TOWER GROVE — Five thousand at-bats into his career, baseball great Babe Ruth had already shattered home run records and set the gobsmacking standard with his 60 homers in 1927. He had also been a two-time 20-game winner as a pitcher for the Boston Red Sox.

Five thousand at-bats into his career, the Splendid Splinter Ted Williams had his .406-average season and two Triple Crowns. Five thousand at-bats into their careers, Hall of Famer Hank Greenberg…

TOWER GROVE — It was only last year, barely more than 13 months ago, that the St. Louis Cardinals were changing Mark Mulder’s arm slot and still waiting to see if Matt Clement could pitch his way to the majors. General manager John Mozeliak called Clement “a lottery ticket”, and really the description applied to Mulder as well.

The Cardinals banked plenty in 2008 on what the scratch of a coin revealed.

This year, as the Cardinals…

TOWER GROVE — The accepted halfway spot of the Major League Baseball season is the midsummer classic, the All-Star Game, but for the St. Louis Cardinals the mathematical midpoint of the year came sometime during the flight to Cincinnati on Thursday night.

The Cardinals are the first National League team to complete 81 games, and they arrive at Game No. 82 tonight at Great American Ball Park in a virtual tie for the lead in the…