DOWNTOWN — Back on Oct. 8, just a little bit after pitching coach Dave Duncan agreed to his new contract, a poll went up in this blog asking the simple question: Who closes? Some 1,300 readers voted and “anointed” Chris Perez the closer with 42 percent of the vote. (Brian Fuentes finished third, one spot behind where the Cardinals finished for his services.)

That poll, meant as a prelude to the St. Louis Cardinals’ search this winter,…

TOWER GROVE — Earlier this week, St. Louis Cardinals pitching coach Dave Duncan did the radio rounds and spoke about the closer role, closer candidates, the rotation and how so much hinges on the shoulder of Chris Carpenter. He also had a telling comment about his retooled bullpen. Asked in an interview on 101 ESPN if he was confident with the new-look left side of his bullpen, Duncan answered plainly, realistically.

He said he does not…

TOWER GROVE — The closer market gained sudden speed in Las Vegas at the Baseball Winter Meetings with the New York Mets landing Francisco Rodriguez to close and then elbowing aside contenders like the St. Louis Cardinals and Detroit to trade for Seattle closer J.J. Putz, adding him as a setup reliever. At the same time, the Cleveland Indians pounced on Kerry Wood to handle their ninth innings and then …

Nothing. Silence. Impatience. Little more than whispers,…

TOWER GROVE — The big baseball headlines this morning on the West Coast cast a shadow here in St. Louis as that Orange County baseball club — the Angels of Anaheim — have officially withdrawn from the courtship of first baseman Mark Teixeira, the best ballplayer remaining on the free-agent market.

Numerous reports, including this one from Yahoo! Sports, say that the Angels have removed their eight-year offer to the first baseman. Boston reached a similar…