Rick Ankiel began the 2013 season as a member of the Houston Astros.  After a month of the season, he was given his release and found himself a free agent.

Until today.

Ankiel is on his way to St. Louis and is expected to be in the starting lineup tonight when the New York Mets take the field against Ankiel’s former team.

The story of Ankiel and his journey through baseball from starting pitcher to slugging outfielder is well documented.  His time in St. Louis developed a near cult following, thanks in large part to the love Aaron Hooks and Cards Diaspora shows him on a regular basis.

Tonight Ankiel returns to Busch Stadium, once again as a member of the opposition.  He has spent limited time in the visitor’s dugout of Busch Stadium, having played only six games against the team that drafted him.  In those six games, he is hitting .250 with no home runs and a single run batted in.  He does boast a .260 average with 24 home runs and 83 runs batted in over the course of 489 at bats during his career at the current version of Busch Stadium.

Bill Ivie is the editor here at i70baseball.
You can follow him on Twitter by clicking here.

ST. LOUIS – April 5, 2013 – Monday, April 8^th marks the annual return of baseball to St. Louis as the Cardinals take on the Cincinnati Reds in a 3:15 p.m. game. Opening Day 2013 will feature a pre-game ceremony that will pay tribute to Stan Musial.   Following is a schedule of official activities and information to help baseball’s best fans enjoy what has become an unofficial holiday for Cardinal Nation. Fans can join the social media conversation on Twitter with #OpeningDaySTL and #6.

Opening Day Ceremony

Opening Day marks the first time the Cardinals family will be together at Busch Stadium for a game since the passing of Stan Musial earlier this year.  On Opening Day, and throughout the 2013 season, the Cardinals will honor the legacy of the team’s greatest player who personified the Cardinal Way.  The team is wearing a jersey patch throughout the season and will host a full tribute to Musial on Friday, April 12^th when the team dedicates a plaque in his honor.

On Monday, Stan’s four children will unveil an outfield wall marker as part of the Opening Day ceremony that begins at 2:30 p.m. with the Budweiser Clydesdales.

The ceremony will feature all four of the team’s Commissioner’s Trophies from each of those World Championship teams (’67, ’82, ’06, and ’11), as well as the introduction of the Cardinals Hall of Famers and 2013 Cardinals via a Ford motorcade.

Schedule

11:00 a.m. – 2 p.m. Cardinals Official Opening Day Pre-Game Pep Rally, sponsored by Hardee’s:  The Cardinals and Hardee’s will host a pre-game pep rally in front of the Cardinals Team Store, located at the corner of Clark Street and 8^th Street. Local rock band Trixie Delight will perform from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Fredbird and Team Fredbird will be on hand to give away Opening Day tickets, autographed items and other Cardinals prizes. Fans can stop by the free Hardee’s Photo Booth to get their Opening Day photo taken from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., Fans can also purchase a Hardee’s Combo Meal after regular breakfast hours from the Mobile Diner or Hardee’s restaurant on Chestnut and receive a free Cardinals t-shirt while supplies last.  Other sponsors include: Budweiser, Dunkin Donuts, Fox Theatre, FOX Sports Midwest, Krispy Kreme, The Muny, Rawlings, Scotts, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and The Tan Company.

1:15 p.m.                   Gates open

                                    Budweiser Magnet Schedule Day:  All ticketed-fans, ages 21 and over, will receive a magnet with the 2013 Cardinals schedule, compliments of Budweiser Beer.

2:30 p.m.                   Pre-game ceremonies begin with an appearance by the famed Budweiser Clydesdales.

      Introduction of Missouri Governor Jeremiah “Jay” Nixon, St. Louis County Executive Charlie A. Dooley, and St. Louis Mayor Francis G. Slay

      Introduction of Fredbird and Team Fredbird

      Cardinals Hall-of-Famers will be introduced via a Ford Motorcade, led around the warning track by the 2013 Ford Fusion. Each Cardinals Hall of Famer will be riding in a 2014 Ford Mustang Convertible.

      Tribute to Stan Musial:  Stan and Lillian Musial’s four children, Dick Musial, Gerry Ashley, Janet Schwarze, and Jean Edmonds will unveil a memorial marker in left center field.

      Introduction of the 2013 St. Louis Cardinals via Ford Motorcade. The players will ride in 2013 Ford F-150 Raptors.

      Introduction of the Cincinnati Reds and the starting lineups

      American Bald Eagle introduced, courtesy of the World Bird Sanctuary of St. Louis

      Color Guard and American Flag in Center Field, courtesy of Scott Air Force Base 

                                    The National Anthem will be performed by six members of the Gateway Harmonica Club of St. Louis. Stan Musial was an honorary member of the club.

                                    A moment of silence for the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, as well as a moment of silence for baseball great and St. Louis native Earl Weaver, former Cardinals Outfielder Chuck Diering, longtime organist Ernie Hayes, longtime Redbird Roost attendant Fanny Scholl, and the greatest Cardinal, Hall of Famer Stan Musial.

      Ceremonial First Pitch by former Cardinal closer Jason Isringhausen and former Cardinal center fielder Jim Edmonds, who are both new members of the Fox Sports Midwest Cardinals pre and post-game broadcast team.

3:15 p.m.                   Game Time

Watching on TV

Fans can watch the game and pre-game ceremony in High Definition on FOX Sports Midwest.

Radio Coverage

Fans can tune into KMOX (1120 AM) or one of the 124 stations in the Cardinals Radio Network to hear Mike Shannon and John Rooney call the game. The expanded pre-game show starts at 1:40 p.m. 

Online or On the Go

Fans may also follow the game for free on cardinals.com using the Gameday application, or via the team’s Twitter account, @Cardinals.  From mobile devices, fans can keep tabs on the score using MLB’s mobile app, At Bat 13.

Getting to the Game

Fans will notice a few changes around the ballpark as a result of the Ballpark Village construction.  The biggest change for motorists is that 8^th Street is now a two-way street between Clark and Market with two north and southbound lanes.

Temporary stop signs are currently in place at the intersections of 8^th and Clark, as well as 8^th and Walnut, until new traffic signals are installed later this spring.  Walnut is now also a two-way street between 8^th and Broadway, with one westbound lane and two eastbound lanes.

Pedestrian traffic into the ballpark has also changed due to the construction of Ballpark Village.  The biggest improvement fans will notice is that the pedestrian bridge from Stadium West Parking garage has been removed and the intersection of Clark and 8th Street has been redesigned with a much larger sidewalk in front the plaza of champions the skirts the Cardinals Team Store.

Clark Street is also being improved and will be open to pedestrian traffic on Opening Day.  The Cardinals Opening Day Rally will be at the corner 8^th and Clark.

Highways and Other Roadwork 

MoDOT will not have any scheduled lane closures on state highways inside the city limits for Opening Day and Opening Weekend. The department does have several construction projects around the city scheduled for 2013, including a bridge replacement at Jefferson over I-64 that may have one lane closed on I-64 around the clock in both directions for several months. MoDOT will make every effort to have all available lanes open into and out of the city before and after Cardinal home games.  At this time, several I-64 and I-70 closures are planned for weekends, but will not be scheduled during Cardinal home games.

Alternative Transportation

MetroLink is a convenient alternative to driving, allowing fans to avoid the cost of parking and game day traffic.  To avoid the traffic congestion and the cost of parking on game day, fans can use one of 19 free Park-Ride lots along the MetroLink line and take the train to Stadium Station, right across the street from the ballpark.  Check the Metro website www.MetroSt.Louis.org for schedules and the Park-Ride lot nearest you.  There are also plenty of buses in Missouri and Illinois that will get fans to Busch Stadium including the RedBird Express that departs from the Water Tower at St. Clair Square in Fairview Heights, Illinois.  The first RedBird Express leaves 2 ½ hours before the game and runs approximately every 5 minutes. On opening day, the RedBird Express will start running at Noon. 

Ballpark Village

In February of this year, the St. Louis Cardinals and the Cordish Companies broke ground on Ballpark Village – a mixed-use development on 10-acres adjacent to Busch Stadium.  The first phase of Ballpark Village will be completed by Opening Day 2014.

The first phase will include over 100,000 square feet of retail and entertainment space including Cardinals Nation, the Budweiser Brew House, PBR St. Louis: A Cowboy Bar and the Live! At Ballpark Village marketplace.

Cardinals Nation will be a first-of-its-kind venue in baseball totaling over 30,000 square feet on three levels. It will include a two story restaurant, a retail store, a Cardinals Hall of Fame and Museum, a special events space, and a 300-plus seat rooftop deck with views into Busch Stadium. A second building will house a 20,000 square foot, three-story Budweiser Brew House with a festive rooftop party deck also offering views into Busch Stadium.  The two signature structures will be joined by the Live! At Ballpark Village marketplace, an indoor marketplace with a retractable roof covering the event space, designed to be a vibrant gathering space throughout the year for thousands of visitors.

The $100 million first phase also includes all of the streets, parking and site infrastructure to support the future phases of the seven-block mixed-use project, allowing the city to attract future development with pad-ready sites.  The project is expected to have a positive impact on the local economy with nearly a thousand construction jobs and nearly 500 permanent jobs expected to be created as part of the initial phase alone. 

Ballpark Improvements

As the Cardinals begin their eighth season of play in Busch Stadium, the team has made a number of improvements to the stadium during the off-season, including sowing the seeds of another successful season with the installation of new sod.  During the fall, the Cardinals installed over 100,000 square feet of new sod.  The sod, which was grown in Fort Morgan, Colorado, is a four way blend of Kentucky Bluegrass set in a 10 inch root zone that is 85% sand, 10% peat, and 5% Zeopro mixture.

In addition to the new playing surface and the improved, expanded sidewalk outside the Cardinals Team Store and plaza of champions at 8^th and Clark, fans will notice an improved front façade thanks to the installation of new windows on the second level on the Northwestern section of the Stadium.  The new windows run the length of the Budweiser Bowtie bar as well as Group Sales Corner above the Team Store and along the Group Sales Hallway above the ticket windows on 8^th Street.

The Cardinals have installed new flooring in several areas of the ballpark and have added 150 energy efficient LED HD TV throughout the stadium.  The team has also upgraded the outdoor furniture in several all-inclusive areas, upgraded several party suites, added fresh coats of paint and made a number of smaller improvements throughout the park.

New Menu for 2013

Delaware North Companies Sportservice, the St. Louis Cardinals’ concessionaire for more than 50 years, is preparing to welcome fans back to the Stadium with a starting lineup of food to please every fan’s unique taste.

New at Section 135 is The Double Play Tap and Grill, where traditional ballpark fare gets a high-end makeover. Fans can enjoy a thick and juicy cheddar stuffed burger on a pretzel bun, or a customizable four-hand nacho platter, and choose fresh toppings for both to suit their unique tastes.

Likewise, fans will find new additions throughout the park. Look for Kohn’s Kosher Cart, featuring knockwurst and pastrami sandwiches at Section 147.  Dizzy’s Diner locations (Sections 139, 161 and 446) have also been beefed up with the addition of The Horseshoe, an open-faced burger consisting of two beef patties topped with fries and cheese sauce.  Other new additions include Bavarian Pretzel Sticks, at Sections 139, 161, 271 and 446, and Fried Pickle Spears, at Sections 271 and 509.

New Retail for 2013

From Opening Day apparel to personalized gifts, the Team Store has what fans need to look their game-day best no matter their unique style.   Adding to the Team Store’s most exclusive selection of limited-edition Opening Day apparel and accessories, new this year is the Cardinals’ retro-style alternate jersey, worn during Saturday home games. This ivory and red jersey proudly features “St. Louis” across the chest instead of the traditional “Cardinals” insignia.

The Team Store also will feature Opening Day baseballs, t-shirts and lapel pins, exclusive to the Stadium, in addition to the new batting practice cap by New Era. The Team Store also is carrying the exclusive Victoria’s Secret PINK line, perfect for the stylish yet casual Cardinals fan. Fans who want to make a statement — about their fashion and their favorite team — can now do so with new Alex and Ani bangle sets. The bracelets, which come in brushed Russian gold or silver, can be customized with a variety of charms and stacked to create a unique combination.

Aside from the Cardinals games, Busch Stadium also hosts several weddings each year along with hundreds of special parties and celebrations. Fans can commemorate their special day with personalized memorabilia, such as wedding invitations, hand-etched wine glasses, personalized baseballs, and custom Mega Tickets, enlarged to 500 percent the size of a regular ticket, to celebrate anniversaries, birthdays, and retirements.

As in years past, the Team Store offers dozens of $15 and under souvenirs, including baseballs, mini-bats, koozies, magnets, baseball cards, jewelry, posters, postcards, key chains, lanyards, pennants, pins — and the No. 1 seller — foam fingers, and claws.

And, even while the construction progresses around Ballpark Village, the Team Store is ready to help fans get prepared for Opening Day. The store is open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., seven days a week, and offers free, 15-minute parking on the curb next to the store entrance at Clark and 8th Street, between Gates 3 and 4.  Sportservice also operates nearly 20 retail kiosks throughout the ballpark, as well as three other licensed stores around the stadium, including:

• ·        Fans Nest at Broadway (including the Jersey Lettering Booth) – Main Concourse near Gate 1
• ·        Fans Nest at Home Plate – Level 4 behind Section 450
• ·        Fans Nest at Riverview Corner – Level 4 behind Section 437

Fans will want to stop by the Cardinals Authentics store in Ford Plaza (cardinals.com/authentics), the only place to get official, game-used, limited edition and autographed Cardinals memorabilia directly from the team. Fans can now order an engraved bat from Louisville Slugger, the official bat of MLB.

Cardinals In the Community – Redbird Rookies Celebrates 10 Years in 2013

Redbird Rookies, Cardinals Care’s free baseball league for boys and girls who may not otherwise have a chance to play baseball, turns 10 in 2013.  In addition to providing all the uniforms, gloves, bats, balls, and other equipment needed for each team in over 20 leagues in Missouri and Illinois, Redbird Rookies also provides extensive off-field support in the areas of health, education, mentoring, and the cultural arts for each of the nearly 4,500 kids who participate in the program each year.

Cardinals Care was established to give fans a way of teaming up with Cardinals players and the Cardinals organization to help children in our community – both on and off the baseball field.  Since it was established in 1997, Cardinals Care has invested nearly $19 million in helping children, including providing nearly $11 million in grants to over 800 non-profit youth organizations, and building 19 youth ball fields in neighborhoods in both Missouri and Illinois.  Cardinals Care is urging fans to support their on-going efforts to help children a variety of ways:

• ·        Go RED for Kids - Businesses, schools and other organizations are being asked to rally behind the team and Cardinals Care by participating in Cardinals RED for Kids.  Cardinals RED for Kids is the team’s version of an office “dress down” day in which participating organizations make a donation to Cardinals Care in exchange for the opportunity to sport their Cardinal colors around the office on Opening Day. To participate, local businesses and organizations can visit cardinals.com/red.
• ·        Cardinals Care 6K and One Mile Fun Run – Lace up your jogging shoes and join the team for the 4th annual run and walk on Sunday, August 18^th.  Learn more and sign up atwww.cardinals.com/6K.
• ·        Donate directly at cardinals.com/community.

Cardinals Magazine Releases Season-Opening Issue, Digital Edition, and Collectible Scorecard

Cardinals Magazine kicks off its 21^st season of publication with a star-studded cover story featuring three of the club’s most dynamic centerfielders of recent history: Willie McGee, Jim Edmonds, and Jon Jay. From spectacular catches to everyday responsibilities, this dynamic trio shares secrets about the art of playing the position. Other issue highlights include a Q&A with skipper Mike Matheny, an in-depth look at the club’s highly regarded farm system, Adam Wainwright’s monthly journal, fresh insight into the club’s spellbinding comeback in Game 5 of the NLDS last fall, and the release of the first of six collectible Stan Musial posters.

Also available at the ballpark is the popular 2013 Official Scorecard, which teaches fans how to score the “Cardinal Way”—a storied tradition by club officials that dates back more than 50 seasons. This year’s collectible scorecard features Fredbird sporting the new Cardinals home alternate jersey that includes the Stan Musial No. 6 patch as well as the Musial statue. The retro and contemporary hybrid design of the scorecard comes from local artist Mike Right, who has been creating the timeless Cardinals scorecard imagery since 2003.

During games, fans can purchase Cardinals Magazine and the Official Scorecard together for just $5 at all gates and at the Team Store. Outside the ballpark, fans can buy the magazine at many St. Louis area retailers, including grocery stores, QT, Walgreens, Wal-Mart, and Cardinals Clubhouse stores inside 6 local malls. To start a subscription (7 issues for just $35), call 314.345.9303 or visitcardinals.com/publications.– more –

Finally, new for 2013 is the digital edition of Cardinals Magazine which will be available for download on iPhone, Android, PC, Mac, and iPad. One-year subscriptions are $25; individual issues will be available for purchase for $5. The first issue is scheduled to be released on April 15 through cardinals.com/publications. Stay tuned for additional information.

BUSCH STADIUM – POLICY REMINDERS

Bag Inspections Policy

• ·        The standard game-day bag inspection policies for Busch Stadium will be in effect. Bags will be allowed that meet Major League Baseball’s standard size restriction (16”x16”x8”), and all bags will be inspected prior to entry. 
• ·        Fans will be permitted to bring small personal cameras and will be subject to inspection.  No professional-sized photography equipment will be allowed except for members of the media with proper MLB credentials.  
• ·        Non-alcoholic beverages such as water and soda in open cups or in clear plastic bottles no larger than 2 liters are allowed.
• ·        Alcohol, bottles, cans, thermoses, hard-sided coolers; hard plastic cups/mugs are not permitted.
• ·        Small banners and signs are allowed.  Banners may be displayed as long as they do not hinder or interfere with a ball in play or distract or interfere with the view of another guest. Banners may not be displayed in fair territory, be obscene or in poor taste, attract abuse or cause a disturbance among other guests. They should be baseball-oriented and not commercial in nature.
• ·        Please minimize items you bring into the stadium to speed up the inspection process. 
• ·        Expect long lines upon entry and allow yourself plenty of time to go through the inspection process.

Exit/Re-entry Policy

Standard Exit/Re-entry Policies are in effect.  Guests wishing to leave the stadium, but planning to return during the same game must have their hand stamped at Gates 1, 2 or 4 as they exit the stadium. Guests must show ticket upon re-entry. Inspection policy will also be enforced.

No Smoking Policy

Standard Busch Stadium Smoking Policy is in effect.  Busch Stadium is a smoke-free facility. Exit/Re-Entry turnstiles will be set up at Gates 1, 2 and 4 to allow fans access in and out of the stadium if they wish to smoke. Fans will get their hand stamped as they exit the stadium. Guests must show ticket upon re-entry. Inspection policy will also be enforced.

ST. LOUIS, Mo. (March 26, 2013) – The Cardinals are giving fans the opportunity to put the finishing touch on the 2013 uniforms by allowing them to decide which color cap the players will wear during road games this season. The team is taking a new approach to gauging fan sentiment by adding a social media polling option to the more traditional web vote.

“We want to let our fans decide whether they want our players to wear red caps or blue caps when the team is on the road,” said William DeWitt III, President of the Cardinals. “We also wanted to have a little fun by getting our fans to engage via social media to gauge how intensely they feel about the options.”

For the next two days, fans can go online to cardinals.com/redvsblue to vote for their favorite cap and uniform combination. The team’s Twitter followers will have a chance to sway the final outcome in a one-day Twitter vote on Thursday. Fans may vote for any of the following four options:

1.      #AllBlueSTL:  Continue to wear blue STL caps during road games red STL caps at home

2.      #AllRedSTL: Wear red STL caps during both road and home games

3.      #BluevsRed: Wear blue STL caps on the road but only when playing against red teams

4.      #GetawayDays: Wear blue STL caps on road “getaway days” (the last game of each road series)

Throughout today and Wednesday, all fans may vote online at cardinals.com/redvsblue, opting to vote for as many of the options and as frequently as they’d like. After the polls close oncardinals.com/redvsblue, Cardinals Twitter followers will have the final say with tweeted votes all day Thursday. Fans may tweet using the designated hash tag for the cap color of their choice. Each tweet will be counted as a single vote. Fans may tweet as often as they like, but only one hashtag per tweet will be tallied. The Cardinals will add the Tweet tally to the rest of online voting, and the final result will be announced once all of the votes are tabulated.

The Cardinals have most currently worn navy blue STL caps during all road games and red STL caps at home – with the exception of Spring Training games in which they wear the traditional red home caps for both home and road games.

In November, the St. Louis Cardinals unveiled new uniforms for the 2013 season, the first update to the teams’ wardrobe in more than a decade. For the first time in more than 80 years, the team will wear an alternate uniform on Saturdays that will feature “St. Louis” in place of “Cardinals” on the jersey. In addition, all the team’s jerseys (home, road, home alternate) will feature more detail in the embroidery, consistent with the graphical logo used by the club since 1998. The cap color change marks the finishing touch on the 2013 uniform updates.

Spring Training may be reaching the halfway point but the biggest battle in Jupiter for the St. Louis Cardinals will come to a close.

The Cardinals entered Spring Training attempting to put together the final spot of their rotation.  The battle has come down to the young right arms of Shelby Miller and Joe Kelly.  Today, one of those young men will take a big step forward towards the 2013 rotation.  The other will have some other questions to answer.

The issue here is the timing of Spring Training and the regimen that pitching coach Derek Lilliquist lays out for the pitchers.

Every starter is building his pitch count to be able to reach the 100 pitch threshold by opening day.  As starters get stretched out, and the rotation takes shape, it becomes harder and harder to get long outings for six starters.  The rotation will begin throwing every five days and stretching out higher and higher pitch counts.

Joe Kelly will start today.  Shelby Miller will be the first arm out of the bullpen.  At the end of the day, one of the young men will start again in five days.  The other, well, that is to be determined.

That may be the true question.  Not the question of who rounds out the Major League rotation but the question of what happens with the other one may be of equal importance.  Does he go to Memphis to start there?  Does he remain in St. Louis and in the bullpen?  What best serves the Cardinals in 2013 and in the future?

One question will be answered today.

The rest will develop soon.

Bill Ivie is the editor here at i70baseball.
You can follow him on Twitter by clicking here.

The St. Louis Cardinals entered this off season with a glaring need: Adam Wainwright‘s contract will expire after this season.

The Cardinals have been down this road before and, while the results were a little less then ideal, they have shown that they can continue to be successful after losing a superstar type player.  The situations are obviously not identical, but they are similar enough that many fans have kept a skeptical eye on the situation this spring.

Both the Cardinals and Wainwright have expressed no desire to put a deadline on these talks.  At the same time, Wainwright has been very candid that his increased health and productivity is not likely to drive his price down anytime soon.  The team has expressed a desire to see him in action and there seems to be a sticking point surrounding the length of the contract according to many people close to the negotiations.  Both sides have expressed recently that having a deal complete before Opening Day is ideal, though not a hard and fast deadline.

A brief silver lining has found it’s way through, however.  Recently, Wainwright’s agent, Steve Hammond, was out of the country and unavailable to the negotiations.  He recently returned from his vacation and it appears that the two sides have reopened the discussion.

Cardinals General Manager John Mozeliak was on MLB Network Radio on SirusXM recently and had the following to say to Jim Duquette and Mike Ferrin:

“Right now, I feel pretty optimistic that we’re going to find a way to get things done, but there are still challenges. But from my end of things, the fact that Steve Hammond and I are speaking is a good thing.”
Thanks to MLBTR for the quote, originally seen here.

It appears that the conversations are fluid and growing closer to a resolution.  As long as the sides continue to have conversations, it is fair to say that they are making progress towards a new contract.

For Cardinal fans, that would seem to be a real good thing.

Bill Ivie is the editor here at i70baseball.
You can follow him on Twitter by clicking here.

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

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

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

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

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

As I listened to Dayton Moore’s interview with Soren Petro of 810 WHB last week I found many things hard to stomach. For one thing Petro’s questioning was so timid that it started a #ToughQuestionsForDayton hashtag on twitter that sarcastically made fun of him. If we can’t askMoorethe hard questions at this point, when will we? Second, I hated hearingMooremove the goal line once again by suggesting that 2014 will be the year the Kansas City Royals start competing for the playoffs. I thinkDaytonthinks as long as he keeps saying we’re at least two years away there will never be any consequences. Unfortunately, as long as he continues to line David Glass’s pockets, he’s probably right.

As angry as that made me, nothing irked me as much as when the conversation turned to Wil Myers, and of course Jeff Francoeur. It became pretty clear at that point the Frenchy is going to be the starting right fielder for the Royals on Opening Day 2013 and there’s probably not anything Wil Myers can do about that. We should have long known that Myers has no control over his own destiny. After all, he’s hit 33 home runs in 106 games between AA and AAA this season andMoorestill acts as if he has much to prove. He’s not just shown power, but patience as well, walking more times already this season (51) than Frenchy’s career high for one season (42). Now, everyone already knows thatDaytonloves Frenchy, but my question today is, why?

Don’t get me wrong, I like Frenchy too. He’s such a nice guy, he has a cannon for an arm, and he’s apparently a great leader in the clubhouse. All wonderful qualities, but can that really be the reason? IsDaytonthis attached to someone he drafted a little over ten years ago? Did he fall for his tools and remains too blinded by that love to see the facts? If so I’d like to lay them out for him:

-         Frenchy has had two seasons in his eight year career in which he played more than 70 games and had an OPS+ of 100 or better. For a right fielder, that is disgusting.

-         This great leader has made two postseason appearances ( .171 average/268 slugging %) and his arrival inAtlantacoincided almost exactly with the demise of the Braves dynasty.

-         His incredible arm has been far outweighed this season by the fact that he’s developed Jose Guillen range in right field.

-         He is currently having his worst season as a pro, his incredible -2.8 WAR may not even do justice to how terrible he’s been.

-         If the Royals are really two years away from beginning to compete in the worst division in baseball, they have no reason to let Jeff Francoeur stand in the way of their best offensive prospect.

I’m just beating a dead horse now, and we’re stuck with this dead horse for at least another year. Don’t worry though Royals fans, he won’t stand in the way of winning. We are now, and will always be, two years away from competing.

July 13, 2012–The Baseball Bloggers Alliance today named Hardball Talk lead blogger Craig Calcaterra as the winner of the 2012 Joe Posnanski Award, honoring the top internet writer of the year.  Besides being the lead voice at Hardball Talk, the baseball blog of NBCSports, Calcaterra can also be found interacting with his readers via his Twitter account.

The Writer of the Year Award was created by the BBA to honor those writers who, beyond being exceptionally great at their craft, have taken to the internet in a full and vigorous fashion.  Voters were instructed to take into account not only the writing abilities of the nominees but also their online presense, whether via blog or other media, as well as how they interact with their followers and fans.

“It seems only appropriate to honor Craig Calcaterra, as he could be seen as ‘living the dream’ for many bloggers,” said outgoing BBA president Daniel Shoptaw.  “Calcaterra quit lawyering, began blogging and quickly rose to a place of prominence.  What blogger wouldn’t want to follow in those footsteps?”

Voters were allowed to vote for three of the five nominees, casting a first, second and third place ballot.  Those ballots were tabulated based on a 5-3-1 point scale.

Calcaterra received 276 points, which included 32 first-place votes from the 119 ballots cast.  Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports was runner-up with 245 points and Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus third with 209 points.  Dave Cameron of FanGraphs (208) and Jon Heyman of CBS Sports (194) rounded out the ballot.

The Baseball Bloggers Alliance was formed in the fall of 2009 to encourage cooperation and collaboration between baseball bloggers of all major league teams as well as those that follow baseball more generally.  You can follow the BBA on Facebook and Twitter or contact them at baseballbloggersalliance@gmail.com

NEW YORK, June 12, 2012 – MLB.com, the official Web site of Major League Baseball, today announced the debut of The 140 Club (MLB.com/the140club), a curated news service for fans to see what the world is saying about baseball and what baseball is saying about the world via the popular social networking service.

This first edition of The 140 Club delivers more than a feed of hashtags or accounts. Supported by the power of Mass Relevance, Twitter’s official social curation and integration partner, MLB.com’s social media team selects the most talked about topics of the day and curates a live stream of the best tweets from around the world on those topics. Recent examples include the no-hitters by Johan Santana and the Seattle Mariners, the Interleague Play series sweeps by the New York Yankees and Washington Nationals, the College World Series and the Bradley-Pacquiao fight.

“Tweets connect us in groundbreaking ways to previously inaccessible points of view,” said Dinn Mann, Executive Vice President, Content, MLB.com. “We are delighted to leverage the reach of Twitter and tools of Mass Relevance to discover and share discussions and observations that rise above the noise. Baseball personalities, fans and celebrities are weighing in at a prolific pace on topics of all kinds, and The 140 Club is a reliable, entertaining place to get inside the ropes and eavesdrop or take part.”

“MLB.com continues to create engaging experiences that connect fans to baseball,” said Sam Decker, CEO of Mass Relevance. “By curating and surfacing the most important social conversations around baseball through the Mass Relevance platform, MLB.com is taking a strong social leadership position across all sports worldwide.”

The 140 Club on MLB.com also offers functionality for fans to search by an individual player’s Twitter account or an official team account. Future enhancements to the news service will include an archive for a retrospective look at the most talked about topics of the previous week.

Cardinal fans team up to beat human trafficking
Every time the Cardinals win a game, fans now have a new way to make a difference in the world. A new donation platform called Snoball is uniting baseball fans to fight human trafficking.

The idea is simple. Every time the Cardinals win a game, a fan donates $0.25. The money benefits Not For Sale, an organization that exists to end present day slavery.

There are more victims of human trafficking today than any other point in history–nearly 30 million. These victims are raped, abused, and even murdered by their abductors.  Of the victims, 70 percent are women and 50 percent are children.

It’s easy to give. Just visit http://tinyurl.com/gostlcards, click the donate now button, and sign in with your Facebook account.

After donating, fans are encouraged to share the “Let’s Re-Abolish Slavery” snoball on Facebook and Twitter using the hashtag #cardsunite.  Cardinals fans can prove, once and for all, they are the greatest baseball fans on the planet.

Imagine the difference we can make just by cheering on our favorite baseball team. Every quarter donated makes a dent in the world’s third largest illegal industry–human trafficking. If 1000 fans donate $0.25, just one Cardinals win would represent enough money raised to free 3 people from slavery.

Baseball fans can also help Not For Sale by joining Matt Holliday and Jaime Garcia of the Cardinals. They are part of a special Facebook application called Free2Play.  It allows users to create donations based on statistics of their favorite players. All money raised helps Not For Sale prevent the human trafficking of children.

For additional questions or comments, contact jason@snoball.com (Twitter: @jasonpoemusic)

About Snoball:
Snoball is a micro-donation platform that makes charitable giving easy, social, and fun.  Users can instantly donate to over 1.7 million nonprofits through customizable “snoballs.” Snoballs are automated donations based on a user’s interests.  An example snoball could be defined as:  “When Matt Holliday hits a home run, I will donate $1 to the American Red Cross.”

For more information about Snoball, visit https://snoball.com

About Not For Sale:
Not for Sale creates tools that engage business, government, and grassroots in order to incubate and grow social enterprises to benefit enslaved and vulnerable communities.

For more information about Not For Sale, visit http://notforsalecampaign.org