So pitchers and catchers report soon you say…hard to believe with all the snow (and more coming) on the ground!

St. Louis signed a legacy member from the last decade huh…looks like the 15 jersey will be a tug-of-war by St. Pat’s Day!

The Cardinals got it right for playing on my birthday this year hmm…just hope that the third time is the charm for April 1!

You see what I did there? Three complete and different thoughts that didn’t include one mention of a certain franchise player. Too bad that will not continue, at least until said future HOF hangs up his cleats. With the best sport on the planet ready to start up again, it feels like the right time to stop by and say hello to our three loyal readers.

My hibernation felt great, but last week’s UCB Radio show reminded me where my roots are. Our humble leader has promised no more live blogs (gulp) so the 2011 campaign can not get here soon enough. When you add in NFL uncertainty, it is a wonderful time to be a baseball fan.

As for the very near future, it is finally time to talk about the biggest issue concerning the Birds on the Bat. Ha, bet you thought THIS would be when you know who gets brought up…seriously that topic gets its own header! What is even more pressing than 300 million dollar contracts you ask?

The second annual PH8 T-Shirt drive, naturally.

Honkin’ for Jaime will always be first but there has been a call for a second helping. Use the variety of ways available to reach us, whether you prefer leaving a comment below, a Tweet here, or a suggestion on Facebook. UCB Radio returns Wednesday night @ 9:30 CST under the new banner if you want to state your case on the chat board.

Thanks for reading and here’s to at least one more (positive) piece that doesn’t involve money.

Yep, that’s right, Pitchers Hit Eighth has reached the 600 Post Club.  I’m not sure what that means, if anything, other than Dennis has been writing a lot lately.

Dennis’ post “Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the B12 Bobbleheads” this morning was number 600.

Consequently, the “milestone” offers me the opportunity to thank Dennis sincerely for coming in here and blowing the doors off the place. He has been prolific, profound, funny, controversial, and passionate from his first post here.  Ironically, that post was titled “Why I’m Not a Baseball Blogger“.

Anyway, thanks Dennis.  Looking forward to the 2011 season and trading barbs with you.

Thanks also to everyone who has been reading, it’s a cool thing to get your feedback.

United Cardinal Bloggers Twitter

The United Cardinal Bloggers now have a Twitter feed that hopefully will soon include links to posts from all member blogs daily.  If you have a hard time keeping up with the sheer number of sites that are now in the UCB Network (like I do), you can now follow @utdcardbloggers and never miss another link.

UCB Radio

Despite my disappearance from regularly appearing on the show, Daniel, Bill, Josh and the crew have forged on.  (I know what you’re thinking, they’re better off – and you’re probably right.)

If you haven’t listened in a while, or never have, use the player below to check it out.  It’s really worthwhile.  You can also download from iTunes via the big CD/musical note image above right.

Now, the bad news. Blog Talk Radio has decided to effectively pull the plug on the ability to do this show for free.  They are moving to a pay/premium service for shows longer than one hour and in prime-time slots.

As such, the group is exploring other options for producing the show each week.  If you happen to be a benevolent reader and wish to defray the approximately $40 per month cost to host a premium show, use the contact form and let us know.

I-70 Baseball and the Midwest Baseball Writers Conference

Bill Ivie and the good folks at I-70 Baseball have announced they will host an event for baseball writers in Springfield MO on February 12th of this year.

The Midwest Baseball Writers Conference will feature guest speakers and an opportunity to interact with others to discuss, well, writing.

Check it out and get in touch with Bill if you are interested in attending.

PH8 Shop

I want to expand and improve upon the current PH8 Shop.  Many thanks to those of you who have already purchased the “Honkin’ for Jaime” shirt or a Pitchers Hit Eighth branded piece of apparel – but I want to try to add some new exciting things there this year.

If you have any suggestions for a fancy, cool, funny, or otherwise shirt design – please let us know.  If we use your suggestion and create a new item, we’ll send you one for free.  FREE STUFF.

Follow us on Twitter

@PitchersHit8th
@gr33nazn
@aprfool79
@andrewdmoses

Starting the final limp to October, this week marks big things for the Cardinals’ family and the PH8 team. My return to the site is just a blip on the radar, but I admit it is good to be back. No one could have predicted the free fall that St. Louis has experienced since the dust-up in Cincy, but not all is doom and gloom for the Birds on the Bat.

It would take a miracle collapse by the Reds for the big league club to see a return to the playoffs, but at least one affiliate has already captured a title while another looks for back-to-back crowns. All of this from an organization that was supposed to be floundering after last year’s trades, and that will be the main topic I cover for the next few weeks.

Johnson City captured the Appy League Championship, and Batavia made a spirited Semifinal run in the NYPL with most of the players coming from this year’s draft. Those playoff-tested Baby Birds hope to make the jump to the Midwest League for 2011 and will be under the watchful eye of long-time Quad-City Times beat writer Steve Batterson.

Batterson will be my special guest Wednesday on UCB Radio, so feel free to listen in and drop your questions on the chat board. Colby Rasmus, Jaime Garcia, and Shelby Millerare just a few of the players ‘Bats’ has covered over the years so it is sure to be an interesting hour. In addition to that interview, Thursday marks a special day for everyone involved in the United Cardinal Bloggers.

The Social Media Night grants those that dedicate much of their free time to covering the Cards a special experience, and I can’t wait to hear all about it! Join me Wednesday in debating where this may lead in the future and how much can be learned from spotlighting the fans’ point of view.

Memphis stunningly pulled off a title run last year and looks every bit as prepared for the repeat performance. The Redbirds open their PCL Championship Series tonight against Tacoma, and everyone can listen in no matter where they call home. While some of the AAA players are not getting a chance with the big club (for at least a few more days), my thoughts today center on their manager.

Chris Maloneydefinitely belongs as a dark horse candidate to take over for Tony La Russa, but maybe he should be getting more of a look. While the future is uncertain for many of the current big-league Cardinals, the reality is many of the current Memphis roster will be called upon for a bigger role in 2011. This mainly has to do with money concerns but how the St. Louis Opening Day team looks next April very well may be decided by who is calling the shots.

TLR has his hands full right now, and that is sure to continue well into the Winter. John Mozeliak feels the pressure as well, so the next six months are certainly lining up to be as important as any felt since the early 1990′s. Whether or not you are a fan of how Tony gets the job done, his record speaks for itself. The ownership will not force him out, but stories like this can only make the DeWitt family lose their appetite.

At the very least, Maloney has earned the chance to be considered if 2010 marks the end of TLR’s tenure. Make him part of the staff if nothing else, so the young players have a connection while trying to bypass the ‘Rasmus Route’ of fitting in…no one wants to see a repeat of that mess. Promote the Springfield crew up a level and see if the third time really is a charm.

Is it time to move on and see what new leadership can do with the game’s best player? It all starts with a couple of must-wins against the Baby Bears to try and salvage what has mostly been a season to forget. Thanks for reading (all three of you)

I dug back into my podcast-rambling bag of tricks tonight and joined Daniel from C70 at the Bat and Mike from Stan Musial’s Stance on the United Cardinal Bloggers’ Radio Hour tonight.

I managed to hop on the line just in time to ask a few questions of the night’s special guest, Matt Sebek from Joe Sports Fan, who joined us to talk about the Cardinals’ Social Media Night and his column about said evening.

We also talk Tony La Russa and possible managerial replacements as well as the Cards moving broadcasts back to KMOX for the 2011 season.

All this was just in the last half-hour!  Daniel and Mike were talking for 30 minutes before I even joined!

Give a listen, won’t you?

Taking into account that Whiteyball is all but dead, I am still surprised by what this little experiment has taught me. My heart and head were in the right place (for once) by pushing for Colby to take over his chosen role.

But boy, the responses shocked even my most cynical viewpoints about TLR and the Cardinals.

And the winner is…

Come on — that wouldn’t be a very good ending for a trilogy now would it?

Mike from over at Stan Musial’s Stance provided a glimpse of what I really thought would be a Rasmus inauguration party. His perfect line-up looks like this:

1)Rasmus

2)Holliday

3)Pujols

4)Ludwick

5)Freese

6)Molina

7)Schumaker

8)PH8

9)Ryan

That is just how I would do it as well given the strength in the middle outplays the need for a lefty bat to break up the six tough RH outs for St. Louis.

Of course Felipe Lopez needs to be factored in, and my only change from Mike would be to put Lopez in the sixth hole and Yadi at seventh. I even toyed with moving Skip/Flip in the 9th spot and using Ryan at lead-off to appease La Russa fans.

Strangely, however, only one other person even thought Brendan makes sense as a candidate to jump start the line-up. I know some of the games have been rough this season for the one I call B.Rabbit, but Ryan’s long term future still looks cloudy at best without a manager change.

Daniel from C70 echoed how most felt by saying he is used to Skip at the top of the batting order. I also had a few say their gut went Schumaker while one even gave their heart to the scrappy player.

I understand the affection for No. 55, but he also provides the easiest position to upgrade that helps out both the offense and defense. Now it is up to the front office to prove me wrong. Cards’ fans clearly are in the corner of the converted OF and that makes him the winner of the first ever LLOL contest.

Prove me wrong Skippy

Motivated by an incredible UCB Radio outing, the biggest question to date isn’t where Holliday should be batting or even who the fifth starter will be come August. The Cardinals are faced with an even more daunting task, and I’m looking at our loyal three readers for answers.

St. Louis can’t seem to score runs but never was that a secret. The bigger issue remains that not enough production out of the first spot in the lineup leaves fewer chances for the run-producers.

Today’s exam is a two-parter so I hope your No. 2 pencils are ready.

Question number one: Who should be the Cards’ lead-off hitter after the trade deadline?

Now remember extra points may be given for creativity!

Question number two: If said player is not on the current 40-man roster (sorry Nick no Grudz for you), what trade makes sense for the front office?

No extra credit on this one — it has to make sense both financially and prospectly (I’m leaving that word in no matter what spell check says).

I’ll be back on Sunday with my two answers and then Monday with the results. Good luck and don’t look at your neighbors’ paper for guidance. But please enjoy your weekend and get ready for all the TLR with 80′s hair pics during the Oakland series.

Daniel over at C70 At The Bat spent what can only be imagined as many hours (days?) putting together a truly comprehensive guide to the ever-growing number of blogs writing about the Cardinals.

If you’re not already aware, Daniel deserves a lot of the credit for organizing the blogs, not only in this list, but the United Cardinal Bloggers group as well.  That group is responsible for various writing projects and the UCB Radio Hour as well.

Please check out not only Daniel’s great guide, but also the blogs on it.  I’d guess that the Cardinal bloggers rank among the most dedicated and numerous of any MLB team, and you’ll find lots of great writing in many formats.

We’re happy to be included and part of a great group of writers, both professional and hobbyists.

[The Definitive Guide To The Cardinal Blogosphere]

On the heels of their interview with Kyle McClellan, the United Cardinal Bloggers commemmorate the first week of spring training by announcing a full week of internet radio with two special guests.

Wednesday afternoon at 4:00 Central, Josh from Pitchers Hit Eighth will be talking with Darren Heitner.  Heitner is the agent for Cardinal farmhand Pete Parise, among others.  If you’ve ever wanted to talk to a sports agent, here’s your chance!

Wednesday night is the regularly-scheduled version of the UCB Radio Hour at 9:30 pm Central.  Nick from Pitchers Hit Eighth will host with scheduled assistance from his blogging partner Josh and Daniel from C70 At The Bat.

Finally, on Saturday afternoon at 3:00 Central, the Cardinals minor league director John Vuch will be our guest on another special edition of the show.  Dustin from Whiteyball and Nick from Pitchers Hit Eighth will quiz him about St. Louis’s farm system and who we should keep an eye on this season.

The United Cardinal Bloggers have been in existence since 2007 and work together on various projects and discussions.  The UCB Radio Hour came out of that in 2008, providing yet another forum for talking Cardinal baseball.

Join us tomorrow, along with Daniel from C70 at the Bat, as we talk ball (among other things) with Kyle McClellan on the UCB Radio Hour podcast.

The Cardinal pitcher will be joining us from Jupiter, FL where he is already gearing up for Spring Training.

We’ll be sticking to a finite set of questions with Kyle and not taking callers until he hangs up with us, so if you’ve got something you’d like us to ask, post it below!

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From the UCB release:

United Cardinal Bloggers To Interview Kyle McClellan

The United Cardinal Bloggers will be interviewing St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Kyle McClellan on Saturday, February 6, at 4:30 pm Central for a special edition of the UCB Radio Hour.

McClellan, a Missouri native who has spent two years with the Cardinals, was 4-4 with a 3.38 ERA coming out of the pen last year.  He has been a solid part of the bullpen since his debut in 2008 and has been conditioning himself to challenge for the fifth spot in the St. Louis rotation this spring.

The United Cardinal Bloggers were formed in 2007 to foster communication and collaboration between those that blog about St. Louis.  The UCB Radio Hour began late in 2008 and now is a weekly staple, airing Wednesdays at 9:30 pm Central at Blog Talk Radio and available for download as a podcast from that site and from iTunes.

No callers will be taken for the McClellan interview, though callers are encouraged on the regular Wednesday show.

The McClellan interview can be heard here, and the show page at Blog Talk Radio can be found here.

Disappointment comes in many forms, especially when you are a true fan. A little bit of me dies inside every time St. Louis signs a former Cub, but that is just silly, right? The bigger trouble is knowing that former Cards will play in other uniforms, but does it have to be the Royals and Brewers!?!?!

The Rich Hill move did surprise at least this corner of the PH8 triangle, but I am all for competition. Of course that just leads me to former Redbird Kiko Calero, who is still on the market. Matthew Leach’s recent post and inbox further push the signing of any more arms to the back-burner in favor of bench help (sorry Nick, no Smoltz in your stocking it appears).

Since I started at the end, let me back up to where this saga all began. The Cards Caravan came through my hometown on the 16th, and my expectations were high. Mind you it has been a long time since I was part of the ‘media’ scene, and this should have factored into my thinking more. David Freese and Kyle McClellan answering questions in the local college gym sounded great, except the whole thing was scripted.

So yes, chalk one more up in the ‘failed to meet hype’ category for yours truly but that is becoming common practice anymore unless Pujols is involved. Matt Holliday and Mark McGwire are sure to get their share of the pub in 2010, but the No. 5 clock to FA never seems to become a dead topic.

Getting the best player in the game signed for life has to be top priority for St. Louis, but there are other holes to fill before March. Bernie Miklasz puts it on paper much better than I in this post, and I agree with much of what he is saying. The Cards have money available for two or maybe three of the group still on the market depending on how things shake out.

Andrew’s take can be found here, and one name in particular stands out for me. Felipe Lopez is no stranger to the club and fills a few of the check marks left on the Pre-ST wish list. The price may be right for another reunion, as Lopez found his game again while auditioning with St. Louis in 2008. He provides insurance at a few positions, and I’m sure TLR will not hesitate to try out a few more.

Ending this on another sad note wasn’t my intention, but one question from Leach’s chat concluded what what pretty much a done deal. I have to give props to Marcus B. from Jacksonville, Ill who must be one of our three loyal readers with this gem — “What are the odds of Molina batting ninth with the pitcher eighth? This would keep the double plays at a minimum with Yadi, as the pitcher could sacrifice any runners over and leave a runner or two in scoring position.”

As I’m sure most of you can guess, Matthew was not so kind with his reply — “Virtually nil. The Cardinals are very unlikely to bat the pitcher eighth this year. Even if they do, Molina is not the guy they would use. La Russa likes on-base ability but also speed in the nine spot, if at all possible. He also likes Molina hitting in an RBI spot in the lineup. Molina has a career .269 batting average, but is .296 for his career with runners in scoring position.”

Does anybody else get small chance out of that…all PHE needs is a miracle at this point, anyone have Albert’s number on speed-dial?

Not much to look at here, my apologies – but I wanted to bring up a few loose ends that had escaped my posting here recently…

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I did a Q&A with Simon on Sports in December called “Blogging the Off-season” where Simon asked several bloggers from all of the MLB teams some questions about their respective teams’ upcoming off-season. It’s a bit dated now, but I’m happy to say that my answers are still faring pretty well.

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Have been doing some more touching up with the site itself that you may or may not have noticed. There is now a “Read a Random Post” section at the far right over there. I figure we’ve got enough backlog now that some may enjoy looking back. You can always find “the classics” by going to the Archives page as well (it’s linked in the top nav).

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With the random post section, I’ve reduced the Recent Comments tally to five. It was getting kind of unwieldy with ten, in my humble opinion. If you want more, let me know. It’s easy to change.

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I’ve been trying my darnedest to keep on top of the blogroll, but I’m certain I’m missing some folks. If you have us linked at your site and don’t have a link here – let me know! Twitter @PitchersHit8th, our Contact form, or in the comments below.

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I’ve added a page with links to all of the members of the Baseball Bloggers Alliance. Check it out down there in the left sidebar.

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If you didn’t catch the McGwire-based UCB Radio Hour last night, download on iTunes via the big record logo above right.

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Cheers everyone, as always, we strive to provide a great site and entertain you. If you have suggestions, comments, or feedback – good or bad – we’re always interested in hearing it.

Thanks for reading.

A little birdy told me to get this posted now since most of tonight’s Radio Hour is pretty much accounted for…lots of happenings in Pitchers Hit Eighth land so let me get a couple of announcements out of the way first.

Not one to normally toot my own horn, I have to this time since Nick obviously wants the FF season to go quietly away. We here at PH8 celebrated the end of this glorious occasion by crowning a champ — yours truly! Moving on I plan on defending the title but bragging rights will be limited as my track record is spotty to say the least.

Happy to report one of the best people out there is getting even more print. Derrick Goold keeps us all entertained at Bird Land, but this time I had to do some further research (yes Nick, on Twitter) to get to the bottom of the news. Check out the brand-new page for what is sure to be my birthday present in a couple of months.

Time to give the people what they want, and that is the PHExclusive material. My fair city plays host to the Cardinals Caravan this Saturday, and I’m very much looking forward to attending. Instead of waiting for the show tonight, here are the stories I’m most intrigued with heading into Spring Training.

For ESPN Insiders only (sorry), potential starter David Freese gets a nice write-up from fantasy guru Eric Karabell. Basically St. Louis may have made an even better trade when dealing Jim Edmonds than most of us thought. Freese is the headliner on the Caravan to me, and I hope to get some quotes to share with you all this weekend.

Not to be outdone, Kyle McClellan may make for an even better interview. He projects as a reliever in 2010 but anything is possible now that Matt Holliday has forever changed the landscape of the big league club. K-Mac deserves a shot at the final rotation spot in my opinion, and maybe another Josh agrees with me.

This Josh may have the most to prove out of any Cardinal hurler in ST, and it couldn’t hurt his case if McClellan is in the mix for the fifth spot. Rounding out the active players will be the perfect photo op for my daughter. Instead of grabbing one Pagnozzi, I hope for doubling up the runners so to speak! Matt and his uncle Tom are both expected in Joplin so make your picture requests quickly

United Cardinal Bloggers have been all over the Big Mac news as well as the Holliday signing, so there is no telling what direction Nick and I may go tonight. Tune in at the regular time of 9:30 PM CST either by clicking here or calling 646-929-1758 as all opinions are welcome.

My final fun fact of the day surrounds Holliday’s new and final? jersey number. I’m sure many people are upset he changed from Jimmy Ballgame’s #, but it makes sense to me. I didn’t get attached to him last season because, honestly, he didn’t appear likely to be staying.

As the longest signed Redbird, Matt seems more funny and loose now that the ink has dried on the contract. Check out the last quote here and tell me you don’t smile. Holliday gets a pass and I’m just glad the next time I see him hit a homer at Busch, it will be wearing lucky number seven for the BOB.

Love it or hate it, the Cardinals have locked up their Pujols Protector. Matt Holliday announced on ESPN’s Doug Gottlieb show that he has agreed to return to St. Louis.

Thoughts? Love to know the exact details, but a 7 year deal actually works for me. Derrick Goold has been all over the Hot Stove coverage and his Bird Land post today was right on the money.

While I’m not sure who first posted the signing, SI.com takes the prize for having the most details. Nick’s favorite time-killer was all over this story and yes, even I kept my Twitter account active earlier today.

A big sigh of relief was the initial reaction given the lack of true options on the market. The trade doesn’t hurt as much now because it is all about making Albert happy, and the entire front office can put forth the effort the game’s best player deserves.

John Mozeliak gets big props tonight at least from this corner of the UCB, and I’m even more anxious to get the group’s take starting tomorrow on the first Radio Show of 2010. Jimmy Ballgame forever will be 15 to me, but maybe he can share with the next great St. Louis outfielder.

Other curious takes on all this come from the Big Mac angle and how TLR plans to set his lineup. While Ryan Ludwick makes an intriguing option for the two-hole, he most likely slots in after Holliday and ends the tenure of seeing Carp or Wainer in the eight hole.

That makes for a sad day here at PH8 HQ, but it is something I can overcome much like I had to with the Wallace man-crush. Welcome to the Cards full-time Matt, looking forward to a long and healthy tenure!

Join us for another Special Edition of the UCB Radio podcast with Josh Squatrito, Batavia Muckdogs Reliever of the Year and St. Louis Cardinals Rookie Reliever of the Year, tonight at 5 pm CST!

St. Louis Cardinals team president Bill DeWitt III will be the special guest on a Monday evening edition of the UCB Radio Hour podcast tonight.

Join us, along with Dan of C70 at the Bat and Mike of Stan Musial’s Stance as we get the opportunity to talk Cardinals baseball and all things surrounding it with DeWitt.

Not entirely sure how much time we’ll have with Mr. DeWitt, but we’ve got plenty of topics to discuss, so join in live via Blog Talk Radio, or download the podcast from iTunes tomorrow morning!