Meet Me At Musial: A St. Louis Cardinals Podcast

Episode 266: Jonesing For The Season

It's another season of Meet Me at Musial and with Allen (Red Dirt Redbird, @amedlock1) away starting baseball coaching duties, Daniel (C70 At The Bat, @C70) has the traditional season opener, bringing in Jeff Jones (Belleville News-Democrat, @jmjones) to talk about all things Cardinals.  2022 brought a lot of great storylines for Cardinal fans.  What was it like getting to see Albert Pujols up close?  How strange was the season of Yadier Molina?  Was the changeover in the coaching staff that unexpected?
There's a lot to look forward to as well with the 2023 season on its way.  Who is going to be the regular center fielder?  Can Jordan Walker make this team out of spring?  Is this the last season for John Mozeliak in his current position?  All that and much more as we start off Season 9!

Episode 265: Looking Back, Looking Forward

On New Year's Eve, Daniel (C70 At The Bat, @C70) and Allen (Red Dirt Redbird, @amedlock1) talk about some of the biggest stories of 2022, from Albert Pujols's return to the big trade, and then went over some of the predictions of 2023 to see how reasonable they are.  Come wrap up the year with the guys!

Episode 264: Catching Up with the Cardinals

It's been a couple of weeks and things have happened--and not happened--in the world of the Cardinals so Daniel (C70 At The Bat, @C70) and Allen (Red Dirt Redbird, @amedlock1) got together to try to discuss it all.  St. Louis found its replacement for the departing Yadier Molina in Willson Contreras.  While it brings up memories of Dexter Fowler, is this really a bad deal?  How will it impact the pitching staff, especially Adam Wainwright?
That leads to a discussion of said staff, especially the fact that it has not been upgraded, with the last big free agent signing elsewhere.  Will there be a trade?  What is the thinking of the front office?
The guys wrap discussing the sad news around Dan McLaughlin and pondering who might be filling that seat in 2023.  Come spend some pre-Christmas time with these two!

Episode 263: Eating Your Vegetables

After a little time off for Thanksgiving, Daniel (C70 At The Bat, @C70) and Allen (Red Dirt Redbird, @amedlock1) are back at it, trying to stir some embers and see if the Cardinals version of the hot stove can catch fire.  Before that, though, the guys fix an issue from last time, talking about the additions of the new coaches on staff, most notably Matt Holliday.  Then they get into what the Cardinals should do, what the Cardinals likely will do, and the chances that there's a surprise out there.  They wrap it all up in a nice Cody Bellinger-shaped bow, so stay tuned for that!

Episode 262: No Accounting For Taste

Who wants to talk about payroll?  Daniel (C70 At The Bat, @C70) and Allen (Red Dirt Redbird, @amedlock1) spend most of this episode trying to wrap their heads around what the Cardinals are doing with their budget for this winter.  The available amounts seem to have gone from $60 million to $20 million faster than the snap of Thanos's fingers.  Is that reasonable?  Should the Cardinals not be counting the money from Colorado, even though they are receiving it now?  Can you get this team to where it needs to be with the resources provided?  They also talk about awards season, the World Series, and when the Christmas season actually starts.  Come on in and give it a listen!

Episode 261: Bench Clearing

For a team not in the playoffs, the Cardinals made quite a bit of news this week.  Daniel (C70 At The Bat, @C70) and Allen (Red Dirt Redbird, @amedlock1) go over all of it.  Adam Wainwright is coming back for another season.  Is that a surprise?  Does that mean that the Cards are set at pitcher?  Waino deferred some money in his new contract and John Mozeliak said that payroll will be going up.  Where is that money going?  Some may go to Nolan Arenado, who seems to be using his opt-out leverage in constructive ways.  But would he go somewhere else?  Mo also indicated there would be an outside addition at catcher.  How surprising was that and is Willson Contreras the answer?  Finally the guys get to the coaching changes and what kind of person might fill the void.  Come settle in and go over all the news!

Episode 260: An Abrupt Halt

The Cardinals' season ended in the snap of a (jammed) finger and with a whimper, not a bang.  With Allen (@amedlock1) away, Daniel (C70 At The Bat, @C70) and Alex (Birds on the Black, @alexcards79) get down to talking about how things ended.  Which, being the grumpy old men that they are, leads down the "is this postseason expansion bad" road.  After that, they discuss Adam Wainwright's Twitter explanation of his rough September and spend some time honoring Bruce Sutter.

Episode 259: That Wasn’t Supposed To Happen

The Cardinals were 93-0 entering the ninth inning of a postseason game with a lead of two or more.  They were much more known for late rallies than late collapses.  Unfortunately, not all this history this season is good and Daniel (C70 At The Bat, @C70) and Allen (Red Dirt Redbird, @amedlock1) are here to sift the the rubble of that ninth inning.  How much blame goes to Oli Marmol?  Should Ryan Helsley have notified the bench sooner about his finger?  What sort of situation does that put the Cards in for the rest of the series, which hopefully is more than one game?  The guys talk about all of that, plus the end of the regular season and the curious case of the reliever extension.

Episode 258: It’s Time for October Baseball

The Cardinals did the second-best kind of divisional clinching this week, taking the NL Central on Milwaukee's turf.  (The best, of course, would have been to do it against Milwaukee at Busch.)  Daniel (C70 At The Bat, @C70) and Allen (Red Dirt Redbird, @amedlock1) spend some time looking at the rest of the playoff picture and how that might impact the Cards before settling in to the Cardinal-centric talk.  Who's in and who's out of the postseason roster?  Is there any way Adam Wainwright doesn't make a start in the first series?  Can Tyler O'Neill get back in time?  All that plus some reflections on The Last Inning--the final home weekend with two (three?) absolute legends of the organization.

Episode 257: History Accomplished

700!  A mark that seemed so improbable at the beginning of the season and so impossible midway through became reality last night.  Daniel (C70 At The Bat, @C70) and Allen (Red Dirt Redbird, @amedlock1) marvel at the man that is Albert Pujols and talk about this historic event and all that surrounds it, such as if it couldn't come in St. Louis, LA was the next best place.  While the guys could talk about Pujols forever, they do turn to the recent downturn of the offense, their thoughts on the current pitching staff, and some look forward to the postseason.  Mainly, though, this is about Albert.  As it should be!