Gateway to Baseball Heaven: A St. Louis Cardinals Podcast

GTBH 5/28/17: One Outta Three Ain't Good

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, Daniel Shoptaw (C70 At The Bat, @C70) and Tara Wellman (Bird Seeds, @tarawellman) have another rough week for the Redbirds to discuss after series losses to the Dodgers and Rockies.  They discuss the problems at the top of the lineup and what (if anything) can be done, the troubles in the bullpen and the beginnings of the roster churn there, as well as apologizing to Adam Wainwright for ever thinking he was washed up.  Come for the clouds, stay for the silver linings!

GTBH 5/21/17: A Terrible, No Good, Very Bad 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.  This week, Daniel Shoptaw (C70 At The Bat, @C70) and Tara Wellman (Bird Seeds, @tarawellman) are left reeling by losses on and off the diamond.  Even with fabulous starting pitching, the Cardinals only managed to go 1-4 against the Red Sox and Giants, with the most egregious loss coming at the legs of Matt Carpenter.  Matt Adams was dealt to Atlanta, and while the two are sad to see him go, it did seem inevitable and they wish him the best in Atlanta.  The Cardinals also came up short in adding the talented Luis Robert to their minor league system.  Is there a fundamental flaw in the front office's approach to these situations?  All that and discussing the mystery that is the roster construction, so sit back and enjoy!

GTBH 5/14/17: Not Getting Sick of the Winning

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 winning week for the Redbirds and Daniel Shoptaw (C70 At The Bat, @C70) and Tara Wellman (Bird Seeds, @tarawellman) were glad to have more wins to discuss.  While the record may not really reflect it, the Cardinals stepped up in competition this weekend against the defending World Champs and acquitted themselves nicely.  Does that mean that this really is a good team and not just a team taking it out on soft competition?  How important are Tommy Pham and Magneuris Sierra to the recent resurgence?  More importantly, how long are they going to be with the team?  We saw a great start from Adam Wainwright on Sunday--turning the corner or a blip in a bad pattern?  All this and much, much more!

Note: We so, SO wanted to title this episode #ThatsCub but we couldn't quite bring ourselves to do it.

GTBH 5/7/17: No Podcasters Were Injured During The Making of This Show

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 was a painful week for the Cardinals, less because of the results (4-2) than the outfielders that dropped like flies.  While that did let us get a look at Tommy Pham and Mags Sierra, how severe are these injuries?  Will Dexter Fowler return quickly or be the next to the DL?  And if so, who is left to come to St. Louis?

Daniel Shoptaw (C70 At The Bat, @C70) and Tara Wellman (Bird Seeds, @tarawellman) tackle that and other things about this week, such as the growth of both Kolten Wong and, surprisingly, Mike Matheny.  Is Wong finally developing into the every day second baseman?  Has Mike taken the next step in his managerial evolution?  Listen and find out!

GTBH 4/30/17: One Month Down, Five To Go

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, Mother Nature got as many wins as the Cardinals did losses, which made for a stop-and-start schedule especially with an off-day mixed in.  Even though the Redbirds went 3-2 since last Sunday, Daniel (C70 At The Bat, @C70) and Tara (Bird Seeds, @tarawellman) still see plenty to be concerned about.  For a team that was supposed to emphasize pitching and defense, there's not been a huge increase from last year's weak showing.  (In fact, some stats indicate the opposite.)  The bullpen--strength or ticking time bomb?  Can Adam Wainwright adapt?  All that plus discussing how bad it must be to be replaced by Pete Kozma!

GTBH 4/23/17: Filling In the Hole

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 is much more upbeat than the last few, as the Cardinals won six of the seven games they played this week.  That doesn't mean that all is hunky-dory, however, and Daniel Shoptaw (C70 At The Bat, @C70) and Tara Wellman (Bird Seeds, @tarawellman) look at some of the issues that are still out there.  When you win three games by 2-1 scores and two other games because of the offensive exploits of your pitchers, you might think that the offense still needs some work.  Seung-hwan Oh still is doing his best Jason Isringhausen.  How long can that keep going?  And what's up with Carlos Martinez?  All that and more on this week's show!

GTBH 4/16/17: It's Either Laugh, Cry, or Rant

Every week, two of the Best Fans in Baseball (TM) bring you all the news and analysis you need about the St. Louis Cardinals.  Actually, this week there's little analysis you need--the club is just really bad right now.  The Cards won one single game this week (against Max Scherzer, so don't tell us baseball doesn't have a sense of humor) so Daniel and Tara go back and forth trying to figure out what to do say about a team that looks lackluster and listless in the early going.  There's not a lot of options for John Mozeliak and the ones that he does have may not have much of an impact, but that doesn't stop us from talking about them.

All this plus a discussion about Adam Wainwright!

GTBH 4/9/17: Hey, We Weren't Ready To Start Yet!

Every week, two of the Best Fans in Baseball (TM) bring you all the news and analysis you need about the St. Louis Cardinals.  However, this week Daniel Shoptaw (C70 At The Bat) and Tara Wellman (Bird Seeds) are fairly flummoxed about all that's going on.  When you have a week that sees you drop four of six, including two shutouts against the Reds, perhaps the worst pitch Adam Wainwright has ever thrown, a ball sticking to Yadier Molina's chest protector, and a trip around the bases that got Stephen Piscotty not only on SportsCenter but on Jimmy Kimmell......well, you try to explain it.

Tara and Daniel tackle the biggest issue of the day, the seeming fascination with Matt Adams in the outfield.  That might have gotten the focus this week--with good reason--but there have been other woes.  The bullpen has been allowing home runs like they were facing the 2016 Cardinals.  Some major cogs in the lineup are well below the .200 mark.  Even the starting pitching took a hit at the end of the week with the Reds proving much tougher for Carlos Martinez to solve than the Cubs.

It was a wild, wild, wild, wild week and hopefully the next one will restore some order to the galaxy.  After all, they are just playing....the Nationals and the Yankees.  No problem!

Also, make sure you stick around for the first post-credits comments ever in a GTBH podcast!

GTBH 4/3/17: Opening Up the Debate

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 2017 season is finally underway and, as of right now, the standings are back to their rightful place with the Cards on top.  Daniel Shoptaw (C70 At The Bat) and Tara Wellman (Bird Seeds) go through the highs and lows of the opener.  At which point did Mike Matheny make an egregious error?  How amazing was Carlos Martinez?  Has Randal Grichuk learned control?  Plus the two discuss the contract extensions for Yadier Molina and for Stephen Piscotty.  It's a cram-packed thirty minutes and it's worth every penny!  (Please remember it's free.)

GTBH 3/26/17: The roster, the Yadi, and Wong

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's been another successful week of spring training, but Daniel Shoptaw (C70 At The Bat) and Tara Wellman (Bird Seeds) actually have a lot to talk about that wasn't on the field.  The Cardinals set their 25-man roster early this season--were there any surprises?  What does this mean for the future of Tommy Pham?  Yadier Molina is back from the WBC with a new lease on life and a new contract deadline.  Can the Cardinals sign him?  Should the Cardinals sign him?  What's causing this breakdown?  We finish up with a subject near and dear to Tara's heart, Kolten Wong.  Does this idea that he's going to be platooned indicate a breaking of the "you're our second baseman" pledge from this offseason?  Can Kolten ever get his head right?  All that and...well, that's pretty much it, but it's a lot of good stuff crammed into 45 minutes, so you should be good.