TOWER GROVE — A deserving All-Star and a surprise Gold Glove winner a year ago, center fielder Nate McLouth simply became a symbol this season.

The energetic lefthanded hitter, who had a breakout 2008 while with the Pittsburgh Pirates, will finish the season as a core member of the Atlanta Braves. Far from a rental, McLouth was traded to the Braves this season — and he has three more years remaining on his reasonable contract. That…

DOWNTOWN — St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Adam Wainwright spent much of his early major-league career studying and mimicking the ace of the Cardinals staff, Chris Carpenter. Beyond just watching how he pitched and what he did to bedevil hitters, Wainwright even wanted to borrow Carpenter’s mannerisms.

It’s no wonder he remembers vividly the last time he saw Carpenter start. It was at Wrigley Field, against the Chicago Cubs, and Carpenter wasn’t feeling right. Something was…

TOWER GROVE –Underneath the brim of his baseball cap, Pittsburgh Pirates’ closer Matt Capps has a half dozen or so phrases and letters penned there in white. Turn it over, and on the lower right side of the brim, near the notch where brim meets cap, is the answer to the first question that, so far, has always been asked with The PD-Q. It was the first one many detailed answers Capps gave.

The PD-Q, a…