DOWNTOWN — It was only three years ago, on the first day the St. Louis Cardinals saw their new digs and got to take swings at breaking down the new dimensions, that Albert Pujols wrote himself into the history of Busch Stadium III with a swing few people saw. According to witnesses who attended that 2006 workout, Pujols hit a ball that bounced out of the ballpark and onto Clark Street.

He was at it again Sunday.

“Isn’t…

JUPITER, Fla. — What with its keystone combination of Rogers Hornsby and Ozzie Smith leading the way — batting .346 and .325, respectively — and center fielder Jim Edmonds topping the team with 10 home runs and 47 RBIs, the St. Louis Cardinals would appear to be a virtual juggernaut in the virtual world of Seamheads.com’s (simulated) Historical League.

And, yet, the ‘Birds are struggling. Could be that injury to Stan Musial.

Hall of Famer Rick Hummel is at…

CAIRO — During the tour-bus caravan to Giza and the Pyramids, two British friends of mine sat near an American who recited that widespread legend of how the Sphinx lost its nose and  tsk-tsk’d the members of British military for daring to use the Sphinx for target practice.  Thanks to me, my friends were armed with a response.

That may be so, they said, but it was Americans who pelted it with baseballs.

Timed my reading of…

TOWER GROVE — By definition, any list of the top 10 or top 30 prospects within the St. Louis Cardinals system is flawed. The concept itself has one glaring weakness: Cardinals prospects are compared only against Cardinals prospects, leaving the reader to wonder if a top-10 talent here is a top-five talent in Cleveland? Maybe a top 20 talent in Boston … and so on.

Rankings prospects within an organization has value. It just doesn’t have…

LAS VEGAS — In their past 420 games, a stretch that reaches all the way back deep into that golden season of 2006, the St. Louis Cardinals have had a grand total of ZERO games started and won by a lefthanded pitcher.

Since Mark Mulder won his start on June 15, 2006, the Cardinals have trotted out Mike Maroth, Randy Keisler, Jaime Garcia and Mulder (a few times) to make starts. That group has made 15 starts total…

TOWER GROVE — Scanning the message board, Cards Talk, this morning, I saw a subject line that piqued by interest: “Cards to Get 10,000th Win in August.” Well, that really depends on who you ask.

Early this past season, the Chicago Cubs became the second team in baseball history to reach 10,000 franchise victories. The San Francisco/New York Giants had done it earlier, and of course the Philadelphia Phillies were the first to reach 10,000 losses. The race…

TOWER GROVE — When I found myself trying to decide between Miguel Batista and Aaron Cook as my No. 5 starter while others were wondering if Cy Young or Steve Carlton would fill out their rotation or whether Randy Johnson has a place in their bullpen, I knew I was out of my league.

In the coming weeks, we’ll have Opening Day of the Seamheads.com Historical Baseball League. Bill James’ all-time Boston Red Sox roster will face Curt…

TOWER GROVE — Fresh from an offseason that included a new contract, a slimmer frame and a healthier knee, St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina sat in front of his locker at the Jupiter facility and talked instead about what was missing. It was his first day of spring training and he had no need to hide his personal goal for the 2008 season.

He wants to win a Gold Glove.

“I won’t stop, I’ll keep working…

TOWER GROVE — Baseball should thank Carlos Pena for rescuing the World Series from a faulty rule.

Sure the Series could end Tuesday night with a Philadelphia Phillies victory and it’s likely the Phillie that gets that tie-breaking hit won’t need to take a wallet when he goes out to eat on Broad Street. But no matter how many balls Ryan Howard pulps out of the ballpark in the rest of this Series, no matter how many…

TOWER GROVE — As far back as Aug. 24, 1963, Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon, who leads his Rays into their first World Series tonight at Tropicana Field, was a Cardinals’ fan. You can pinpoint the date because he remembers the place, the score, the winning pitcher and, most of all, the baseball cap.

About a month ago, when baseball and baseball-writing was at their full poetic peak of nostalgia, waving so-long to Yankee Stadium (guilty),…

PITTSBURGH — Left for demolition like the heaps and hunks of scrap metal all around, this stranded file cabinet, plucked from an office and Forbes Field and then pitched, contained a treasure of paperwork. There were probably letters and contracts and files on Hall of Famers, from Willie Stargell to Ralph Kiner – the fine print on Pittsburgh’s baseball history.

Thank goodness somebody saved some files labeled: CLEMENTE, ROBERTO.

While much of that abandoned file cabinet was…

PITTSBURGH — The Cardinals made a late-night switcheroo and reversed course on their pitching plans for this weekend series against the Pirates at PNC Park. Joel Pineiro is back as tonight’s starter — if there is need for a starter tonight, that is — and Brad Thompson has been shifted to Sunday.

The Cardinals had announced yesterday that the two would swap starts, thus setting up Pineiro to pitch Sunday here and then next weekend against…

TOWER GROVE — True to the scouting report that had him hitting well at home this season (.400), hitting well against Colorado in his career (.313) and pounding the opposing pitchers (.358), Atlanta’s Chipper Jones raked his way back into the batting title lead with a 6-for-12 series against the Rockies. That thrust him a few points ahead of Albert Pujols, .362 to .360.

This weekend, it’s Pujols’ turn to play the splits.

As mentioned earlier this week,…

Don Gutteridge, the last living member of the Gas House Gang and the 1944 St. Louis Browns pennant-winning club, died Sunday at his Pittsburg, Kan., home, where he’s remembered as a “baseball icon” and a recent author. He was 96.

Gutteridge played 12 seasons in the major leagues, starting as a Cardinals’ farmhand who made his debut in 1936 and continuing through turns with the Browns, the Boston Red Sox and finally, in 1948, the Pittsburgh…

TOWER GROVE — When asked if there was a “rise-to-the-occasion” element of Albert Pujols’ 8-for-10 weekend against the Atlanta Braves — what with Chipper Jones, NL batting leader, on the other side of the field — manager Tony La Russa said it had more to do with the manager and the pitchers than the Chipper.

See, Atlanta, like a few other teams, is willing to challenge Pujols — within reason.

Before surrendering and walking Pujols in his final three…