a broken hand but produced reasonable numbers when healthy. In only 97 games in 2011 Freese hit .297 with 10 homers, 55 RBIs, 41 runs scored and one stolen base.  He set a postseason record with 21 RBIs, which has everyone drooling about a possible breakout campaign in 2012. From time to time he still shows he has room to grown defensively but a full offseason and being healthy going into 2012 should help.

By the time 2012 is said and done here is how I see things shaking out amongst the NL Central three baggers.

1. Aramis Ramirez
2. Scott Rolen
3. David Freese
4. Ian Stewart
5. Jimmy Paredes
6. Pedro Alvarez

Looking ahead: There is still a lot to prove for Freese in 2012. The NL Central already has an established senior class of third basemen in Aramis Ramirez and Scott Rolen. Rolen’s defense, for now, keeps him ahead of Freese and Ramirez’s ability to do it year in and year out keeps him atop the class at this point. If Freese can stay healthy enough to play 145+ games and sure up his defense even a little look for him to overtake Rolen amonth the pecking order of NL third basemen.

Follow Derek on Twitter @SportsbyWeeze

The Kansas City Royals have been quiet this week, only announcing their slogan.  Our Time.  Well Royals fans had thought for a couple days this could be Our Time.  Until, the Detroit Tigers shocked a lot of people when they signed Prince Fielder to the 4^th largest contract in baseball history.  I thought Fielder would now be the everyday DH and Miguel Cabrera stays at first.  This week Cabrera has said he will play third.  That altered our look at third basemen quite a bit.  I doubt he plays too much third base because he defense could be atrocious.  In the American League Central and for the Detroit Tigers, all of baseball knows who is on third.  With that said we will now take a look at the American League Central third basemen.  The following statistics will give us a view of each player’s 2011 season.

The Chicago White Sox will start Brent Morel.  Who?  That was my thought too. 2011 was Morel’s first full season in the big leagues.  In both of Morel’s stints in the bigs he has shown nothing.  Morel was a solid hitter throughout the minor leagues with an average of over .300.  The White Sox have to hope Morel can regain the form he had in the minors, or he just may turn out to be another AAAA player.

The Cleveland Indians will be starting Jack Hannahan.  Hannahan has been a career back up.  He had not over 150 at bats for three until last season with the Indians.  Hannahan had 320 at bats and his highest average in 5 years hitting .250.  Obviously when you look at Hannahan stats he is nothing but a major league bench player.  Good luck Cleveland with Hannahan at third.

Miguel Cabrera is officially listed as Detroit’s starting third basement per the Tigers official website.  Cabrera is a perennial MVP candidate.  In 2011, Cabrera posted his highest batting average ever at .344.  Cabrera also posted his highest OBP ever at .448.  That is not too far from the ordinary, Cabrera is a career .317 hitter and has posted a .395 OBP.  Imagine the impact of having Prince Fielder now hitting behind Cabrera.  The Tigers offense is going to be scary.  Their infield defense may be the size of an offensive line and may post the worst defensive ratings in MLB history, but their offense will easily outweigh their defensive struggles.

The Kansas City Royals will have second year man Mike Moustakas at third.  In his second big league season, the Royals hope Moustakas can continue to grow as a hitter.  Moustakas struggled immensely in his first couple months in the big leagues.  Moustakas has struggled at every stop throughout the minors after his initial call up.  As Moustakas saw more major league pitching he began to show flashes of what scouts said could be expected of Moustakas.  Can Moustakas take another step forward this year?  For the Royals to compete in the central, he will have to take a huge step forward.

The Minnesota Twins will begin the season with Danny Valencia at third.  Valencia in his first full big league season hit .246.  A huge decrease from the average Valencia had carried throughout the minor leagues.  A career .290 hitter in the minors Valencia, take a huge step back in his first full big league season.  Valencia and the Twins hope he can become the hitter he was in the minors, but it looks like we may have another AAAA player.

Now that all third baseman have briefly been discussed, I will rank them from 1 to 5 in my point of view as to how their overall production for the 2012 season will stack up.   Well I don’t know if it is even necessary, as no one can compare to Miguel Cabrera.  Cabrera is by far and away the best player at third base.  As for my rankings, here they are.

1. Miguel Cabrera
2. Mike Moustakas
3. Danny Valencia
4. Jack Hannahan
5. Brent Morel

From my point of view, and anyone else who knows what baseball is, Miguel Cabrera will by far be the best and most impactful offensive player at third base.  Cabrera will continue to produce MVP caliber numbers and dominate all major league pitching.  It’s scary to think how much better Cabrera could be with Fielder hitting behind him.  The rest of the third basemen have a lot to prove.  Moustakas is a huge prospect for the Royals and if the scouts are right he should continue to improve.  Moustakas has a long way to go, but he should be better than the rest.

Royals Claim Pitcher Aaron Laffey On Outright Waivers From The Yankees
Pitcher Jesse Chavez Designated for Assignment

KANSAS CITY, MO (October 11, 2011) – The Kansas City Royals today announced that the club has claimed left-handed pitcher Aaron Laffeyon Outright Waivers from the New York Yankees. To create room on the 40-man roster, the club designated right-handed pitcher Jesse Chavez for assignment.

The 26-year-old Laffey was acquired by the Seattle Mariners from the Cleveland Indians on March 2 of this year and made 36 relief appearances out of the Mariners bullpen, going 1-1 with a 4.01 ERA. The Yankees then claimed Laffey on waivers on August 19 and he went 2-1 with a 3.38 ERA in 11 relief appearances down the stretch. He did not appear on the Yankees playoff roster. The 6-foot, 200-pounder is 21-23 with a 4.34 ERA in 126 career Major League appearances, including 49 starts. Laffey debuted with the Indians, who originally selected him in the 16^th round of the 2003 Draft, as a 22-year-old in 2007.

Laffey and his wife, Jackie, have one son, Braeden, and reside in Cumberland, Md.

Chavez, 28, spent a majority of the 2011 campaign with Triple-A Omaha, but also posted a 10.57 ERA in four relief appearances over two stints with the Royals.

The surprise addition of the summer is not hard to identify.

We all expected Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas, Danny Duffy and Johnny Giavotella to make their appearance in Kansas City sometime this season. They were highly drafted players who had risen through the Royals’ farm system.

We all expected Alcides Escobar, acquired in the Zack Greinke trade, to be entrenched at shortstop. Melky Cabrera and Jeff Francoeur were going to play every day, at least until they got traded (which obviously didn’t come to pass).

We weren’t exactly sure how well the young relievers would perform, but we knew they’d be there, so vacant was the bullpen.

And while Salvador Perez came along earlier than expected, even he was on the radar as the catcher of the future.

The biggest surprise came on June 1 when Felipe Paulino took the hill as the Royals’ starting pitcher in just his second appearance with the team.

Still hoping to contend in the AL Central, the team was desperate for starting pitching. So desperate they were willing to run out a National League castoff with a career 5-24 record and an ERA well over 5.00.

Paulino had pitched excellently the day after he was acquired for cash from the Rockies on May 26. He relieved Nate Adcock, who was getting bombed in a miserable start against Texas, entering the game trailing 7-6. Paulino hogtied the Rangers for the next 4.1 innings, surrendering just one hit.

But that was in relief. The Royals decided to give Paulino a start. And on June 1, Paulino was nearly as good as he was in relief. He held the Angels to just four hits over five innings.

Like kids with a new toy, fans got excited, momentarily. But rumors of a bad attitude and unfulfilled promise from his previous stints in Houston and Colorado tempered the enthusiasm. Soon the young guns like Hosmer, Moustakas and Duffy were stealing the limelight, and Paulino labored under the radar.

Some of his starts have been excellent. Several others, not nearly so. But the body of work deserves analysis, particularly after another stellar performance Friday against Cleveland, a game in which he took the loss, but carried a shutout into the seventh inning.

Paulino’s supposed potential has made him a frustration to managers over the years. But his numbers this season are more impressive than you might expect.

Paulino currently has the lowest ERA of Royals who have started at least one game.

He is tied for the second lowest WHIP – only Luke Hochevar is better.

He is third on the team in batter average, just a few points behind Bruce Chen.

Paulino hasn’t accumulated enough innings to show up among the league leaders. But his 7.8 strikeouts per nine innings would rank him 27^th in the big leagues, far ahead of Hochevar’s 5.34 (which is good for 81^st in the league).

In strikeouts to walks surrendered, Paulino’s 2.40 would rank him 59^th in the league and behind only Jeff Francis on the team.

While Hochevar has celebrated “ace-like” stuff and Chen is heralded for getting the most out of his limited abilities, Paulino is putting up comparable numbers. And all that from a guy who the Rockies were ready to dump for cash.

The glaring deficiency for Paulino is his lack of wins. His record would suggest that he doesn’t know how to win. Even disregarding his previous lack of success, his record as a Royal is 2-10. Last Friday’s game might be telling. After pitching flawlessly, he hit a snag in the 8^th inning and allowed the Indians to score a run and load the bases.

But if Friday night’s game is any indication, Paulino has been hindered by lack of run support and bullpen relief. The game was just 1-1 when he exited, and Tim Collins let him down by walking in a winning run.

So, other than poor relief pitching, what keeps Paulino from winning games?

A highly analytical article by David Golebiewski suggests that for some reason Paulino gives up an inordinately high average on balls put into play.

This could be a problem. Anyone who has played baseball knows that some pitchers give up soft grounders and weak pop-ups, while others give up rockets. Perhaps the issue is that when Paulino isn’t missing bats, he’s hitting them squarely.

Can the problem be fixed? I’m no pitching coach, so all I can do is hope that it’s a statistical anomaly that will work itself out as Paulino gains experience and develops confidence.

Paulino turns 28 in October. He’s earning $790,000. Those two numbers should work in his favor.

If the Royals were willing to suffer through years of Kyle Davies, waiting for him to capitalize on his “quality stuff,” shouldn’t they be more than patient for Paulino to harness his far superior talent. Paulino routinely throws in the mid-90s and has been clocked at over 100 mph.

What about the attitude problem? Is Paulino a Carlos Zambrano-like cancer who can’t win and brings the rest of the team down?

After Collins walked in the winning run Friday, Paulino could be seen in the dugout trying to boost the young reliever’s spirits. Ryan Lefebvre and Frank White praised Paulino as a “team guy” and someone who they’d found to be nothing but pleasant in their interactions.

While Hosmer, Moustakas and company gain all the headlines, as expected, a May acquisition – for cash no less – could go down as the surprise of the summer. Dayton Moore may have just won one, bringing in a fire-balling starter when no one else was looking.

All-star voting is in full swing and at this point, it looks like a few Royals players are putting together, some would argue, all-star caliber baseball during the first two and a half months of this season. Two of them should be especially noted with their defensive play in the outfield (Jeff Francoeur and Alex Gordon) as well as solid production at the plate. Billy Butler has been producing another solid .300 season so far.

Despite solid individual performances at key positions in the lineup the Royals have struggled the past couple of weeks, largely due to three starting pitchers still out of the rotation and lack of putting together solid offense innings and giving run support that the Royals young pitching staff desperately need. It has been rough especially in the last ten games, where the Royals have scored three runs or less in seven of them.

This offensive struggle, despite bringing up the hot hitting Hosmer last month, led to Ned Yost to bring up another high quality-hitting prospect, Mike Moustakas. Moustakas made his debut on Friday night in front of his hometown against the Angels and did a solid job going one for three with a run scored, and a walk. In order to make room on the roster for the young slugger, the Royals sent down Mike Aviles, who has struggled nearly all season.

The past few days, the Royals have seen Luke Hochevar and Joakim Soria return to their winning selves by pitching well against Toronto. Soria managed to convert back to back save opportunities this week after resuming his closer role, which is good news for the Royals and bad news for the Royals opponents who are down going into the ninth, because when he is on he is one of the best closers in baseball.

The injuries that had been piling up on the Royals pitching staff in recent weeks has lessened and two of the starters (Chen and Davies) made solid progress on their most recent rehab stints. Jason Kendall made some huge strides as well this week by taking part in batting practice beginning this past Monday. I would expect him to be back by the end of this month at the latest based on how he has progressed on his rehab.

The Royals have had a big influx of high-level prospect talent come through the clubhouse in the past six weeks and every rookie has an adjustment period. Despite having so many rookies on the roster and having several injuries in key positions (pitcher and catcher) the Royals are doing better than some other teams with similar injury related issues. With Chen and Davies coming back by the end of the month along with Kendall, the Royals could make a solid push right before the all-star break and heat things up in the American League Central. It is not going to be easy with the next eight games on the road, which includes a stop in St. Louis, but it is doable.

During the offseason we have been taking a look at the past, giving readers a timeline of St. Louis baseball throughout history.

Last time we learned about the end of the Gashouse Gang and the rise of Joe Medwick and Johnny Mize. The team had fallen a long way since their World Series win of 1934, but they were working their way back up with a strong 1939 campaign. Was this the start of a rise to the top, or a red herring?

Ray Blades had taken over the team before 1939 and the team had a strong year. People were hoping that the strong arms of Mort Cooper and Lon Warneke and the powerful bats of Joe Medwick, Johnny Mize and Enos Slaughter would carry them back to the top of the standings. Blades had been a players’ manager, but he was also a teacher – he knew the game and was great at helping young players learn and play up to their potential. However, that teaching did not translate well to managing professionals, and the team grew weary of his babying techniques. After a sluggish 14-24 start to the 1940 season, Blades was shown the door. He bounced around as a coach for several various National League teams, but never found footing in any place for more than a couple years at a time.

In his place, owner Sam Breadon turned to Billy Southworth, who had played with the Cardinals in the 1920’s and even managed half of a season back in 1929. Southworth had been managing the Rochester minor league team for most of the ten years between his two managing stints with the Cardinals. The interesting footnote here is that Breadon made the call, not Branch Rickey. Rickey found out about the hiring when he read it in the morning paper, and was more than frustrated with the owner. It was the beginning of the end of the pairs’ longstanding professional relationship. To make matters worse, Southworth made two conditions of his hiring: no player is added to/taken away from the roster without his approval, and no player could talk to upper management without his knowing beforehand. Rickey felt that his wings had been clipped!

Marty Marion

All but lost in all the drama was a young twenty-two year old just breaking in to the majors. Marty Marion had come a long way from the cotton fields of Atlanta, but his agile glove and diving stops in the hole at short showed a smart and savvy ballplayer and person. He could see how little people regarded ballplayers back then. After the rough and tumble ways of the Gashouse Gang, people were wary of ballplayers, especially when it involved doing things like putting them up in hotels or houses or doing any business with them away from the ball field. The boys were perceived as ruffians – callous, rowdy and irresponsible. Sportsman’s Park was often mostly empty during games, as fans stayed away, deciding that the team was not worth coming out to see.

Marion saw the rivalries too. He spoke often about how Mize and Medwick were always competing and really did not care for the other. The front office saw it too. Branch Rickey believed in trading a player at the peak of his career rather than after the parade passed him by. Both Mize and Medwick eventually found themselves on the train out of town, but Medwick went first, finding himself on a train bound to Brooklyn early in the 1940 season. To replace the mighty Medwick, Ernie Koy stepped in and played a solid left to fill in. It was Koy’s only truly solid season, as he only played in the majors for five years and bounced to four different teams in that short time. The fans were sad to see Medwick go, but it did not make that much of a difference in the box office, as the Cardinals were not really drawing that many fans in the first place.

After the trade of Medwick and the manager swap, the Cardinals picked up the pace, and went 69-40 with their new manager in Southworth. It was a strong sign of what was to come in 1941, despite the shift of power from the Reds, who had won the NL pennant in 1939 and 1940, to the Dodgers who were rising to power under manager Leo Durocher. The Cardinals and Dodgers went toe to toe all throughout the season, at one point starting a brawl on three consecutive nights because of all the animosity the two teams held against the other.

The September call ups from the previous year were raring to go for the stretch run in 1941. Stan Musial led the charge, getting twenty hits and batting .426 in twelve games after Enos Slaughter went down with an injury. Harry Walker and Whitey Kurowski were also key call-ups. Stan was the real story. He started the season as a pitcher, but after falling on his shoulder at the end of the previous season, his arm was not what it was before, and the Cardinals decided to make him into an outfielder. He worked his way up from the bottom to the bigs by the end of the season.

Despite the call ups, the Cardinals could not catch up to the Dodgers, and finished the season at 97-56. The team was already preparing for the next season when the horrific bombing of Pearl Harbor occurred, and according to Marty Marion, it felt like everything was going to change. Fortunately for the Cardinals, only one relief pitcher was drafted before spring training, and it was pretty much business as usual for 1942.

As for actual baseball? The Dodgers jumped out in front early. They were leading all the way, and looked to be primed to cruise all the way back to the World Series. In mid-July the team swung down to St. Louis for a doubleheader, and in the first game Enos Slaughter lifted a long fly ball to center. Speedy Pete Reiser ran full-tilt to chase it down, but was not paying attention to where he was going and crashed head first into a concrete wall in right-center. Resier had been hitting .350, but after knocking himself out cold he was never the same, and the Dodgers suddenly found themselves without a key component of the team.

In mid-August, the Cardinals were still about thirteen games back in the standings, but they were also beginning to really gel as a team. Manager Billy Southworth made sure that the team got along, but the boys did not really need him for that. They referred to themselves as ‘a young veteran team,’ and all the rookies were taken in by veteran players and treated well. Pitchers helped each other, and everyone was constantly focused on the game ahead. Catcher Walker Cooper was the jokester of the team, but everyone else took the game very seriously. They were determined to win every day, and were confident that if they lose, so what? They would win again the next day, and that was the case more often than not.

Johnny Beazley

Down the stretch, the Cardinals went 43-9. Johnny Beazley led the team with twenty-one wins, despite being a loner who found himself in an altercation with a porter at a train station who drew a knife and left Beazley bleeding profusely from his pitching hand. Unfortunately this game with two weeks left in the season and the team up only one game on those pesky Dodgers. Somehow, Beazley recovered, and the team went 9-1 in the last ten, while the Dodgers went 10-2. It took a 106-48 record to pull out with the National League crown.

The World Series was waiting, and the New York Yankees were right there ready to derail the Cardinals’ fast track. Just like back in the first Series the Cardinals had played against the Yanks in 1926, there was a fearsome lineup coming at them, led by Joe DiMaggio, Bill Dickey, Phil Rizzuto, Frank Crosetti, and others. The Yankees had won 103 games, as well as their last eight straight World Series appearances, or every appearance since that 1926 Series won by the Cardinals.

The first game was a heartbreaker, losing late to Red Ruffing, but the Cardinals were determined. They won the next game, and the next, and the next, and the next! Who would have imagined that the Cardinals would win four in a row against the mighty Yankees? No one… except the team. They shocked the world, and as a reward, each one got $6,193 as a share. Why were they so excited about this? For many of the players playing for the tight-fisted Breadon and Rickey, that World Series share more than doubled their salary for the season. The Cardinals only reward for the victors came from Sam Breadon’s wife, who bought all the players a drink on the train ride home from New York.

Things were looking to unravel quickly at the end of the year, as on October 19, Branch Rickey turned in his resignation. He was tired of Breadon treating him like he could do better without him there. Rickey went on to Brooklyn to take over the general manager’s position for the Dodgers. His story is far from over as he went on to be the instrumental cog in breaking the color barrier when he signed Jackie Robinson to be the first African-American man to play in Major League Baseball.

In the meantime, players in St. Louis were happy to see him go. They thought that with Rickey gone the salary constraints would be better, and maybe they could get some fair wages. Unfortunately with the war going on, attendance was down across baseball, and everyone was tightening their purse strings. Even Stan Musial himself had to hold out to get a better contract before the 1943 season, eventually getting a raise from $4,200 to $6,250. Considering the fact that both Enos Slaughter and Terry Moore were drafted in the offseason, Musial was the only regular outfielder left!

Rationing for the war meant that rubber for baseballs was not high on the priority list. Commissioner Landis decided that the teams would use what became known as ‘balata balls,’ or dead balls, instead. Home runs were down, power hitters were quieted, but the running ways of the Cardinals were riding high. They jumped out in front and led for all but a few days in July where the Dodgers had managed to tie them.

Stan Musial

They got by on the strong arms of Mort Cooper and Max Lanier, the brilliant catching of Mort’s brother Walker, and Stan Musial’s incredible hitting. Mort got the run support, which is how he went 21-8 with a 2.30 ERA, but Max had to work for his wins, going 15-7 with a miniscule 1.90 ERA. In the meantime, Musial won the batting title and MVP, slapping 220 hits and hitting .357. In the end, Musial claimed he had an easier time thanks to being able to move from left to right field, as well as what he said was a decrease in the quality of pitching because of the war taking so many players.

The team as a whole never played for the big inning. They were a running group, and took the extra base wherever possible, but rarely stole the bases. They played tough, going in spikes up, sliding their way around tags, and slapping the ball out of players’ gloves so as to avoid the out. They won 105 games and marched right back to the Series and right up to those same Yankees that they had beaten the year before.

This year, the Yankees were in bad shape, having lost most of their stars to the draft in the offseason. The Cardinals, however, had lost something worse – their fire. They were confident, but without the desire to win, it was all for naught. The team suffered a few loses throughout the Series outside of the diamond. Mort and Walker Cooper’s father died after game one, and Mort went out and won game two. Whitey Kurowski collided with a Yankees player in the second game so badly it caused him to pass a kidney stone. No one could hit. The Cardinals should have won, but they fell apart, and lost the Series 4-1. They went home with their tails between their legs.

1944 looked to be the Cardinals’ year right from the start. While most teams had been decimated by that point by the draft, the Cardinals had not been hit particularly hard, due to old injuries, odd circumstances like being an only child or supporting parents, etc. Stan Musial was one who was still supporting his parents, but to help out he even went to a war factory and worked there in the offseason to support the troops that way (and probably because he could use the money!).

The main nemesis over the last few years in the Dodgers had been decimated over the offseason, losing most of their prominent players. The Cardinals felt like they would never lose. On September 1, the team had already built up 91 wins, and were not about to quit there. By season’s end, the Pittsburgh Pirates were fighting to stay in second place, and finished with 90 wins exactly. The Cardinals had 105, and led the league in just about every way possible.

Marty Marion won the MVP in 1944, and when they called him to announce the award, his response was, “What’s the MVP?” His leadership led the team, his defense led the team, and he let the team speak for themselves with the bats and from the mound. As a whole, the Cardinals had just 112 errors. They led the league in hits, runs, batting average, doubles and home runs. Four different players led the team in various offensive categories (talk about spreading the wealth)! From the mound, there were four different pitchers with sixteen or more wins, and they led the league in winning percentage, shutouts and earned run average. The team ERA was a miniscule 2.67. They coasted through the regular season and marched on to the Series.

Sportsman's Park - home to the entire 1944 World Series

As a surprise to everyone, the Browns pull out the American League pennant! It would be the only Series in the history of baseball where every game was played inside the same stadium, as the two teams had been sharing Sportsman’s Park for many years. Despite sharing clubhouses, the two teams actually knew very little about each other, but they were excited for the opportunity to play against each other on the grandest of stages in the Fall Classic. The fans were excited too, although many were unsure who they were excited for. Cardinal players assumed that St. Louis was a Browns town, but the Browns saw how more people showed up for Cardinals games. When great plays happened, the batters were often unsure if the fans were cheering for a home run for them or an amazing catch from the opponent! Talk about confusing!

The NL St. Louis team thought that they had the upper hand. They had been to the Series the previous two years, and knew the pressure. The Browns did fight tough, and took the Series to six games. In the end, the Cardinals won 4-2, but both Stan Musial and Max Lanier thought that it was the toughest Series they had ever played in. The top player for the Cardinals in that six game set? None other than infielder Emil Verban.

Wait, who?

Emil Verban was a light hitting infielder who had played the majority of the year at second base for the Cardinals. He was the weakest hitting player on the team, and he was so small that in today’s vernacular he would surely be labeled with the “scrappy” title. Verban had a bone to pick with Don Barnes, the owner of the Browns. Barnes had placed Verban’s wife behind a pole for every game of the Series! When he asked politely for his wife to be moved so she could see the field, Barnes laughed and said he didn’t play well enough to even try to make demands like that. Verban was so furious that he went out and hit .412 for the Series, including three hits alone in the final game to put the nail in the Brownies’ coffin. After the last out was recorded Verban stomped over to Barnes’ owners’ box and pointed at him, reminding him that maybe next time he would not be so rude to a polite request. Who would imagine on a team with Stan Musial, Walker Cooper and Marty Marion that little Emil Verban would be such a hero?

The Cardinals were riding high, winning three straight pennants and two of three Series crowns. How long could they stay on top?

Angela Weinhold covers the Cardinals for i70baseball.com and writes at Cardinal Diamond Diaries. You may follow her on Twitter here or follow Cardinal Diamond Diaries here.