On a windy day on the back fields of Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter, Fla., Mike Claiborne, one of the radio voices of the Cardinals, joins baseball writer Derrick Goold to discuss how maybe Flag Day is too late in the schedule to determine where the club is headed in 2024. So it's time for an earlier Claiborne appearnce.

It's a Leap Year. It's after a losing season. It's after a last-place season. That date will come much earlier. Claiborne, a regular on the Best Podcast in Baseball around Flag Day, the day he has annually suggested it's time to check the standing, agrees with the premise that it could be Memorial Day this season, or even May Day.

As spring training activities, Florida gusts, and one mower swirl around them, Claiborn and St. Louis Post-Dispatch staff writer Goold discuss pivotal years for Nolan Arenado, Paul Goldschmidt, and the Cardinals leadership.

They also discuss what a lineup could look like with the left-handed options or if it's someday built around young sluggers Nolan Gorman and Jordan Walker.

Goold asks Claiborne three questions to close out the episode: Can a player be a Cardinal great without playoff success? What tone has he seen set in spring training to match the importance of the season? And, finally, what's at stake for the Cardinals this season that moves up the Flag Day reality check? 

The Best Podcast in Baseball, sponsored by Closets by Design of St. Louis, is a production of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, StlToday.com, and Derrick Goold.

As Cardinals prepare for the official opening of spring training, what tone must be set early and what lessons from last year's losing season and curious spring will inform this year's camp? St. Louis Post-Dispatch sports columnist Ben Frederickson joins baseball writer Derrick Goold to discuss how more than just the Cardinals' spring training facilities in Jupiter, Florida, need an overhaul. The roster received one. The club suggests the leadership in the clubhouse is next for a dash of retro restoration. In a brand new episode of the Best Podcast in Baseball, the two writers detail the new look of the bullpen and four of the team leaders who will help shape what the team looks like and achieves during spring training. Is the certainty of some positions a better place to start than the competition advertised a year ago? Why does the Cardinals approach with the bullpen seem so similar to how they viewed the rotation a year ago -- and is a similar outcome inevitable? (This podcast was recorded before the Cardinals reached an agreement pending physical with right-handed reliever Keynan Middleton.) The Best Podcast in Baseball, sponsored by Closets by Design of St. Louis, is a production of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, StlToday.com, and Derrick Goold.

New Cardinals reliever Andrew Kittredge, less than 72 hours after the trade that brought him from Tampa Bay to St. Louis, talks with the Best Podcast in Baseball and host Derrick Goold about the move, and why it wasn't entirely unexpected. Kittredge also details the slider that got him to the majors, and how the Rays and their creative and collaborative pitching culture accelerated his career and gave him the opportunity to pitch in the majors, in high-leverage situations, in the playoffs, and in the All-Star Game. Kittredge details his approach to pitching and dives into some of the analytics behind his pitch use. During the podcast, the Cardinals readied to announce Chaim Bloom as a new advisor within the front office, and Kittredge discusses how Bloom played a big part in bringing him to the Rays. Kittredge joined the BPIB from Washington and while he did not sport the beard he often does on the mound, he did wear a Huskies cap as the NCAA national championship football game approached. So, of course, the hat and lack of a beard is discussed. The Best Podcast in Baseball, sponsored by Closets by Design of St. Louis, is a production of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, StlToday.com, and baseball writer Derrick Goold.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's the Best Podcast in Baseball Holiday Episode: Part 2. Comedian Greg Warren, an All-American wrestler at Mizzou, considers a question posed by Post-Dispatch sports columnist Ben Frederickson: What current Cardinal would make the best wrestler? The physical skills and mental strength necessary propels the discussion in this is second part of the holiday BPIB, recorded at Sunday Best, a restaurant in St. Louis' Central West End. BPIB host and baseball writer Derrick Goold poses the question about holiday shopping for Cardinals fans and whether the timing of the Cardinals' moves have as much to do with their criticism as the actual moves themselves. Warren's new special, The Salesman, is available on YouTube, and he will appear at the Funny Bone in St. Charles in April. The Best Podcast in Baseball, sponsored by Closets by Design of St. Louis, is a production of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, StlToday.com, and Derrick Goold. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's the Best Podcast in Baseball Holiday Episode: Part 1. Comedian Greg Warren, a St. Louis native and devoted Cardinals fan, took over as entertainment for his friends at ballgames this past year when the results on the field were hardly a laughing matter. If that meant waving off the t-shirt slingshot or spiking his hat in frustration when the ball wasn't under the cap he guessed, then so be it. Warren, whose new special 'The Salesman' is available on YouTube, joins St. Louis Post-Dispatch sports columnist Ben Frederickson and baseball writer Derrick Goold at Sunday Best, a restaurant in St. Louis' Central West End, to discuss his beloved Cardinals, what it's like being a fan this winter after a 91-loss season, and much much more, including the nightmare of seeing an actual can of corn hurtling toward you in right field. Part 2 of the discussion will appear shortly after this one drops. The Best Podcast in Baseball, sponsored by Closets by Design of St. Louis, is a production of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, StlToday.com, and Derrick Goold.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Cardinals have 11 World Series titles, most in the National League. Just ask them. But the Dodgers are coming for that crown the Cardinals cling to -- only four behind with 10 years of Shohei Ohtani ahead. "That's the mission statement," says Los Angeles Times baseball writer Bill Shaikin as he joins the Best Podcast in Baseball from the epicenter of Major League Baseball's biggest news of the offseason. Ohtani, the best player in baseball and a two-way superstar unlike any before him, agreed to a radical, record-setting contract that both made him the highest-paid professional athlete ever and also deferred so much money that he will be one of the lowest-paid players on the Dodgers. How is this possible? When is $700 million not really $700 million? Shaikin, who covers the business of baseball for the LA Times and has covered MLB for decades, discusses this with BPIB host and St. Louis Post-Dispatch baseball writer Derrick Goold. The Best Podcast in Baseball, sponsored by Closets by Design of St. Louis, is a production of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, StlToday.com, and Derrick Goold.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Cardinals entered the offseason with optimism they could make American League Cy Young Award runnerup Sonny Gray a compelling offer to come to St. Louis and lead, from the mound and clubhouse, a revamped rotation. In the span of 3 minutes, 9 seconds -- which you'll hear in this brand new episode of the Best Podcast in Baseball -- Gray revealed what the Cardinals saw in him and what he saw in the Cardinals that forged a three-year, $75-million guarantee that gives the veteran right-hander a chance to become the team's first $100-million free agent pitcher. KMOX/1120 AM's Kevin Wheeler pinch-hits as the host for this episode and joins St. Louis Post-Dispatch baseball writer Derrick Goold to discuss whether Gray is an ace, whether Gray is enough, and whether the Cardinals have earned a sunnier outlook already for 2024. Also discussed: The need for two relievers to really retool the pitching staff and the art of one-knee-down catching. It radically changed a young prospects place within the Cardinals' organization and put him on the brink of the majors. What does that mean for the defensive ability of the three catchers -- starter Willson Contreras, backup Ivan Herrera, and prospect Pedro Pages -- currently on the Cardinals' 40-man roster after Andrew Knizner was permitted to become a free agent. The Best Podcast in Baseball, sponsored by Closets by Design, is a production of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, StlToday.com, and Derrick Goold. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When it comes to the Cardinals' needs for pitching, this is not the offseason to fixate on one name or one solutions, argues St. Louis Post-Dispatch sports columnist Ben Frederickson. This is the winter to deal in volume -- most Costco, less Hublot. Frederickson takes over hosting duties for a brand new BPIB featuring Derrick Goold, the usual host and usual Post-Dispatch baseball writer.

The two writers discuss the pitching options for the Cardinals, the pitching approaches, and just what Cardinals officials mean when they talk about adding "2 1/2 pitchers." What's a half pitcher? Why is it taking so long for the market to move?

Goold offers the view of the Cardinals from the GM Meetings, where the industry noted how motivated the Cardinals and executive John Mozeliak appear to be and how the Cardinals and ownership must still prove they're willing to back that motivation with the finances necessary to be a player in the free-agent marketplace for pitchers.

The Best Podcast in Baseball, sponsored by Closets by Design of St. Louis, is a production of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, StlToday.com, and Derrick Goold, who is gradually getting his voice back.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What has to happen for the 2023 World Series to put an exclamation point on a remarkable year for Major League Baseball and its new rules to invigorate (and shorten!) the game? Well, it starts with Arizona. Texas Monthly contributor and longtime baseball writer Richard Justice joins the Best Podcast in Baseball and St. Louis Post-Dispatch baseball writer Derrick Goold to discuss the two teams headed to face each other in the World Series: Does the Texas Rangers and their mighty (expensive) lineup have staying power? Are the surprise Arizona Diamondbacks the produce of the new rules? Justice details how D-Backs rookie Corbin Carroll has the ability to become a World Series star due to his knack for disrupting teams -- and, yes, MLB's new rules make that more possible than in recent Octobers. Justice and Goold also discuss two of the oldest pitching coaches in the game leading their staffs to pennants and what that says about the importance of trust in an industry driven by cold, hard analytics. And, speaking of trust, has the vibrancy of the game and enjoyable postseason meant Commission Rob Manfred, who championed and orchestrated the new rules, has earned some? Or, are Arizona and Texas still just playing for a "piece of metal." The Best Podcast in Baseball, sponsored by Closets by Design of St. Louis, is a production of StlToday.com, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and Derrick Goold. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bryce Harper and the Philadelphia Phillies are putting the PH in fun once again this October, right down to his Phanatic cleats, a teammate's foul mouth, and a fun-filled, phenomenal atmosphere at home games.

If more players in 2024 don't use walk-up songs that invite crowd participation, that's not A-Oh, A-OK. How can the Cardinals capture what the Phillies have on the field -- and is there something they can take away from another October run by the Phillies?

Even literally? New York Times bestselling author Tyler Kepner, now a national baseball writer for The Athletic, rejoins the podcast to discuss his recent article that is an appreciation of Phillies' right-hander Aaron Nola, a free-agent this winter.

Kepner and BPIB host Derrick Goold also discuss a trend in pitching and whether or not it should be concerning, and just how far the Cardinals must go to close the gap on NL standouts.

Kepner makes the point that the Cardinals may be squandering the peaks of two all-time greats in the same way some haloed American League club did.

The Best Podcast in Baseball, brought to you by Closets by Design of St. Louis, is a production of StlToday.com, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and baseball writer Derrick Goold. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.