TOWER GROVE — One thing about a player being on base all the time: he gets loads of practice running them and has plenty of opportunity to excel — and fail. Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols showed this past week that he can pound out the headlines with more than just his bat; carrying a big stick does not require always walking softly.

In the span of a few games, Pujols showed the plus and minus of…

GRAND CENTER — Both Chicago papers are reporting that Jim Edmonds could be a Cub shortly after he flies off waivers this week, having been released over the weekend by San Diego. A signature Cardinal — one of several members of the 2004 pennant-winning team to have a tough weekend (Julian Tavarez, for example) — is said to be attractive to the Cubs as an option other than youngster Felix Pie in Wrigley Field’s center…

GRAND CENTER — It was about 300 at-bats ago center fielder Rick Ankiel made his debut as a major-league outfielder, and tonight’s home run was his 18th since he made his return on August 9, 2007.  Track that statistics from that day forward and Ankiel ranks with baseball’s best sluggers — and one sudden star coming to town this week — in such numbers as homers, RBIs and slugging.

From August 9 until the start of…

GRAND CENTER — Bunkered in here at Channel 9’s studios, just a Jim Hayes’ Frisbee throw from the grand Fox Theater, and ready to see No. 2 hitter Yadier Molina step in against his favorite pitcher to see at his favorite away ballpark to hit.

And already Max Leinwand has brought up a question to wonder:

Who is the emergency catcher on this year’s team?

Molina grounds out while Max is asking. So, As Rick…

DENVER — Even after the game, in the Cardinals clubhouse, there was quiet discussion about which of Rick Ankiel’s two lightning bolts from deep center field to third base were the best.

The first one beat one of the fastest runners in baseball by at least a stride to third base. The second, well, it, Larry Walker joked, traveled further from the outfield than Ankiel’s home run had traveled over the outfield in that same…

DENVER — With all of the hairpin turns and high jinks that the Cardinals and Colorado crammed into tonight’s riveting game at Coors Field, there was one pivotal player whose role was obscured.

Good thing he got the win.

It was hardly the prettiest inning of the game for a Cardinals’ pitcher, but Randy Flores’ eighth inning took on added importance, especially after Albert Pujols’ 180-foot sprint on Rick Ankiel’s game-winning groundout.  Flores faced six batters, allowed one run,…

SOUTH GRAND — It was way late at night or way too early in the morning — depending on your disposition — and this was supposed to be a mixer, a posh see-me-see-you party in Miami. But that didn’t stop Rick Ankiel from talking baseball.

Specifically, the fine art of holding a runner on base.

The young, teen-idol-faced Ankiel was describing how he prefers to do it. His companion, a cigar-smoking, profanity-spewing sportswriter and lapsed…

DOWNTOWN – Not too often the Cardinals wake up on the last day of April with a chance to make a little franchise history. But that’s the case today.

The Cardinals won their 17th game of April last night against the Reds. It came in a 7-2 victory that saw manager Tony La Russa tinker just enough with his lineup to add depth of power and watch it work. That win tied a franchise record for…

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:

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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…

DOWNTOWN — In the eighth inning of a rather usual July game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Cardinals closer Jason Isringhausen stepped into the box and faced Bucs lefty Joe Beimel. Isringhausen had come in to close out what was a 9-6 ballgame, but a turn of the lineup had put a bat in his hand with the bases loaded.

So, naturally he ripped a triple, and the box score reads: 

Rolen Scores; Renteria Scores; Matheny…