Jim Leyland Got Fire To Manage Back During His Scouting Tenure With Cardinals

Jim Leyland, having spent 11 years managing the Pittsburgh Pirates and two managing the Florida Marlins, winning a World Series in the process, quit after just one season guiding the Colorado Rockies in 1999. The Rockies were 72-90 and finished last in the National League Western Division and Leyland had had enough — of managing the Rockies and managing, in general.

Post-Dispatch

Can Cardinals Rally From 0-3? It's Not Impossible

On Monday night, the St. Louis Cardinals lost, 8-1, to the Washington Nationals in Game 3 of the National League Championship Series. It was, to put it mildly, a feeble effort. The Cardinals have been outscored in the series 13-2, they are slugging .143 for the series (roughly the equivalent of an American League pitcher) and they have a strikeout-walk ratio of 34:3. Their ace was on the mound for Game 3, their No. 1 and 2 hitters are a combined 0-for-21 and they have one RBI for the series (on a ball that should have been caught). This is not going well. This series feels over.

St. Louis Official Site

Closer To Starter A Rare Move For Pitchers

The Cardinals went into Spring Training with a plan to stretch out former closer Trevor Rosenthal, setting him up for a more versatile bullpen role while also giving him an opportunity to win a rotation spot.

St. Louis Official Site

Juan Gonzalez Absent From Rangers' Hall Of Fame Ceremony

The organization of the Texas Rangers yesterday praised his Hall of Fame outfielder Juan'Igor' to Vegabajeño Gonzalez in a ceremony which also included the exrelevista Jeff Russell.  (Translated)

El Nuevo Dia

Juan Gonzalez To Enter Rangers' Hall Of Fame

Juan Gonzalez, the only two-time American League Most Valuable Player in Rangers history, and Jeff Russell, who made the AL All-Star team in consecutive years as a starter and reliever, will be inducted into the club's Hall of Fame before Saturday's game with the Padres.

Texas Official Site

The Jaime Garcia Saga Continues

You can always count on the Cardinals' annual Winter Warmup to serve up heaping servings of optimism for the coming season. And there's nothing wrong with that; feeling positive about your team as it prepares for spring training is a cherished baseball tradition.

Bernie Bytes

Nine Possible Spots For Max Scherzer

The best player on the MLB free-agent market not only doesn't have a team yet, he doesn't even have a rumor.

CBS Sports

Tony LaRussa's Hardest Nine - Time Limit Of Hall Of Fame Speeech

The National Baseball Hall of Fame today asks that Tony La Russa do the incalculable — condense a baseball life including 33 years as a major-league manager into a nine-minute speech.

Post-Dispatch

Failure To Extend Max Scherzer Suggests End Of Tigers' Blank-Check Approach

On Jan. 26, 2012, the largesse of Detroit Tigers owner Mike Ilitch seemed limitless. So did the potential of his franchise to win the World Series. That was the day the team announced it had signed Prince Fielder to a nine-year, $214 million contract.

Fox Sports

Mike Timlin First-Time Hall Of Fame Ballot

Mike Timlin

A four-time World Series champion and the winner of the 2007 Lou Gehrig Memorial Award for character and integrity on and off the field, Timlin pitched 18 seasons as a reliever. Timlin peaked toward the end of his career, making an astonishing 81 appearances with a 2.24 ERA for the Red Sox in 2005 at age 39. Timlin finished his career in 2008 with a 75-73 record, 3.63 ERA, 141 saves and a 1.28 WHIP in 1,204 1/3 innings.

Boston Official Site

Michael Wacha Aims To Keep Cardinals' Hopes Alive

He's already pitched one elimination game for the Cardinals in this postseason, and nearly made it a no-hitter.

St. Louis Official Site

Jon Lester's Glove Won't Be Sticking Point

A foreign substance spied on Boston pitcher Jon Lester’s glove during his Game 1 whitewashing of the Cardinals flashed briefly into a controversy before settling quietly into a lesson on the no-nos of social media for one Cardinals minor leaguer.

Post-Dispatch

MLB Addresses Speculation On Jon Lester's Glove

Following Internet-fueled speculation that Red Sox pitcher Jon Lester had a foreign substance in his glove during his Game 1 start in the World Series on Wednesday, Major League Baseball said in a statement that there is no conclusive video evidence of Lester violating MLB rules.

St. Louis Official Site

Cardinals Cheated Themselves

Good afternoon from Boston … You'll have to forgive me for declining to hyperventilate over Jon Lester's glove. I know it's probably a popular activity in St. Louis today, accusing Lester of cheating and declaring that the Cardinals were somehow rooked out of Game 1.

Bernie Bytes

Goop On Jon Lester's Glove A "Non-Issue'

In the wake of the Cardinals' ugly 8-1 loss at Fenway Park on Wednesday night in Game 1 of the World Series, social media came alive with video and pictures of Boston lefty Jon Lester rubbing his fingers against what was alleged to be foreign substance in his glove.

Cardinals Beat

About Jon Lester & Foreign Substances

While the Cardinals were sloshing through an ugly defensive performance in Game 1 of the World Series, a Cardinals Minor Leaguer apparently had his eye on Jon Lester. And Tyler Melling’s tweet from late Wednesday night – one that suggested Lester was benefiting from a sticky substance hidden in his glove – has since fueled a storm of speculation.

By Gosh, It's Langosch

Tyler Melling Points Out Jon Lester With Substance Inside Glove; Kenny Rogers Redux?

Cards minor leaguer Tyler Melling was the first to capture a suspicious substance on Boston Red Sox pitcher Jon Lester’s glove last night.
KMOX

First off, whether there was or was not a substance in Jon Lester’s glove it had nothing to do with the St. Louis Cardinals defensive lapses and errors which contributed to their 8-1 loss in Game 1.
101 ESPN

Proven Winner, Mark DeRosa May Be Blue Jays' Unsung Hero

At best, the supposedly mighty Toronto Blue Jays have been a bit less than that this season. Still, when it comes to progressing from their current state of mediocrity to something beyond goodness, they have hope.

Toronto Official Site

Chris Carpenter Doesn't Fault His Quick Return

Cardinals starting pitcher Chris Carpenter does not believe the arm problems that could cost him this season are the result of a rapid return to the mound from surgery last fall, a recovery that the surgeon who performed the procedure suggested this week may have been trying “to do too much too soon.”

Post-Dispatch

Overthinking It: The Over/Under-30 All-Stars

If you’ve been paying any attention to current athletic events, you know that Jose Bautista has been busy making the rest of baseball look bad. The 30-year-old slugger is hitting .370/.516/.849, leading the majors in home runs, walks, and runs scored, and serenading himself in the shower with the refrain to Jay-Z’s “30 Something”: “30’s the new 20, I’m so hot still.” (Yes, Bautista prefers the “clean” version.)

Baseball Prospectus