ST. LOUIS — A niche record was just the excuse the fans at Busch Stadium needed this afternoon to give Albert Pujols two standing ovations — two! — in the middle of an inning, in the middle of a game…

The Shaq vs. El Hombre challenge pits two top athletes against each other — on Pujols’ turf. The baseball skills competition should give the Cardinals first baseman the edge. Here’s a comparison:

NEW YORK — His manor and his undeterred pursuit of his constituency’s goals may have rubbed some the wrong way, but union chief Don Fehr was universally regarded around the St. Louis Cardinals clubhouse on Monday as a strong advocate…

JUPITER, Fla. — With the first Grapefruit Leagues game on the horizon, the improvised rules and breezy play of the “coach pitch” games offer little more than a tension breaker for a camp ready to compete against somebody else for…

JUPITER, Fla. — After his coaches watched rounds and rounds of live batting practice on Friday, manager Tony La Russa said he found one of them and asked two questions.

“How’d it go over there?” he said. “And, did anybody get…

Ever since the days of Fernando Vina in the early part of this decade, the Cardinals seem to have a different starting second baseman every year. Adam Kennedy is here for his third time in the barrel although he has…

Cardinals manager Tony La Russa lamented the loss of Aaron Miles and even Brian Fuentes, whom the Cardinals actually never had. Some of you seem to agree, especially in the case of Miles. Now, what happens? You have questions. We’ll…

OK, football, as we know it locally, is over, and the Blues are spinning their wheels. Though the situation is different, some would say the Cardinals are also doing the latter.  But is that unusual these days in baseball? Probably…

The potential signing of shortstop Rafael Furcal by the Atlanta Braves has got folks excited again about Yunel Escobar of the Braves. But Atlanta is likely to keep both if Furcal does return to Atlanta. Meanwhile, the Brian Fuentes watch…

Presumably, the Cardinals can be better next year with what they already have _ besides what they don’t have just yet. A few of you have some ideas:

Q: Commish, a lot of the focus right now is with the potential…