TOWER GROVE — During instructs a few weeks ago in Jupiter, Fla., the Cardinals lined up a group of minor leagues at home plate. Coaches readied their stopwatches. Thumbs poised over the plungers. From his usual side of the plate, the player was going to sprint from the batter’s box to first.

The coaches let a pitcher try his cleats at the dash, too.

He dusted almost everybody.

Samuel (Sam) Freeman, a lefty, may have been the best…

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 Brendan Ryan…

TOWER GROVE — While we check around the house to see if anything has been shaken loose, shaken up or shaken down, here are some riffs from the ballpark:

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When David Eckstein became a Cardinal, the team discussed with him a way to increase his arm strength. The shortstop who had a “playable” arm — manager Tony La Russa’s word — and a max-effort motion improved his arm during his three seasons as a Cardinal by going on…

JUPITER, Fla. — Cardinals catcher Jason LaRue spent some time in Cincinnati with the pitcher who will be a Cardinal if he passes a physical scheduled for Friday here in Jupiter, and LaRue has a familiar take on Kyle Lohse.

“He’s got great stuff,” he said.

As reported by Joe Strauss over at The Post-Dispatch main sports page, the Cardinals have agreed to terms on a one-year deal with Lohse, pending a physical that will be held…

TOWER GROVE — A brief detour before we plunge back into the Decisions (in) 2008 facing the Cardinals. It’s a topic sure to be watched, analyzed and debated all summer long. After a offseason of shedding its stars, the Cardinals almost beg the question themselves:

What former Cardinal is set to have the biggest year with his new team?

There are many candidates; most are of the comeback variety. Will Scott Rolen’s healthier mood mean a healthier shoulder and healthier…

TOWER GROVE — A reminder of the Cardinals possible future was in Nashville yesterday, a free agent selling his services to the gathered general managers.

Outfielder Steve Finley, who rejected acceptance to a prestigious chiropractor school ot pursue a career in baseball, visited the Opryland this week to talk with club executives about his desire to keep playing, at 42. It’s a name that has not only been mentioned as a prospective Cardinal, in the past,…

MIAMI — So that second-half surge the Cardinals planned to ride back into the race took a hit on the field (many of them really) and off the field this past weekend in Philadelphia. That’s some tone the Cardinals set for the back stretch.

Poor starts. Errors. Routs.

And that doesn’t include the return of Chris Carpenter, which got delayed because of a setback in his surgically repaired right elbow. Now the Cardinals are braced for Mark…

TOWER GROVE — The Cardinals return to action tonight and with ESPN looming Sunday, the Pujols-La Russa Storyline will have legs for a few more days. It certainly has spawned another round of questions for the daily mailbag here.

But they’ve gotten more detailed, less knee-jerk.

There’s more going on than just the ninth inning of the All-Star Game, of course. And hindsight is becoming a competitive sport in these parts. So we start PostCards Daily there…

TOWER GROVE — Two years from today, the midsummer classic — a national holiday as far as I’m concerned — will be in full swing not too far from where I’m writing today’s mailbag. We’ll just be coming off our Home Run Derby hangover and eager for that night’s All-Star Game.

But what will those righthanded sluggers have had to aim at?

Will Ballpark Village be up and vibrant and inviting Albert Pujols to launch a baseball…

TOWER GROVE — After taking three of four from Arizona, manager Tony La Russa told the assembled members of the Fourth Estate that those wins “were only important” if the Cardinals made the most of the weekend series against last-place San Francisco.

They didn’t.

So, what could have been a 5-2 homestand that gobbled up games in the quest for .500, instead became a salvage of sorts with a 4-3 record with only one game gained. Not…

TOWER GROVE — It’s a safe bet that among the first things manager Tony La Russa will do when he sees Scott Spiezio today is see if the utility fielder’s finger is well enough to take some swings tonight. Any scan of the Cardinals’ career numbers against Arizona’s possible starter tonight — lefty Randy Johnson — reveals Spiezio has a good chance to start somewhere, anywhere tonight …

If his infected finger will let him.

The Cardinals, as…

TOWER GROVE —  It probably was the lackluster loss to  the Kansas City Royals that did it. Here was a  5-3 loss that  assures the Royals of, at worst, a split of the season series and there was nothing  horrific for the Cardinals to pin the loss on. It wasn’t a fluke  play or a  pitcher burnout or even  a dominant start.

It just was a loss.

The Royals played better. They had more timely hitting. Juan…

(Or, They Had, They Wanted, They Got, Vol. II)

TOWER GROVE — The Cardinals had such high hopes. From afar they had complimented him. From afar they raved about his ability, his stuff. From afar they saw a talented pitcher yearning for direction, yearning to be outfitted with what he would come to call “a better plan”. From afar they coveted him.

His closeup, however, has been an utter  calamity.

The curious case of Kip Wells continued —…

DOWNTOWN  – The Cardinals pursuit of pitching this offseason got much of the ink — and rightfully so as the club did what so few other World Series champs have done: renovate a whole rotation — but with the offensive sputters the team has had, I wondered if there was a move not made that would have altered the look of the Cardinals’ lineup.

Manager Tony La Russa, when asked, answered: Well, actually, yes.

In addition to…

TOWER GROVE - Just as the Cardinals have not seen a change in their play over the past seven games, a week’s hiatus has not changed the tone of the letters concerning the Cardinals from concerned Cardinal fans.

Some choose to let their eyes and their Qs wander to the future.

Others wonder what happened in the past to cause this present.

To better fit within the baseball week’s schedule, the mailbag is shifting to Tuesdays. In this…