The Musial Lost Homer Project

User's Guide to Pujols' Elbow

Analyzing the "Crazy 8" Lineup

Alphabet Soup: Pujols’ MVP by OPS & VORP, FYI, ASAP
TOWER GROVE — In a recent conversation, St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa politely declined to discuss anything about Albert Pujols and the MVP award until Albert Pujols had actually, officially won the MVP award. La Russa explained that the Cy Young Award voting had taught him a lesson. He wondered, “What number will they come up with this time?” Bruised by what they felt was a surefire cinch that either Chris Carpenter or Adam Wainwright would...

Comm Top 21: A Repeat Ranking? (Vote No. 19)
TOWER GROVE — A year has passed but the conversation remains strikingly similar. About 12 months ago, the Bird Land Community Top 30 reached No. 19 in its poll, and the discussion hinged around two righthanded starters: the recently drafted Lance Lynn and the rising changeup artist P.J. Walters. Lynn edged Walters in the voting for No. 18, and Walters then claimed a win at No. 19. Scroll forward to today and Lynn has surged to...

Baseball America releases its Cardinals’ Top 10
TOWER GROVE — The final results of a radical re-write of the prospect rankings for St. Louis Cardinals’ minor-league system just slid through the mail slot here at the home office. The current issue of Baseball America ranks the top 10 prospects for each team in the National League Central, and you’ll hardly recognize the top 10 for the local nine. There are only two players from last year’s top 10 who remain in this year’s....

Market Watch: Matt Holliday vs. Jason Bay
TOWER GROVE — In his illuminating and detailed look at the defensive difference between baseball’s two best free-agent bats, ESPN.com Jerry Crasnick opens with a combination of words that won’t be used again this winter: “Poor Matt Holliday.” The St. Louis Cardinals’ outfielder Holliday and fellow free agent Jason Bay, last of the Boston Red Sox, are easily the two best impact bats available in this year’s marketplace. That has spurred a cottage industry for columnists: Who’s...

Comm Top 21: Cutting Through Cluster (No. 18)
TOWER GROVE — Now we have encountered a problem with the polling, one not to different from the the quandary facing the St. Louis Cardinals or the one that all prospect ranking lists are bound to encounter when mining the Cardinals’ system for potential. At some point, it becomes difficult to distinguish one prospect from the other and tricky to rank one first baseman against a reliever ahead of, say, a starting pitcher. That’s what the Bird...