Sigma, hope you are tuning in to Cardinal ballgames. As I recall, you were one of the biggest naysayers of the Birds in preseason, what do you think now? Oh and how are the Braves doing?

Haha I will be the first to admit they played great in their first homestand. Their pitching exceeded even the most die-hard fan's expectations. They have a scrappy offense, but i still am not sold on their pitching.

Also please let me add that I am in NO way a Braves fan. I have made it clear I am an Angels fan.

Well Sigma, actually I like both the Braves and the Angels but my team is the Cardinals. I suppose the reason I have taken so much exception to the Cardinal naysayers is that from the beginning of the spring even until now almost everyone is or has written off the Cardinals. I've said it from day one and will stand by it, I think this Cardinal team is much better than most think and I believe they will prove it over the season. They are younger, more competitive, and focused. Barring injuries I expect them to compete for the NL Central top spot. I really get tired of everyone wanting to hand the division to the Cubs. I would not be suprised to see the Cubs finish 3rd or 4th in the NL Central. I think the Brewers, Reds, and the Cardinals are better.

Bassmaster, I applaud you for your devotion. Sometimes Im' sure I let my Cardinal hatred get in the way of my true baseball fanhood (much like with the Razorbacks in NCAA). It is early in the season so there's no way to know how things will turn out but if their pitching can hold up until Carpenter gets back and has a couple of starts under his belt they will be in much better shape pitching-wise than they are now. I do agree with you about the Cubs to an extent. I think the Brewers will win the central...the Reds are drastically improved and so is their rotation. I love Cueto and Volquez. Harang is an ace and Homer Bailey is one of the top 3 pitching prospects in the minors. Keep in mind Jay Bruce and Joey Votto are waiting patiently for their turn also. It honestly wouldn't surprise me to see those 3 teams ahead of the Cubs.

We are all still talking up the Cards and basking in this great early season start, but we need these same late inning toughness in Sept.
I read in an earlier post on here someone saying that Pujols was extremely hurt. Well it hasn't really seemed that way in the Astros series now has it? Pitching...we always seem to get decent seasons out of mediocre pitchers. Look at 2006 with a World Series and pitchers that the next season didn't even have winning records for other ball clubs. I have been watching Colby live for a while now and this kid better not be traded or we will become the laughing stock of baseball. Everyone wants him for a reason! He is batting .318 as of the la-*test*-('") update in Memphis. Barton will be a good player for us, but not a great one. Ryan when he comes off injury soon will definitely give us some help in the lead off and on defense. For all the Glaus doubters, he is playing strong! With his spot in the lineup he should be pretty safe and will definitely see some great pitches and get a shot at a lot of RBI's with Albert getting intentionally walked a lot this season. I see him staying on the field for us a lot more than Rolen did, and not crying as much as Rolen did either. Kennedy has been a surprise to this point to me. One of my favorites is Schumaker and I would love to see him move out of this slump a little more so that he can settle in and bat his typical .320. For all those who don't think we have anyone other than Rasmus as a prospect, take a look at 2 guys; Joe Mather who was brought up to Memphis last season before Rasmus was this season, and Bryan Anderson a Catcher that was at Spring Training and is said to be the best hitting Catcher the Cards organization has seen in years, but is troubling on Defense. He is being worked with a lot by Molina every chance they get. He is said to be the Franchises catcher when Molina's contract runs out in 4 yrs.

I hope we don't let Molina go. I think people take for granted how much he changes games with his defense. He's also improving his hitting. Either trade him for a young stud pitcher, move him to a different position, or have a great backup.

Major props to the Cards so far. I don't expect this to last but it sure is fun to watch while it last. I really like how we're alot younger and energized.

GO CARDS!!!!!!!!!

There is no way we aren't getting something good for Molina unless he really falls in ability in the next couple of years which I don't fore see happening. We have a good back up, so I am not that worried about losing him in 4 yrs as much as I am worried about what we will get in return.

As a true Cards fan, you just have to be LOVING the way that this line-up is playing off of each other. And who doesn't love seeing the Bad News Bears(Astros) go down and whine all the way to the end!!!

The Cards looked a little flat last night. Hope it was just jet lag. I do give credit to Corria though, he pitched well.

Cards fared well against the awful Giants bullpen yesterday, however ran into Tim Lincecum this afternoon. You give Lincy a solid lineup and about another year experience and he could be a top 5 pitcher in the MLB.

Cardinals need to gather up all this excess of good talent they have sitting on the bench that they rotate in every 4th or 5th day and trade those boys for Ole Lincy! I couldn't believe they took him out, but boy was I glad they made that dumb move even though we didn't get that bases loaded hit we so desperately needed.

Bear...he was already at 110 pitches...they really had no choice. They keep a VERY close watch on Lincecum's pitch count because he's so young and inexperienced.

I knew that much, but that guy was killing us! I wouldn't have thought about keeping him in unless I was the Giants and watched my Bullpen get jacked around like crazy in that series. That was the only reason I was thinking they should have kept him in. 110 is extremely high though, but if we would have gotten that bases loaded hit you know the Giants writers would have ridden that management for taking him out.

I agree...their pen is atrocious. I love watching Lincecum pitch, old timers say he reminds them so much of Koufax....that's quite the compliment. Cards play the Brew Crew tonight with their Ace on the hill. How lucky could the cards get facing the Brewers WITHOUT having to hit Sheets or Gallardo?