TOWER GROVE — Of all the statistical bubblegum that is packed into Bill James’ annual Handbooks, among the best to chew over and stretch to the point of popping is the predictions for the coming season.

ACTA Sports recently emailed me the 2010 predictions for several members of the 2009 St. Louis Cardinals — predictions that are featured in Bill James Handbook 2010 — and while it doesn’t take a “statistical oracle” (as The Wall Street Journal…

TOWER GROVE — Judging from some of the comments at the tails of the first three Bird Land Community Top 21 polls, one question continues to perplex many voters: What age is too aged to be a prospect?

There is no real answer.

The St. Louis Cardinals, as described by farm director Jeff Luhnow, have studied how high-end players — the top-notch, elite, standout prospects — reach the majors in their early 20s, and how they excel…

TOWER GROVE — It started as a cumbersome, at-times chaotic, count-by-hand poll posted in the Cardinals’ message board here at StlToday.com. Through four years and four attempts to refine the process it has improved to an at-times cumbersome and slightly less chaotic poll based here at Bird Land.

But, hey, we no longer have to count it by hand. Viva technology.

With the St. Louis Cardinals’ season over with the sudden sweep by the Los Angeles Dodgers,…

LOS ANGELES –For Troy Glaus, it has been seven years. For John Smoltz, it’s 17.

The two St. Louis Cardinals veterans know a thing or seven about what it takes to be successful in the postseason, and they each have personal hardware as an October spoil. Glaus won the World Series MVP in 2002 with the Los Angeles Angels, and Smoltz, the winningest postseason pitcher ever, won the National League Championship Series MVP back in 1992….

HOUSTON — With 2009 speeding to a close, discussions about the decade behind us are already popping up. Some baseball writers, like Sports Illustrated’s Tom Verducci’s have picked their Team of the Aughts, others have just explored who might be the Player of the Decade. Here we’ve been convicted of over-stating the Decade Triple Crown notion (scroll down).

Time to look at the bigger picture.

In the past week or 10 days, the St. Louis Cardinals have clinched the…

TOWER GROVE — St. Louis Cardinals starter John Smoltz returns to the rotation tonight a few days earlier than expected and into a situation that isn’t entirely surprising, he explained the other day. A veteran of these September marches to the postseason, Smoltz admitted he would “stoked” to pitch in the game that cinched a postseason berth.

But slumps happen, he said. And instead of being a clincher tonight, the Cardinals need him to be a stopper.

The…

TOWER GROVE — The St. Louis Cardinals have trailed their opponent 49 times this season entering the ninth inning. And 46 times whoever the Cardinals are facing goes on to win the game. Earlier this season the conclusions were often as quick as they were inevitable.

Three times — three times in 49 — the Cardinals have rallied to win.

All three have been since Matt Holliday arrived.

The Cardinals concluded a lengthy and wet day at the…

TOWER GROVE — The latest of the managers to experiment with the Tony La Russa-advocated lineup that has the pitcher batting eighth is none other than Los Angeles Dodgers skipper Joe Torre. During his visit to Busch Stadium in the past home stand, Torre even chided La Russa, saying that just as other managers are seeing the light of the Crazy 8 lineup, La Russa has abandoned it.

“Now that you’ve finally convinced me to hit…

HOUSTON — By now you’ve read that St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa gets an upset tummy when it comes to the salvos of criticism launched against outfielder Chris Duncan. His point, while somewhat lost in the colorful description of his digestive troubles, is that Duncan is not alone in his slump.

True enough.

Like May, like some of June, like so much of this season, a handful of Cardinals are a drag on the lineup…

HOUSTON — He has been the torchbearer for the St. Louis Cardinals’ revamped minor-league system since the moment they took him 28th overall in the 2005 draft, and center fielder Colby Rasmus hasn’t been overcome or buckled by the expectations because he isn’t overcome or buckled by much.

Sometimes he has to be checked for a pulse.

Quiet, reserved and careful with his comments, the Cardinals’ rookie is making a bid to win the National League Rookie…

MEMPHIS — This season, the Memphis Redbirds are offering a tour of their history measured in bobbleheads. On Tuesday night, with Round Rock in town, the Redbirds gave fans a John Gall bobbleheader. Early bobbleheads have included “Nostalgia Man”, the Memphis logo, and all-time Memphis star Stubby Clapp, whose No. 10 is retired in these parts.

Coming up on the calendar are bobbleheads for former Redbirds Adam Wainwright, Jason Motte, and for coach Dyar Miller, who…

TOWER GROVE — The St. Louis Cardinals will play their final home game before the All-Star break tonight and they will leave town having played exactly half of their regular-season schedule. They’ve made a trade that should impact their lineup. They just got the best start from Adam Wainwright of the season. They continue to be a vapor-locked offense. They are rife with questions, especially for a contender.

But quietly, as July 2 and the halfway…

DOWNTOWN — Almost three years to the date before the St. Louis Cardinals current outfielder phenom Colby Rasmus was born in Georgia, a once- and always-young Cardinals lefthanded-hitting phenom rookie was about to launch a game-winning home run in the 10th inning.

Andy Van Slyke, starting at third base and batting No. 3, already had three runs scored and two hits when he came to the plate in the 10th inning of the August 18, 1983…

DOWNTOWN — There was the play made up the middle in the ninth inning Tuesday that sent second baseman Skip Schumaker far to his right to glove the grounder and fire rapidly for the out. There was any of the three hits that Chris Duncan had, including his home run in the sixth inning. There was the single by Rick Ankiel, the save over the weekend by Ryan Franklin, the standout job at shortstop by…

TOWER GROVE — The St. Louis Cardinals inexplicably annual interleague series against the Detroit Tigers begins tonight at Busch Stadium. It will be the Tigers’ first visit to the Cardinals’ crib since Brandon Inge waved past an Adam Wainwright slider and good bye to the 2006 World Series.

But it’s not like the Cardinals haven’t seen the Motown Nine since then.

In a constant quirk of interleague play, the Cardinals continue to play Detroit every season. This…