SOUTH GRAND — Trying to get better at the shorter, punchier, quicker entries when possible. So while working on an entry that will appear in a few minutes, I realized that these bits of notes I collected this morning were just sitting there. Sooner rather than longer, here goes … Some quick Riffs:

Today is Stan Musial’s 88th birthday. Play a tune on the nearest harmonica, mimic the swing, look at those statistics, find your favorite “88″ in his numbers, do something to mark The Day for The Man. … Ryan Howard called Albert Pujols recently to congratulate him on winning the MVP. …

Cesar Izturis, the Cardinals shortstop this past season, tops the Baltimore Orioles’ list for their opening in the infield, according to Jeff Zrebiec in this morning’s Baltimore Sun. Like other teams in need of a shortstop, the Orioles seem to expect the price of Rafael Furcal to climb. He’s drawn intense interest from San Francisco. … Yahoo! baseball writer Jeff Passan has the rundown of the other teams that have courted Furcal. The Cardinals are not listed, but they have investigated what Furcal is looking for in an offer. … As colleague Joe Strauss, Mr. Mizzou Hoops, has reported, conversations between the Atlanta Braves and Cardinals about Ryan Ludwick still have a pulse. That was reiterated by AJC music man/baseball writer David O’Brien in his comment-crazed Braves Blog. … The Raul Ibanez connection to the Cardinals does not make much sense to several sources I spoke to. … Aaron Heilman wants to start or he wants to be traded, according to Adam Rubin in The New York Daily News.

Mike Mussina retires, Barry Sanders-like, after the first 20-win season of his career. …

Hal Pilger, from the The State Journal-Register, reports that catcher Justin Knoedler has signed a minor-league deal with the Cardinals and has received an invitation to major-league camp, not unusual for a catcher. Knoedler, a Springfield, Ill., native, has been in the majors in three previous seasons, all with San Francisco and most recently in 2006. … Major League Baseball is going to rewrite the rules so that All-Star games and playoff games must be played at least until the conclusion of the ninth inning to be official. Where have you heard that before? … David Freese cut short his participation in the Venezuelan Winter League and returned to St. Louis to have Cardinals’ doctors look at a sore wrist. The Cardinals said the soreness won’t prohibit Freese from being ready fo spring training. …

In case you didn’t see, the laundering of former Cardinals continues north of the border. First, Cody Haerther is plucked off waivers by the Toronto Blue Jays and then a few days later he returns to the Cardinals. Then, David Eckstein is signed up there only to be dealt to Arizona later in the season. This week, the Jays took Kelvin Jimenez off waivers only to pass him through a few days later and have the White Sox claim him. Better have those bags packed Scott.

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