St Louis Cardinals

When the Cardinals acquired Ryan Theriot from the Dodgers and proclaimed him their staring shortstop, the question arose of what to do with former starting shortstop Brendan Ryan.  

I guess the St. Louis Cardinals figured if they won the World Series with Chris Duncan starting 59 games in the outfield in 2006, they can do the same with Lance Berkman in 2010.

Today, the St. Louis Cardinals reached a one-year deal with first baseman and outfielder Lance Berkman worth $8 million.

For years, Lance Berkman was the centerpiece of an Houston Astros lineup that consistently battled with the Cardinals for supremacy in National League Central. Now, Berkman will try to help the Cardinals reclaim the Central division crown.

The St. Louis Cardinals made their first move toward upgrading their offense on Tuesday, trading right-hander Blake Hawksworth to the Los Angeles Dodgers for shortstop Ryan Theriot.

Theriot became expendable earlier this week when Los Angeles signed Juan Uribe, who can play multiple infield positions like Theriot, but has a little more pop.

I know I am about week late with this, but with a busy work schedule and all the other things that went on in baseball last week, I couldn’t get to it.  I just wanted to comment on the St. Louis Cardinals re-signing RHP Jake Westbrook.

Kudos on both sides on getting this done.

Westbrook is a perfect fit in St. Louis

With the fantasy baseball season coming to a close, this is the most ideal time to get an early jump on your research for next year.  Many leagues are won and lost by the decisions made months before the draft takes place.  Take a look at these guys listed below and have them on your fantasy baseball draft boards entering 2011.

I hope you are sitting down when you read this because it might shock you: The Cardinals picked up their option for Albert Pujols.

The fact that this "no-brainer of the century" transaction even made the headlines on ESPN.com made me laugh. After all, what are they going to tell us next, that we're in an economic downturn? 

What does a baseball manager who starts off his career with a new organization by drawing the publicized rage of a legendary organization’s most prolific shortstop do to recover his image?

What does a future Hall of Fame baseball player near the end of his career do to recover his image after going through a messy divorce at home and a nasty public spat with the new manager?

The Cardinals came into this season expecting to challenge the Philadelphia Phillies for the National League pennant and to dethrone the New York Yankees in the World Series.

Albert Pujols did everything he could possibly do and then some to try to get the St. Louis Cardinals to the playoffs.  But, with the Cincinnati Reds preparing for October, something clearly went wrong.  The Cardinals came into the 2010 season with World Series aspirations, but now they will have to settle for watching it on TV.

Pujols did have some help this year.  Adam Wainwright, Chris Carpenter, and Matt Holiday all deserve credit for having excellent years.