Yesterday Jon Paul Morosi wrote an article on foxsports.com saying that Cardinals manager Tony La Russa was "way off base" on his take on the Arizona immigration law controversy because "it’s apparent that he’s out of touch with the multicultural group of men responsible for his forthcoming trip to Cooperstown."

Since when is a manager "out of touch" because he has a different opinion? La Russa said that “States should take care of what the federal government’s not taking care of. I’m actually a supporter of what Arizona is doing. If the national government doesn’t fix your problem, you’ve got a problem. You’ve got to fix it yourself. That’s just part of the American way.” Whats so wrong with that?

It's not like he's an advocate for the Arizona law, he was asked for his opinion and he gave it. But if he was, do you think that he is advocating racism, profiling, and discrimination?

Of course not!

Mexico is in the middle of a war with drug cartels that will even shoot the superstar Latino players who speak out against the Arizona law. That war is starting to spill over to the states like Arizona where I go to school. The Arizona government clearly established this law as a last resort, I understand that.

Hey I'm Cuban and I know that I'm not going to be asked about my citizenship unless I commit a crime and get caught.

Jon Paul Morosi says that La Russa was way off base on the issue and is out of touch with his Latino players, but I don't.

What say you?

As of now the Cardinals and Reds are neck and neck in the NL central standings with no dark horse in sight. They will stay that way unless a key player gets injured or one of these two teams make a move before the 7/31 trade deadline.

The St. Louis Cardinals could use some help in the infield and I think that Miguel Tejada (.283, 6, 32) of the Baltimore Orioles would be a great quick fix for the Cards while Brendan Ryan (.205, 2, 15) either develops in AAA Memphis or sits back in the bench and learn from Tejada. Speaking of the Orioles, another good option would be Ty Wigginton (.258, 14, 42). Ty can play all four infield positions and can provide some pop in the lineup for the Cardinals.

The Cincinnati Reds have a more balanced lineup than the Cardinals but their bullpen could use an arm or two. Their rotation could use an established starter as well if they're going to widen their lead in the central standings. Everyone knows about Cliff Lee (7-3 2.45) and it is very likely that if the Reds get him he will only be a rental. That is why I believe that getting Roy Oswalt (5-10 3.55) will be a better option for them because they will have him for an extra year or two. And yes, once Roy goes to a contender his second half stats will be much better.

So what say you?

While all the recent talk around MLB centers on Mark McGwire and steroids, it’s easy to forget

that Spring Training is creeping up.

Cactus League play begins on March 3 and Grapefruit League starts a day before that.

This is a good time to look at the future baseball odds to win World

Series that sportsbook currently have posted.

New York Yankees

When we last left MLB, the New York Yankees were hoisting their 27th World Series title.

The “Evil Empire” will enter the 2010 season as defending champions and as a matter of fact, the

Yanks are odds-on favorites to repeat at +300.

The Bronx Bombers’ roster will look a little different going into the season as 2009 World

Series MVP Hideki Matsui migrated west to the Los Angeles Angels and his place in the lineup, as

it stands, will be taken by Nick Johnson, according to an mlb.com report.

The Pinstripes re-signed southpaw Andy Pettitte to a one-year deal and dealt outfielder Melky

Cabrera and pitchers Michael Dunn and Arodys Vizcaino along with some cash to the Atlanta Braves

in exchange for righty Javier Vazquez and lefty Boone Logan, who was subsequently signed for one

year.

In Vazquez’s last 16 starts last season, the Braves went 12-4.


Philadelphia Phillies

On first glance, the fact that the Phillies traded away pitcher Cliff Lee to Seattle doesn’t

make sense, as Lee went 13-4 (including the playoffs) after joining the Phillies from Cleveland

in late-July.

In the postseason Lee went 4-0 with an ERA of 1.56 and he was on the mound for both of

Philadelphia’s World Series victories.

But when you factor in that Philadelphia added Roy Halladay to its rotation, there is logic

behind the Lee deal.

Doc Halladay started 32 games for the Toronto Blue Jays last year and had a record of 17-10 with

an ERA of 2.79 and will be a welcome addition to the Phillies’ pitching staff.

Philly is listed at +600 to win this year’s World Series and if it does, it would be its second

title in three years.


New York Mets

The New York Mets fell well short of expectations last season, finishing with a record of 70-92

so there was a need to bolster the roster with the 2010 season approaching.

While the Yankees are the ones that usually make the big splashes in free agency, the Mets one-

upped their cross-town rivals this offseason, in terms of big-name signings, when they inked

former Boston Red Sox leftfielder Jason Bay to a four-year deal.

The Mets are hoping that Bay will be a big piece of the puzzle in their pursuit of the NL East

title and hopefully, a World Series.

The Metropolitans are listed at +1900 to win it all in 2010.


Seattle Mariners

Despite not making the playoffs last year, the Seattle Mariners still had a relatively

successful season, going 85-77.

If its offseason is any indication of how its regular season will be, Seattle should make the

playoffs or better.

As mentioned, the club traded for Philly’s playoff ace Cliff Lee and it did a number of other

things to improve.

The Mariners plucked 3B Chone Figgins away from the division rival Los Angeles Angels; re-signed

Ken Griffey Jr. to a one-year deal and extended young ace Felix Hernandez’s deal by five years.

The only move that can be considered something of a head-scratcher is the trade for volatile

Chicago Cubs outfielder Milton Bradley.

Seattle is listed at +1600 to win the World Series in MLB futures betting.

Spring Training will be starting up again soon and shortly after that, the start of another MLB

season.

Cardinal twist takes care of you on all online sports betting needs.

As all Cardinal fans know Albert Pujols is a machine. The year he is having in the midst of all this MLB steroid talk is amazing. I think its safe to say that someone like Albert would have to be a complete fool to be on steroids this season so we all know Albert is clean and dominating.

NCAA^® March Madness^® on Demand

BleacherReport.com's Joel Koch reporting-

"Oh, bye-bye, baby
The party's over,
I have gone away.
The party's over,
I have gone away.
The party's over,
I have gone away.
The party's over,
I have gone away.
Oo, the party's over,
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Journey's never said it better when it comes to the St. Louis Cardinals. The fight has been there, but the spark was blown out on Sunday afternoon. The Cardinals were swept by the Houston Astros, thereby ending their unpredicted run to the National League Central Division and Wild Card titles.

The Cardinals tried to keep pace, but July 31 was the turning point. Some might say it was that four game set between the Milwaukee Brewers and the aforementioned Cardinals at Busch Stadium.

The Brewers swept that series, pushing the Cardinals from one game up to three games back.

The Cardinals had every opportunity to win this shindig, but parity got the best of them.

It was the July 4th weekend when the Chicago Cubs rolled into town. The Cardinals were a mere two and a half games back of the Cubs in the Central standings. A Cardinals sweep would put the Cardinals in first place, a half game up on the Cubs.

It didn't go the way the Cardinals hoped. Thanks to a Rick Ankiel walk-off hit, the Cardinals managed just one win, pushing them to three and a half back.

The ship started sinking.

The Brewers roll into town, sweep a four game set and the Cardinals were suddenly in third place, trying to make that uphill climb.

The ship was close to being sunk.

The Non-Waiver July 31 Trade Deadline passed, and the Cardinals didn't make a single move to improve the ball club. (And if you're hoping to play cards, online poker is a fast and easy way to start.)

Tony La Russa and company were waiting for a plane to fly overhead, find them in their dingy, and save them.

The plane flew right overhead and didn't even bother to look down.

That dingy washed ashore in Houston, and the Cardinals were hoping that they could burn the Astros and use the smoke to signal a plane.

Yeah, that didn't go so well.

Ok, now if you've kept up with me, I applaud you. I kind of lost myself in that, but it was fun to write. Anyway, the Cardinals are looking forward to 2009 now. They are six and a half games back in the Wild Card of the Brewers (and a full game behind the Philadelphia Phillies), not to mention 11 games behind the Cubs. With a combined 15 Cardinal losses and Cub wins, the Cardinals will officially be out of the Central chase.

Yikes.

Let's see the real crime.

The Cardinals started the season with a 18-11 record, tying them with the Cubs for first place. Since the end of April, the Cardinals are 56-52. That's right, four games over .500. That's mediocre, and that's the problem.

As Bernie Miklasz pointed out in his recent article, the Cardinals are 52-51 since May 6, and, brace yourselves, 34-36 since June 12.

Yikes.

Maybe 2009 will be better? The Cardinals will be shedding $26 million after the season is over, so they'll have the money to go out and make a move. Excuses will be washed away. Let's see how the Cardinals handle this postseason.

Here's a news alert. I haven't seen this article that was pointed out yet, but according to "kyace" on the STLtoday Cards Talk (fan forums), the Yankees are wanting a left handed hitting outfielder and are willing to trade Robinson Cano and/or Phil Hughes to land the outfielder. The Cardinals could be dealing Rick Ankiel. Source

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St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Kyle Lohse was dominant through 6.2 innings of work Friday night against the Houston Astros' explosive lineup. That was when relative unknown David Newhan stepped into the batter's box. With his Astros' squad down 2-0 in the seventh inning and a man on base, Newhan took a Lohse offering over the fence to tie up the ballgame.

After that, the Astros' bullpen went to work. Not only was it their pitching, but the offense fed off of Newhan's bomb, with a walk-off home run from Lance Berkman to send the Cardinals into disarray.

I knew the Cardinals had extremely slim chances of winning the NL Wild Card over the Milwaukee Brewers, but after Friday, I'm finally ready to count the Cards out of the 2008 playoff race.

It was a pretty amazing season, especially considering that most experts predicted us to finish fifth within the NL Central division.

But now, with just less than 30 games remaining, the Cardinals are 4.5 games out of the Wild Card slot, virtually burying them under a bunch of Brew Crew rubble.

The Redbirds never could muster any offense against lefty Randy Wolf, who almost exclusively throws breaking balls that sweep more than most erratic brooms.

As FSN's Rick Horton said, "The Cardinals now need pitching to come in each and every night and throw seven to eight innings giving up just two runs or less."

That obviously won't happen every game, but it needs to for the Cardinals to have a chance to overtake the Brewers.

That being said, it's over for the Birds and Bats this year, bring on 2009!