Category Archives: St. Louis Cardinals

Be the Cardinals GM: Who to trade?

Those who believe the St. Louis Cardinals need to make a trade to give the club a second-half push see pitching as the primary need. A reader poll earlier this week labeled the team’s top priority requirement as left-handed relief (approximately 45% of the vote), a starting pitcher (30%), then right-handed bullpen help (15%).

This is the companion part to that first post. After all, in a trade, one has to give to get.

Assuming the club will give up one or more prospects to acquire a proven major league pitcher, what player would you be most willing to move if you were the Cardinals general manager? Who would you keep off-limits?

Please share your thoughts in the comments selection below.

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Be the GM: What do the Cardinals need most?

What need should the St. Louis Cardinals address first in the trade market?

The best time to talk trades is when the heat is off. For the St. Louis Cardinals, that time is now. The team has won five straight as the result of greater offensive output, better starting pitching and less pressure on the bullpen.

Still, the second-place club is hardly out of the woods. Assuming a mid-season trade or two are needed to give the Cardinals playoff momentum, if you were general manager John Mozeliak, where would you focus first? Share your logic as to why in the comments area below.

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Next time, we will consider which Cardinals players might be offered up in trade.

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Cardinals organization roster matrix: 2012 short season

NOTE: This version of the roster matrix is no longer current. It reflects the 2012 changes from the start of short-season ball though the end of the regular season. It should now be considered a historical reference document. For the active roster matrix starting with the 2012 off-season, click here.

With the short-season minor league schedule now underway, it is time for another refresh of the St. Louis Cardinals system roster matrix. This version will reflect the changes made from the first week of 2012 short-season play. The previous matrix reflects the rosters as they evolved from the end of spring camp until then.

If you are new to the blog and not familiar with the Cardinals organization roster matrix, here is quick summary:

In the first week of 2012 short-season play, the St. Louis Cardinals had 291 players under contract from top to bottom, including a full 40-man roster. The matrix places each one at his current assigned level in the system as well as by position. It is kept updated daily or as transactions occur.

Nowhere else will you find this current and comprehensive single-page view of the entire Cardinals organization.

Don’t be concerned about the order of the players’ names within a team. It doesn’t signify anything.

The players on the 40-man roster are called out in bold.

The short-season pitchers are broken out into returnees and summer 2012 signees. The latter group is either denoted by the round drafted or FA (for free agent) in parens.

At the end are any currently inactive and unassigned players. The final group, 2012 unsigned draftees, is not a part of the signed total.

Full team rosters and player profiles at The Cardinal Nation

Remember that to get detailed profile information on every single one of these 291 Cardinals players, simply check out their free player profiles freshly updated now at The Cardinal Nation.com / Scout.com. You can see bios, photos, videos, articles, news items, links to current season and career stats and much more – everything you need to know about a player in one place.

Click on the following links to be taken to one of the nine team pages at The Cardinal Nation. You can also see rosters and player profiles back to 2004:

Full-season clubs

St. Louis Cardinals
Memphis Redbirds
Springfield Cardinals
Palm Beach Cardinals
Quad Cities River Bandits

Short-season clubs

Batavia Muckdogs
Johnson City Cardinals
Gulf Coast League Cardinals
Dominican Summer League Cardinals

Once on a team page, just click on a player’s name to be taken to his individual profile page for that year. For example, here is Shelby Miller’s 2012 Memphis profile.

Looking ahead and back

Now that you’ve found this page once, remember one of three ways to get back here. Bookmark the page, type “Roster Matrix” in the dark blue search box at the upper right or use the dropdown menu at the top of the page: “Players/Staff” > “Depth Charts/Roster Matrix”.

For details behind past rosters and transactions, check out the earlier versions of the Cardinals organization roster matrix as follows.

Link to previous matrices: Jan–March 2009, April 2009, May 2009, June 2009, July 2009-February 2010, Spring camp 2010, Opening season 2010, First half 2010, Short-season 2010, 2010-11 Off-season, 2011 spring training, 2011 regular season, 2011 short-season, 2011-2012 off-season, 2012 spring training, 2012 regular season

Transactions

6/21: New matrix. Organization total: 291 players. RHS Scott Gorgen from Spr to Mem. LHS Nick Additon to Mem DL. RHR Jesse Simpson off Spr DL. RHR Chase Reid off PB DL. QC RHP Angel De Jesus released. New organization total: 290 players.

6/22: OF Jon Jay, IF Matt Carpenter off StL DL. 1B Matt Adams, OF Adron Chambers from StL to Mem. GCL RHP Chris Costantino released. RHP Javier Machuca signed, assigned to GCL. IF Leandro Mateo from JC to Bat. C Juan Castillo off QC DL.

6/23: Mem 1B Aaron Bates released, UT Jamie Romak to Spr. RHP Scott McGregor from PB to Spr. IF Vance Albitz from Spr to PB. OF Kyle Conley to Spr DL. New organization total: 289 players.

6/24: LHS Kevin Siegrist, OF Michael Swinson off PB DL. 1B Jonathan Rodriguez onto PB DL. FA RHP Burny Mitchem and OF David Popkins signed, assigned to GCL. New organization total: 291 players.

6/25: PB OF Michael Swinson onto RL (drug suspension).

6/26: LHP Max Foody (12) signed, assigned to GCL. New organization total: 292 players.

6/27: LHR Bob Revesz from QC to Bat RL. RHS Tyrell Jenkins off QC DL.

6/28: 3B Stephen Piscotty activated at QC. C Adam Lewis to QC DL. Bat LHPs Adam Bileckyj, Daniel Bibona released. C Rowan Wick (9) to GCL. New organization total: 290 players.

6/29: RHP Joey Donofrio from GCL to JC. NDFA C Ricardo Lizcano signed, assigned to JC. Spr OF Kyle Conley retired. New organization total: 290 players.

6/30: RHR Maikel Cleto and LHR Barret Browning from Mem to StL (Browning onto 40-man). RHR Kyle McClellan from 15-day DL to 60-day DL. RHR Eduardo Sanchez and LHR Sam Freeman from StL to Mem. RHR Dyllon Nuernberg from JC to Bat. RHR Zack Russell off PB DL.

7/1: LHP Nick Gillung from PB to JC. OF James Ramsey (1) signed, assigned to PB. SS Alex Mejia (4) signed. New organization total: 292 players.

7/2: OF Virgil Hill to QC DL. OF Roberto Reyes from Bat to QC. July 2 international free agent signees: OF Luis Bandes, C Joshua Lopez, SS Edmundo Sosa. New organization total: 295 players.

7/3: Mem 1B Matt Adams to DL. GCL RHP Arturo Toribio released. RHP Cesar Aguliar from GCL to JC. OF Anthony Bryant from JC to GCL. RHP Chris Perry (17) to GCL. New organization total: 294 players.

7/4: OF Alan Ahmady off PB DL. LHS Kevin Siegrist from PB to Spr. RHR Anderson Gerdel from GCL to PB. 2Bs Colin Walsh, Luis Mateo to QC DL. SS Anthony Melchionda from Bat to QC. SS Brett Wiley from GCL to QC. RHS Trevor Rosenthal to Spr DL. IF Jose Garcia from Spr to Mem. IF Vance Albitz from PB to Spr.

7/5: StL C Yadier Molina to bereavement list. C Bryan Anderson from Mem to StL. SS Alex Mejia (4) to Bat.

7/7: SS Anthony Melchionda from QC to Spr. 2B Kolten Wong, OF Oscar Taveras to Futures Game.

7/9: 2B Luis Mateo off QC DL. SS Anthony Melchionda from Spr to Bat.

7/10: RHP Kurt Heyer (6) agreed to terms. New organization total: 295 players.

7/11: UT Colin Walsh off QC DL. IF Brett Wiley from QC to GCL. P Anderson Gerdel from PB to GCL. P Silfredo Garcia from GCL to JC.  LHS Kevin Siegrist from Spr to PB. JC RHR Cody Springer released. New organization total: 294 players.

7/12: RHS Trevor Rosenthal off Spr DL. C Bryan Anderson from StL to Mem. RHP Kurt Heyer (6) to GCL.

7/13: StL C Yadier Molina off bereavement list.

7/14: StL 1B Lance Berkman off DL. OF Shane Robinson from StL to Mem. OF Lou Montanez to Mem DL. FA LHR Brian Fuentes signed to minor league contract, assigned to GCL. JC RHS Bryan Martinez released. Organization total remains: 294 players.

7/15: Spr OF Jake Shaffer to restricted list. C Cody Stanley off PB DL. IF Jeremy Patton from PB to QC.

7/16: RHP Trevor Rosenthal from Spr to StL. Added to 40-man roster. StL LHS Jaime Garcia from 15-day to 60-day DL. RHR Maikel Cleto from StL to Mem. UT Colin Walsh to QC DL. 1B Matt Adams off Mem DL. IF Jose Garcia, RHP Scott Gorgen from Mem to Spr. Spr RHR Jesse Simpson released. LHS Anthony Ferrara from PB to Spr. New organizational total: 293 players.

7/17: RHR Roberto Canache off JC DL to GCL. P Kyle Barraclough, UT Anthony Melchionda, 1B David Bergin from Bat to QC. Ps Kyle Hald, Travis Miller and IF Neal Pritchard from QC to PB. 1B Roberto De La Cruz from QC to Bat. C Luis De La Cruz to PB DL. P Brad Watson from PB to QC.

7/18: C Adam Lewis from QC DL to Bat.

7/20: IF Danny Stienstra off Bat DL.

7/21: LHS Nick Additon off Mem DL. Mem RHR Brian Broderick released. New organizational total: 293 players.

7/22: Mem OF Lou Montanez off DL. Mem 3B Zack Cox onto DL.

7/23: Contract of DSL SP Andres Serrano voided. Signed DSL P Estarlin Arias, OF Magneuris Sierra. New organization total: 293 players.

7/24: Rehab of LHR Brian Fuentes from GCL to Spr. OF Aaron Luna off Mem DL to PB. PB RHP Scott Schneider released. New organization total: 292 players.

7/25: LHR Brian Fuentes onto 40-man and promoted to StL. RHR Victor Marte from StL to Mem. RHR Chuckie Fick off 40-man. RHP Scott Gorgen onto Spr DL. IF Leandro Mateo from Bat to JC. JC RHP Eduardo Hiraldo released. New organization total: 291 players.

7/26: RHR Travis Miller to PB DL. RHR Jose Almarante from Bat to PB. RHR Roberto Canache from GCL to JC.

7/27: RHR Chuckie Fick claimed off outright waivers by Houston. New organization total: 290 players.

7/29: RHR Ethan Cole to QC DL. RHR Dixon Llorens from JC to QC. C Steve Bean from JC to GCL. C Adam Ehrlich from GCL to JC.

7/30: LHS Nick Additon to Mem DL. RHP Michael Blazek from Spr to Mem. RHR Chase Reid from PB to Spr. RHP Michael Wacha from GCL to PB. OF Nick Longmire from PB to QC.

7/31: StL RHR Edward Mujica acquired from Florida for Mem 3B Zack Cox. RHR Eduardo Sanchez onto Mem DL. 1B David Bergin to QC DL. RHP Josh Wilson off RL, to GCL for rehab. SS Alex Mejia to Bat DL. New organization total: 291 players.

8/1: RHP Trevor Rosenthal from StL to Mem. C Luis De La Cruz off PB DL. OF Aaron Luna onto PB RL. RHR Chris Thomas from GCL to Bat. RHR Cole Brand from GCL to JC. LHR Matt Rein from Bat to GCL (rehab).

8/2: LHR Sam Freeman onto Mem TI list. LHS Kevin Siegrist, OF Alan Ahmady from PB to Spr. RHP Scott Gorgen off Spr DL. LHP Anthony Ferrara, OF Chris Swauger onto Spr DL. RHP Seth Blair off PB DL. OF Roberto Reyes from QC to PB. RHP Anderson Gerdel from GCL to PB. OF Jordan Walton from Bat to QC. OF David Popkins from GCL to Bat. RHP Luis Perdomo from DSL to GCL.

8/3: 1B Lance Berkman to StL DL. OF Shane Robinson from Mem to StL. RHR Jorge Rondon from Spr to Mem. RHP Michael Blazek from Mem to Spr.

8/4: IF Jose Garcia from Spr to Mem.

8/5: LHR Sam Freeman off Mem TI list. OF Ray Kruml signed, assigned to Spr. New organization total: 292 players.

8/6: LHR Danny Miranda from QC to PB. RHS Boone Whiting from PB DL to QC. RHR Ethan Cole off QC DL. RHP Willy Paulino from QC to JC. RHR Anderson Gerdel from PB to GCL. RHP Cory Jones (5), Steven Gallardo (19) from JC to GCL.

8/7: C Juan Castillo to QC TI. C Adam Lewis from Bat to QC. RHP Kurt Heyer (6) from GCL to Bat.

8/9: SS Tyler Greene traded to Houston. New organization total: 291 players.

8/10: Bat RHP Jose Pasen, OF Reggie Williams off RL. C Jesus Montero to Bat DL. SS Ryan Jackson to 40-man, 25-man. IF Lance Zawadzki signed to FA contract, assigned to Mem. New organization total: 292 players.

8/11: LHS John Gast to Mem DL. RHR Scott Gorgen from Spr to Mem. LHR Iden Nazario from PB to Spr. RHR Travis Miller off PB DL.

8/12: IF Jeremy Patton from QC to PB. IF Colin Walsh off QC DL.

8/13: 1B Matt Adams to Mem DL.

8/14: StL LHR Brian Fuentes to RL. RHP Trevor Rosenthal from Mem to StL. OF Roberto Reyes to PB DL. Acquired 1B Brock Peterson from independent Bridgeport, assigned to Mem. New organization total: 293 players.

8/15: RHR Robert Stock onto QC DL. C Juan Castillo off QC TI list.

8/17: RHR Yunier Castillo from Bat to QC. C Adam Lewis from QC to Bat. Mem OF Mark Hamilton released. OF Matt Young signed, assigned to Mem. LHR Sam Freeman to Mem DL. GCL RHP Josh Wilson released effective 8/4. New organization total: 292 players.

8/18: Spr OF Alan Ahmady from Spr to PB. OF Mike O’Neill from PB to Spr. LHR Iden Nazario from Spr to PB. RHR Michael Wacha from PB to Spr. PB OF Michael Swinson off RL to TI list.

8/19: LHS Jaime Garcia off StL 60-day DL. RHP Trevor Rosenthal from StL to Mem. LHS John Gast off Mem DL.

8/20: RHP Ronald Medrano signed to DSL. New organization total: 293 players.

8/21: RHR Eduardo Sanchez off Mem DL. IF Lance Zawadzki onto Mem DL.

8/22: IF Jose Garcia onto Mem DL. IF Vance Albitz from Spr to Mem. IF Neal Pritchard from PB to SPR. OF Roberto Reyes off PB DL. RHR Mike Aldrete from JC to Bat.

8/24: LHR Barret Browning from StL to Mem. RHP Brandon Dickson from Mem to StL.

8/25: OF Gary Apelian from Bat to QC. RHP Robert Stock off QC DL. RHS Tyrell Jenkins, OF Anthony Garcia onto QC DL. Spr OF Ray Kruml onto DL. Spr OF Chris Swauger off DL.

8/28: LHR Sam Freeman off Mem DL. LHS Tyler Lyons onto Mem TI list. RHS Boone Whiting from QC to Spr. RHS Richard Castillo onto Spr DL. LHS Anthony Ferrara from Spr DL to PB. RHR Travis Miller onto PB DL. RHR Kyle Barraclough onto QC DL. RHS Johnny Polanco from GCL to QC. LHR Josh Renfro from GCL to QC.

8/29: RHP Brandon Dickson, IF Ryan Jackson from StL to Mem. C Bryan Anderson, RHP Trevor Rosenthal from Mem to StL.

8/30: RHS Scott Gorgen from Mem to Spr. LHS Tyler Lyons off Mem TI list. RHS Scott McGregor onto Spr DL. RHR Anderson Gerdel from GCL to JC.

8/31: SS Rafael Furcal to StL DL. IF Pete Kozma from Mem to StL. IF Jose Garcia off Mem DL.

9/1: 1B Lance Berkman off StL DL. LHR Sam Freeman from Mem to StL.

9/2: IFs Bruce Caldwell, Ildemaro Vargas from JC to Bat. LHS Ben Freeman, IF Garrett Wittels to Bat DL.

9/3: RHR Victor Marte from Mem to StL.

9/4: C Casey Rasmus from QC to Bat. RHP Kurt Heyer from Bat to QC. RHP Shelby Miller to 40-man. Miller, OF Adron Chambers, SS Ryan Jackson from Mem to StL. IF Vance Albitz from Mem to Spr. OF Ray Kruml off Spr DL. IF Neal Pritchard and RHR Chase Reid from Spr to PB.

9/6: PB OF Alan Ahmady suspended 50 games.

9/10: UT Steven Hill from Mem to StL.

9/11: OF Chris Swauger from Spr to Mem. RHP Richard Castillo off Spr DL.

9/13: RHP Will Changarotty signed, assigned to DSL. New total 294 players.

9/21: RHS Chris Carpenter off 60-day DL. LHR John Gaub outrighted.

9/28: Spr RHR Michael Blazek to Mem. PB RHR Chase Reid to Spr.

10/9: LHS Jaime Garcia off NLDS roster (shoulder), replaced by RHP Shelby Miller. SC LHR Matt Rein and JC RHR Cole Brand released. New organizational total: 292 players.

The St. Louis Cardinals Organization Roster Matrix (effective 10/13/12)

25-man (25) 40-man (40+2)
SP RP C 1B 2B SS 3B OF
C Carpenter
 Boggs Molina
 Craig
 Descalso Kozma Freese Holliday
Lohse J Kelly T Cruz Schumaker M Carpenter
 Jay
Lynn Rosenthal


Beltran
Wainwright Motte



Robinson
Rzepczynski (L)



Chambers

Mujica




Salas






S Miller












NLCS inactive (5+6)





Westbrook (inj)
 McClellan (60 DL)
 Anderson
 Berkman (inj)
Furcal (DL)

J Garcia (L inj)
 S Freeman (L) S Hill

R Jackson


Marte






Fuentes (L RL)




















Memphis (20+4)
SP RP C 1B 2B SS 3B OF
Gast (L) Browning (L) Derba
 Adams (DL)
 Velez Jo Garcia
Hunter
Dickson Todd Espinoza (DL) Peterson Zawadzki (DL) Montanez
Lyons (L) Rondon Matt Young
Additon (L DL) E Sanchez
Swauger
Reifer
Greenwood (L)
Gaub (L)
Cleto
Blazek
Springfield (25+5)
SP RP C 1B 2B SS 3B OF
C Martinez Butler A Perez Scruggs Wong G Garcia Curtis Pham (DL)
Maness Hooker Tartamella Albitz Taveras
McGregor (DL) Delgado (DL) Melker
Ri Castillo Wacha (1) Shaffer (RL)
Siegrist (L) Reid Kruml
Swagerty (60DL) Fornataro Romak
Whiting K Thomas O’Neill
Gorgen Wright (L)
Palm Beach (25+8)
SP RP C 1B 2B SS 3B OF
Sherriff (L) T Miller (DL) Klein Jon Rodriguez (DL) S Rodriguez Elkins (DL) Rahmatulla Edmondson
Corrigan Nazario (L) L De La Cruz Gil Patton Swinson (TI)
McInnis Miranda (L) Stanley Pritchard Luna (RL)
Hald (L) Russell Ahmady (SL)
Blair A Lucas R Rosario
Copeland (L DL) Kiekhefer (L) Ramsey (1)
Ferrara (L) Benes Rbto Reyes
Billbrough (DL)
Almarante
Peoria (25+5)
SP RP C 1B 2B SS 3B OF
Jenkins (DL) Renfro (L FA) J Castillo Bergin (DL) Lu Mateo M Williams Piscotty (1S) An Garcia (DL)
H Hernamdez (L) R Martinez Walsh Melchionda (14) Martini
Villanueva (L) Cole D Medina
Gaviglio Miranda (L) V Hill (DL)
Watson Stock Walton (FA)
Polanco Wyatt Longmire
Barraclough (7 DL) Apelian
Heyer (6)
Cornelius (L)
Llorens (25)
Y Castillo
State College (30+5)
P P(2012 added) C 1B 2B SS 3B OF
Nuernberg Stoppelman (24) Montero (DL) R De La Cruz B Valera Mejia (4 DL) Wisdom (1S) S Ramos
Baker Cooney (L 3) Keener Washington Wilson (10) Caldwell (15) Wittels (DL) R Williams
Pasen Cuda (27) Byrd Stienstra Matthew Young (20)
Creath Helisek (L 30) Lewis Vargas Popkins (FA)
B Freeman (L DL) O’Shea (L 35) Rasmus
Jacob Scanio (16)
Melling (L) C Thomas (FA)
Revesz (L DL) Aldrete (39)
Johnson City (30+3)
P P(2012 added) C 1B 2B SS 3B OF
S Lopez Sabatino (L 26) Ehrlich Knox Le Mateo C Valera C Kelly (2) Jeffries
S Garcia Lee (FA) Velazco Schaffer (17) Martin McElroy
Bautista Shaban (33) Lizcano Ro Castillo
DeLeon Donofrio (31) Tilson (60DL)
Aguilar Petrick (FA) Deol
Tuivailala Booden (FA)
Gillung (L) Rauh (FA)
J Lucas (60DL)
Mills (60DL)
Canache
Gerdel
Paulino
Gulf Coast (29+0)
P P(2012 added) C 1B 2B SS 3B OF
Ulacio Foody (L 12) Bean (1S) Almaraz (21) L Perez Barbuena R Garcia Acevedo
Paredes Machuca (L 38) J Gomez R Medina Argenal
Villegas Gallardo (19) Wick (9) Peoples-Walls Capellan
DeLosSantos Perry (17) Wiley (13) Dodd
F Flores Jones (5) Y Gonzalez (8)
Perdomo Caballero (FA) Bryant
Mitchem (FA)
DSL (34+7)
SP RP C 1B 2B SS 3B OF
Salazar A DeLaCruz (L) L Cruz Mejia Rblys Reyes Pina Agustin Araujo
D Martinez Escudero Godoy E Alvarez Franco
Silva (L) I Brito (L) Ripoll E Sosa (2013) Celestino
J Perez F Gonzalez J Lopez (2013) Torres
D Perez (L) Baez Cerdas
Arias (RL) J Pena D Sanchez
Medrano (2013) Negrette (L) Feliz (RL)
Fresa Bandes (2013)
J Lara Sierra (2013)
Parra
Jor Rodriguez
R Santos
DeLaRosa
Vallejo
Changarotty (2013)
Draft in process (0)
P P C 1B 2B SS 3B OF
Unassigned (1)
P P C 1B 2B SS 3B OF
M Harris (MIL)
Draft unsigned (10)
P P C 1B 2B SS 3B OF
Trentacosta (L 34) Schroeder (22) T Williams (11) Matheny (23)
Hillis (29) Swim (36) Oquendo (32) McPherson (28)
Rice (40) May (37)

Codes

(DL): injured – on the disabled list
(I): injured and assigned to Extended Spring Training
(TI): temporary inactive list
(SL): suspended list
(RL): restricted list
(MIL): military list
(TO): tryout player not under contract
(FA): free agent signee
(xx): round 2012 drafted player was selected
(L) left-handed pitcher
bold: on the Cardinals’ 40-man roster
(#+#): for teams, the number of active players on the roster plus number of inactive/not under contract (DL+TI+SL+RL+MIL+TO) players

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What is new at The Cardinal Nation?

While blog posts here have been less hot and heavy in recent days, that isn’t because there hasn’t been plenty of news about which to report. Here is some of what I have been doing over on the main site, TheCardinalNation.com, over the past few days.

This is over and above our daily Minor League Notebooks, Major League game recaps and weekly Minor League team reports written by the team of primarily locally-based reporters.

Minor league rosters

The rosters for the four Cardinals short-season clubs are up to date. They include Batavia, Johnson City, Gulf Coast League and Dominican Summer League. The nine team pages at The Cardinal Nation also enable you to view rosters, player profiles and articles back to 2004.

The minor league rosters can be accessed via the “Minor League Rosters” dropdown menu located on the red bar to the right of the site logo. St. Louis’ roster can be found on the same red bar underneath the site logo by clicking “Team Info” then “Roster”. The latter reflects the 25-man roster only.

Player profile pages

On each of the team rosters, individual player names are highlighted, same as in every article on the site. Click on names to view profile pages for any one of the almost 300 players currently in the system. All short-season players are on their correct teams and all 44 of the Cardinals’ 2012 draftees have profiles, including photos and biographic content.

On a player’s profile page, you can find links to current year and career stats, photos, videos, bio information as well as links to every article and news item we have ever written about that player.

Single system view – roster matrix

Within the next day or two, I will be publishing a new update of the “Cardinals organization roster matrix” here at The Cardinal Nation Blog. The matrix displays every player in the system at his current level and position – on a single page. It is updated daily in sync with the team rosters on the main site. It also includes a 40-man roster view.

Articles from the last three days

Wong, Taveras named to 2012 Futures Game – The St. Louis Cardinals will have two Texas League All-Stars competing in the 2012 Futures Game

Cardinals minor league ranks pruned (subscriber content) – A number of St. Louis Cardinals minor leaguers have been released, retired or are unsigned

Cardinals sign four pitchers for Johnson City (subscriber content) – St. Louis has increased its post-draft free agent signee crop to seven with four new pitchers

Cardinals ink two hurlers to free agent deals (subscriber content) – The St. Louis Cardinals augmented their 2012 draft with a pair of non-drafted free agent pitchers

Hot news

Recent insiders information has been posted on players Clay Zavada, Skip Schumaker, Maikel Cleto, Kleininger Teran, Shelby Miller, Tyler Rahmatulla, Garrett Wittels and Steven Hill. Plus more is added daily.

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Cardinals prepare for designated hitter in Detroit

The two MLB leagues having different numbers of teams, 16 in the National League and 14 in the American, meant interleague play was never symmetric. Being in the oddball six-team NL Central often meant the St. Louis Cardinals were in the midst of the resulting scheduling irregularities.

This season is no different. When the Cardinals take the field in Detroit Tuesday night, they will be the last NL team to play a road interleague game this season. With it comes their first opportunity to deploy the designated hitter.

The Cardinals plan to shift the responsibility among several fatigued and banged up players, including Matt Holliday, Carlos Beltran and Allen Craig. It wouldn’t be crazy if Yadier Molina or even Rafael Furcal might even take a turn at DH, though the expected return of Skip Schumaker from the disabled list will take some pressure off the depleted bench.

Matt Adams seems the most likely recipient of the extra DH-driven at-bats as the extra player most likely to be inserted into the lineup when one of the others sits. Of course, the rookie first baseman has never faced Detroit.

Here are some career numbers of the Cardinals hitters against the two scheduled Tigers starters, Justin Verlander and Rick Porcello plus closer Jose Valverde. “Papa Grande” is familiar to the Cardinals as he spent two years in the NL Central as the Astros’ ninth-inning man following his 2003-07 stint with Arizona. Detroit’s Thursday starter, Jacob Turner, will be making his 2012 debut.

Despite the frequent interleague play between the two clubs, the past histories are still small. It is impossible to draw any firm conclusions, but at least the limited numbers look pretty good for the Cardinals. (Blank cells mean pitcher and hitter have never met.)

Justin Verlander Rick Porcello Jose Valverde
Carlos Beltran 0-3 .000 2K 1-3 .333 2-5 .400 1BB
Daniel Descalso
David Freese
Rafael Furcal 1-6 .167 1K
Tyler Greene 2-3 .667
Matt Holliday 2-4 .500 2BB 1K 1-5 .200 4-10 .400 1HR 1BB 3K
Yadier Molina 9-13 .692 1K 1-3 .333 2-9 .222
Skip Schumaker 2-3 .667 1-3 .333 1-7 .143 1BB 2K

Hat tip to Acta Sports for the data.

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How rough was the Cardinals’ last 30 days?

Monday marks only the second day off for the St. Louis Cardinals since May 10 and their first at home. By any and all measures, they surely could use a bit of a breather.

The last 30 days offered an opportunity to measure the Cardinals against the rest of the league, as their 20-11 start through May 9 had included just four games against clubs outside the National League Central Division.

The Cards flunked the test. They were swept in three series while going 10-19 (.345) overall in the last 30 days. St. Louis logged a losing record both at home (6-7) and especially on the road, with defeats in 75 percent of the away contests (4-12).

Injuries were a major factor as six Cardinals went onto the disabled list during the period, including Jon Jay, Kyle McClellan, Lance Berkman, Matt Carpenter, Skip Schumaker and the latest, Jaime Garcia. Among the active, Matt Holliday is dodging back spasms, Allen Craig is limping and Carlos Beltran’s knees are better some days than others.

While one might like to hope the club could tread water by playing .500 ball until their injured players could return, it hasn’t happened.

The offense stopped scoring runs in double-digit batches, the normally-dependable defense showed surprising leaks and the pitching staff, which had been one of the league’s best, took on water. St. Louis hitters still rank first in the NL in batting average and runs scored, but the bullpen ERA is 12th of 16 NL clubs as the starters haven’t been pitching as deeply into games.

The bottom line is that the club fell from holding a 3.5 game lead that was built up during the season’s initial three weeks down to their current National League Central deficit of two games. The Cards are now in third place behind co-leaders Cincinnati and Pittsburgh.

Here is a short recap of the last 30 days by series with a focus on the pitching.

May 11-13 vs. Atlanta: 0-3 record. The Cards and McClellan dropped the opener in especially disappointing manner in 12 innings. The normally-reliable pair of Adam Wainwright and Lance Lynn lost the final two as the home team was outscored 14-6.

May 14-15 vs. Chicago: 1-1. St. Louis could only manage a home split against the reeling Cubs as they were outscored 12-11 in the two-game set. Jason Motte and Fernando Salas took the losses out of the bullpen.

May 16-17 at San Francisco: 1-1. Garcia bested Madison Bumgarner in game one while Matt Cain outpitched Wainwright in game two.

May 18-20 at Los Angeles: 0-3. The team with the best record in the NL was the better club as the Dodgers outscored the Cards 18-10. Still, St. Louis could have won two of the three had it not been for bullpen losses from Salas and Marc Rzepczynski.

May 21-23 vs. San Diego: 3-0. Against one of the weakest offenses in baseball, the Cards allowed just six runs in the series. Motte, Wainwright and Lynn picked up the wins. Unfortunately, the Cards can’t play the Padres every night.

May 24-27 vs. Philadelphia: 1-3. Despite the Phillies’ lack of success this season, they took three of four at Busch and knocked the Cards out of first place. The first two contests were another pair of bullpen losses (Salas and Motte).

May 28-30 at Atlanta: 1-2. Lynn took game one, but the pitching stumbled again as the staff gave up 15 runs in the game two and three defeats. Struggling Jake Westbrook and Rzepczynski took the losses.

June 1-4 at New York: 1-3. Johan Santana’s game one no-hitter set the stage as the no-name Mets dominated the series. The Cards went 26 innings without scoring and plated just one run in the first three games before eking out a 5-4 win in the finale.

June 5-7 at Houston: 2-1. The two clubs split one-run wins before the Cardinals finally had a laugher, a 14-2 spanking to close out the series and the 4-6 road trip.

June 8-10 vs. Cleveland: 1-2. Their first series of interleague play was not kind to St. Louis. The visiting Tribe won the set despite all three of their starters having come in with ERAs over five. Joe Kelly made his MLB debut, tossing five one-run innings on Sunday. Motte allowed a three-run home run in the ninth to lose the rubber match.

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Astros improving while Cardinals winning less in minors

It was a random Sunday tweet from a Houston Astros follower, destined to be lost among the volumes of Twitter noise – except I couldn’t forget it.

“All Astros farm teams at .500 or better. Hasn’t happened in a long time.”

Player development is the main priority in all organizations, but playing winning baseball is important, too.

Of course, it would be ridiculous to declare victory this early for new Houston general manager Jeff Luhnow. It will require more than two months to repair years of damage. It takes time to fill a player pipeline that was short of impact talent.

Still, winning records indicate progress.

Back here, with the system that Luhnow played a major hand in building, the four full-season Cardinals minor league clubs are not doing as well. Injuries in St. Louis and below exposed gaps that had to be filled with in-season minor league free agent signees. Other players had been pushed ahead before ready with some subsequently backtracked.

Actually, Houston’s Double-A Corpus Christi club slipped below .500 when they lost to Springfield on Sunday, but the big picture is quite telling. In aggregate, the Cardinals are roughly 20 games under, while the Astros are about 20 games over. Though three clubs are close, none of St. Louis four full-season farm clubs currently have a winning record. Two affiliates are facing double-digit deficits in their respective divisional standings.

Full-season minor league records as of June 3, 2012, St. Louis Cardinals and Houston Astros

Triple-A St. Louis Houston
Pac Coast Stgs Team W L PCT GB PCL Stgs Team W L PCT GB
Am North 4 of 4 Memphis 20 37 0.351 13.5 Am South 1 of 4 Okla. City 34 23 0.596 –
Double-A
Texas TL
North 3 of 4 Springfield 27 28 0.491 4 South 3 of 4 Corpus Christi 27 28 0.491 6
A-Advanced
FSL Cal
South T2 of 6 Palm Beach 26 30 0.464 18 South T2 of 5 Lancaster 30 27 0.526 1
Class-A
Midwest Sally
Western 4 of 7 Quad Cities 28 29 0.491 7 Southern 4 of 7 Lexington 31 25 0.554 8.5
Totals 101 124 0.449 122 103 0.542

60 percent of the full-season schedule remains, as does the Draft and the entire short-season campaign, so there is plenty of time to see improvement in the respective records.

That is a good thing. I think.

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Varied Cardinals weekend ahead in New York

Coming off another disappointing series with two out of three losses in Atlanta and mounting injuries (Jaime Garcia and Skip Schumaker being the latest), the St. Louis Cardinals move on to the Big Apple and start a fresh month in the process.

The upcoming four-game weekend series is a bit unusual in several aspects, including a different start time for each of the four contests, scheduled Friday through Monday. With Garcia missing a start due to elbow soreness, the other four starters move up, but still pitch on regular rest due to Thursday’s day off.

Here is the docket:

Date Cardinals starter Mets starter Time (CT) Television Out of market
Fri., June 1 Adam Wainwright (4-5, 4.45) Johan Santana (2-2, 2.75) 6:10 p.m. FOX Sports Midwest
Sat., June 2 Lance Lynn (8-1, 2.54) R.A. Dickey (7-1, 3.06) 3:10 p.m. FOX Sports Midwest
Sun., June 3 Jake Westbrook (4-4, 3.69) Jonathon Niese (3-2, 4.55) 7:05 p.m. ESPN
Mon., June 4 Kyle Lohse (5-1, 2.90) Jeremy Hefner (0-2, 6.17) 12:10 p.m. FOX Sports Midwest MLB Network

In terms of television, some dial-switching will be needed, with Mets series games on FOX Sports Midwest, the FOX Network (with its maddening blackouts outside of covered area), ESPN and MLB Network.

I am planning to work all four games at Citi Field, gathering material for several upcoming features on the main site as well as reporting on general team news for subscribers to The Cardinal Nation.

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Which Cardinals injury will prove to be worst?

Injuries have been a constant companion for the 2012 St. Louis Cardinals, In fact, they are mounting with the latest two being the knee injury that first baseman Lance Berkman suffered Saturday night in Los Angeles and Matt Carpenter’s side injury incurred Tuesday evening at Busch Stadium.

Not including Matt, with the severity of his injury still unclear, the club currently has six players on the disabled list. Four of them landed there within the last week. Two have been there all season long – Chris Carpenter and Scott Linebrink.

Skip Schumaker is the only Cardinal to have missed time on the DL this season to date without returning to the shelf. Two are on their second DL stints of the short season – Allen Craig and Berkman. Unluckily, as a result, each has played in just 13 games of the team’s 43.

In addition, Carlos Beltran has struggled through knee and foot ailments that caused him to miss time while avoiding the DL and Adam Wainwright has not fully returned to prior Tommy John surgery effectiveness. Yadier Molina basically played through a recent hand injury. Rafael Furcal has a checkered injury history, but to date, the shortstop has avoided being shelved.

St. Louis Cardinals disabled list as of May 23, 2012

Player Injury DL date Games missed
C. Carpenter right shoulder weakness 26-Mar 43
S. Linebrink right shoulder capsulitis 30-Mar 43
J. Jay sprained right shoulder 16-May 8
A. Craig left hamstring strain 17-May 6 (second stint)
K. McClellan right elbow strain 18-May 5
L. Berkman right knee 20-May 3 (second stint)

Looking ahead to the end of the season, vote for which player’s injuries you think will have the biggest impact on the 2012 Cardinals. You may want to consider the ramifications of both the time lost by the player as well as the results of his replacement.

[poll id=”148″]

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A progression of Cardinals left-handed relievers

In the 17 years since Tony La Russa first arrived in St. Louis, the Cardinals employed at least two left-handed relievers to open the season in every year except one. In 1998, Lance Painter was the sole lefty in the pen, but the club knew what they had in him, as he was a holdover from the previous season.

In three years, including as recently as 2005, three of the team’s seven initial relievers of the season threw with their left hand. At first blush, 2012 continued the more regular pattern, with two lefties rostered at season’s start.

However, there is at least one significant difference. 2012 marks the only the third time in at least the last 16 years that neither left-hander had been with the Cardinals at the start of the previous season.

There is good news and bad when considering the two prior clubs with all new lefties, 2001 and 2009. While each went on to the make the post-season, both teams lost in the first round of the playoffs, the League Division Series.

One might put an asterisk by the name of Marc Rzepczynski in 2012, as “Scrabble” isn’t entirely new, having joined the team last July. His former partner, well-traveled J.C. Romero, was given his walking papers on Monday after just six weeks on the team. Romero was replaced by a right-hander, Eduardo Sanchez.

The only two years during which the two season-opening Cardinals lefties both had sub-3.00 ERAs was in 1996 and 2004. Steve Kline and Ray King were the relievers in the latter year, following Rick Honeycutt and Tony Fossas.

St. Louis Cardinals, season-opening left-handed relievers, 1996 to present

Year LH reliever G ERA LH reliever G ERA LH reliever G ERA
1996 Rick Honeycutt 61 2.85 Tony Fossas 65 2.68
1997 Lance Painter 14 4.76 Tony Fossas 71 3.83
1998 Lance Painter 65 3.99
1999 Lance Painter 56 4.83 Mike Mohler 48 4.38 Scott Radinsky 43 4.88
2000 Jesse Orosco 6 3.86 Mike Mohler 22 9.00
2001 Steve Kline 89 1.80 Mike Matthews 51 3.24 Jeff Tabaka (NRI) 8 7.36
2002 Steve Kline 66 3.39 Mike Matthews 43 3.89
2003 Steve Kline 78 3.82 Lance Painter (NRI) 22 5.50
2004 Steve Kline 67 1.79 Ray King 86 2.61
2005 Randy Flores 50 3.46 Ray King 77 3.38 Bill Pulsipher (NRI) 5 6.75
2006 Randy Flores 65 5.62 Ricardo Rincon 5 10.80
2007 Randy Flores 70 4.25 Tyler Johnson 55 4.03
2008 Randy Flores 43 5.26 Ron Villone (NRI) 74 4.68
2009 Trever Miller 70 2.06 Dennys Reyes 75 3.29
2010 Trever Miller 57 4.00 Dennys Reyes 59 3.55
2011 Trever Miller 39 4.02 Brian Tallet 18 8.31
2012 Marc Rzepczynzki 15 2.25 J.C. Romero 11 10.13

(Bolded names represent a returning pitcher for multiple opening days.)

Of course this list does not include the leagues of others who passed through the pen for short periods within a given season, such as Arthur Rhodes and Raul Valdes in 2011.

In the short-term, no clear left-handed pitching help is on the way for the 2012 club. There is quantity in Memphis, but Major League quality is an open question. Four left-handed relievers and one lefty starter compete at Triple-A, but none appear close to the bigs. The only one of the group already on the 40-man roster, Sam Freeman, has yet to make his Triple-A debut.

The others are starter Nick Additon and relievers Nick Greenwood, R.J. Swindle and Barret Browning. The latter two joined the organization as a minor league free agent and via the Triple-A phase of the 2011 Rule 5 Draft, respectively. (Remember, to see the entire Cardinals system on one page, check out the Roster Matrix, always up to date right here at The Cardinal Nation blog. )

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17 strikeouts one off Cardinals worst outing ever

On Thursday afternoon, the St. Louis Cardinals failed to sweep the Pittsburgh Pirates at Busch Stadium. 17 times during the 6-3 loss, a St. Louis hitter was sat down on strikes. Despite pitching just five innings, Bucs starter Erik Bedard collected 11 of the Ks, including a Pittsburgh-record seven in a row.

The 17 strikeouts is just one off the Cardinals’ worst nine-inning showing ever in this category. On September 10, 1989, 18 Cardinals were fanned by Chicago Cubs pitching in a 4-1, nine-inning loss at Wrigley Field. (link to boxscore)

Researcher Tom Orf pulled the following table, which indicates the Cardinals had just two 16-strikeout nine-inning games prior to Thursday. It was their 30th game of at least 14 strikeouts.

Strikeouts in a nine-inning game, St. Louis Cardinals hitters, history

Date Opp Rslt PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO
9/10/1989 CHC L 1-4 35 32 1 7 0 0 0 1 3 18
5/3/2012 PIT L 3-4 41 34 3 7 4 0 0 3 7 17
9/29/2000 CIN L 1-8 36 30 1 2 0 1 0 0 5 16
8/20/1997 MON W 6-3 44 35 6 8 2 0 1 6 7 16
4/22/2001 HOU L 3-4 34 32 3 6 1 0 2 3 2 15
9/12/1998 HOU L 2-3 35 32 2 5 1 0 0 2 3 15
5/13/1997 PHI L 2-3 32 28 2 3 1 0 2 2 3 15
5/21/1996 HOU W 8-2 42 40 8 13 3 0 0 7 1 15
6/25/1966 HOU L 2-3 35 32 2 7 2 0 0 1 3 15
9/1/2011 MIL W 8-4 38 37 8 10 1 0 4 8 1 14
4/13/2008 SFG L 4-7 42 37 4 12 4 0 1 4 4 14
9/26/2004 COL W 9-3 45 40 9 16 2 0 1 8 3 14
7/18/2001 HOU L 11-17 47 44 11 18 5 0 2 11 2 14
8/27/1999 ATL L 1-2 35 35 1 8 1 0 0 1 0 14
6/25/1999 ARI W 1-0 32 29 1 5 3 0 0 1 2 14
4/26/1998 PHI L 3-9 36 34 3 8 0 1 1 2 2 14
9/27/1995 CHC L 3-5 41 37 3 10 1 0 1 3 3 14
9/25/1988 NYM L 7-9 40 37 7 10 2 0 1 7 2 14
8/22/1984 CIN W 6-3 37 35 6 7 0 0 2 6 2 14
6/24/1984 CHC L 0-5 33 31 0 5 0 0 0 0 1 14
5/21/1984 HOU L 2-3 37 32 2 6 0 0 0 2 5 14
9/23/1983 PHI L 2-6 36 34 2 8 0 1 1 2 1 14
9/21/1982 PHI L 2-5 38 35 2 9 2 0 0 2 2 14
4/19/1980 PIT W 2-1 41 34 2 7 0 0 1 2 5 14
6/9/1978 HOU L 7-11 43 35 7 9 1 1 1 7 7 14
9/9/1977 PHI L 4-11 33 31 4 6 2 0 3 4 2 14
8/31/1971 NYM W 2-1 32 30 2 7 0 0 0 2 2 14
5/20/1966 CIN L 3-5 37 34 3 7 0 0 0 3 1 14
5/31/1959 LAD L 3-5 39 33 3 6 0 0 2 3 6 14
9/6/1941 CIN L 0-2 32 29 0 2 1 0 0 0 3 14

Note the big bulge in the 1980s and 1990s of such games.

Decade 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s
# 1 1 2 3 8 8 5 2

The Cardinals have nothing to be ashamed of or be worried about. Bedard’s career best game was even better – 15 strikeouts. Further, even after the bad day, the Cardinals still only rank fourth in the National League in strikeouts.

Even more importantly, the 2012 Cards are first in the NL in runs scored at 138, with only one club within 20 runs of their total. Further, their league-best batting average of .286 is 20 points higher than the second-place club.

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MLB schedule changes could limit I-70 Series

Though I am not excited about many related aspects of Major League Baseball’s decision to move the Houston Astros to the American League starting in 2013, I am a bit less upset than Lance Berkman, perhaps. In fact, there is at least one potential benefit looming, as I see it.

According to ESPN, a part of the necessary scheduling reconfiguration for next season and beyond may alter the annual “natural rivals” interleague series. The teams may still meet, but would not be assured of full home-and-home, six-game series. One set is more likely, rotating annually between the two locations.

Of course, this would affect the “I-70 Series” between the St. Louis Cardinals and Kansas City Royals.

Let’s face it, meeting the Royals was exciting back in the 1980s. Since then, not so much. Taking nothing away from Kansas City’s young prospects today, but six games each season is at least three too many for my liking. This is reinforced by the fact that in part due to the uneven divisional alignment, the Cardinals often seemed to face the same group of other interleague opponents over and over as well.

From the aspect of won-loss records, the annual Royals series has been good for St. Louis overall, especially the games in Kansas City. The Cardinals lead the Royals 38-28 in all-time interleague play, including a 24-15 mark at Kauffman Stadium.

In St. Louis, the Cards hold a narrow edge, 14-13, with the Royals leading the series 8-7 at Busch Stadium III. The Cardinals won 2-of-3 in both locations in 2011. This season, the Royals will travel to St. Louis on June 17-19 and the two clubs will meet again in Kansas City just seven days later for a second weekend series.

This is but one part of what will be a major schedule change across MLB starting next season. With an uneven number of teams in each league, there will be at least one interleague each day all clubs are scheduled to play. In one scheduling scenario, that could mean at least 30 interleague games for each team starting in 2013.

Given the necessity of change, some additional variety in opponents would be welcome.

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St. Louis Cardinals checkup: April 2012

As we flip our calendars from April to May, there is disappointment among some St. Louis Cardinals fans. Despite generally good play by the club, there is a feeling they should have been better. The team has been unable to secure any multi-game series sweeps and have lost some close contests they seemingly could have won.

On the other hand, wouldn’t anyone have been happy to make a deal in March for the team to end April at 14-8 and with a three-game National League Central Division lead?

As the data below indicates, the offense and pitching have been equally impressive in the early going, with the last item, run differential, pulling it together.

Cards: April 2012 # NL rank of 16 Comment
Team ERA 2.61 #2 WAS #1 at 2.33
Starters ERA 2.57 #2 WAS #1 at 1.78
Relievers ERA 2.70 #2 SD #1 at 2.54
Runs scored 113 Tied #1 ATL also with 113
Batting average 0.280 #1 #2 is NYM at .269
Run differential plus 53 #1 next closest is 27 (ATL)

There are some interesting parallels to 2011. The respective situations of Adam Wainwright and Chris Carpenter are more unclear this season than last, but the bottom line in terms of April wins from the co-aces each year is identical – zero.

Further, in both Aprils, the number five starter performed at an unexpectedly high level. Last year, Kyle McClellan was a perfect 4-0. This year, it is Lance Lynn (4-0, 1.33). Like McClellan in 2011, the unexpected current level of success by Lynn, Kyle Lohse (4-0, 1.62) and Jake Westbrook (3-1, 1.30) will not be sustained for the entire season.

Starters going deep into games, backed by high levels of run support, meant less pressure applied to a relatively-inexperienced bullpen. Performance in close games remains an open question.

Cardinals thru April 2011 2012
Record 16-11 (.593) 14-8 (.636)
NL Central lead plus 2 plus 3
Wins from Carp/Waino 0 0
Wins from #5 starter McClellan 4 Lynn 4

All is not perfect. The Cardinals are just 5-5 in their most recent 10 contests, though in all fairness, for most of that time, the offense was missing two of eight position player starters in Lance Berkman and since-returned Jon Jay. Further, in 2012 there has been greater exposure with starters out since top reserve Allen Craig has been unavailable as well. Skip Schumaker also missed considerable time.

The concerned point to the easier first-month schedule for St. Louis, primarily made up of NL Central opponents. That is a fair question, in my opinion.

May should offer a better cross-NL test for the Cardinals. After Pittsburgh and Houston, St. Louis will face Arizona, Atlanta (twice), San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego and Philadelphia. Of that group, only the Padres and Phillies have losing records. In contrast, the Cardinals are currently the only NL Central team with a winning slate.

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Third and fourth chances for World Champs ring coming

On the heels of the St. Louis Cardinals’ popular 2011 World Championship ring giveaway and a shadow promotion at their organization-owned Double-A club in Springfield, both clubs are planning a second-chance date ahead.

St. Louis will run their second ring promotion on Friday, July 6, as the Cardinals match up against the Miami Marlins.  All fans who attend the game will receive a wearable replica of the 2011 World Championship ring.

Springfield’s second promotion will be sooner, this coming Thursday, May 2. It is more limited, with only the first 2,000 fans through the gates receiving the collectible ring. Last time, fans lined up at Hammons Field starting over eight hours early.

In one measurement of the interest level in these rings, they are currently selling on ebay for up to $100.

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To err is human, but the 2012 Cardinals do it rarely

In the most important stat of all, won-loss record, the St. Louis Cardinals’ major league club and its highest-level affiliate are at polar opposites.

St. Louis is among the top three teams in the National League with its 11-6 record through 17 games. The Triple-A Memphis Redbirds have been scuffling along in Pacific Coast League action, winning just one-third of their initial contests at 6-12.

One area in which the two clubs share early success, however, is in limiting physical errors in the field. Each shares the lead for fewest miscues committed across its respective 16-team league.

In the NL, St. Louis has just nine errors as a team. That ties them with Philadelphia and Washington for the lowest total in the Senior Circuit. Shortstop Rafael Furcal is the only Cardinal with multiples and he has committed just two.

At the other end of the spectrum, two Western Division clubs, San Francisco and San Diego, each have made over twice as many errors as St. Louis, with 19 each. The Cardinals’ current opponent, Chicago, is next with 16 miscues in 17 games.

Cubs shortstop Starlin Castro is all alone at the top of this unenviable NL leaderboard with seven errors. The Giants have three players with four each, catcher Buster Posey, third baseman Pablo Sandoval and shortstop Brandon Crawford.

Down in Triple-A, Memphis is tied for the PCL lead for the fewest errors with 12, along with Nashville (Milwaukee) and Oklahoma City (Houston). They are spread very evenly over the Redbirds roster, with third baseman Zack Cox and shortstop Ryan Jackson being the only Memphians with as many as two miscues.

The big-league Giants shouldn’t be looking for fielding help from Triple-A, as the most error-prone club in the PCL is their Fresno affiliate, with 25 in 19 games. The Bees’ three middle infielders alone have committed 17 miscues among them.

Coming into 2012, one area of expected improvement in the St. Louis club was to be their defense. With a ground-ball oriented pitching philosophy and a staff to match, this seemed very important.

So far, so good. At least in terms of errors committed in the early going, significant progress is being shown. Remember that in 2011, only one NL club, Chicago, was charged with more miscues than St. Louis. Right now at least, no club has fewer than the Cardinals.

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Friday Cardinals home opener festivities

The following information was released by the St. Louis Cardinals.

A pre-game ceremony that officially welcomes home the reigning World Champions will punctuate a day of activities celebrating the annual return of baseball to St. Louis on Friday, April 13th. The Cardinals will take on the Chicago Cubs in a 2:15 p.m. game. 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.

Opening Day Ceremony Celebrates World Champions

While Opening Day in St. Louis is always special, this year promises to be extraordinary. Fans won’t want to miss a single minute of the opening ceremony that will begin at 1:30 p.m. with the Budweiser Clydesdales and will pay tribute to the 2011 World Championship team described as the greatest comeback team in the history of baseball.

The ceremony will feature all four of the team’s Commissioner’s Trophies, as well as representatives of each of those World Championship teams (’67, ’82, ’06 & ’11). The ceremony will culminate with the formal raising of the 2011 World Championship Banner by the family of U.S. Army Specialist Jeffrey L. White, Jr. of Catawissa Missouri. Specialist White, who was serving his country in Operation Enduring Freedom, died April 3 in the Khost Province of Afghanistan when insurgents attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device. Specialist White was an avid Cardinals fan who was home on leave for Game 7 of the World Series last October and was planning to attend Opening Day with his family before he was killed. Specialist Whites’ mother Paula, father Jeff and brothers Michael and Kyle will raise the championship banner.

10:00 a.m. – 1 p.m. Cardinals Official Opening Day Pre-Game Pep Rally, sponsored by Hardee’s: The Cardinals will host a pre-game pep rally in the Ballpark Village Lot, located directly across from Busch Stadium, at the corner of Clark Street and South Broadway. Local rock band Trixie Delight will perform from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 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 Hardee’s Photo Booth, where they can get their Opening Day picture taken for free and visit the Hardee’s Mobile Diner where, with the purchase of a Combo Meal, they will receive a complimentary Opening Day t-shirt. Other sponsors include: Budweiser, the United States Marine Corps, the United States Air Force, Dunkin Donuts, Energizer, First National Bank, Fox Theater, Fox Sports Midwest, Girl Scouts, Krispy Kreme, Lumiere/River City, MO Secretary of State, Muny, Papa John’s, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Tan Company and Qdoba

11:45 a.m. Gates open

Busch Magnet Schedule Day: All fans with a ticket ages 21 and over will receive a magnet with the 2012 Cardinals schedule, compliments of Busch Beer.

1:30 p.m. Pre-game ceremonies begin with an appearance by the famed Budweiser Clydesdales.

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

Introduce Fredbird & Team Fredbird.

Cardinals Hall-of-Famers will be introduced via a Ford Motorcade around the warning track, led by the 2013 Ford Escape.

Video Tribute to the 2011 World Champions

Introduce representatives of the last four World Championships who will escort in the Cardinals last four World Championship trophies….Mike Shannon (’67), Tommy Herr (’82), David Eckstein, Jim Edmonds (’06) and Tony La Russa and Dave Duncan (’11)

Introduce the reigning World Champion St. Louis Cardinals via Ford Motorcade (2012 Ford Platinum F-150s and 2012 Ford Raptor F-150s)

The family of U.S. Army Specialist Jeffrey L. White, Jr. will raise the 2011 World Championship Banner in Leftfield.

Introduce the Chicago Cubs and the starting lineups

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

Color Guard – The U.S. Marine Corps

A moment of silence to former Cardinals pitcher Bob Forsch

Shannon Magrane, singer and Season 11 contestant on American Idol, will sing the Star-Spangled Banner.

U.S. Air Force Flyover – Two F-16s

Ceremonial First Pitch

2:15 p.m. Game Time

Schedule – Friday, April 13 on FOX Sports Midwest

11 a.m.                        Cardinals Legends: Hall of Fame Roundtable

11:30 a.m.                   Cardinals Legends: Redbird Roundtable

12 p.m.                        Cardinals Legends: A September to Remember

12:30 p.m.                  Cardinals Live pregame show (Live)

1:30-2:15 p.m.          Home Opener ceremonies (Live – parade also to be streamed at FOXSportsMidwest.com)

2:15 p.m.                    Cubs at Cardinals (Live)

5 p.m.                          Cardinals Live postgame show (Live)

7 p.m.                          Replay of Cubs-Cardinals

10 p.m.                        Replay of Cardinals Live postgame show

Furcal, the other Greene and why March doesn’t matter

Over the years, I have had to remind myself – sometimes painfully – not to get too high or too low over stats accrued during the month of March. In this challenge, I am hardly alone.

After prospect Matt Adams homered in his second spring training game last month, some fans were ready for the big first baseman to shove Lance Berkman aside right then and there.

Speaking of Berkman, just 12 months ago, I was among those ready to write off the former Houston Astro as a faded Fat Elvis. I was dead wrong. Instead of the player who wasn’t getting around on balls in spring training, when he batted .182 with two extra-base hits, Big Puma became the National League Comeback Player of the Year for the eventual World Champions.

Like Berkman, shortstop Rafael Furcal has endured his share of injuries in the past and is approaching the twilight of a very good career. But was that twilight occurring here in early 2012?

Furcal struggled through camp with a .192 average amid similar whispers as were uttered about Berkman last year. In fact, his manager Mike Matheny dropped Furcal to the bottom of the batting order, noting late in camp that his shortstop was “not right.”

On Opening Night in Miami, when the bell rang, Furcal reminded us all that he is not done yet. Matheny put the 34-year-old back in the leadoff spot and he delivered.

Our friend and researcher Tom Orf, back for another season, notes that Furcal is just the 11th leadoff hitter in Cardinals history to collect three hits on Opening Day. Curt Flood holds the team record, with four in 1965. Further, in a nod to Matheny’s new Running Redbirds, Furcal is the only one of the 11 that also had a stolen base. (see photo)

In other words, after just 10 hits in Florida during the entire month of March, Furcal logged three in his first game of the regular season.

St. Louis Cardinals, leadoff hitters with three or more hits on Opening Day

Player Date Opp Rslt PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB SO SB CS Pos
Rafael Furcal 4/4/2012 MIA W 4-1 5 5 0 3 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 SS
David Eckstein 4/1/2007 NYM L 1-6 4 4 0 3 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 SS
Fernando Vina 4/3/2000 CHC W 7-1 5 5 1 3 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2B
Ray Lankford 4/3/1994 CIN W 6-4 5 5 2 3 1 0 1 2 0 0 1 0 0 CF
Curt Flood 4/12/1965 CHC T 10-10 7 6 2 4 2 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 CF
Don Blasingame 4/10/1959 SFG L 5-6 5 4 2 3 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 2B
Terry Moore 4/14/1936 CHC L 7-12 5 5 1 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 CF
Sparky Adams 4/12/1932 PIT W 10-2 5 5 2 3 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 3B
Max Flack 4/15/1924 CHC W 6-5 5 4 3 3 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 RF
Burt Shotton 4/14/1920 PIT L 4-5 5 5 1 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 LF
Red Smyth 4/16/1918 CHC W 4-2 4 4 1 3 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 RF

As if we needed another reminder where to file spring stats, consider this closing thought. In 2009, the Cardinals’ starting shortstop batted .408 in spring camp and was rewarded with the cleanup spot behind Albert Pujols in the opening day batting order.

Several months later, Khalil Greene’s major league career was over.

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Cardinals organization roster matrix: 2012 full-season

NOTE: This version of the roster matrix is no longer current. It reflects the 2012 changes from the end of spring training until the start of short-season ball. It should now be considered a historical reference document. For the active roster matrix starting with 2012 short-season play, click here.

With the full-season 2012 clubs preparing for regular-season action, it is time for another refresh of the St. Louis Cardinals system roster matrix. This version reflects the changes made from the conclusion of 2012 spring training through the beginning of the regular season and extended spring training until the draft and the start of short-season action in June. The previous matrix reflects the rosters as they evolved from when spring training invitations were issued through the end of camp.

If you are new to the blog and not familiar with the Cardinals organization roster matrix, here is quick summary:

At the time of this posting, the St. Louis Cardinals had 253 players under contract from top to bottom, including 39 players on the 40-man roster. The matrix places each one at his assigned level in the system by position and is updated daily or whenever transactions occur.

There is a group of 16 players listed under Injured/Rehab. They are not active on any of the rosters at this time.

Extended spring training camp invitees are shown in separate groups. The first is those initially invited to major league camp as NRIs and the early minor league camp invitees. The second group is the holdovers from regular minor league spring training while the third group is those who arrived for EST at the start of April.

Nowhere else will you find this current and comprehensive single-page view of the entire Cardinals organization.

Don’t be concerned about the order of the players’ names within a team. It doesn’t signify anything.

The players on the 40-man roster are designated in bold.

Full team rosters and player profiles at The Cardinal Nation

Remember that to get detailed profile information on every single one of these 253 Cardinals players, simply check out their free player profiles updated at The Cardinal Nation.com / Scout.com. You can see bios, photos, videos, articles, news items, links to current season and career stats and much more – everything you need to know about a player in one place.

Click on the following links to be taken to one of the nine team pages at The Cardinal Nation. You can also see rosters and player profiles back to 2004:

Full-season clubs

St. Louis Cardinals
Memphis Redbirds
Springfield Cardinals
Palm Beach Cardinals
Quad Cities River Bandits

Short-season clubs

Batavia Muckdogs
Johnson City Cardinals
Gulf Coast League Cardinals
Dominican Summer League Cardinals

Once on a team page, just click on a player’s name to be taken to his individual profile page for that year. For example, here is Shelby Miller’s 2012 Memphis profile.

Looking ahead and back

Now that you’ve found this page once, remember one of three ways to get back here. Bookmark the page, type “Roster Matrix” in the dark blue search box at the upper right or use the dropdown menu at the top of the page: “Players/Staff” > “Depth Charts/Roster Matrix”.

For details behind past rosters and transactions, check out the earlier versions of the Cardinals organization roster matrix as follows.

Link to previous matrices: Jan–March 2009, April 2009, May 2009, June 2009, July 2009-February 2010, Spring camp 2010, Opening season 2010, First half 2010, Short-season 2010, 2010-11 Off-season, 2011 spring training, 2011 regular season, 2011 short-season, 2011-2012 off-season, 2012 spring training

Transactions

04/02: New matrix. Organization total: 253 players.

04/02: C Kleininger Teran onto Spr DL.

04/03: RHR Adam Ottavino lost via outright waivers to Colorado. New organization total: 252 players.

04/04: C Adam Lewis placed on QC DL. RHP Deryk Hooker to Spr DL. LHR Nick Greenwood from Spr to Mem. RPs Justin Wright and Jesse Simpson from PB to Spr. OF Cedric Hunter acquired from Oakland, assigned to Mem. New org total: 253 players.

04/05: RHR Ricky Martinez from EST to PB. C Travis Tartamella onto PB DL. C Roberto Espinoza onto Mem DL.

04/06: RHR Scott Linebrink onto StL DL. RHR Victor Marte onto 40-man, moves from Mem to StL.

04/09: C Casey Rasmus from EST to PB. C Luis De La Cruz from PB to Mem. C Steven Hill onto Mem DL.

04/12: RHS Seth Blair onto PB DL. RHR Logan Billbrough from QC to PB. RHR Kevin Jacob from EST to QC. IF Roberto De La Cruz to QC DL. IF Jeremy Patton from EST to QC.

04/13: C Luis De La Cruz from Mem to PB. C Casey Rasmus from PB to EST. C Mitch Canham signed, assigned to Mem. New organization total: 254 players.

04/15: OF Michael Swinson onto PB DL. OF Kyle Conley from Spr DL to PB.

04/20: 1B Lance Berkman onto StL 15-day DL. IF/OF Skip Schumaker off 15-day DL. IF Tyler Rahmatulla onto QC DL. C Adam Lewis off QC DL.

04/21: OF Tommy Pham onto Spr DL. OF Kyle Conley from PB to Spr. OF Michael Swinson off PB DL.

04/26: 2B Starlin Rodriguez onto PB DL. C Travis Tartamella off PB DL. OF Roberto Reyes, C Adam Lewis onto QC DL. OF Virgil Hill from EST to QC. IF Roberto De La Cruz off QC DL.

04/28: IF Packy Elkins to PB DL. IF Neal Pritchard from EST to PB.

05/01: IF Tyler Rahmatulla off QC DL. IF Jeremy Patton from QC to EST. OF/IF Allen Craig off StL DL. OF Erik Komatsu DFAed. New organization total: 253 players.

05/03: C Steven Hill off Mem DL. OF Chris Swauger from Mem to Spr. OF Rainel Rosario from Spr to PB.

05/04: OF Erik Komatsu claimed off waivers by Twins. OF Michael Swinson onto PB DL. RHP Todd McInnis to QC DL. C Adam Lewis off QC DL. OF Mark Hamilton off Mem DL. IF Jermaine Curtis from Mem to Spr. IF Niko Vasquez from Spr to PB. C Audry Perez to Spr TI list. C Kleininger Teran off Spr DL.

05/05: IF Neal Pritchard from PB to EST. C Casey Rasmus from EST to QC. C Jesus Montero from QC to EST.

05/06: C Travis Tartamella, RHR Ricky Martinez onto PB DL. 2B Starlin Rodriguez and LHS Kevin Siegrist off PB DL.

05/07: IF Tyler Rahmatulla to QC DL. OF Roberto Reyes off QC DL. C Audry Perez off Spr TI list. C Kleininger Teran, RHR Jesse Simpson to Spr DL. IF Neal Pritchard from EST to Spr.

05/08: LHS Jonathan Cornelius from EST to QC. C Adam Lewis to QC DL. Ps Fermin Montanez, Jeff Nadeau released. New organization total: 251 players.

05/13: 1B Lance Berkman off StL DL. OF Shane Robinson from StL to Mem.

05/14: LHR J.C. Romero released by StL. RHR Eduardo Sanchez from Mem to StL. Mem OF Amaury Cazana released. LHR Sam Freeman from Spr to Mem. RHR Jesse Simpson off Spr DL. IF Neal Pritchard from Spr to EST. RHS Richard Castillo from PB to Spr. RHS Todd McInnis from QC DL to PB. IF Tyler Rahmatulla off QC DL. OF Virgil Hill onto QC DL. New organization total: 249 players.

05/15: OF Jon Jay onto StL DL. OF Shane Robinson from Mem to StL.

05/17: LHR Clay Zavada, UT Jamie Romak signed to Mem. Mem LHR R.J. Swindle released. PB 3B Niko Vasquez released. C Travis Tartamella off PB DL. OF Anthony Garcia onto QC DL. OF Virgil Hill onto QC DL.

05/18: OF Allen Craig, RHR Kyle McClellan onto StL DL. OF Adron Chambers, RHP Brandon Dickson from Mem to StL. LHS John Gast from Spr to Mem. RHP Deryk Hooker off Spr DL.

05/19: IF Neal Pritchard, LHP Bob Revesz, RHP Travis Miller from EST to QC. IF Garrett Wittels, RHPs Brandon Creath, Kevin Jacob from QC to EST. RHS Carlos Martinez, UT Alan Ahmady to PB DL. LHP Ryan Sherriff and 3B Jeremy Patton from EST to PB.

05/20: StL 1B Lance Berkman to DL. 1B Matt Adams onto 40-man roster, from Mem to StL.

05/21: OF Lou Montanez signed, assigned to Mem. RHPs Seth Maness, Chris Corrigan from PB to Spr. RHP Scott Schneider from Spr to PB. RHP Jorge Rondon to Spr DL. OF Michael Swinson off PB DL.  New organization total: 250 players.

05/22: 1B Aaron Bates signed, assigned to Mem. New organization total: 251 players.

05/23: UT Matt Carpenter onto StL DL. C Steven Hill added to 40-man, from Mem to StL.

05/24: RHP Michael Santana released. New organization total: 250 players.

05/26: RHR Fernando Salas from StL to Mem. RHR Chuckie Fick from Mem to StL. C Nick Derba from Spr to Mem. C Travis Tartamella from PB to Spr. LHS Kevin Siegrist to PB DL. OF Anthony Garcia off QC DL. OF Roberto Reyes from QC to EST.

05/27: LHP Nick Gillung from EST to PB.

05/29: RHS Carlos Martinez from PB DL to Spr DL. C Cody Stanley off QC restricted list, active at PB.

05/30: RHP Brad Watson from EST to PB. OF Michael Swinson to PB DL. 10 signed to DSL: RHPs Juan Fresa, Jose Lara, Frederis Parra, Jorge Rodriguez, Ramon Santos, Estaban Vallejo, LHP Isaac Silva, C Sergio Ripoll, OFs Jeffry Cerdas, Domingo Sanchez. OF Ramon Feliz on DSL RL. P Ariel Gonzalez (DSL RL) removed. New organization total: 260 players.

05/31: RHPs Brandon Dickson, Chuckie Fick from StL to Mem. RHP Maikel Cleto from Mem to StL.

06/01: LHR Sam Freeman from Mem to StL. 2B/OF Skip Schumaker to StL DL. OF/IF Allen Craig off StL DL. IF Ildemaro Vargas from EST to PB. RHR Zack Russell to PB DL.

06/02: UT Jose Garcia to Spr DL. IF Garrett Wittels from EST to Spr.

06/04: IF Garrett Wittels from Spr to Mem. 2B Breyvic Valera from EST to Spr. 3B Zack Cox onto Mem DL. RHS Tyrell Jenkins to QC DL. RHR Ricky Martinez from PB DL to QC.

06/07: StL LHS Jaime Garcia to DL. RHR Fernando Salas from Mem to StL.

06/08: StL released RHR Scott Linebrink. Signed 1S drafted 3B Patrick Wisdom. Organization total: 260 players.

06/09: StL signs 26 draftees: 3B Patrick Wisdom (1S), C Steve Bean (1S), LHP Tim Cooney (3), RHP Kyle Barraclough (7), OF Yoenny Gonzalez (8), C Rowan Wick (9), 2B Jacob Wilson (10), SS Brent Wiley (13), SS Anthony Melchionda (14), SS Bruce Caldwell (15), RHP Joe Scanio (16), RHP Chris Perry )17), 1B Jeremy Shaffer (18), RHP Steve Gallardo (19), OF Matthew Young (20), 1B Jacoby Almaraz (21), LHP Lee Stoppelman (24), RHP Dixon Llorens (25), LHP Steve Sabatino (26), RHP Joey Cuda (27), OF Dodson McPherson (28), LHP Kyle Helisek (30), RHP Joey Donofrio (31), RHP Ronnie Shaban (33), LHP Mark Trentacosta (34), LHP Ben O’Shea (35), RHP Mike Aldrete (39). LHR John Gaub claimed off waivers – onto 40-man, optioned to Mem. New total: 287 players.

06/10: RHR Chase Reid onto PB DL (retro 6/6). RHS Chris Carpenter from 15- to 60-day DL. RHS Joe Kelly to 40-man, from Mem to StL. C Steven Hill from StL to Mem.

06/11: LHS Tyler Lyons from Spr to Mem. RHR Jorge Rondon off Spr DL. C Steven Hill to Mem TI. NDFA 1B Jordan Walton signed. New organization total: 288 players.

06/12: 3B Zack Cox off Memphis DL. Mem C Mitch Canham released. SS Vance Albitz off PB DL to Spr. RHR Chris Corrigan from Spr to PB. C Cody Stanley, RHR Logan Billbrough to PB DL. RHP Daniel Bibona from PB DL to EST. C Adam Ehrlich from EST to PB. RHP Cory Jones (5) signed. Organization total remains: 288 players.

06/13:  RHP Scott McGregor off Spr DL to PB. C Cody Stanley to QC DL. C Adam Lewis off QC DL. IF Jose Garcia off Spr DL. IF Breyvic Valera from Spr to EST. LHP Javier Machuca (38) signed. New organization total: 289 players.

06/14: RHP Michael Wacha (1), 3B Carson Kelly (2) agreed to terms. New organization total: 291 players.

06/15: Spr RHS Carlos Martinez off DL. RHR Jesse Simpson to Spr DL. C Adam Ehrlich from PB to GCL. IF Ildemaro Vargas from PB to JC.

06/16: 3B Stephen Piscotty (1S) signed. C Steven Hill off Mem TI list. IF Garrett Wittels from Mem to Bat. IF Tyler Rahmatulla from QC to PB. C Kleininger Teran from Spr DL to GCL hitting coach. Organization total remains: 291 players.

06/17: Six free agent Ps signed. Jacob Booden, Thomas Lee, Zach Petrick, Jeff Rauh, Josh Renfro, Chris Thomas. New organization total: 297 players.

06/20: RHR Maikel Cleto from StL to Mem. IF/OF Skip Schumaker off StL DL. LHR Clay Zavada released. New organization total: 296 players.

06/21: RHP Shooter Hunt retired. RHPs Jose Rada, Angel Tapia released. LHP Mark Trentacosta (34), OF Dodson McPherson (28) not signed. New organization total: 291 players.

The St. Louis Cardinals Organization Roster Matrix (effective 06/20/12)

25-man (25+6) 40-man (40+1)
SP RP C 1B 2B SS 3B OF
C Carpenter (60DL) Boggs Molina Berkman (DL)
 Schumaker
 Furcal Freese Holliday
Lohse McClellan (DL)
 T Cruz Adams
 Descalso T Greene M Carpenter (DL)
 Jay (DL)
Westbrook S Freeman (L)




Craig
Wainwright Motte




Beltran
Ja Garcia (L DL) Rzepczynski (L)



Robinson
Lynn E Sanchez




Chambers
J Kelly
 Salas






Marte







Memphis (25+2)
SP RP C 1B 2B SS 3B OF
Additon (L)
 Browning (L) Anderson Bates Kozma R Jackson Cox
 Hamilton
Broderick Todd S Hill
 Velez Romak
Dickson Fick Espinoza (DL) Luna (DL)
S Miller Cleto Derba Hunter
Gast (L) Reifer Montanez
Lyons (L)
 Greenwood (L)
Gaub (L)
Springfield (25+4)
SP RP C 1B 2B SS 3B OF
Gorgen Butler A Perez Scruggs Wong Jo Garcia Curtis Pham (DL)
Maness Wright (L) Tartamella G Garcia Taveras
Rosenthal Hooker Albitz Swauger
Ri Castillo Delgado (DL) Shaffer
C Martinez Blazek Melker
Fornataro Conley
Swagerty (60DL) K Thomas
Simpson (DL)
Rondon
Palm Beach (23+11)
SP RP C 1B 2B SS 3B OF
Sherriff (L) Schneider L DeLaCruz Jon Rodriguez S Rodriguez Elkins (DL) Ahmady (DL) Edmondson
Gillung (L) Reid (DL) Klein Gil Patton Swinson (DL)
McInnis Nazario (L) Stanley (DL) Rahmatulla Longmire
Ferrara (L) Russell (DL) O’Neill
Blair (DL) A Lucas R Rosario
Benes Kiekhefer (L)
Whiting (DL) Billbrough (DL)
Watson Corrigan
Siegrist (L DL)
Copeland (L DL)
McGregor
Quad Cities (24+3)
SP RP C 1B 2B SS 3B OF
Jenkins (DL) T Miller J Castillo (DL) R DeLaCruz Lu Mateo M Williams An Garcia
H Hernandez (L) Revesz (L) Rasmus Walsh Pritchard Martini
Cornelius (L) Cole Lewis D Medina
Gaviglio Miranda (L) V Hill
Hald (L) Stock
Villanueva (L) Wyatt
Paulino
De Jesus (RL)
R Martinez
Draft signed (30)
P P C 1B 2B SS 3B OF
Cooney (L3) Helisek (L 30) Bean (1S) Schaffer (18) Wilson (10) Wiley (13) Wisdom (1S) Y Gonzalez (8)
Barraclough (7) Donofrio (31) Wick (9) Almaraz (21) Melchionda (14) C Kelly (2) Young (20)
Scanio (16) Shaban (33) Caldwell (15) Piscotty (1S)
Perry (17)
Gallardo (19) O’Shea (L 35)
Stoppelman (L 24) Aldrete (39)
Llorens (25) C Jones (5)
Sabatino (L 26) Machuca (L 38)
Cuda (27) Wacha (1)
ND free agents (7)
P P C 1B 2B SS 3B OF
Booden Rauh Walton
Lee Renfro (L)
Petrick Thomas
EST (68+2)
Injured/rehab (4)
P P C 1B 2B SS 3B OF
J Lucas Costantino
E Hiraldo
Canache
Early camp/NRI (5)
P P C 1B 2B SS 3B OF
DeLeon Peoples-Walls Jeffries
McElroy
Tilson
Reg camp others (32+2)
P P C 1B 2B SS 3B OF
Y Castillo Baker Montero Washington Stienstra C Valera Tuivailala Apelian
Nuernberg Bileckyj (L) Keener Bergin B Valera Wittels S Ramos
Ulacio Mills Byrd Vargas Bryant
Pasen Melling (L) Velazco R Williams (SL)
Jacob Springer L Perez Rbto Reyes
Almarante Creath Ehrlich
S Lopez
M Harris (MIL)
Bibona (L)
New arrivals (27)
P P C 1B 2B SS 3B OF
B Martinez Toribio J Gomez Knox Le Mateo Martin R Garcia Ro Castillo
B Freeman (L) Villegas Argenal R Medina Capellan
Rein (L) DeLosSantos Barbuena Deol
Bautista F Flores Dodd
Aguilar S Garcia Acevedo
Brand Gerdel
Paredes
Jh Polanco
Batavia (TBD)
P P(2012 added) C 1B 2B SS 3B OF
Johnson City (TBD)
P P(2012 added) C 1B 2B SS 3B OF
Gulf Coast (TBD)
P P(2012 added) C 1B 2B SS 3B OF
DSL (34+2)
SP RP C 1B 2B SS 3B OF
Salazar A DeLaCruz (L) L Cruz Mejia Rblys Reyes Pina Agustin Araujo
J Perez Vallejo Godoy E Alvarez Franco
Perdomo I Brito (L) Ripoll Celestino
Silva (L) F Gonzalez Torres
D Perez (L) Baez Cerdas
D Martinez J Pena D Sanchez
Serrano (RL) Parra Feliz (RL)
Jor Rodriguez
R Santos
Negrette (L)
DeLaRosa
Fresa
J Lara
Escudero
Draft unsigned (14)
P P C 1B 2B SS 3B OF
Heyer (6) Hillis (29) Schroeder (22) Mejia (4) Ramsey (1)
Foody (L 12) Trentacosta (L 34) Swim (36) T Williams (11) Matheny (23)
Rice (40) Oquendo (32) May (37)
McPherson (28)

Codes
(I): injured
(TI): temporary inactive list
(SL): suspended list
(RL): restricted list
(MIL): military list
(TO): tryout player not under contract
(L) left-handed pitcher
bold: on the Cardinals’ 40-man roster
(#+#) number of active players on the roster plus number of inactive/not under contract (DL+TI+SL+RL+MIL+TO) players

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MLB social media policy answers some questions, opens others

In our society, rules are often created to ensure boundaries for extreme behavior are in place before the acts occur. Such is the case with Major League Baseball and social media.

Back in November when the new collective bargaining agreement between players and owners was announced, a miscellaneous line item simply said this:

“All Players will be subject to a policy governing the use of Social Media.”

Like most of the new CBA, the details governing use of Twitter and Facebook would follow. Earlier this week, MLB released their policy to all 40-man roster players.

The opening statement seems simple enough, but of course, the devil is in the details.

“We encourage you to connect with fans through Twitter, Facebook, and other social media platforms. Along with MLB’s extensive social media activities, we hope your efforts on social media will bring fans closer to the game and have them engaged with baseball, your club and you in a meaningful way.”

Among the policy elements are these common sense-type items.

Players cannot post anything:

  • That condones the use of drugs banned by MLB.
  • Sexually explicit, racist or sexist.
  • Disparaging one’s national origin or disability.
  • Illegal by federal or state law.
  • That threatens or harasses others.

The challenge will be in who and how violations will be interpreted. Club and MLB officials will be even more busy than before monitoring their employees’ social media behavior. Will union officials immediately spring to the defense of players when the inevitable gray areas are entered?

Any appeal process is unclear, but it will certainly be needed – if there are penalties involved in policy violations. This is not spelled out as far as I can tell. MLB already seems to keep a stable of arbiters busy in other elements of their business. Could this become another?

Apparently to protect the owners, this item is also included.

  • Players must have permission before making statements that could be interpreted as “official,” linking to a MLB website, or using copyrighted team logos, names, photos or other material.

It seems odd for players not to be able to link to stories on the official MLB website.

It sort of reminds me of the ever-present warning repeated during every radio and television game for decades now. It is one we can probably all recite by heart, sort of like a perverted MLB pledge of allegiance.

“Any rebroadcast, reproduction or other use of this game without the express written consent of Major League Baseball is strictly prohibited.”

Anyway, back to social media. The items that govern on-field activities are crystal clear in comparison to sex, drugs and harassment. These apply to all officials, including coaches and managers.

They are not allowed to post to social media:

  • 30 minutes before a game
  • During a game
  • Until at least 10 minutes after a game ends

They are also not allowed to question umpires’ calls via social media.

In summary, it is good that MLB accepts reality and encourages players to use social media to interact with fans. Players will continue to have to be smart in their actions to remain clear of the new regulations. For most, that should not be a problem. It is the few outliers for which MLB had to create this policy and about whom they must worry.

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Milwaukee’s Melvin still crying in his beer

The 2011 Milwaukee Brewers won 96 regular season games on their way to the National League Central Division title. They dispatched Arizona in their Division Series matchup three games to two before meeting the St. Louis Cardinals in the Championship Series.

During the regular season, the Brew Crew and Cardinals had split their series, each club winning five at home. In the Championship Series however, St. Louis eliminated Milwaukee in six games.

Apparently the bitter taste of defeat remains in the mouth of Brewers general manager Doug Melvin, reigning NL Executive of the Year.

In an article posted by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Melvin claims the Cardinals had an unfair advantage in September. His belief is that an imbalance occurs because clubs from “large markets” can afford more September call ups from the minor leagues.

Melvin went on to say this:

“I still say that St. Louis doesn’t get in if it’s 30-on-30,” he said. “Tony La Russa was a master at manipulating all the players that he had. They had a kid, (Adron) Chambers. They won a couple of games pinch-running with him late. They got Arthur Rhodes late. They play a team like Houston late in the season. They say they’re rebuilding with minimum-salary guys. They’re not going to bring up guys to accumulate service time. That’s my biggest beef.”

Let’s take Melvin’s claims one by one.

“large markets” – The Cardinals play in the 20th largest market of the 30 MLB clubs. That may appear huge when you are in Milwaukee, ranked #26.

Let’s give Melvin the benefit of the doubt and assume that he meant to say “payroll” instead of “markets.” In that case, it still doesn’t hold water as neither club was in the top third in player payroll in 2011, with St. Louis at 11th and Milwaukee 17th.

The two clubs that experienced colossal folds in September, Boston and Atlanta, are located in considerably larger markets than either Milwaukee and St. Louis. The Red Sox had the third-largest payroll in MLB last season with the Braves in between St. Louis and Milwaukee. Their substantial resources clearly did not help them down the stretch.

“30-on-30” – This may be the strangest charge of all. First, let’s check the facts.

The Brewers added seven players to their major league roster in September, while the Cardinals added eight.

The Cardinals promoted six minor leaguers for the final month. They are Brandon Dickson, Shane Robinson, Maikel Cleto, Tony Cruz, Tyler Greene and Chambers. Two other Major Leaguers were activated from the DL during September, Nick Punto and Eduardo Sanchez, for a maximum roster size of 33. That compares to Milwaukee at 32.

Most of the new Cardinals rode the pines, while the Brewers, with a huge division lead, proudly announced their callups would play. I did not check the Milwaukee group’s September at-bats and innings-pitched, as I don’t see it being particularly relevant to this discussion.

The contention is the benefit received by St. Louis. The veteran Punto had more final-month at-bats than the four kids combined. The youngsters hit a combined 6-for-20 (.300) while Punto went 8-for-26 (.308). The Cardinals’ three September call up pitchers were a complete non-factor, throwing just 6 2/3 innings in total with an aggregate ERA of 4.05.

Did the Brewers add one fewer player for financial reasons or because their farm system just isn’t as good? In all fairness, even after several highly-publicized trades of prospects for veterans (Shaun Marcum, Zack Greinke), the Brewers certainly must have had additional Triple-A players had they needed them. If not, shame on them.

“Tony La Russa was a master at manipulating all the players that he had.” – OK, so does that mean his skipper Ron Roenicke was less adept at roster management of his 32 players than was La Russa with 33? Is Melvin suggesting the Cardinals should have stopped trying because their manager was too good at his job?

“They got Arthur Rhodes late.” – This is clearly a red herring. It seems a major stretch to tie the addition of a bit player signed on August 11 to September roster size. Rhodes played the role of the second left-handed reliever, a spot almost always occupied in La Russa’s bullpen, whether April or October.

Further, I would like to see anyone with a straight face assert that the 41-year-old with a 4.15 ERA was a 2011 difference-maker. If Melvin truly felt that way, he could have signed Rhodes himself for the mere pittance of a pro-rated share of the MLB minimum salary, less than $150,000. (Texas paid the majority of the 2011 salary of Rhodes, a player currently out of work.)

“(Houston is) not going to bring up guys to accumulate service time.” – Another very questionable claim.

Melvin implies the Cardinals unfairly benefited by playing the lowly and rebuilding Astros in September. The facts are that both clubs, St. Louis and Milwaukee, met Houston in only one final-month series.

The Cardinals won two of those September contests and Houston one. Of course, the last St. Louis victory is most memorable as it was in the final game of the regular season.

How about Milwaukee? They also played the Astros three times in September, earning a sweep. Despite the big division lead, individual games were still significant to the Brewers in the fight for home-field advantage. The Brewers took home field by just two games over Arizona. Didn’t they also benefit by playing Houston?

That one additional home game could have been the difference maker in their NLDS that went a full five games.

Despite Milwaukee earning the right to play more post-season games at Miller Park, they still lost to the Cardinals in the Championship Series. That brings us to a final point which Melvin did not make.

Rosters are of equal size in the playoffs. – The most relevant fact is that in the post-season, the best 25 players on the Cardinals and their manager defeated the best 25 players on the Brewers and their skipper. This cannot be disputed.

While Melvin admitted “I kill this thing to death…,” he is apparently so focused on his personal roster-size crusade that he presented a case that doesn’t hold water and makes him look like a sore loser.

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How many games will the 2012 Cardinals win?

As players reported to spring training camps, the first betting lines on the number of individual team wins during the 2012 Major League season were released by the Atlantis Casino in Reno, Nev. You can see the full list here, but the National League Central participants opened as follows:

Chicago Cubs    73.5 wins
Cincinnati Reds    86.5 (-120o)
Houston Astros    62.5
Milwaukee Brewers    84.5 – initially 82.5
Pittsburgh Pirates    73.5 (-120u)
St. Louis Cardinals    87.5 (-120u)

Note the change for the Milwaukee Brewers, as Friday’s announcement that Ryan Braun will not be required to serve a suspension to start the season is taken into account. Those 50 games that the Hebrew Hammer will not miss translate into two additional wins for the 2012 Brew Crew, say Atlantis.

The numbers in the parentheses can be interpreted like this. Those wishing to bet on the over for the Reds or the under for the Pirates or Cardinals will have to risk more – $120 – to win $100.

The 87.5 wins for the Cardinals compare to their actual total of 90 victories secured on the field last season. The only other club in the NL Central that would decline year-to-year based on these lines is the other 2011 playoff club, Milwaukee. The Brewers won 96 games on their way to the NLC title.

The flipside of 62.5 wins for Houston would be 99.5 losses. Still, that would be an improvement over their 56-106 record last season. The Reds, Cubs and Pirates would also improve from 2011 if they reach their respective betting lines.

If these were to come to pass, the three 2012 NL division winners would be the Phillies (95.5), the Cardinals and the Giants (87.5). The Braves and Reds at 86.5 each, would be the co-Wild Cards.

Of course, these lines will be adjusted up and down over time as the oddsmakers try to ensure equal betting on the over and under for each team.

What do you think?

Vote below for your view of the number of Cardinals wins this season. (In choosing, consider the number of wins at which you are most comfortable. For example, selecting 87.5 means you would bet on the over at 87 wins and the under at 88 victories.

[poll id=”146″]

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Roles of social media and the media itself continue to evolve

Earlier this week, I noticed the retirement announcement of well-known Boston Globe sports columnist Bob Ryan. The writer made it clear in an ESPN podcast quoted on its website that he is troubled by the changes in his business and that played into his decision.

“I really and truly believe that my time has come and gone, that the dynamics of the business, of what it takes to be involved in the business with all the tweeting and the blogging and that stuff, with an audience with a different taste … I’m not comfortable — it’s not me any more,” Ryan said.

I don’t know Ryan, having only read his work occasionally and seen him from time to time on television. At the age of 65, he certainly deserves the chance to enjoy his later years as he so chooses. However, Ryan provides another reminder that some elements of the new media world are not being embraced by all.

Speaking of new media, this week the Memphis Redbirds announced a new campaign, the likes of which I have never seen before. They are basically using follows on Twitter as an inducement to come to the ballpark.

While there are other elements to the April 26 Social Media Night promotion, this one really caught my eye. The first 500 fans to provide their Twitter handle to the Redbirds as they enter AutoZone Park that day will be followed by the team’s Twitter account.

I have seen countless inducements from businesses to encourage individuals to “Like” them via Facebook, but bartering follows on Twitter take the game to a whole new level.

For example, in a more traditional offer, the Cardinals Class-A affiliate, the Quad Cities River Bandits just awarded four tickets to the Midwest League club’s Opening Day to the 5,000th Facebook user to “Like” them.

Not unlike the number of Facebook “friends,” having a large follower count on Twitter is a status symbol to many people. Further, being followed by those considered to be important is considered important to them, if you get my drift.

I guess I might be more like Ryan than I would like to admit in some ways, as I look at the world a bit differently.

On Facebook, I have no problem “liking” a business, but I handle personal interaction differently. The only people I “friend” are individuals I actually know, as in have a real relationship of some kind. I realize my definition of the term is old-school, but I just don’t get putting my implicit friendship stamp of approval on a complete stranger. Further, why in the world would I want to sort through mounds of Facebook chit-chat among anonymous people? It is bad enough reading what comes from those I actually know – and they probably feel the same way about me!

With even higher volumes of instant commentary, Twitter could be even worse.

Some people expect that if they follow someone, that person is obliged to follow them back. I am sorry, but if you consistently tweet content worth reading, I will follow you. Otherwise, you just generate noise – the likes of which I strive to cut out.

Again, there is the status symbol effect. I see many – even national media figures at times – literally twitter-begging for more followers. Wouldn’t it be better for everyone if they earned that support by providing value to the reader?

Plenty of Cardinals-related news providers are doing just that as reporters from MLB.com, the Post-Dispatch, FOX Sports Midwest and many, many more entities are already providing instantaneous updates from spring training camp in Jupiter, Fla.

I do mean instantaneous. Consider this example from Cardinals Winter Warm-Up last month in St. Louis. As players spoke with the media, I watched as several writers standing among us were feverishly tweeting key player comments as soon as they had been spoken.

That brings me to athletes and their use of social media. On the positive side, it enables them to take their message directly to the masses. It can also pull them too close to the flame if they are not careful.

After embarrassing episodes, some colleges have banned their athletes from tweeting, especially during the season. MLB educates players about the potential pitfalls of social media each spring and so on. (Edit: In fact, the summary of the new labor agreement between MLB players and owners specifically says, “All Players will be subject to a policy governing the use of Social Media.” Details are TBD.)

Still, at least 10 of the Cardinals players on the 40-man roster are on Twitter along with well over 50 minor leaguers across the system. Though I typically don’t befriend them on Facebook, I do follow them all on Twitter.

Like most tweets from individuals, the vast amount of them are uninteresting to non-acquaintances. Just as with any cross-section of young men, some tweets are funny, some are strange and others are probably inside jokes among friends.

Looking to increase fan interest, some players are actively campaigning to increase their follower count. Always competitive, they compare their numbers with their peers as they apparently equate the quantity of followers to popularity. I’ve even encountered player agents very in tune with this subject.

Now and then, interesting and useful information is offered, which is why I participate. For example, last summer, Cardinals top prospect Shelby Miller was the first to disclose his promotion to Double-A Springfield – via his Twitter feed.

Especially in terms of information delivery, social media in sports as well as the role of the sports media itself will continue to evolve. Past participants will need to do the same or be left behind.

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Cardinals exhibit coming to Clinton Museum

The William J. Clinton Presidential Library and Museum is planning a new exhibit called “Play Ball! The St. Louis Cardinals.” The announcement was first made via their Twitter feed and Facebook page. The exhibit will cover most of the 2012 baseball season, running from March 3 through September 16.

Though there are no documented reports of the 42nd President of the United States attending a Cardinals contest while in office from 1993-2001, he listened to the St. Louis Cardinals on the radio while growing up in Arkansas and has remained a strong supporter of the national pastime.

As documented in the attached photo, Clinton attended a Cardinals-New York Mets game at Shea Stadium on August 22, 2006, visiting the St. Louis clubhouse. (I was also working that game, though I did not come into contact with Clinton.) “I’m so old, I remember Harry Caray calling the Cardinal games,” Clinton cracked at the time. Earlier, in February 1993, the President was presented with a Cardinals jacket during an appearance at St. Louis’ Union Station.

His wife Hillary grew up as a Chicago Cubs fan. An Illinois native, Ms. Clinton is the current Secretary of State. She added American League allegiance to the Yankees in 1999 when preparing for her successful run for one of the New York seats in the US Senate.

Opened in 2004, the Clinton Library and Museum is located in Little Rock, Arkansas within the Clinton Presidential Center and Park, along with the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service, and the Little Rock offices of the Clinton Foundation.

In addition to Clinton’s archival collection and research facilities, the Clinton Presidential Library and Museum features exhibits, special events and educational programs. The museum includes replicas of the Oval Office and the Cabinet Room.

Updates: Some basic information can be seen here about the 100-item exhibit and several special limited-time artifacts. They include the World Series trophies from 2006 and 2011, World Series rings, and a newly-restored Stan Musial uniform.

Baseball Hall of Famer and Arkansas native Lou Brock will speak at the exhibit’s grand opening on Friday, March 2. The grand opening program and reception are free, however, reservations are required. RSVP to 501-748-0425 or by emailing operationslr@clintonfoundation.org.

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St. Louis Cardinals winter topic fatigue

As we have entered the final few weeks before the long winter ends and spring training begins, soon we will have real on-the-field baseball news about which to report.

St. Louis Cardinals pitchers and catchers are scheduled to report to Jupiter, Fla. on February 18 and conduct their first workout on February 19. The remainder of the players are expected to report by February 23 with their first workout on February 24.

In the meantime, I thought I would post a short survey to gauge your opinion on which recent St. Louis Cardinals-related topic has been beaten most to death in recent months, not just here, but by the media and fans in general.

[poll id=”144″]

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Cardinals organization roster matrix: 2012 spring training

NOTE: As of 4/2/12, this version of the roster matrix is no longer current. It reflects the changes from the announcement of spring training invitations until the opening of the regular season. It should now be considered a historical reference document. For the newer roster matrix covering the 2012 regular season, click here.

With the 2012 spring training camp invitations issued, it is time for another refresh of the St. Louis Cardinals system roster matrix. This version reflects the changes made until 2012 spring training concludes and the regular season and extended spring training get underway. The previous matrix reflects the rosters as they evolved from the end of 2011 play until spring training invitations were issued.

If you are new to the blog and not familiar with the Cardinals organization roster matrix, here is quick summary:

At the time of this posting, the St. Louis Cardinals had 266 players under contract from top to bottom, including 39 players on the 40-man roster. The matrix places each one at his assigned level in the system at the conclusion of 2011 and by position. Spring training camp invitees are shown separately. This matrix is updated daily or whenever transactions occur.

Nowhere else will you find this current and comprehensive single-page view of the entire Cardinals organization.

Don’t be concerned about the order of the players’ names within a team. It doesn’t signify anything.

The players on the 40-man roster are called out in bold.

The short-season pitchers are broken out into returnees and summer 2011 signees.

Full team rosters and player profiles at The Cardinal Nation

Remember that to get detailed profile information on every single one of these 266 Cardinals players, simply check out their free player profiles updated at The Cardinal Nation.com / Scout.com. You can see bios, photos, videos, articles, news items, links to current season and career stats and much more – everything you need to know about a player in one place.

Click on the following links to be taken to one of the nine team pages at The Cardinal Nation. You can also see rosters and player profiles back to 2004:

Full-season clubs
St. Louis Cardinals
Memphis Redbirds
Springfield Cardinals
Palm Beach Cardinals
Quad Cities River Bandits

Short-season clubs
Batavia Muckdogs
Johnson City Cardinals
Gulf Coast League Cardinals
Dominican Summer League Cardinals

Once on a team page, just click on a player’s name to be taken to his individual profile page for that year. For example, here is Shelby Miller’s 2012 profile.

Looking ahead and back

Now that you’ve found this page once, remember one of three ways to get back here. Bookmark the page, type “Roster Matrix” in the dark blue search box at the upper right or use the dropdown menu at the top of the page: “Players/Staff” > “Depth Charts/Roster Matrix”.

For details behind past rosters and transactions, check out the earlier versions of the Cardinals organization roster matrix as follows.

Link to previous matrices: Jan–March 2009, April 2009, May 2009, June 2009, July 2009-February 2010, Spring camp 2010, Opening season 2010, First half 2010, Short-season 2010, 2010-11 Off-season, 2011 spring training, 2011 regular season, 2011 short-season, 2011-2012 off-season

Related resources

St. Louis Cardinals 2012 major league spring training schedule
St. Louis Cardinals 2012 minor league spring training schedule (subscriber article)

Transactions

01/24: New matrix. Organization total: 266 players.

02/06: SS Alex Cora signed to a minors deal with MLB spring camp invite. New total: 267 players.

02/08: Dominican RHP Andres Serrano signed (in October). New total: 268 players.

02/10: RHR Scott Linebrink signed to a minors deal with MLB spring camp invite. New total: 269 players.

02/11: Five DSL players added: LHP Erick Hurtado; RHPs Juan Perez, Luis De La Rosa, Daylin Martinez; OF Bladimil Franco. Five DSL players released: LHP Delvi Rodriguez; RHPs Addelin Ceballo, Jean Carlos De la Cruz, Douglas Planchart; OF Domingo Diaz. Total remains 269 players.

02/23: RHP Sam Gaviglio invited to early minor league camp.

02/25: C Adam Lewis invited to early minor league camp.

02/28: 1B Victor Sanchez retired. New total: 268 players.

03/05: C Robert Stock moved to RHP. He and RHP Jordan Swagerty reassigned to minor league camp from NRIs.

03/06: Contract of DSL LHP Erick Hurtado voided due to failed PED test. New total: 267 players.

03/08: Seven players to minor league camp: Adam Reifer, John Gast, Nick Greenwood, Tyrell Jenkins, Cody Stanley, Luis De La Cruz and Kolten Wong.

03/14: Spr RHR Francisco Samuel released. New total: 266 players.

03/14: Seven players to minor league camp: Brandon Dickson, Maikel Cleto, Zack Cox, Pete Kozma, Shelby Miller, Joe Kelly and Kevin Siegrist.

03/19: Four players released: RHR Pete Parise, LHRs Dan Calhoun, Sean Watson, Jean Mijares. New total: 262 players.

03/20: Seven players to minor league camp: Chuckie Fick, Adam Ottavino, Sam Freeman, Trevor Rosenthal, R.J. Swindle, Ryan Jackson, Steven Hill.

03/23: Bat LHP Pat Daugherty released. New total: 261 players.

03/25: NRIs Alex Cora and Koyie Hill released. Mark Hamilton, Eduardo Sanchez and Matt Adams to minors camp. New total: 259 players.

03/26: OF Adron Chambers optioned out.

03/27: C Cody Stanley suspended 50 games.

03/28: Six minor leaguers released: IFs Joey Bergman, Romulo Ruiz, Ted Obregon, Phil Cerreto; RPs Cory Rauschenberger, Justin Edwards. New total: 253 players.

03/29: NRI RHR Scott Linebrink added to 40-man roster. 40-man now full.

03/30: C Bryan Anderson optioned out. NRIs Victor Marte and Eugenio Velez reassigned to minors camp. RHR Adam Ottavino designated for assignment.

03/31: RHR David Kopp released. OF Jake Shaffer signed. New total: 253 players.

The St. Louis Cardinals Organization Roster Matrix (effective 03/31/12)

25-man (NA) 40-man (28)
SP RP C 1B 2B SS 3B OF
C Carpenter Boggs Molina Berkman Schumaker Furcal Freese Holliday
Lohse McClellan T Cruz
Descalso T Greene M Carpenter Jay
Westbrook Salas


Craig
Wainwright Motte




Robinson
Ja Garcia (L) Rzepczynski (L)



Beltran
Lynn Romero (L)




Komatsu (R5)
Linebrink












Non-roster invitees (0)
SP RP C 1B 2B SS 3B OF
40-man to minors (12)
SP RP C 1B 2B SS 3B OF
Dickson Reifer Anderson Hamilton Kozma Cox Chambers

Ottavino (DFA)
Fick
S Freeman (L)
Cleto
Sanchez
NRIs to minors (17+1)
SP RP C 1B 2B SS 3B OF
Swagerty Greenwood (L) Stanley (SL) Adams Wong R Jackson
Stock Swindle (L) R DeLaCruz Velez
Gast (L) Marte S Hill
Jenkins
Siegrist (L)
Kelly
S. Miller
Rosenthal
Early minors camp (26)
SP RP C 1B 2B SS 3B OF
Blazek Wright (L) A Perez Scruggs G Garcia Gil Conley
DeLeon Klein S Rodriguez Peoples-Walls Longmire
Ferrara (L) Lewis (TO) B Valera Taveras
Fornataro Jeffries
H Hernamdez (L) McElroy
Hooker Tilson
Lyons (L)
C Martinez
Paulino
Gaviglio
Memphis (7)
SP RP C 1B 2B SS 3B OF
Additon (L) Browning (L) Derba Cazana
Broderick Todd
Hunt
Springfield (14)
SP RP C 1B 2B SS 3B OF
Thomas Delgado Tartamella Jo Garcia Curtis Pham
Gorgen Rondon Swauger
McGregor Schneider Luna
Rada Shaffer
Palm Beach (9)
SP RP C 1B 2B SS 3B OF
Ri Castillo Corrigan N Vasquez Melker
Reid Ahmady R Rosario
Butler
Simpson
Quad Cities (20)
SP RP C 1B 2B SS 3B OF
Russell A Lucas Espinoza Lu Mateo Elkins J Rodriguez Edmondson
Whiting Kiekhefer (L) Teran Walsh Swinson
Bibona (L) Maness Keener
Blair De Jesus
Copeland (L) Nazario (L)
Benes
Batavia (25+1)
P P(2011 added) C 1B 2B SS 3B OF
Y Castillo Miranda (L) Rasmus D Medina Stienstra Wittels Patton Martini
Almarante Cole J Castillo C Valera Rbto Reyes
R Martinez T Miller Albitz V Hill
Cornelius (L) O’Neill
McInnis Williams (SL)
Baker
Bileckyj (L)
Sherriff (L)
Jacob
Springer
Johnson City (32)
P P(2011 added) C 1B 2B SS 3B OF
Pasen Mills Byrd Washington Rahmatulla M Williams R DeLaCruz Apelian
Santana Hald (L) Montero Pritchard Ro Castillo
Canache Gillung (L) Martin An Garcia
B Freeman (L) Billbrough S Ramos
Bautista Creath Bergin
Nuernberg Wyatt
E Hiraldo Rein (L)
J Lucas Costantino
Revesz (L) Melling (L)
Nadeau (L)
Gulf Coast (21)
P P(2011 added) C 1B 2B SS 3B OF
Aguilar B Watson Velazco Knox Le Mateo Tuivailala Argenal
Brand L Perez Vargas Dodd
Toribio Ehrlich Bryant
A Tapia Deol
S Lopez
Villanueva (L)
Ulacio
B Martinez
Montanez
DSL (38+1)
SP RP C 1B 2B SS 3B OF
Salazar A DeLaCruz (L) Baez Mejia Rblys Reyes Pina Agustin Araujo
Escudero A Gonzalez (RL) J Gomez R Medina R Garcia Capellan
Perdomo Gerdel L Cruz Barbuena Celestino
S Garcia F Gonzalez Godoy E Alvarez J Pena
Paredes F Flores Torres
DeLosSantos I Brito (L) Acevedo
Jh Polanco Villegas Franco
Negrette (L)
D Perez (L) J Perez
DeLaRosa
Serrano D Martinez
Unassigned (1)
P P C 1B 2B SS 3B OF
M Harris (MIL)

Codes
(I): injured
(TI): temporary inactive list
(SL): suspended list
(RL): restricted list
(MIL): military list
(TO): tryout player not under contract
(L) left-handed pitcher
bold: on the Cardinals’ 40-man roster
(#+#) number of active players on the roster plus number of inactive/not under contract (DL+TI+SL+RL+MIL+TO) players

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Who cares about a face of the Cardinals franchise?

Last weekend during Winter Warm-Up, I listened to several media members quiz various St. Louis Cardinals players as to who they felt would become the new “face of the franchise” now that Albert Pujols (and Tony La Russa) have departed.

(In one artificial measure, Pujols is the only person to appear on the cover of  the Cardinals Media Guide in each of the last three years. Stan Musial was also pictured twice.)

I want to be clear that I have never heard anyone even remotely connected to the team mention the phrase “face of the franchise,” even in jest. Yet some writers obviously came in with this idea firmly planted in their heads and sure enough, they followed through.

Do a Google search on the term and you will find half a dozen articles from the last few days about this very subject. I am not listing them here, as I don’t want to single one out. They are all pretty much the same other than drawing different conclusions as to the eventual winner, perhaps.

It does provide a safe vehicle to create a laundry list of “candidates” and string some quotes together during a very dry period for real news, but that is about it. No, here is how I really feel. I thought the concept was stupid then and actually felt a bit uncomfortable for the players when the questions were being asked. After reading a few of the articles, I feel even more strongly now.

If there is such a thing as a face of any franchise, it has to be earned on the field, and hopefully off as well. Leadership isn’t something that is proclaimed by a teammate or worse, a writer.

After all, this isn’t the Pittsburgh Pirates we are talking about here, a team that hasn’t had a winning record in 19 years. This is a proven, consistent winner. If you want a face, how about using the 2011 World Championship trophy?

If a true leader of the St. Louis Cardinals emerges down the road, it happens. If it doesn’t, as long as the team continues to win, who really cares?

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Cardinals Winter Warm-Up photos: Sunday, 1/15

A repeat of the first day – with different photos, of course. St. Louis Cardinals photos from Sunday’s second session of the 2012 Winter Warm-Up at St. Louis’ Hyatt Regency at the Arch.

Included in row order below are Matt Adams, Brandon Dickson, Daniel Descalso, J.C. Romero, Shelby Miller, Jon Jay,  Jason Motte and Shane Robinson, with more to come throughout the day.

The Cardinal Nation subscribers should check out on the main site where I loaded the comments from each of the above Sunday speakers. I did the same Saturday and expect do so for Monday as well.

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