http://www.yardbarker.com/mlb/players/steve_kline/352 Recent articles about Steve Kline en-us In several recent tweets, ESPN’s Buster Olney was sharing the thoughts of a talent evaluator offering his opinions as to why Kyle Lohse is still unsigned. The following quote comes from the evaluator with the conclusion apparently Olney’s. “When’s the last time you saw a pitcher leave St. Louis and do well elsewhere?” The Dave Duncan effect. With the recent announcement that Chris Carpenter will not pitch in 2013 and that his career may be over, the question of whether Lohse’s future might re-intersect with the St. Louis Cardinals was re-hashed by some. While that return still seems most unlikely, the two right-handers – Carpenter and Lohse – seem to have experienced a tremendous benefit from working under pitching coach Dave Duncan. In fact, the legendary and now-retired St. Louis Cardinals pitching guru was credited for turning upward the fortunes of many a pitcher who had not excelled prior to joining his club. While I believe that storyline to be true, I decided to try to qu... Tue, 26 Feb 2013 16:15:26 -0500 http://network.yardbarker.com/mlb/article_external/carpenter_lohse_and_dave_duncans_impact/12997534 http://network.yardbarker.com/mlb/article_external/carpenter_lohse_and_dave_duncans_impact/12997534 Carpenter, Lohse and Dave Duncan’s impact http://www.yardbarker.com/mlb/articles/carpenter_lohse_and_dave_duncans_impact/12997534 http://www.yardbarker.com/media/8/c/8cc6d8b03e5655e7b1d78e431092ef9480ffded2/mini/6634548.jpg Like every year at this time, the autograph details for the St. Louis Cardinals Winter Warm-Up arrive in my mail. The three-day fan event is held each January over Martin Luther King weekend, this time from Saturday, January 19 through Monday, January 21. In my annual just-for-fun endeavor, I look at rising and falling autograph prices from year to year. These values are set by someone within the Cardinals hierarchy, and apparently are set to reflect at least some estimation of the expected supply and demand for the signatures. The big four of Matt Holliday, Yadier Molina, David Freese and Carlos Beltran remain the most costly of the current players at $75. Like the vast majority of signees, their prices remain flat from 2012. Four Cardinals Hall of Famers join them at that $75. top amount, including Red Schoendienst and Whitey Herzog. Ozzie Smith is participating for the first time in recent years, though in absentia. Fans can purchase signed baseballs from The Wizard and Bo... Tue, 18 Dec 2012 15:15:59 -0500 http://network.yardbarker.com/mlb/article_external/comparing_cardinals_winter_warm_up_autograph_prices/12465106 http://network.yardbarker.com/mlb/article_external/comparing_cardinals_winter_warm_up_autograph_prices/12465106 Comparing Cardinals Winter Warm-Up autograph prices http://www.yardbarker.com/mlb/articles/comparing_cardinals_winter_warm_up_autograph_prices/12465106 http://www.yardbarker.com/images/yb_logo_square_grey.png There's a lot of exciting stuff we could be talking about right now. Namely, Ichiro Suzuki was just traded to the Yankees. Ryan Dempster was almost traded to the Braves. Perhaps most notably, the Tigers upped the ante by acquiring Anibal Sanchez and Omar Infante. In time, we'll know if the Tigers will regret trading Jacob Turner like when they traded John Smoltz to the Braves 25 years ago.These transactions are a lot to process, and there are more interesting places to read into what has, will, and might happen.We're still riding the excitement of yesterday's Hall of Fame induction and will set the table for this winter's Hall of Fame vote.Below is a peek at the 2013 Hall of Fame Ballot. Batting Stats Pitching Stats YoB ▾ %vote WAR OPS OPS+ ERA ERA+ Dale Murphy 15th 14.5% 42.6 .815 121 Jack Morris 14th 66.7% 39.3 .000 -100 3.90 105 Don Mattingly 13th 17.8% 39.8 .830 127 Alan Trammell 12th 36... Mon, 23 Jul 2012 20:05:00 -0400 http://network.yardbarker.com/mlb/article_external/2013_hall_of_fame_ballot/11282230 http://network.yardbarker.com/mlb/article_external/2013_hall_of_fame_ballot/11282230 2013 Hall of Fame Ballot http://www.yardbarker.com/mlb/articles/2013_hall_of_fame_ballot/11282230 http://www.yardbarker.com/images/yb_logo_square_grey.png It’s time for another great giveaway from the generous powers-that-be here at WFNY. We have a pair of tickets to Wednesday night’s Indians game against the Tigers at Progressive Field. With the Tribe now chasing the Tigers and 3.5 games back, it will be a huge series heading into the deadline — here’s hoping for a repeat sweep. As we typically do, we’ll conduct the contest in the comments section of this post. Please make sure to use a legit email when you comment so that we can get in touch with you if you win. Obviously, please only comment if you’ll be able to make Wednesday night’s game at Progressive Field. Finally, your comment must address this prompt: The trade deadline is looming and it’s the time of year that’s usually rampant with off-the-field rumors and speculation. For the Indians, it’s always provided a ton of excitement and interest  during the dog days of summer. It was always fun to consider the prospects of adding a piece for a drive towards contention, regardless... Sun, 22 Jul 2012 10:32:11 -0400 http://network.yardbarker.com/mlb/article_external/contest_time_two_tickets_to_indians_vs_tigers_this_week/11271277 http://network.yardbarker.com/mlb/article_external/contest_time_two_tickets_to_indians_vs_tigers_this_week/11271277 Contest Time: Two Tickets To Indians Vs. Tigers This Week http://www.yardbarker.com/mlb/articles/contest_time_two_tickets_to_indians_vs_tigers_this_week/11271277 http://www.yardbarker.com/images/yb_logo_square_grey.png Baseball clubs make pitching changes either to head off trouble before it begins or perhaps even more often, to stop the bleeding before it becomes terminal. On Wednesday in Miami, the moves to the pen made by manager Mike Matheny proved fatal for the St. Louis Cardinals that night. During the seventh inning, Cardinals starter Joe Kelly had to watch from the bench as he was removed from the game after six solid frames of two-run baseball. The move was understandable, given Kelly’s rookie status. Though he had thrown just 85 pitches, Kelly had gotten into trouble in the fifth, with two walks having turned into runs. The Cards plated a run in the top of the seventh on Tony Cruz’ home run. It broke a 2-2 tie and set up Kelly for a nicely-deserved win. With nine outs to secure, Matheny turned to Fernando Salas in relief. After a strikeout, the right-hander yielded a home run to John Buck that re-tied the game. Lefty Sam Freeman was then called upon to face Logan Morrison. The mov... Thu, 28 Jun 2012 12:02:21 -0400 http://network.yardbarker.com/mlb/article_external/two_homers_in_one_inning_against_cards_pitching_not_that_rare/11109644 http://network.yardbarker.com/mlb/article_external/two_homers_in_one_inning_against_cards_pitching_not_that_rare/11109644 Two homers in one inning against Cards pitching not that rare http://www.yardbarker.com/mlb/articles/two_homers_in_one_inning_against_cards_pitching_not_that_rare/11109644 http://www.yardbarker.com/images/yb_logo_square_grey.png Dave Cameron made a radical proposal today aimed at teams thinking of moving away from the standard five-man rotation. He suggested that they essentially blur the lines of starters and relievers and simply assign an even number of innings (or batters faced) to each pitcher in the pen. “Each pitcher will be asked to face 10 batters per game, which translates to about 38 pitches apiece.” Cameron advocates that teams target two-way players like Micah Owings, who are decent at handling a bat and also can throw average innings, and swingmen like Alfredo Aceves — mopup guys capable of taking a fair number of innings fairly frequently. That’s actually much more akin to the way that bullpens used to function in the days before hyperspecialization, except that in those days the majority of the important innings went to a “closer” like Roy Face or Bruce Sutter or Rollie Fingers, who pitched a lot more innings but had a lot fewer appearances than modern closers and setup men. Cameron’s strateg... Thu, 21 Jun 2012 17:16:33 -0400 http://network.yardbarker.com/mlb/article_external/latroy_hawkins_and_dave_camerons_radical_proposal/11063816 http://network.yardbarker.com/mlb/article_external/latroy_hawkins_and_dave_camerons_radical_proposal/11063816 LaTroy Hawkins and Dave Cameron’s Radical Proposal http://www.yardbarker.com/mlb/articles/latroy_hawkins_and_dave_camerons_radical_proposal/11063816 http://www.yardbarker.com/images/yb_logo_square_grey.png In the 17 years since Tony La Russa first arrived in St. Louis, the Cardinals employed at least two left-handed relievers to open the season in every year except one. In 1998, Lance Painter was the sole lefty in the pen, but the club knew what they had in him, as he was a holdover from the previous season. In three years, including as recently as 2005, three of the team’s seven initial relievers of the season threw with their left hand. At first blush, 2012 continued the more regular pattern, with two lefties rostered at season’s start. However, there is at least one significant difference. 2012 marks the only the third time in at least the last 16 years that neither left-hander had been with the Cardinals at the start of the previous season. There is good news and bad when considering the two prior clubs with all new lefties, 2001 and 2009. While each went on to the make the post-season, both teams lost in the first round of the playoffs, the League Division Series. One might put a... Tue, 15 May 2012 09:27:14 -0400 http://network.yardbarker.com/mlb/article_external/a_progression_of_cardinals_left_handed_relievers/10794158 http://network.yardbarker.com/mlb/article_external/a_progression_of_cardinals_left_handed_relievers/10794158 A progression of Cardinals left-handed relievers http://www.yardbarker.com/mlb/articles/a_progression_of_cardinals_left_handed_relievers/10794158 http://www.yardbarker.com/images/yb_logo_square_grey.png In lieu of last night’s horrific performance against the Dodgers, I decided to profile the worst Giants performances under Bruce Bochy, year-by-year. Things I considered when making these determinations: -Score: Was the game close? Did the Giants lose by double digits? Did they fail to score a run? -Rivalries. Losses to the Dodgers are worse than losses to the Blue Jays. They just are. -Standings. Where were the Giants in the division at the time of this loss? -Streaks. Did this game end a winning streak? Start a losing streak? -Gut-wrench factor. Did this game make you wish you liked soccer? -Ephemera. Did someone just get injured? Did someone the Giants payed a billion dollars to stink?   2007 Date: May 18 Opponent: Oakland Athletics Location: McAfee Coliseum Giants’ Record: 20-21, 4 ½ games back Score: 15-3 Recap: Barry Zito issues 4 walks in the first inning, 2 of which were with the bases loaded. One was to Jack Cust. I repeat. Barry Zito could not get Jack Cust to chase. Jona... Tue, 08 May 2012 21:43:43 -0400 http://network.yardbarker.com/mlb/article_external/this_was_the_worst_game_of_the_season_every_year_edition/10749473 http://network.yardbarker.com/mlb/article_external/this_was_the_worst_game_of_the_season_every_year_edition/10749473 This Was The Worst Game of the Season: Every Year Edition http://www.yardbarker.com/mlb/articles/this_was_the_worst_game_of_the_season_every_year_edition/10749473 http://www.yardbarker.com/images/yb_logo_square_grey.png Something peculiar happened during the most recent National Football League season: four quarterbacks threw for more than 4,900 yards. An unprecedented event given that two quarterbacks had accomplished the feat in 30 years theretofore. The increased reliance on, and perfection of, the forward pass has led to an assault on the record books, akin to the earlier offensive explosion in baseball. There are no rumblings of wrongdoing in football—at least, around these new levels of performance—but then again, there weren’t during the early phases of baseball’s offensive breakout, either. Even heading forward, don’t expect a congressional hearing, or columnists pontificating about lost innocence while urging a nation to grieve and revolt. Because, as one intrepid—and sadly, unremembered—soul put it: nobody cares about football stats. The inverse is true of baseball statistics. Anyone reading Prospectus is no stranger to numbers, or to the countless reasons why people are attracted to ... Tue, 03 Apr 2012 03:06:06 -0400 http://network.yardbarker.com/mlb/article_external/painting_the_black_2012_milestones_watch_by_rj_anderson/10470553 http://network.yardbarker.com/mlb/article_external/painting_the_black_2012_milestones_watch_by_rj_anderson/10470553 Painting the Black: 2012 Milestones Watch by R.J. Anderson http://www.yardbarker.com/mlb/articles/painting_the_black_2012_milestones_watch_by_rj_anderson/10470553 http://www.yardbarker.com/images/yb_logo_square_grey.png Former Cardinals closer Lee Smith got the highest vote total he's received in seven years on the Baseball Hall of Fame ballot. But unfortunately for the man with the third most saves in baseball history, Smith still remains well short of the 75 percent of the vote needed for enshrinement. The Baseball Hall of Fame released the 2010 voting numbers Monday afternoon and Smith's name appeared on 290 of 573 ballots, good for 50.6 percent. That's the highest total he's received since getting 47.3 percent of the vote in 2010. The right-hander dropped to 39.8 percent in 2007 but has seen an upward trend since. Working in Smith's favor is the fact that only one player has ever received 50 percent of the vote and not eventually gotten in to the Hall of Fame. But after hovering around 45 percent since he first appeared on the ballot in 2003, Smith would need to take a significant jump in his six remaining years on the ballot to garner enough votes. Former Reds shortstop Barry Larkin was the onl Tue, 10 Jan 2012 01:25:01 -0500 http://network.yardbarker.com/mlb/article_external/former_cardinals_fall_short_in_hof_voting/9242347 http://network.yardbarker.com/mlb/article_external/former_cardinals_fall_short_in_hof_voting/9242347 Former Cardinals fall short in HOF voting http://www.yardbarker.com/mlb/articles/former_cardinals_fall_short_in_hof_voting/9242347 http://www.yardbarker.com/images/yb_logo_square_grey.png Former Cardinals closer Lee Smith got the highest vote total he's received in seven years on the Baseball Hall of Fame ballot. But unfortunately for the man with the third most saves in baseball history, Smith still remains well short of the 75 percent of the vote needed for enshrinement. The Baseball Hall of Fame released the 2010 voting numbers Monday afternoon and Smith's name appeared on 290 of 573 ballots, good for 50.6 percent. That's the highest total he's received since getting 47.3 percent of the vote in 2010. The right-hander dropped to 39.8 percent in 2007 but has seen an upward trend since. Working in Smith's favor is the fact that only one player has ever received 50 percent of the vote and not eventually gotten in to the Hall of Fame. But after hovering around 45 percent since he first appeared on the ballot in 2003, Smith would need to take a significant jump in his six remaining years on the ballot to garner enough votes. Former Reds shortstop Barry Larkin was the onl Tue, 10 Jan 2012 01:25:01 -0500 http://network.yardbarker.com/mlb/article_external/former_cardinals_fall_short_in_hof_voting/9242350 http://network.yardbarker.com/mlb/article_external/former_cardinals_fall_short_in_hof_voting/9242350 Former Cardinals fall short in HOF voting http://www.yardbarker.com/mlb/articles/former_cardinals_fall_short_in_hof_voting/9242350 http://www.yardbarker.com/images/yb_logo_square_grey.png Tim Lincecum   55 – P     Position: Pitcher Bats: Left, Throws: Right Height: 5’11″, Weight: 170 lbs. Born: June 15, 1984 Place: Bellevue, WA High School: Liberty Senior High School in Renton, WA College: University of Washington Drafted By: San Francisco Giants (1st round, 10th pick) 2006 amateur draft. Signed: June 30, 2006 – $2.025 million signing bonus Major League Debut: May 6, 2007 Teams: Giants 2007-Present Contract: Resigned on February 12, 2010. 2 Years/$23M (10-11) Arbitration Eligible: 2012 and 2013 Free Agent: 2014 Agent: Rick Thurman Cy Young Award Winner (2008, 2009) 4-time All Star (2008, 2009, 2010, 2011) 3-time NL Strikeout Leader (2008, 2009, 2010) Babe Ruth Award Winner (MVP throughout 2010 Playoffs) 2010 World Series Champion Golden Spikes Award Winner (2006, Collegiate Baseball’s Top Player) Fun Facts 1st player to win Cy Young Award twice in 1st 2 full seasons in Majors. 1 of just 4 pitchers to win NL Cy Young Award in back-to-back seasons... Mon, 26 Dec 2011 16:51:59 -0500 http://network.yardbarker.com/mlb/article_external/tim_lincecum_profile/8953225 http://network.yardbarker.com/mlb/article_external/tim_lincecum_profile/8953225 Tim Lincecum Profile http://www.yardbarker.com/mlb/articles/tim_lincecum_profile/8953225 http://www.yardbarker.com/media/5/3/53360f906a415b065ce4343fd808ed7d584ca846/mini/PicImg_MLB_APR_21_e19a.jpg Every year at this time, I receive the autograph details for the St. Louis Cardinals Winter Warm-Up. The fan event is always held over Martin Luther King weekend, this time from Saturday, January 14 through Monday, January 16. In my annual just-for-fun endeavor, I look at rising and falling autograph prices from year to year. These are set by someone within the Cardinals hierarchy, and offer at least some estimation of the expected supply and demand for the autographs. In addition, the list of those signing for free includes over 40 names former, current and aspiring Cardinals. Also included for the second consecutive year are a trio of former Negro Leagues players, DeMorris Smith, Jesse Rogers and Sam Taylor. As always, the proceeds go to charity, Cardinals Care, so the needy are the true winners. Autograph tickets will go on sale online at cardinals.com at 9 A.M. on Wednesday, December 21. There is a limit of three tickets per player except for Lance Berkman and David Freese at on... Mon, 19 Dec 2011 18:27:27 -0500 http://network.yardbarker.com/mlb/article_external/cardinals_winter_warm_up_autograph_prices_up_selectively/8834371 http://network.yardbarker.com/mlb/article_external/cardinals_winter_warm_up_autograph_prices_up_selectively/8834371 Cardinals Winter Warm-Up autograph prices up selectively http://www.yardbarker.com/mlb/articles/cardinals_winter_warm_up_autograph_prices_up_selectively/8834371 http://www.yardbarker.com/images/yb_logo_square_grey.png C.C. LeeToday the Cleveland Indians announced their Minor League Pitcher and Player of the Year Awards naming right-handed pitcher Chen-Chang Lee as the 2011 Bob Feller Award recipient and second baseman Jason Kipnis as the 2011 Lou Boudreau Award recipient.Lee, 25, had a great year between Double-A Akron and Triple-A Columbus where he went a combined 6-1 with a save and 2.40 ERA in 44 relief appearances (71.1 IP, 53 H, 19 ER, 23 BB, 99 K). He averaged 12.5 strikeouts per 9.0 IP and limited minor league hitters to a .210 (53-252) average against with 3 HR allowed. On the season right-handed batters hit .197 (28-142) off him with just four extra base hits. After beginning the season in Akron (2.50 ERA, 23 G), he was promoted to Columbus on June 22 where he finished the year by going 4-0 with a 2.27 ERA in 21 games (31.2 IP, 26 H, 8 ER, 43 K) and recorded an ERA of 1.29 in four Triple- A playoff appearances (7.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R/ER, 4 BB, 7 K).Lee hails from the island nation of Taiwan ... Wed, 30 Nov 2011 09:33:00 -0500 http://network.yardbarker.com/mlb/article_external/indians_honor_lee_kipnis/8413945 http://network.yardbarker.com/mlb/article_external/indians_honor_lee_kipnis/8413945 Indians honor Lee, Kipnis http://www.yardbarker.com/mlb/articles/indians_honor_lee_kipnis/8413945 http://www.yardbarker.com/images/yb_logo_square_grey.png