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:

***

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…

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…

JUPITER, Fla. — Since he wasn’t one any more, Cardinals’ pitcher Kyle McClellan didn’t have to attend a relievers meeting earlier this spring, and when all of his former chums were away he seized a chance to mingle.

He pulled up a chair next to Chris Carpenter and asked if the former Cy Young Award winner had a few minutes to answer questions.

They were still talking 40 minutes later.

“We talked strategy,” McClellan said….

JUPITER, Fla. — No need to dress this up with campaign buttons and bumper stickers. You know the candidates. After the past few days, you certainly are well versed in the issues (See: Miklasz, Bernie).  The Cardinals’ starting rotation has two openings and four leading candidates, one of whom — Matt Clement – has had what the manager agreed was a setback this week.

The Cardinals believe they can get through April and all the…

DOWNTOWN — The curtain pulled back and the Cardinals’ new third baseman was unleashed to an adoring public.

Or, maybe it was vice versa.

A standing ovation greeted Troy Glaus, the first headliner of the 12th annual Winter Warm-Up. Glaus, acquired this week in a trade with the Toronto Blue Jays, made his first public appearance as a Cardinal at the Millennium Hotel this morning, shortly before 11 a.m. local time.

“Welcome to baseball heaven!” shouted…

TOWER GROVE — Unless the Cardinals add a starting pitcher in the coming weeks, they will arrive at spring training with as much hope as guaranteed innings in their starting rotation.

And if the past season taught us anything, hope doesn’t make his scheduled starts.

This is the rotation as I write this blog:

1. Adam Wainwright, RHP
2. Matt Clement, RHP
3. Braden Looper, RHP
4. Joel Pineiro, RHP
5. Mark Mulder, LHP

Mulder is listed as the No. 5 starter because the Cardinals’…

TOWER GROVE — On Monday, the Cardinals and anyone else who coveted him got an eyeful of why Jake Westbrook was destined to be one of the most sought after free agents this coming winter. He held Boston to two runs during 6 2/3 innings of work for the Cleveland Indians.

And, take a breath sinker aficionados (sinkeristas? sinkerthusiasts?), Westbrook coaxed 14 groundouts.

He  got three inning-ending double plays.

No wonder he’s been on the…

TOWER GROVE — More than four months into the season and the questions surrounding the Cardinals haven’t changed in tone from the ones PostCards received four months before the start of the season. Oh, the names have changed. The statistics have changed. The situation has changed. But the subject hasn’t.

It’s the pitching, stupid.

As Anthony Reyes works his way toward the fourth inning and his second start in his third audition of the summer,…

TOWER GROVE — When Mark Mulder signed with the Cardinals this past winter, one of the glossed-over results of the deal was the club had its preferred rotation under contract at least through 2008, and potentially through 2009.

Mulder’s signing came after Chris Carpenter’s extension. Braden Looper was moving into the rotation and he’s signed through 2008, and youngsters Adam Wainwright and Anthony Reyes had years to go before being arbitration eligible. The five-man rotation…

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…