JUPITER, Fla. — What with its keystone combination of Rogers Hornsby and Ozzie Smith leading the way — batting .346 and .325, respectively — and center fielder Jim Edmonds topping the team with 10 home runs and 47 RBIs, the St. Louis Cardinals would appear to be a virtual juggernaut in the virtual world of Seamheads.com’s (simulated) Historical League.

And, yet, the ‘Birds are struggling. Could be that injury to Stan Musial.

Hall of Famer Rick Hummel is at…

TOWER GROVE — By definition, any list of the top 10 or top 30 prospects within the St. Louis Cardinals system is flawed. The concept itself has one glaring weakness: Cardinals prospects are compared only against Cardinals prospects, leaving the reader to wonder if a top-10 talent here is a top-five talent in Cleveland? Maybe a top 20 talent in Boston … and so on.

Rankings prospects within an organization has value. It just doesn’t have…

TOWER GROVE — The community ranking of the St. Louis Cardinals’ Top 30 prospects takes up a lot of time and many entries during its run, leaving so many things unanswered or unexplored. With the end of the Bird Land Community Top 30 coming last week, the blog is freed up for that sprint toward Valentine’s Day and the moment pitchers/catchers report.

But before Jupiter — a mere month away — there are some loose ends…

LAS VEGAS — In their past 420 games, a stretch that reaches all the way back deep into that golden season of 2006, the St. Louis Cardinals have had a grand total of ZERO games started and won by a lefthanded pitcher.

Since Mark Mulder won his start on June 15, 2006, the Cardinals have trotted out Mike Maroth, Randy Keisler, Jaime Garcia and Mulder (a few times) to make starts. That group has made 15 starts total…

TOWER GROVE — The list of players offered arbitration is in, with 24 free agents getting the notice from their former teams and not one St. Louis Cardinal. While the deadline revealed more about who won’t be a Cardinal in 2009 than who will be, the list of players not offered arbitration will expand the Cardinals’ shopping list.

Houston opted not to give Randy Wolf an arbitration offer and the Astros, with Mike Hampton on the way,…

SOUTH GRAND — One of the assets that the St. Louis Cardinals planned to have in their bullpen last season was a sinister slider thrown from the left side that could confound and muzzle the best lefthanded sluggers in the game. It was a real, surefire strikeout pitch against lefties. The Cardinals had a guy who could throw it. The Cardinals certainly had reason to need it.

Then Tyler Johnson started feeling some discomfort in his left…

TOWER GROVE — When I found myself trying to decide between Miguel Batista and Aaron Cook as my No. 5 starter while others were wondering if Cy Young or Steve Carlton would fill out their rotation or whether Randy Johnson has a place in their bullpen, I knew I was out of my league.

In the coming weeks, we’ll have Opening Day of the Seamheads.com Historical Baseball League. Bill James’ all-time Boston Red Sox roster will face Curt…

TOWER GROVE — As the doors to Major League Baseball’s free-agent marketplace swing open Friday, the St. Louis Cardinals plan a bee-line to the lefthanded reliever auction, where they will find plenty of other bidders looking to beef-up on that same side of the bullpen.

The Cardinals have been rather public with their plan to address holes on the left-side of the bullpen via free agency — because why deny what the depth chart reveals? Renovating…

TOWER GROVE — Chicago Cubs manager Lou Piniella, who guided the denizens of Wrigley Field to a league-best 97-64 record and their first back-to-back playoff appearances since 1908, won the National League Manager of the Year award in a vote of baseball writers announced this afternoon. The award is Piniella’s third Manager of the Year award, putting him one behind the record — jointly held by St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa and Atlanta…

SOUTH GRAND — Would have had the weekly PostCards posted much earlier this morning if the first question — from the sharp, witty and ever-adept keyboard of regular Frank Fuhrig, of course — had not been as much a homework assignment as a question.

It’s written less for a mailbag and more for a syllabus.

One element of the St. Louis Cardinals’ interest/chances in landing San Diego ace Jake Peavy is the amount of money the Cardinals…

TOWER GROVE — When San Diego decided it had to explore trading Cy Young Award-winning ace Jake Peavy, the first hurdle to clear was the righthander’s no-trade clause. The Padres approached Peavy’s agent, Barry Axelrod, who told me the other night that Peavy, when requested supplied a list of five teams, all in the National League.

The St. Louis Cardinals, as has been reported, were on that list. They were one of Peavy’s Fave 5.

That alone…

DOWNTOWN — Less than two full seasons ago, outfielder Daryl Jones was a one-time, blue-chip football prospect struggling to hit .200 at Low-A baseball for the second consecutive summer. He didn’t waver from his choice to slog through the minors over catching passes for a major college. He believed like the Cardinals’ coaches and Cardinals’ front office believed – he had all the tools for baseball. Things just had to click.

Well, apparently, they clicked.

The Cardinals named Jones their organization player…

TOWER GROVE – By not playing at all or only seeing limited duty as a pinch hitter this weekend, Atlanta third baseman Chipper Jones will almost certainly avoid what happened to him a year ago.

Barring one memorable weekend by Albert Pujols, that is.

Last season, Colorado’s Matt Holliday edged Jones on the final weekend for the National League batting title. The chase technically went down to game No. 163, in which the Rockies defeated San Diego for the wild-card tiebreaker….

TOWER GROVE — During their four-game sweep of the Cardinals back in July, the Milwaukee Brewers’ brand of celebration caught eyes on the other side of the field and in the stands. After the final out of the game, the Brewers would whip out the tails of their jerseys emphatically and then go about the customary glove slaps, hand shakes, hugs and fist pounds.

The untucking of the jerseys has become a bit of a Brewer…

GRAND CENTER — There were only eight games scheduled Monday around the majors, and not one had the look of must-see TV.

Once San Diego Padres righthander Jake Peavy was scratched from his start against the Cardinals, the day lacked a bona fide ace — though Tampa Bay’s James Shields would qualify if he had the Q-rating to match his ERA. Only two of the eight games featured two teams with winnings records pitted against each…