DOWNTOWN — Even though they cannot commit to his glove, the Cardinals had Brett Wallace’s bat in their crosshairs for the 13th pick for awhile. They figured only one thing could keep Wallace from being their first selection in this year’s draft.

Those so-called Moneyball guys out in Oakland.

As the players the Cardinals expected to go early in Thursday’s first round came off the board, the Cardinals narrowed their choice at 13 to two players – Wallace…

TOWER GROVE — Albert Pujols came one walk shy last summer of a first in his career, a 100-walk season. This season, he’ll get there by August.

Pujols has 13 walks in 54 plate appearances so far — so early — this month. Take his average season of 677 plate appearances and at his current rate he’ll walk 163 times this year. That would break by one base on balls the franchise record, set in…

DOWNTOWN — His convertible just pulled up last, the tail end of today’s ceremonial player introductions. Clearly the order was not selected by Opening Day performance.

Cardinals infielder Aaron Miles will make the third Opening Day start of his career today, and he brings an uncanny streak of performances into it. He’s yet to make a start on the first afternoon of the season and not get at least five hits. A couple doubles? Sigh….

JUPITER, Fla. — When Colby Rasmus dug in against the crafty veteran in Tuesday’s game, the Cardinals’ could-be rookie outfielder had a simple plan.

“Just trying to work the count,” he said, grinning. “Get a good pitch to hit.”

Of course, the purpose of the coach-pitch game is to have plenty of pitches to hit and plenty of action for the defense. Many of the Cardinals’ younger players and non-roster invitees squared off in the…

JUPITER, Fla. — In the fallout of baseball’s nuclear winter of steroid revelations, apologies and denials, spring training has added a new tradition.

It’s the Mitchell moment.

During the first weeks of spring training, a handful of teams have had a player mentioned in the Mitchell Report arrive and answer a salvo of questions about being cited in the record of baseball’s Steroid Era. If it appears like more of those stories are coming out of Cardinals…

JUPITER, Fla. — Say this about pitcher Anthony Reyes’ first time throwing to hitters this spring: He was able to put the ball over the plate.

“I felt pretty good,” he said. “I had some command I’m not really used to having.”

Reyes, who is trying to stick as a starter this season, threw 40 pitches Thursday, starting the next-to-last wave of starters throwing to batters. The righthander, just a few years removed from being the buzz of spring training, has…

TOWER GROVE — Finally, a baseball player is pointing his finger with a purpose.

In a refreshing take on the news bombarding baseball this winter, Boston Red Sox third baseman Mike Lowell – who has a World Series MVP to stand on when he makes comments – told The Associated Press he knows what it’s like to play under suspicion of use. He also wondered, directly, why baseball players are subjected to different standards:

“I’m not sensitive to it,…

TOWER GROVE — When baseball anthropologists exhume this point in history, carbon dating will show the steroid era transitioning into the straw-poll era.

It’s already started.

Before anyone could finish the second 100 pages of former Senator George Mitchell’s massive volume, reporters were cold-calling their peers for thoughts on the Hall of Fame voting. ESPN.com had a rundown on thoughts from voters, and its poll concluded that Roger Clemens – whose Cooperstown-bound career takes the…

TOWER GROVE — On Wednesday, some agents gathered in Manhattan, according to reports,  for what amounted to a weather report on the storm ahead for Major League Baseball and, excuse the pun, its juiciest time of year.

Turns out Alex Rodriguez isn’t the biggest name in baseball this winter.  

George Mitchell is.

Sometime before the end of the year, former Senator Mitchell is expected to release his report, 18 months in the making, on…

TOWER GROVE — It’s a good rule of thumb that to be league MVP a player must first be team MVP.

If it only the National League favorites had at least the latter accomplished.

One of  baseball’s “new math” statistics that has gained popularity and credence is Baseball Prospectus’  VORP, or Value of Over Replacement Player. The Cardinals’ first  baseman and sudden MVP candidate Albert Pujols ranks fourth in the  NL with a 56.9 VORP. It’s easily the…