TOWER GROVE — Of all the statistical bubblegum that is packed into Bill James’ annual Handbooks, among the best to chew over and stretch to the point of popping is the predictions for the coming season.

ACTA Sports recently emailed me the 2010 predictions for several members of the 2009 St. Louis Cardinals — predictions that are featured in Bill James Handbook 2010 — and while it doesn’t take a “statistical oracle” (as The Wall Street Journal…

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…

TOWER GROVE — A fascinating vote is underway today at MLB.com and around its 30 official sites, as the numerologists there have some fun with today’s date — Sept. 9, 2009 — and the statistically rich number of spots in a batting order. Mentioned this in today’s 10@10, but it’s too cool of a project not to take a look at deeper.

Especially, when you consider some of the seasons up for a vote.

Inspired by the…

TOWER GROVE — St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols has batted nine times this season with the bases loaded. By definition, that means there have been 18 runners in scoring position for Pujols to drive in. Eighteen.

In those nine at-bats, Pujols has 24 RBIs.

The max he could drive in from those at-bats is 36.

After his record-tying grand slam last night at Citi Field, Pujols improved this season to 7-for-9 with the bases loaded. He…

TOWER GROVE — Even by his own admission, St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols believes the year he didn’t win the National League MVP may have been his best year, by the numbers, so far. In 2006, Pujols said recently, he didn’t have that prolonged lull. He missed games by being on the DL, but when he was able to hit, he always hit.

All the way to the tune of career highs.

Pujols finished second…

HOUSTON (for the moment) — The St. Louis Cardinals were scheduled to land in Washington D.C. for their one-game visit to the nation’s capital sometime around, oh, about now.

The wheels down time for the Cardinals’ charter flight from Houston to D.C. was around 4 a.m. according to folks as they packed up the clubhouse last night. Manager Tony La Russa said how smooth the hasty and late travel that a rainout forced upon the team…

TOWER GROVE — On the last day of the first half of the Major League Baseball season, the St. Louis Cardinals put the band back together and celebrated two returns — one actual, one implied.

With Kyle Lohse off the disabled list in time to make a start Sunday, that mustachioed mafia of starters had its five arms back in the rotation, ready and healthy for the second-half. With Ryan Ludwick reanimated on that road-trip finish…

TOWER GROVE — Say this about St. Louis Cardinals ace Chris Carpenter as he makes a backstretch bid for an invitation to the 80th All-Star Game — he’s doing it with an increasing degree of difficulty.

Carpenter will face his fourth different former Cy Young Award winner in his past seven starts tonight, and the punctuation at the end of this streak has more trophies than the other three combined. Carpenter started the run of Cys against…

MANHATTAN — Back when he actually was a rookie and looked every bit like a rookie, St. Louis Cardinals infielder Brendan Ryan hopped in a taxi outside the team hotel room here in Manhattan and told the cabbie to take him to “the stadium.”

With the clock ticking toward when he was supposed to be present, dressed and ready in the Cardinals’ clubhouse, the cabbie pulled up at the destination and said something like: “Here ya…

TOWER GROVE — The best spot in baseball to get a batter going may be batting second in the St. Louis Cardinals’ lineup, ahead of reigning MVP Albert Pujols. But the hardest spot in baseball to keep a batter going apparently is Cardinals’ cleanup, one spot behind Pujols.

Witness Chris Duncan.

Cast in the cleanup role several times during the previous home stand, Duncan struggled there. But thrown into the No. 2 spot for the first time…

TOWER GROVE — The St. Louis Cardinals have managed three runs total in the first two games of the series that concludes tonight at PNC Park. Albert Pujols has driven in two of those three runs. Two of the three runs have come from solo home runs, by Pujols and Skip Schumaker.

Where has all the offense gone? Why, it’s on rehab.

The R&R of what Bernie Miklasz called appropriately this morning the Cardinals’ “first crisis stage…

TOWER GROVE — One of the last men standing when it comes to power in the St. Louis Cardinals’ lineup, Albert Pujols may have to carry the offense for awhile with so many sources of pop out with injuries. Good thing he’s facing the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Pujols hit his 38th career home run against the Pirates on Tuesday night, his 21st in 63 games against the Pirates at PNC Park.

Now in his ninth season, Pujols is…

DEMUN — This afternoon at Busch Stadium, the St. Louis Cardinals and Major League Baseball will launch many of the promotions for the coming All-Star Game and All-Star Summer in St. Louis. One campaign is already underway.

Witness Yadier Molina: All-Star Elect.

Last season, manager Tony La Russa — who usually chooses his causes carefully — championed Molina for what he viewed as an overdue invitation for his catcher. Molina, he argued, had added the offense to the…

PHOENIX — St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa pledged that in the long term All-Star outfielder Ryan Ludwick, who hasn’t started in three of the Cardinals first nine games this season, will emerge as an every-day player. But in the short-term he elected not to bat Ludwick with the chance to drive in the winning run Tuesday.

As the Cardinals staged a ninth-inning rally against the Arizona Diamondbacks and reliever Chad Qualls, La Russa had…

TOWER GROVE — In a city that can treat baseball like college football — right down to the raucous, hearty and wonderful tailgates that surround Busch Stadium — no wonder there’s such agonizing this morning. One loss means already means no BCS bowl for the St. Louis Cardinals this season.

But this was more than one loss. It was deja vu.

There are 161 more games to go and a loss in Game 1 does not a…