Last July, as I reviewed the best commercials across Major League Baseball, I took a look at the St. Louis Cardinals’ team commercials

After Tony La Russa was re-signed prior to the 2011 season, Ryan wrote an article called, “La Russa is back! Bring in the geezers!” where he scrutinized TLR’s tendency to employ aging infielders.

Several of the Rangers’ players made an appearance in our beloved MLB Look-alikes series:

–       David Murphy and Allan Ruck (link)

–       Josh Hamilton and Cole Hauser (link)

–       Ian Kinsler and Efraim E. Diveroli (link)

–       Ron Washington & Lil’ Ron Washington (link)

Shortly after the Cardinals signed Nick Punto in January, I also examined TLR’s affinity for pocket-sized infielders.

As both Spring Training and the Albert Pujols negotiations reached an end this past spring, Justin argued that Pujols’ impending free agency was bad for baseball.

On the contrary, Griff contended that Pujols’ free agency was good for baseball

Ryan detailed some of Tim McCarver’s (who he deems to be baseball’s worst announcer) finest facepalm moments from World Series past.

I posted the video of the worst commercial of all-time, courtesy of the super-awkward TLR.

We captured Rob on TV during Game 1 of the World Series, right next to David Freese

Just the other day prior to Game 3 in Arlington, I wrote that Allen Craig would torch the Rangers’ left-handed starters, and he made me look like a genius by launching a home run in his first at-bat against Matt Harrison.  Thanks, Allen.

Back when it was still relevant, I explored the significance behind the Rangers’ claws and antlers.

My esteemed colleague and rival fantasy owner Griffin Phelps posted a few days ago that Albert Pujols’ failure to sign an extension with the Cardinals was good for baseball.  Griffin’s principal argument is that, at a time when baseball season is over but the other three major American sports are in full swing, the impending free agency of a talent like Albert Pujols will command the attention of a huge portion of the sports world.  He’s absolutely right about that.  After all, while LeBron’s “Decision” last July severely injured his reputation among fans, it did lend national attention to the NBA during the heat of summer, when everyone normally is focused only on baseball.  A decision from Pujols, who some argue is the greatest player in the game today, would likely garner equal hype for baseball even without the charade of an hour-long ESPN special.

However, while Griffin’s argument undoubtedly has merit, I would like to go on the record as saying that I hope Albert Pujols remains a Cardinal for life.  My principal reason for this is that the market for a player of Pujols’ talent would be unlike anything ever seen before in Major League Baseball.  If he is free to negotiate with all thirty major league teams, it is inevitable that one of those teams will give him a monster deal to end all monster deals.  This may be good for Pujols, but I’m not so sure it’s good for Major League Baseball.

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On Friday afternoon the St. Louis Cardinals signed infielder Nick Punto to a one-year deal worth approximately $700K.  Punto, who can play both middle infield positions as well as third base, will likely serve as the backup for Ryan Theriot and Skip Schumaker. However, knowing Tony La Russa’s affinity for “gamers,” I’m sure that he will receive far too many starts.

The Cardinals’ middle infield now consists of three players who are under 6-feet tall and coming off seasons in which each posted less than a 1.0 WAR.  In 2010, Theriot, Schumaker, and Punto hit a combined .262 (1,314 ABs) with eight home runs and 91 RBI.  After Albert Pujols, Schumaker is considered to be the Cardinals’ second-most productive infielder headed into the upcoming season.  I know, frightening.

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The Cardinals and long-time manager Tony La Russa recently agreed on a contract that will bring him back for the 2011 season, as well as a mutual option for 2012. What does this mean for Cardinals fans? Well, it means more classic double switches, more pitchers batting before Brendan Ryan (although I still haven’t decided if that’s a bad thing—ZING!), and maybe even another Glenn Beck rally if he’s feeling political, like when he went on record saying he supported the supremely racist Arizona immigration law. Seriously, Tony? All that aside, what we will definitely see is an influx in Tony’s favorite guilty pleasure, and I’m not talking about taking naps at stoplights at 3 AM. I’m talking about atrocious 30-something infielders. T-Bone adores picking up players well past their prime, assuming they had a prime in the first place. The requirements for this list are simple, and the same criteria Tony uses: they have to be well over 30 with an OPS below .700 (the lower the better). Here are four players that TLR should keep his eye on, some of which might actually play for the Cards next year or played for them in the past…

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