TOWER GROVE — It would be tempting to begin any look at the St. Louis Cardinals’ bullpen and its search for additional power sources with the fact that the Cardinals relievers had the fewest strikeouts of any bullpen in the National League. Their 340 were the least in the majors by 21 behind Tampa Bay.

While that stat is telling, it’s not entirely revealing.

The Cardinals’ relievers also had to pitch the fewest innings of any bullpen….

TOWER GROVE — The wealth of information available on Baseball-Reference.com offered an intriguing kernel yesterday when I was digging around the numbers for today’s article on St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Ryan Ludwick. The goal was to find a snapshot of his consistency in 2008 vs. what he called a “real hot-cold season” in 2009 (check that .200 average in June). Not too far away from those stats, I found this:

Ludwick in wins 2008: BA .373…

TOWER GROVE — As detailed in the first of Joe Strauss’ post-season autopsies on the St. Louis Cardinals, manager Tony La Russa said a year he enjoyed with a team he professed a fondness for “from Day 1 of spring training really” left a sour, morning-mouth taste because of the way things finished. Not just the sweep in the National League Division Series, but specifically the performance in Game 3 of the playoffs.

“The first two games…

DOWNTOWN — His losing battle with the mechanics of his delivery and that 105-pitch slog through Game 1 of this National League Division Series was so uncharacteristic of the St. Louis Cardinals ace Chris Carpenter that he can speak with some authority about how he’ll pitch Sunday.

“I’ll be better,” he said.

Manager Tony La Russa announced this afternoon that if Cardinals stave off elimination tonight and force a Game 4 for Sunday afternoon Carpenter will get…

DOWNTOWN — The Los Angeles Dodgers have found the best way to neutralize the best bat in the game is to yield to the inevitable — put him on base. The St. Louis Cardinals have decided they know how to take a different tack with the most prolific postseason hitter of his era.

They think they can keep him off base.

“No chance,” said Adam Wainwright when asked about how he and his team have approached Manny…

PASADENA — When the National League Cy Young Award ballots — which were due yesterday — are tabulated, St. Louis Cardinals budding ace Adam Wainwright may win his first, cementing his arrival as one of the game’s elite starting starting pitchers.

LA’s Clayton Kershaw won’t be far behind.

If this National League Division Series is a stage for young players to burst onto the October scene — Matt Kemp? Skip Schumaker? anyone? — no two figure to…

LOS ANGELES — Through an intermediary, St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Troy Glaus has received suggestions from pinch-hitter guru — and, you’ll recall, hitting coach to the stars (OK, well, Shaq) — John Mabry. In the past week or so, Joe Thurston picked Mabry’s brain for suggestions on how to better prepare to be all but exclusively a pinch hitter, and he took that info to Glaus.

Mabry, as he has done with others since his time…

TOWER GROVE — Asked Sunday morning if his lineup would look a little different if the St. Louis Cardinals were playing a team out of contention, manager Tony La Russa paused, rolled his eyes toward the ceiling, and finally acknowledged: Probably.

If he didn’t offer a complete answer, he’ll start today.

Of the five teams either in the playoffs or in the playoff picture (looking at you Colorado and Atlanta), the Cardinals are the only team that…

TOWER GROVE — The St. Louis Cardinals are 15 wins away from becoming the fourth franchise in baseball history to win 10,000 games and only the second to do so without changing their address. Unless, that is, you asked the Cardinals.

Entering this season, the Cardinals and their opponent tonight, the Los Angeles Dodgers, were in a race to reach 10,000. The Dodgers, with a 29-win head start, got their more than a month ago and…