TOWER GROVE — A day after watching on television as Cardinals closer Jason Isringhausen riddled the Houston Astros with sinister curveballs for his fourth save of the season — another in a line of what were no-sweat saves — I was in Houston and asked Isringhausen why so many curves?

“I think it was only five,” Isringhausen said. “Not that many. But now if it jinxes me, I know who to blame. If it’s going…

DOWNTOWN — As this Sunday night game careens toward a save situation, it’s fitting that we talk late picks who made it to the majors. Cardinals closer Jason Isringhausen wears No. 44 because that’s where he was drafted by the New York Mets — as a position player promptly flipped into a pitcher, a Gen-K pitcher.

That was the spirit of the PCQ asked with last week’s mailbag.

The highest Cardinals’ draft pick to make…

DOWNTOWN – Not too often the Cardinals wake up on the last day of April with a chance to make a little franchise history. But that’s the case today.

The Cardinals won their 17th game of April last night against the Reds. It came in a 7-2 victory that saw manager Tony La Russa tinker just enough with his lineup to add depth of power and watch it work. That win tied a franchise record for…

SOUTH GRAND — Starting with a possible trade partner that probably doesn’t have what the Cardinals are looking for and ending with a question about the chances of a fan-favorite outfielder trying on an infielder’s glove, this week’s edition of the mailbag is loaded with all manner of things middle infield.

Oh, and there is also an advocacy of a four-man rotation.

Reliever Russ Springer is back. Rico Washington gave everyone a great story. And…

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…

TOWER GROVE – The PostCards inbin was overrun with spam and the Cyrillic alphabet – who knew four years of Russian would help me wade through questions for a baseball mailbag? спасибо Большое. One email that had the subject line: “Thanks Houston/We Have Liftoff!”

Thought for sure that was a love letter to Brandon Backe. But no.

It was a religious group’s mass email with a space travel pun. Houston? Liftoff? Getit? Dah. (Just wait until…

JUPITER, Fla. — On the second pitch of Todd Wellemeyer’s first throw to hitters this spring, Albert Pujols reminded him of the simple joy of a L-screen.

Pujols ripped a fastball right back at Wellemeyer, nearly singeing the righthander’s hair as it rocketed by his face. Wellemeyer got a glove up, but Pujols’ liner had already passed over second base on its way to the outfield.

“Moved me from bullpen mode to game mode, real…