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 – 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…

HOUSTON — Earlier this afternoon on the outskirts of New Orleans, Cardinals’ minor leaguer Nick Stavinoha — a familiar name in those parts because of his turn as a slugger at LSU — put two bits of news on the Zephyr Field scoreboard. First, he drove in Triple-A Memphis first run in a 2-0 victory. And then a short time later …

Well, here’s how the official release from the New Orleans Zephyrs put it:

Stavinoha,…

DOWNTOWN — The Cardinals four highest minor-league affiliates will open their regular seasons today, and already there was a move of some consequence.

Trey Hearne, who became something of an Internet darling in 2006 with his performance at Low-A Quad Cities, will pitch this season in the Mexican League. The righthander reported to Minatitlan, the same club outfielder Amaury Marti started with last summer. The Cardinals were lacking innings to give the starter, so they…

The final Vuch Report of spring comes with a sting. But it could have been worse.

The Cardinals minor leaguers concluded their spring training Sunday with scrimmages – one of which featured two major-league pitchers opposing each other — and a full, frontal assault by some of the locals. In the eighth inning of the Memphis-Palm Beach game, the benches cleared and players raced for cover. That is where John Vuch, an eyewitness, takes up the story:

A swarm…

JUPITER, Fla. — Back in 2005, Ryan Ludwick had his best shot yet at the big-league club. He was on the team coming out of spring training, had survived the surge of a young turk named Grady Sizemore and was going to get a chance to hit into more playing time and see where more playing time took him.

And then, after 41 at-bats with Cleveland, the following transactions took place on May 31:

CLE – Activated OF JUAN GONZALEZ…

JUPITER, Fla. — The news this morning wasn’t so much who was on the lineup card, but who wasn’t at their lockers anymore in the clubhouse.

The Cardinals made two reassignments to the minor-league camp this morning, putting both righthanded pitchers Cliff Politte and Chris Perez in Triple-A Memphis. Politte got encouraging words before his assignment as the team told him they needed him to go there, get innings and he’ll “pitch in the big…

FORT MYERS, Fla. — After Brad Thompson has had a particularly difficult inning or just returned from a disastrous at-bat, Aaron Miles will eye the righthander from down the bench. Thompson knows he’s watching, waiting … for the fume.

It just hasn’t been there this spring.

“OK, I like it,” Miles tells him. “I like it.”

Thompson admits he’s been known to be a bit hotheaded on the mound or in the dugout. His body…

JUPITER, Fla. — A common practice this time of spring is plucking players from the minor-league camp to provide depth for the major-league games. Most often that minor leaguer comes in late in the games, if at all. Every so often, under special circumstances, that minor leaguer will start.

Today is one of those.

Wanting to give Rick Ankiel and Skip Schumaker a day off from the outfield, manager Tony La Russa fetched top prospect…

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — For the better part of a week, manager Tony La Russa has deflected any questions about the roster or the makeup of the bullpen or his exact thinking with the lineup with the simple phrase: “That is one of those for Wednesday.”

Well, it’s Wednesday.

Time for some of the answers.

The Cardinals begin the final sprint of exhibition games here in the Grapefruit League with a trip to Lauderdale to…