FEED Validator

for Atom and RSS and KML

Congratulations!

This is a valid Atom 1.0 feed.

Recommendations

This feed is valid, but interoperability with the widest range of feed readers could be improved by implementing the following recommendations.

line 34, column 0: content should not contain data-caption attribute (10 occurrences) [help]
```
<img alt="" data-caption="" data-portal-copyright="" data-has-syndication-ri ...
```
line 34, column 0: content should not contain data-portal-copyright attribute (10 occurrences) [help]
```
<img alt="" data-caption="" data-portal-copyright="" data-has-syndication-ri ...
```
line 34, column 0: content should not contain data-has-syndication-rights attribute (10 occurrences) [help]
```
<img alt="" data-caption="" data-portal-copyright="" data-has-syndication-ri ...
```

line 69, column 0: content should not contain iframe tag [help]

<div class="youtube-embed"><iframe title="Happy Halloween You Nutty Kids" sr ...

Source: https://www.vivaelbirdos.com/rss/index.xml

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><feed
xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"
xmlns:thr="http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0"
xml:lang="en-US"
>
<title type="text">Viva El Birdos</title>
<subtitle type="text">Your best source for quality St. Louis Cardinals news, rumors, analysis, stats and scores from the fan perspective.</subtitle>
<updated>2025-10-30T20:43:49+00:00</updated>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.vivaelbirdos.com" />
<id>https://www.vivaelbirdos.com/rss/index.xml</id>
<link rel="self" type="application/atom+xml" href="https://www.vivaelbirdos.com/rss/index.xml" />
<entry>
<author>
<name>scooter</name>
</author>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[Los Angeles Dodgers at Toronto Blue Jays – A World Series Game 6 thread for October 31, 2025]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.vivaelbirdos.com/st-louis-cardinals-game-threads/65319/los-angeles-dodgers-at-toronto-blue-jays-a-world-series-game-6-thread-for-october-31-2025" />
<id>https://www.vivaelbirdos.com/65319/toronto-blue-jays-at-los-angeles-dodgers-a-world-series-game-5-thread-for-october-29-2025</id>
<updated>2025-10-24T12:23:18-04:00</updated>
<published>2025-10-31T19:00:00-04:00</published>
<category scheme="https://www.vivaelbirdos.com" term="St. Louis Cardinals Game Threads" />
<content type="html">
<![CDATA[
<figure>
<img alt="" data-caption="" data-portal-copyright="" data-has-syndication-rights="1" src="https://platform.vivaelbirdos.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/176/2025/10/gettyimages-2242485604.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0,0,100,100" />
<figcaption>
</figcaption>
</figure>


]]>
</content>
</entry>
<entry>
<author>
<name>Zachary Junda</name>
</author>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[A Hunt and Peck: Happy Halloween]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.vivaelbirdos.com/st-louis-cardinals-news-analysis-mlb/65387/a-hunt-and-peck-happy-halloween" />
<id>https://www.vivaelbirdos.com/?p=65387</id>
<updated>2025-10-30T11:11:44-04:00</updated>
<published>2025-10-31T12:00:00-04:00</published>
<category scheme="https://www.vivaelbirdos.com" term="Hunt and Peck" />
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[Elsewhere in MLB… The 2025 Major League Baseball season could come to an end tonight as the Toronto Blue Jays are on the precipice of a World Series. The Jays took two out of three in Los Angeles and have a 3-2 series lead over the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers, with first pitch for […]]]></summary>
<content type="html">
<![CDATA[
<figure>
<img alt="" data-caption="" data-portal-copyright="" data-has-syndication-rights="1" src="https://platform.vivaelbirdos.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/176/2025/10/imagn-27435736.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0,0,100,100" />
<figcaption>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<div class="youtube-embed"><iframe title="Happy Halloween You Nutty Kids" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-nnYLhLl29E?rel=0" allowfullscreen allow="accelerometer *; clipboard-write *; encrypted-media *; gyroscope *; picture-in-picture *; web-share *;"></iframe></div>
Elsewhere in MLB…
The 2025 Major League Baseball season could come to an end tonight as the Toronto Blue Jays are on the precipice of a World Series. 
The Jays took two out of three in Los Angeles and have a 3-2 series lead over the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers, with first pitch for Game 6 scheduled for 7:00 P.M. over on FOX. 
Pitching wise, Game 2 will be a rematch between Los Angeles’ Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Toronto’s Kevin Gausman. Yamamoto was incredible the last time out, throwing a complete game. Yamamoto gave up one run off of four hits and retired the last 20 batters that he faced. 

]]>
</content>
</entry>
<entry>
<author>
<name>Curt Bishop</name>
</author>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[John Denton floats St. Louis native as fit for Cardinals]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.vivaelbirdos.com/st-louis-cardinals-analysis-sabermetrics/65391/john-denton-floats-st-louis-native-as-fit-for-cardinals" />
<id>https://www.vivaelbirdos.com/?p=65391</id>
<updated>2025-10-30T16:43:49-04:00</updated>
<published>2025-10-31T09:00:00-04:00</published>
<category scheme="https://www.vivaelbirdos.com" term="Cardinals Analysis" /><category scheme="https://www.vivaelbirdos.com" term="Cardinals Rumors" /><category scheme="https://www.vivaelbirdos.com" term="St. Louis Cardinals Free Agents" />
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[The Cardinals are about to begin what should be a very productive and busy offseason. That could start as soon as Saturday, as the Blue Jays return home ahead 3-2 in the World Series with a chance to close out the Dodgers in Friday’s Game 6. If necessary, Game 7 will be Saturday night, and […]]]></summary>
<content type="html">
<![CDATA[
<figure>
<img alt="" data-caption="" data-portal-copyright="" data-has-syndication-rights="1" src="https://platform.vivaelbirdos.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/176/2025/10/gettyimages-2243699191.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0,0,100,100" />
<figcaption>
</figcaption>
</figure>
The Cardinals are about to begin what should be a very productive and busy offseason. That could start as soon as Saturday, as the Blue Jays return home ahead 3-2 in the World Series with a chance to close out the Dodgers in Friday’s Game 6.
If necessary, Game 7 will be Saturday night, and the Blue Jays will start a familiar face, one people in St. Louis and all across the baseball world know very well by now. I’m talking of course about Max Scherzer, a St. Louis native that was originally drafted by the Cardinals before committing to Mizzou.
The Cardinals have had two chances to sign him, once after the 2014 season and again after the 2021 season. Both times they passed. But as we go into the offseason, the Cardinals have a clear need for starting pitching. I personally don’t care if it’s young pitching or a veteran pitcher, but <a href="https://www.mlb.com/news/cardinals-go-into-first-offseason-with-chaim-bloom">John Denton</a> had an interesting blurb the other day.
He listed several starters that the Cardinals could target. He noted that Miles Mikolas likely won’t return, but there was a particular pitcher on that list of starters that could be in their range.
“With Mikolas likely gone, [Andre] Pallante and Quinn Mathews (<a href="https://www.mlb.com/milb/prospects/cardinals/quinn-mathews-687273" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">No. 5</a> prospect) coming off shaky seasons and Roby injured, the Cards must pursue pitching to fill out their rotation. Some pitchers who might fit their price range: Zac Gallen, Chris Bassitt, Austin Gomber or (gulp) Max Scherzer,“ Denton wrote.
Yes, Denton did link the Cardinals to the man himself. Now, we don’t know if the Cardinals actually will target Scherzer, but at this point in his career, he’s somebody that would be in the Cardinals price range. It would only be a one-year commitment, and he would get a chance to play for the team he grew up cheering for, so it could be a nice feel-good story.
A lot also depends on what Scherzer himself wants. Understand this—the Cardinals are not likely to be a contender next year. I would imagine Scherzer wants to pitch for a contender, so I would caution fans to not get their hopes too high for this potential match.
Still, it’s fun to think about and it would be a fascinating fit. Scherzer will be 42 years old next year, so they’ll want to be cognizant of that if they do target him, but I find him more of an appealing option than any of the other pitchers Denton listed, even Gallen.
I would certainly love to have Scherzer in St. Louis. It’d be a different situation for him since he’s used to being on a competitive team, not a rebuilding one. But if the Cardinals are going to trade Sonny Gray, they need to fill out the rotation with at least somebody from free agency. I say, why not take a chance on the local product, if he wants to be here?
That will ultimately be the deciding factor, but I think Cardinals fans would love to have him on board.
]]>
</content>
</entry>
<entry>
<author>
<name>Gabe Simonds</name>
</author>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[The championship honeymoon]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.vivaelbirdos.com/st-louis-cardinals-sabermetrics-analysis/65377/the-championship-honeymoon" />
<id>https://www.vivaelbirdos.com/?p=65377</id>
<updated>2025-10-30T05:21:39-04:00</updated>
<published>2025-10-30T08:00:00-04:00</published>
<category scheme="https://www.vivaelbirdos.com" term="VEB Daily" />
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[When I was listening to the radio yesterday, something that has long fascinated me came to my attention. You see, they were not talking about the Cardinals, they were talking about the Blues. The Blues had recently called up a prospect, a former top 10 pick who recently turned 20. They called up Dalibor Dovorsky. […]]]></summary>
<content type="html">
<![CDATA[
<figure>
<img alt="" data-caption="" data-portal-copyright="" data-has-syndication-rights="1" src="https://platform.vivaelbirdos.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/176/2025/10/gettyimages-2206379322.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0,0,100,100" />
<figcaption>
</figcaption>
</figure>
When I was listening to the radio yesterday, something that has long fascinated me came to my attention. You see, they were not talking about the Cardinals, they were talking about the Blues. The Blues had recently called up a prospect, a former top 10 pick who recently turned 20. They called up Dalibor Dovorsky. This by all accounts should not have interested me.
You see, I’m a fairweather Blues fan. I am invested in the Blues winning, but I have learned despite my best efforts, a regular season hockey game bores me. I’m on a baseball blog so I’m sure there are people who agree with me, but it is hard to believe a hockey game could be more boring than a baseball game to most people I know. Nonetheless, I have tried and I have tried, and I just can’t get into it. For the playoffs, I am locked in. I don’t know if you can get more fairweather than that.
Because of this, I don’t know the sport that well. I have picked up on things, but I would never in my life write about hockey as if I knew anything. So anything I say regarding the Blues is based on my impression of them, not actual knowledge of the team. For diehard hockey fans who know the sport well, I may reveal my ignorance. I feel the need to put out that disclaimer in case anyone mistakes me for someone who is knowledgable about hockey.
To get back to the first paragraph, the reason this call-up interested me was because of how Brandon Kiley and Alex Ferrario responded to the call-up. Apparently president and GM Doug Armstrong does not rush prospects, and this is a very out of character move. Kiley in particular worried that this signals that the Blues don’t know what else to do, that calling up a prospect earlier than they normally would is a worrying sign. The Blues, if you didn’t know, have lost five straight and are 3-6-1 to start their season.
The reason this is interesting to me as a Cardinals fan is because from my standpoint, the Blues and Cardinals have occupied extremely similar spots in their respective leagues for a while. They had good, not great teams that failed to advance in the playoffs followed by missing the playoffs two years in a row. The Blues did make the playoffs last year, because of an absurd run that actually reminds me a lot of the 2021 Cardinals team. If this current team, off to an awful start, doesn’t turn the season around, it’s sure going to feel like that 12-game winning streak was fluky and the team overall is still mediocre who can’t quite get better than that.
And perhaps most importantly, the Blues are very much in the business of trying to still be a playoff team while rebuilding. They seem to have the exact same philosophy as the Cardinals, where they think they can get back to where they were without being a losing team in the present. Or at least, that’s the goal. From radio interviews, some comments here actually, and some osmosis, this is my impression of the Blues rightly or wrongly.
And yet…. the fan response has been radically differently. I am cut from the same cloth regarding fandom as my dad, and he listens to the radio more than me, and he complains how the Blues always get the benefit of the doubt and the Cardinals never do. And it’s a pretty simple explanation honestly: the Blues won, the Cardinals didn’t. I honestly think it’s as simple as that.
Except I think the “championship honeymoon” is ending for the Blues. There’s a certain amount of grace period after a team wins it all where it doesn’t really matter what the team does, the fans are on your side. “Well you won it and it’s incredibly hard to win it, so I certainly am not going to complain if they don’t win it all for x amount of years.” This is only more true for a team like the Blues who have never won it before 2019. How long do you think it’s going to take for a Mariners fan to be unhappy with the direction of the team the minute they win it? It will be a while. That’s kind of where the Blues were.
I feel like the tide is turning, which caused me to wonder another question. How long exactly of a leash does a fanbase give a team following a championship and when did it end for the Cardinals? If you go by the Blues, let’s for the sake of argument say the Blues have another losing season this year. I feel pretty confident the honeymoon is over. I don’t think it’s quite over yet. If the Blues are a reference point, that means it takes seven seasons, during which the team wins one playoff series win, and has two losing seasons. But of course, the Blues had never won it so I think they will get more grace than the Cardinals will.
So when did the Cardinals end? Well I’ve only been alive for the 2006 and 2011 championships, but I don’t remember the honeymoon ever ending the first time. I think 2011 probably saved them. If 2011 didn’t go the way it went, I think the grumbling would have started. The attitude towards the team and organization was not particularly positive before September of that year and here certainly, people weren’t happy about the Colby Rasmus trade. But after they won, well obviously, the clock went back to zero.
And then they were actually good the next four years. In two of the next four seasons, they won at least 97 games, they made it to at least the NLCS three straight seasons, and the official end of that run came with a 100 win season in 2015. Sometime in the next three seasons after that, the Cardinals reputation among the fanbase was that they sought to be a team just good enough to get into the playoffs and no better.
There is some evidence it was as early as 2016. Towards the end of the 2016 season, Viva El Birdos <a href="https://www.vivaelbirdos.com/st-louis-cardinals-sabermetrics-analysis/2016/9/29/13104096/cheering-for-the-2016-st-louis-cardinals-has-felt-more-like-an-obligation-than-a-privilege">had an article </a>saying the season felt like an obligation more than a privilege. Apparently a common sentiment as suggested from an article a week later, <a href="https://www.vivaelbirdos.com/2016/10/4/13157890/cardinals-success-standards-2016-season">which was arguing the success</a> of the Cardinals spoiled the fanbase onto what a bad season actually looks like.
“Most fans surely wouldn’t find a 86 win performance so abhorrent, right? In one comment thread here at VEB, I saw a comment to the affect that the Cardinals obviously didn’t have a good season, and didn’t deserve to be in the playoffs.”
After some more digging, I think I pinpointed the exact moment it happened. When the Cardinals didn’t sign Luis Robert. Outrage that, in hindsight, looks a little silly now. The White Sox gave him a signing bonus of $26 million, including a near 100% tax on it, so they spent more than $50 million to sign him. The Cardinals would have had to pay more than that, for sure, because part of the appeal of the White Sox was Jose Abreu, who is also Cuban. Robert later signed a team-friendly $50 million deal. Robert has delivered 13.7 fWAR in his MLB career, which is still good value for $100+ million, but the Cardinals would have had to pay more and it’s just not quite the steal that people acted like it was. Robert has been too inconsistent and injury-prone to be a true game changer.
But broadly speaking, it reflects what really turned the fans against the Cardinals: they didn’t spend money and when they did, it was mid-tier contracts. They passed on Max Scherzer (100 percent justified I would argue and have argued), Robert, Bryce Harper, even someone like Kevin Gausman. They instead signed players like Mike Leake, and Dexter Fowler.
So how long was the 2011 championship honeymoon? Well, to bring it back to the Blues comparison, the 2016 season revealed some signs, but I think 2017 was officially when it was over. The Cardinals from 2012 to 2017 were arguably better than the Blues have been since 2019, but like I said before, I think the Cardinals were always going to get less leeway than a first-time winner.
Perhaps no greater sign in my personal opinion, and someone can tell me I’m wrong, that the two fanbases have responded vastly different to similar situations is that the Blues have an eerily similar succession plan for Doug Armstrong to leave as the Cardinals had for John Mozeliak. They have already announced who is replacing Armstrong who is still going to be GM for this season. Someone explain why this is different than Chaim Bloom being named the successor, I would love to know.
And the Blues haven’t gotten anywhere near the amount of pushback for doing this as the Cardinals. Not to mention – I mean I know hockey is a different sport and thus the person in charge of acquiring the roster won’t be a 1:1 comparison, but boy the baseball equivalent of announcing Alex Steen is the one taking over would not be news I wanted to hear. Yeah if you told me Adam Wainwright was in line to be the next GM, I would take that as a bad sign. I don’t think the Buster Posey move is going to work out, so I am consistent on this. But I’ve been told this is not equivalent, so I’ll just throw up my hands on this one and trust those who know better.
Anyway, none of the response to the Cardinals transition has actually been transferred to Chaim Bloom himself, which is good at least. People just wanted John Mozeliak gone and they don’t want Doug Armstrong gone. I acknowledge that plays a role here. Maybe they want him gone now I don’t know. But I will point out part of the criticism was how weird it was to do this, so I find it funny that the Blues essentially copied them.
Anyway, you could argue and I know some will that this discrepancy is because the Blues are better run (and they may be). But I would argue, generally speaking, fans care about results. If a team makes what is considered a smart move and it backfires, most fans care that it backfired not that it was originally smart. So whether or not the Blues are better run, I think the reason fans have been more lenient on the Blues is simply that they won it all in 2019.
So I am very interested to see if what happened in the first 10 games is at all indicative of how their season will turn out and if the fanbase will start to become more negative. I sense it already starting. I also would love if a St. Louis team could win the championship again so I could have another example of this phenomenon! It’s weirdly interesting to me. Since this is a Cardinals blog, let’s hope we have a Cardinals example in the near future.

]]>
</content>
</entry>
<entry>
<author>
<name>scooter</name>
</author>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[Toronto Blue Jays at Los Angeles Dodgers – A World Series Game 5 thread for October 29, 2025]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.vivaelbirdos.com/st-louis-cardinals-game-threads/65317/toronto-blue-jays-at-los-angeles-dodgers-a-world-series-game-5-thread-for-october-29-2025" />
<id>https://www.vivaelbirdos.com/65317/toronto-blue-jays-at-los-angeles-dodgers-a-world-series-game-4-thread-for-october-28-2025</id>
<updated>2025-10-24T12:22:05-04:00</updated>
<published>2025-10-29T19:00:00-04:00</published>
<category scheme="https://www.vivaelbirdos.com" term="St. Louis Cardinals Game Threads" />
<content type="html">
<![CDATA[
<figure>
<img alt="" data-caption="" data-portal-copyright="" data-has-syndication-rights="1" src="https://platform.vivaelbirdos.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/176/2025/10/gettyimages-2242485604.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0,0,100,100" />
<figcaption>
</figcaption>
</figure>


]]>
</content>
</entry>
<entry>
<author>
<name>George Bowles</name>
</author>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[Let’s Trade Brendan Donovan! or not]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.vivaelbirdos.com/st-louis-cardinals-sabermetrics-analysis/65357/lets-trade-brendan-donovan-or-not" />
<id>https://www.vivaelbirdos.com/?p=65357</id>
<updated>2025-10-29T01:11:10-04:00</updated>
<published>2025-10-29T07:00:00-04:00</published>
<category scheme="https://www.vivaelbirdos.com" term="VEB Daily" />
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[Ok, admittedly I have been planning on writing this since last week’s article about solutions to the outfield conundrum/dilemma/failure. But just before writing this I found a link to an mlb trade rumors article talking about the same deal! So now it’s time to compare my limited ideas with whatever mlb trade rumors is talking […]]]></summary>
<content type="html">
<![CDATA[
<figure>
<img alt="" data-caption="" data-portal-copyright="" data-has-syndication-rights="1" src="https://platform.vivaelbirdos.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/176/2025/10/gettyimages-2237927027.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0,0,100,100" />
<figcaption>
</figcaption>
</figure>
Ok, admittedly I have been planning on writing this since last week’s article about solutions to the outfield conundrum/dilemma/failure. But just before writing this I found a link to an mlb trade rumors article talking about the same deal! So now it’s time to compare my limited ideas with whatever mlb trade rumors is talking about.
Sorry, I’m not that excited about trading Brendan Donovan, but it sure seems like a good idea at the same time. He should bring back a decent value. I am hoping for a starting pitcher that is cromulent at least, with maybe a little potential to be more than a #3 or 4. But probably safe bet to be mid rotation starter, if we are lucky. But heck, even a solid #4 would be nice given the challenges that the starting rotation absolutely faces in 2026.
Who could we get for Brendan Donovan? Remember, I am trying to shore up the rotation here…
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Ryan Pepiot of the Rays <a href="https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/savant-player/ryan-pepiot-686752?stats=statcast-r-pitching-mlb">https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/savant-player/ryan-pepiot-686752?stats=statcast-r-pitching-mlb</a> I would think that it would take Donovan as well as a pretty good prospect to pry a promising starting pitcher age 28 from the Rays… maybe wishful thinking but perhaps a package could be put together, somehow. Why he’s good: offspeed pitch</li>
<li>Tanner Bibee <a href="https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/savant-player/tanner-bibee-676440?stats=statcast-r-pitching-mlb">https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/savant-player/tanner-bibee-676440?stats=statcast-r-pitching-mlb</a> Bibee would be more of a straight up trade, I would guess. He is much less of a certainty, with what seems to be potentially high upside with a relatively low floor. His 2023 and 2024 showed more rate stat promise as a better pitcher, but he didn’t fare as well in 2025 with a 4.24 ERA, more walks and hits per inning. But, he was pushed further in 2025 with a higher inning total in the same amount of games started. He could go either way next year, but could be a nice gamble for a solid #3 or 4. Why he’s good: effective breaking pitch and age 26</li>
<li>Edward Cabrera <a href="https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/savant-player/edward-cabrera-665795?stats=statcast-r-pitching-mlb">https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/savant-player/edward-cabrera-665795?stats=statcast-r-pitching-mlb</a> perhaps a bigger gamble than Bibee, Cabrera is 27 and has reduced his walks and hits so appears to be making progress as a starting pitcher. While he only pitched 137.2 innings last year, he appears to be ready to make the leap to 150 or so. Why he’s good: both his breaking pitches and offspeed pitches are a big strength of his, while his fastball is rather lackluster</li>
<li>Shane Baz <a href="https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/savant-player/shane-baz-669358?stats=statcast-r-pitching-mlb">https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/savant-player/shane-baz-669358?stats=statcast-r-pitching-mlb</a> at age 26 he is not too proven and is not a lock for a rotation spot, on most teams… if the Cardinals could get Baz plus another player from the Rays for Donovan, it would possibly make some sense. Why he’s good: can regularly hit 97 mph with the fastball, he can strike out some guys, while also having good numbers grounding out batters but none of his pitches really stick out so he’s a bit unfinished</li>
<li>Mitch Keller <a href="https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/savant-player/mitch-keller-656605?stats=statcast-r-pitching-mlb">https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/savant-player/mitch-keller-656605?stats=statcast-r-pitching-mlb</a> is the most proven arm on the list, if perhaps the least exciting… still if we wanted to deal with the lowly Pirates and help each other out, Keller has a decent enough fastball and doesn’t walk a lot of guys. He will eat innings much more effectively than some older pitcher. Why he’s good: fastball run value is very good, coupled with very good walk rates he is just a very sensical pitcher</li>
</ul>
Now to compare to the MLB Trade Rumors article published yesterday: <a href="https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/10/looking-for-a-match-in-a-brendan-donovan-trade.html">https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/10/looking-for-a-match-in-a-brendan-donovan-trade.html</a>
The Mark Polishuk article has a much wider scope with many hitters considered. After reading the article, it would seem that he is mostly writing about Donovan’s versatility. Which could both broaden his trade market, and bolster his overall value in trade. Sure he might best be traded at the deadline to the team who needs him most, but there are already plenty of teams that he would fit on, so maybe one of Chaim Bloom’s first moves will be to move Brendan Donovan simply due to his marketability, skillset, and plus hitting.
What do you think? Should the Cardinals keep and continue to build around Donovan? Should they only trade Donovan for whatever the best offer is, regardless of position? Or should the Cardinals aggressively pursue a trade of Donovan for a starting pitcher to address the rotation?
If you answered yes to the first question, what should the Cardinals do?
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Sign Nabil Crismatt</li>
<li>Throw tons of money at Shane Bieber or even Dylan Cease… maybe Zac Gallen?</li>
<li>Bring back Jack! (Flaherty)</li>
</ul>
There are actually a TON of free agent starting pitchers on the market if anyone has any ideas. <a href="https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/10/2025-26-mlb-free-agents.html">https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/10/2025-26-mlb-free-agents.html</a>

]]>
</content>
</entry>
<entry>
<author>
<name>scooter</name>
</author>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[Toronto Blue Jays at Los Angeles Dodgers – A World Series Game 4 thread for October 28, 2025]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.vivaelbirdos.com/st-louis-cardinals-game-threads/65314/toronto-blue-jays-at-los-angeles-dodgers-a-world-series-game-4-thread-for-october-28-2025" />
<id>https://www.vivaelbirdos.com/65314/toronto-blue-jays-at-los-angeles-dodgers-a-world-series-game-3-thread-for-october-27-2025</id>
<updated>2025-10-24T12:20:47-04:00</updated>
<published>2025-10-28T19:00:00-04:00</published>
<category scheme="https://www.vivaelbirdos.com" term="St. Louis Cardinals Game Threads" />
<content type="html">
<![CDATA[
<figure>
<img alt="" data-caption="" data-portal-copyright="" data-has-syndication-rights="1" src="https://platform.vivaelbirdos.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/176/2025/10/gettyimages-2242485604.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0,0,100,100" />
<figcaption>
</figcaption>
</figure>


]]>
</content>
</entry>
<entry>
<author>
<name>Jake Wood</name>
</author>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[(Somewhat) Bold Offseason predictions – 2026 edition]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.vivaelbirdos.com/st-louis-cardinals-sabermetrics-analysis/65354/somewhat-bold-offseason-predictions-2026-edition" />
<id>https://www.vivaelbirdos.com/?p=65354</id>
<updated>2025-10-27T23:04:34-04:00</updated>
<published>2025-10-28T07:00:00-04:00</published>
<category scheme="https://www.vivaelbirdos.com" term="VEB Daily" />
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[I’ve now been with VEB for 1 year! Time has truly flown by, and I’ve had a blast being afforded the opportunities I’ve had since joining the team and continuing the great history of this website. Bringing you great readers’ insights, information, and interacting in general has been (mostly) enjoyable. But, enough about me, let’s […]]]></summary>
<content type="html">
<![CDATA[
<img src="https://platform.vivaelbirdos.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/176/2025/10/gettyimages-1258627673.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0,0,100,100" alt="" title="" data-has-syndication-rights="1" data-caption="WORCESTER, MA - JUNE 11: Chaim Bloom, Chief Baseball Officer for the Boston Red Sox, watches an MiLB AAA International League game between the Rochester Red Wings and Worcester Red Sox on June 11, 2023, at Polar Park in Worcester, MA. The Worcester Red Sox paid homage to the Worcester Worcesters of the 1800s by wearing special "Worcester Ruby Legs" uniforms as part of MiLB's "What If?" promotional series. (Photo by Erica Denhoff/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)" data-portal-copyright="" />
I’ve now been with VEB for 1 year! Time has truly flown by, and I’ve had a blast being afforded the opportunities I’ve had since joining the team and continuing the great history of this website. Bringing you great readers’ insights, information, and interacting in general has been (mostly) enjoyable. But, enough about me, let’s talk Cardinals! 
It’s the “dead period” for 28 other teams’ fan bases. I know most of you are groaning about the myriad of hypothetical offseason posts that continue to be shared that seem to all characterize the same set of questions that face the team – and trust me, we, the writing staff, are equally as eager to have something substantive to talk about as well! I will carry on the yearly tradition of posting my predictions for how the offseason will go with a slight element of boldness that lands somewhere between interesting and insightful, that doesn’t go full “hot take” mode. I will give 5 predictions and judge them the final week of spring training to determine just how well I read the tea leaves!
1. The Cardinals will trade a position player for pitching depth 
I’m sure some of your first thoughts are “duh, of course,” but the WHO may be more interesting than the what this time around. With Lars Nootbaar seemingly now more likely to return in 2026 than be traded due to his Haglund’s deformity diagnosis and recovery, and a history of injury problems, Lars will once again be tasked with exhibiting an ability to remain healthy and produce at the same time. Could he be a deadline candidate if all goes well in the first half? I believe that would be strongly within the realm of possibility, but nothing is for certain this offseason. I also wouldn’t expect him to be non-tendered either. At a modest 5.7 million projection – that’s peanuts for a team that is currently projected for a payroll of 80 million dollars short of its franchise peak 2 seasons ago and one that will likely shed a couple of large salaries this offseason.
With that being said, Brendan Donovan has struggled through his own physical issues and continues to be the topic of conversation when it comes to “who to cash in on.” I want to be clear – if I haven’t already been in the past, I would hate this, I think you make your clubhouse worse, I think you make your on field product worse, I think there is a high risk factor that the players the Cardinals would recieve in return for Donovan would never equate or surpass the production at the same level Donovan currently is, and most of all, Donovan is the EXACT type of player that will go on to a winning team, have big moments in the playoffs, and Cardinals fans will rip their hair out becuase “another one got away.” My opinion would be to buy out Donovan’s remaining arbitration years, add on two additional free agent years for some cost certainty, and make him your everyday 3rd baseman.
In 2025, Brendan Donovan had a .422 SLG%, which would have been the 8th highest among 18 qualified 3rd basemen in baseball, and his 119 wRC+ would’ve been 6th among that same group of qualified 3rd basemen. His bat will absolutely play at the position, and an infield consisting of Donovan at 3B, Winn at SS, Wetherholt at 2B, and Contreras at 1B would be a really strong group on both sides of the ball and provide a solid foundation for a competitive team in 2026. But, if the Cardinals decided he was the piece that would get them the young pitching they desperately need at the major league level, then I can understand the justification. I will be highly discouraged if the front office decides to trade him for Double-A prospects or pitchers with low ceilings. If you move Donovan, it had better dramatically alter your timeline, and if it doesn’t, and I’m not convinced that he doesn’t hold more value or appeal to STL than he does the league, then I don’t see trading him as beneficial.
Alec Burleson, I understand fans’ opinion that perhaps his ceiling is tapped out, and the Cardinals should sell on him now while he’s at a perceived peak. I think the Cardinals, and more specifically Oli Marmol, are big fans of Burleson and consistently lauded him as “one of the few to take advantage of the runway season.” Therefore, I don’t think the Cardinals will entertain trading the Silver Slugger finalist unless someone absolutely blows them out of the water.
Which brings me to Nolan Gorman. I don’t know if Gorman will ever reach his ceiling. I don’t know if the consistent swing and miss issues will ever get to a point where he’s able to be a consistent factor in the middle of a competitive lineup. I don’t think Busch Stadium is a place where he can realize his full potential as a pull power hitter, and Gorman is a marginal defender at best. Perhaps a change of scenery would most benefit the trajectory of his career and with Gorman being first year Arb eligible this offseason he’s going to start being less and less valuable until he leaves after 2028 and we all sigh and wonder what could have been or they can trade him now to a team that believes they can get the most out of him, has a ballpark that caters to his lefty pull power, and he can go out and play everyday and not worry about a log jam of players he has to compete against just to get semi regular playing time. Ultimately, I think the decision comes down to Donovan and Gorman this offseason, and Donovan has proved it more to me at the big league level. He’s the steadier, more consistent performer who is actually deserving of further investment. The power potential, the remaining years of control, and the rather large track record of health that Gorman elicits should be enough to entice interested teams to give up something interesting to see if they can unlock him, and, in my opinion, that would be the preferred route to go towards defining everyday roles.
2. The Cardinals will sign a veteran starter for their rotation
As it stands right now, the Cardinals currently project an opening day rotation including Sonny Gray, Matthew Liberatore, Michael McGreevy, Andre Pallante, and Kyle Leahy/Quinn Matthews. Sonny Gray has a no-trade clause but has indicated a willingness to waive it for the right fit this offseason. While Miles Mikolas was not a well-thought-of performer, he still provided innings, and losing two starters who gave you over 300 innings in 2025 would be irresponsible of the organization to ask for young, unproven starters to replace all of them. With that in mind, my favorite name to keep an eye on is German Marquez, who is coming off of a down year but saw his most healthy season since 2022, and was once one of the better starters in the National League, and you could argue taking him out of the nightmare that is the Colorado Rockies organization could lead to him having a mid career renisance. I wouldn’t propose anything further than a 1-year, 8 to 12 million dollar deal, see if you can procure a rebound first half, and look to flip him at the deadline to a contender (if you’re out of it). I dont believe the Cardinals will hunt multi-year deals for players this offseason with a looming labor strife on the horizon at next season’s end and I’ll be curious to see if player agents instruct their clients to be more open to accepting one year deals and trying to cash in next offseason once a new CBA is instituted and try to capitolize on a newly restructered financial landscape that could or could not include a cap and floor. Chaim Bloom has consistently recycled an old Mo-ism that they’re looking to be “Opportunistic” this offseason.
3. This will be the second offseason in a row that no player receives an extension
Let me be clear, if I were in charge, I would be exploring extensions with Masyn Winn, JJ Wetherholt, and Brendan Donovan, and build out from there. I don’t think any of those deals will get done this offseason for a couple of different reasons. One, the Cardinals are looking to increase and maintain strong roster flexibility this offseason, and assuming heading into the 2027 offseason that holds such an uncertain future in regards to the financial landscape of the game that the ever risk-averse lead Dewitt ownership group likely will want to wait and see what shakes out of that situation before green-lighting longer-term commitments. Two, it takes TWO to tango in negotiations, and I’m not convinced any of the 3 would be willing to sit down and negotiate a well below market deal to obtain long-term certainty when they’re equally as intrigued as to what the potential changing financial landscape may hold for them down their careers as they inch closer to free agency. I think all 3 would allow their representation to engage, but I don’t think any settle for something like Paul Dejong signed to where it was such a crazy bargain for the production he provided early on.
4. The Cardinals will FINALLY trade Nolan Arenado 
I love Nolan Arenado as a player. I think he is a future Hall of Fame third baseman and we should be incredibly grateful we were able to witness several seasons of incredible play defensively at third and the couple of elite offensive seasons we were able to witness, as well. I also believe it’s time the Cardinals and their star 3rd baseman go their separate ways and keep moving forward. Chaim Bloom has indicated early this offseason that ownership is on board with committing more significant financial resources to move things along in trades and won’t be a hindrance on that front this offseason. Therefore, similarly to a reliever getting warmed up for a 2nd time in a game, this is the 2nd offseason in a row that Arenado is a prime trade candidate, and one would assume that he’s dealt this offseason, given his comments about being willing to expand his list of teams he’s willing to waive his no-trade clause for. I believe there will be varying levels of interest in Arenado from teams across the league, and how much interest they have will ultimately come down to what the financial commitment element will be, and a future Hall of Fame third baseman at a bargain rate will certainly appeal to teams looking for short-term improvements in an effort to get them over the top of their world series hunt.
5. The Cardinals will start the 2026 season with the lowest payroll in the NL Central 
This one hurts. The Pittsburgh Pirates have worn the crown of this achievement for several seasons now, but they still have financial commitments to Bryan Reynolds and Mitch Keller, and the Cardinals likely won’t be paying anyone other than Willson Contreras at the end of this offseason, so there is a real possibility that the Cardinals will have the lowest payroll in the division. I don’t have much more to say on this topic beyond I hope this is an anomalous situation and not a new normal, nor should it be, given the commitment Cardinals fans have held for years to support a competitive roster, but previous iterations of the Cardinals have left a sour taste in the fan base’s mouth, and they appear to be willing to be patient and root from afar until the team proves it can field a consistent winner on the field again.
I’m truthfully unsure of what exactly will happen this offseason, and in seasons past, I’ve successfully predicted what will happen or who they will bring in, as they had an established pattern of how they operate. This offseason is completely different with a unique set of circumstances that surround it, and I, for one, am fascinated to see how it all plays out, and I can’t wait to see what changes are made this offseason. I just need the stupid Dodgers to hurry up and win the World Series, like it will inevitably come to be no matter how long it takes, so I ask, please take the shortest amount of time possible so my writer friends and I can actually begin talking about substantive offseason topics again.
-Thanks for reading 
]]>
</content>
</entry>
<entry>
<author>
<name>scooter</name>
</author>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[Toronto Blue Jays at Los Angeles Dodgers – A World Series Game 3 thread for October 27, 2025]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.vivaelbirdos.com/st-louis-cardinals-game-threads/65312/toronto-blue-jays-at-los-angeles-dodgers-a-world-series-game-3-thread-for-october-27-2025" />
<id>https://www.vivaelbirdos.com/65312/los-angeles-dodgers-at-toronto-blue-jays-a-world-series-game-2-thread-for-october-25-2025</id>
<updated>2025-10-24T12:21:03-04:00</updated>
<published>2025-10-27T19:00:00-04:00</published>
<category scheme="https://www.vivaelbirdos.com" term="St. Louis Cardinals Game Threads" />
<content type="html">
<![CDATA[
<figure>
<img alt="" data-caption="" data-portal-copyright="" data-has-syndication-rights="1" src="https://platform.vivaelbirdos.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/176/2025/10/gettyimages-2242485604.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0,0,100,100" />
<figcaption>
</figcaption>
</figure>


]]>
</content>
</entry>
<entry>
<author>
<name>Jake Wood</name>
</author>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[The Viva El Birdos Podcast: Episode 40 October Monthly Reader Mailbag featuring Rob Cerfolio]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.vivaelbirdos.com/podcast/65331/the-viva-el-birdos-podcast-episode-40-october-monthly-reader-mailbag-featuring-rob-cerfolio" />
<id>https://www.vivaelbirdos.com/?p=65331</id>
<updated>2025-10-27T09:17:49-04:00</updated>
<published>2025-10-27T09:17:49-04:00</published>
<category scheme="https://www.vivaelbirdos.com" term="Viva El Birdos Podcast" />
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[Cardinals Assistant General Manager and Head of Player Performance, Rob Cerfolio, joined me on Friday and answered your questions! Thank you to The_Hoff_STL, cardinal511, CRThrelkeld, Schmidthead, country stuff, jdog55, and districtofcardinals for your questions! Rob had a lot of fun answering and provided a lot of great insight on the provided topics! Next week, we […]]]></summary>
<content type="html">
<![CDATA[
<img src="https://platform.vivaelbirdos.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/176/chorus/uploads/chorus_asset/file/26006542/2212804451.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0,8.3333333333333,100,83.333333333333" alt="" title="" data-has-syndication-rights="1" data-caption="" data-portal-copyright="" />
Cardinals Assistant General Manager and Head of Player Performance, Rob Cerfolio, joined me on Friday and answered your questions! Thank you to The_Hoff_STL, cardinal511, CRThrelkeld, Schmidthead, country stuff, jdog55, and districtofcardinals for your questions! Rob had a lot of fun answering and provided a lot of great insight on the provided topics!
<div class="spotify-for-creators-embed"><a href="https://spotifycreators-web.app.link/e/d8klnJmOJXb" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">View Link</a></div>
Next week, we will be joined by Dealin’ the Cards host Josh Jacobs! 

]]>
</content>
</entry>
</feed>

If you would like to create a banner that links to this page (i.e. this validation result), do the following:

Download the "valid Atom 1.0" banner.
Upload the image to your own server. (This step is important. Please do not link directly to the image on this server.)
Add this HTML to your page (change the image src attribute if necessary):

<a href="http://www.feedvalidator.org/check.cgi?url=https%3A//www.vivaelbirdos.com/rss/index.xml"><img src="valid-atom.png" alt="[Valid Atom 1.0]" title="Validate my Atom 1.0 feed" /></a>

If you would like to create a text link instead, here is the URL you can use:

http://www.feedvalidator.org/check.cgi?url=https%3A//www.vivaelbirdos.com/rss/index.xml

Home · About · News · Docs · Terms