Gateway to Baseball Heaven: A St. Louis Cardinals Podcast

GTBH 5/26/19: The Tables Haven't Turned

Every week, two of the Best Fans in Baseball (TM) bring you all the news and analysis you need about the St. Louis Cardinals.  This week's show promised to be an upbeat one after the Cardinals won in dramatic fashion Saturday and turned a three-run lead over to Jordan Hicks on Sunday.  Instead, things came crashing down and Daniel (C70 At The Bat, @C70) and Tara (Birds on the Black, @tarawellman) try to sort through the pieces.  Changes have happened but how long do you, can you wait for them to take affect?  What about the Michael Wacha news and why is Genesis Cabrera getting the call?  Plenty of worries and unanswered questions, but that doesn't make us any different than pretty much everyone in Cardinal Nation.

GTBH 5/19/19: We Give Up

Every week, two of the Best Fans in Baseball (TM) bring you all the news and analysis you need about the St. Louis Cardinals.  It was another rough week for the Redbirds and Daniel (C70 At The Bat, @C70) and Tara (Birds on the Black, @tarawellman) are at a bit of a loss.  It seems like the losses have come in a variety of ways, including Sunday's questionable decision to extend Jordan Hicks.  Will the lineup ever change?  Can the team get it together enough to make a run?  All that plus a great Tara rant on the starting pitching!

GTBH 5/12/19: Weren't They Supposed to Win at Home?

Every week, two of the Best Fans in Baseball (TM) bring you all the news and analysis you need about the St. Louis Cardinals.  It was another rough week for the Cardinals, as they dropped five of seven against the Phillies and the Pirates.  Daniel (C70 At The Bat, @C70) and Tara (Birds on the Black, @tarawellman) don't shy away from the ugliness, though, talking about the sputtering offense, some rotation issues, and whether there are bullpen issues to be concerned about.  There's not a lot of uplifting stuff in here, but it's good Cardinal talk nonetheless!

GTBH 5/5/19: Ain't No Sunshine

Every week, two of the Best Fans in Baseball (TM) bring you all the news and analysis you need about the St. Louis Cardinals.  On the heels of the Cardinals getting swept at Wrigley Field, Daniel (C70 At The Bat, @C70) and Tara (Birds on the Black, @tarawellman) scrounge around for positive news.  Spoiler alert: there's not much.  How much weight should we put on this first Cards/Cubs series?  How long will Luke Gregerson be a Cardinal?  Are our expectations way too high for Paul Goldschmidt?  All this and much more!

GTBH 4/28/19: What Is Carlos Martinez's Endgame?

Every week, two of the Best Fans in Baseball (TM) bring you all the news and analysis you need about the St. Louis Cardinals.  The Cards are flying high, heading into Washington with a 2.5 game lead over the Cubs.  That doesn't mean everything is just fine and dandy, though.  It was announced this week that Carlos Martinez was coming back as a reliever due to workload issues.  Is that something Carlos wanted?  There seem to be mixed signals coming from the Redbird hurler.  Daniel (C70 At The Bat, @C70) and Tara (Birds on the Black, @tarawellman) talk about all the different angles of that story.  They also get into Alex Reyes's latest setback and what Mike Shildt is doing--or maybe NOT doing--with the outfield.  Plenty of talk to get your week started!

GTBH 4/21/19: Doing It the Hard Way

Every week, two of the Best Fans in Baseball (TM) bring you all the news and analysis you need about the St. Louis Cardinals.  The Cards went 3-3 on the week, needing a strong outing against Noah Syndergaard to take the series from the Mets after losing another one to the Brewers.  The offense seems to be clicking overall and Daniel (C70 At The Bat, @C70) and Tara (Birds on the Black, @tarawellman) talk about the outfielders leading the charge, since it's a different conversation that we expected at the end of the year.  Marcell Ozuna, Dexter Fowler, and Jose Martinez all seem to be upping their offensive game as of late.  How much credit does Mike Shildt get there?  Is it sustainable?  And, on the flip side, are changes coming soon to the rotation and the bullpen?  The duo talks about Ryan Helsley's debut among other things, so give it a listen!

GTBH 4/14/19: A Solid Week of Work

Every week, two of the Best Fans in Baseball (TM) bring you all the news and analysis you need about the St. Louis Cardinals.  The Cardinals went 6-1 over the span between shows and Daniel (C70 At The Bat, @C70) and Tara (Birds on the Black, @tarawellman) are quite happy to see the results, even if there are still some concerns.  You gotta like the decrease in both hitter strikeouts and pitcher walks, but some bats have slowed down.  Marcell Ozuna looks to be heating up while Dexter Fowler continues to scuffle.  Daniel and Tara trace the downs and ups and then give way-too-early thoughts on Mike Shildt.  Enjoy!

GTBH 4/6/19: Walking Through the Week

Every week, two of the Best Fans in Baseball (TM) bring you all the news and analysis you need about the St. Louis Cardinals.  The Cards ended their week on a couple of down notes after coming back to St. Louis at .500.  There seem to be plenty of sources of angst among the fanbase and Daniel (C70 At The Bat, @C70) and Tara (Birds on the Black, @tarawellman) try to run down some of them.  Marcell Ozuna homered on Saturday but does that get him back on track?  Andrew Miller is still struggling--is there anything the Cards can do?  Is Genesis Cabrera the answer or should he even be considered in the equation?  And what's up with all the walks the pitching staff is issuing?  So many questions, so little time!

GTBH 3/31/19: Brewing Up a Mess

Every week, two of the Best Fans in Baseball (TM) bring you all the news and analysis you need about the St. Louis Cardinals.  Baseball season has begun but the Cardinals didn't quite get off to a flying start.  Is there cause for concern this early?  Daniel (C70 At The Bat, @C70) and Tara (Birds on the Black, @tarawellman) aren't quite ready to ring any alarm bells just yet.  It wouldn't be Gateway if these two didn't talk about Kolten Wong's torrid start, but there's also talk about Paul Goldschmidt and about how Mike Shildt managed this first weekend.  Plenty of good discussion about a tough weekend!

GTBH 3/24/19: Say Goodbye to Jupiter

Every week, two of the Best Fans in Baseball (TM) bring you all the news and analysis you need about the St. Louis Cardinals.  Save for an exhibition in Memphis, the spring training section of the schedule is over and Opening Day is right in sight.  One person who will be at this one and the five that come after is Paul Goldschmidt, who surprised many by signing his extension before making it to the Arch.  Daniel (C70 At The Bat, @C70) and Tara (Birds on the Black, @tarawellman) talk about how this came about, what it means for this team, and how Goldschmidt fits into this team both baseball and otherwise.

After talking about the new richest Cardinal ever, Daniel and Tara get into the final shaping of the roster.  How important is it that without (much) argument, the best 25 players went north?  How special can this team be?  Given the revived offense the last couple of games, who isn't excited about seeing what this team can do?  Baseball season is here, folks, and it promises to be a good one!