TOWER GROVE — The St. Louis Cardinals pickoff combination of catcher Yadier Molina and first baseman Albert Pujols continued its monopoly of one of baseball’s fast-rising awards for defensive play. The Fielding Bible is in its fourth year of handing out awards for the best defensive play at each position in an attempt to do what the Gold Glove sometimes fails to do with its annual leanings toward incumbency and offense.

Four years of Fielding Bible…

TOWER GROVE — By all accounts, the St. Louis Cardinals and backup catcher Jason LaRue believe they are a good match. LaRue, a favorite of the team’s coaches and the team’s leaders, has the feel for calling a game that the Cardinals desire, the arm that controls the running game, and the willingness to accept his role as a rare starter.

What the Cardinals have to determine, as discussed in today’s look at the catcher position…

TOWER GROVE — While the St. Louis Cardinals have plenty to busy themselves with in the final five games of the regular season — see today’s game story for, oh, a few things to be spruced-up — and no reason to look beyond October, there are traces of 2010 in many of the comments coming from the club.

The front office and chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. have talked about the importance of re-signing outfielder Matt Holliday, sure, but…

HOUSTON — With 2009 speeding to a close, discussions about the decade behind us are already popping up. Some baseball writers, like Sports Illustrated’s Tom Verducci’s have picked their Team of the Aughts, others have just explored who might be the Player of the Decade. Here we’ve been convicted of over-stating the Decade Triple Crown notion (scroll down).

Time to look at the bigger picture.

In the past week or 10 days, the St. Louis Cardinals have clinched the…

TOWER GROVE — A year ago at this time, Mannywood was sweeping the nation as the Los Angeles Dodgers and their flamboyant outfielder were surging toward a playoff berth. Manny Ramirez, acquired in a stunning deadline deal with the Boston Red Sox (with an assist from Pittsburgh), had 43 RBIs and 14 home runs in his first 42 games as a Dodger. He had propelled the team to a 24-18 record since his arrival and…

TOWER GROVE — In his office after Tuesday night’s loss, Milwaukee Brewers manager Ken Macha told a group of us reporters that the “second-most important” at-bat of the Cardinals’ 7-6 victory was by St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina.

Apparently, Molina was the first to recognize that.

Of course, the most important at-bat of the game was Matt Holliday’s immediately after Macha opted to “pick his poison” and walk Albert Pujols ahead of the Cardinals’ cleanup hitter….

TOWER GROVE — Today’s 10@10 begins with an anecdote, before diving into the Tool Chest: Every indication late Wednesday night was St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Mark DeRosa had no interest in leaving the ballpark until he had a swing that satisfied him. Late after the game, DeRosa was dressed to hit the cages and talking like a batter in need of some work.

Albert Pujols encouraged him to go home. Take a break. Get the swing…

TOWER GROVE — Add the cover of a national sports magazine (see below) to the growing list of accolades St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina has received in the past year, joining, but obviously not eclipsing, that coveted Gold Glove he won in 2008 and that All-Star Game invitation this season that inspired his cover turn.

Molina, crouched in his gear and posed at Busch Stadium, appears on the cover of the current issue of ESPN…

CINCINNATI — It wasn’t difficult for anyone who spent time around the St. Louis Cardinals clubhouse to know how important winning a Gold Glove was to catcher Yadier Molina. Friends and pundits alike felt that he had deserved two before and had lost them because his bat wasn’t the equal to his peers’.

Older brother Bengie Molina said this past weekend the Gold Glove wasn’t the only thing Molina set as a goal.

Molina wanted to be…

DOWNTOWN — Detroit Tigers manager Jim Leyland remembers the day well because he left a little of himself behind in that Georgia heat.

During his playing days, Leyland was a catcher, and this was the kind of day that you didn’t want be a catcher, let alone a minor-league catcher, with no backup around, handling both games of a doubleheader in Savannah, Ga.

“I lost 11 pounds,” he said in the visiting manager’s office at Busch Stadium…

TOWER GROVE — The consensus is that while this draft may have the biggest headliner baseball has seen in a long time — San Diego State pitcher Stephen Strasburg is being billed as “Best Prospect Ever?”, always with that essential question mark — the overall depth of this draft is seriously lacking.

There are some good pitchers, enough to fill out the first round. There aren’t many position players, especially coming from the college level.

One thing…

SOUTH GRAND — The St. Louis Cardinals plan to get their starting center fielder back as soon as tonight, but that will force them to confront a looming decision about what to do with their … starting center fielder.

In Rick Ankiel’s absence to recover from his frightening crash into the outfield wall, rookie Colby Rasmus has started every game in center field. It is the position he’s earmarked to take, eventually, even as Ankiel’s replacement….

TOWER GROVE — The St. Louis Cardinals hit the road today for a seven-day visit to the National League East and they leave home with much more than the five wins they got in six games.

They left Wrigley Field a little more than a week ago wondering about their bullpen and looking for a fifth starter while wondering if all this running around the bases (19 runs in three games at Wrigley) was actually getting…

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…

TEMPE, Ariz. — The St. Louis Cardinals have three saves so far this season and they are by three different players — and not one save is from the guy who broke spring training ostensibly as the club’s closer.

Manager Tony La Russa’s take on the ninth-inning jumble can be summarized: Get used to it.

After giving young gun Jason Motte two save opportunities and see him struggle in both, the Cardinals have elected to slide him out…