St. Louis Cardinals

Getty | AP Albert Pujols, left, and Stan Musial are the only Cardinals to win three MVPs. But are they greater than Rogers Hornsby? ST. ... and more »

By Jose de Jesus Ortiz(jose.ortiz@chron.com) We never really got past the first offer on that one (with Cordero)," Astros general manager Ed Wade said. "As for Linebrink, we had numerous conversations on that." • • • Here are the NL Central team capsules, as written by baseball writers in each team's city.

By Jose de Jesus Ortiz(jose.ortiz@chron.com) The Rangers didn't mind such an agreement, and we all know how that stupid $252 million contract worked out for them. Then, the Yankees won the trade bidding over the Red Sox to get Rodriguez from the Rangers. Count the championships the Red Sox have since then and then count the ones the Yanke...

By Brian McTaggart(brian.mctaggart@chron.com) 6. Milwaukee Brewers 8. Kansas City Royals 12. Philadelphia Phillies 14. San Diego Padres 17. New York Mets 18. Boston Red Sox 19. San Francisco Giants 20. Los Angeles Dodgers 23. Cincinnati Reds 24. Chicago White Sox 27. New York Yankees 28. Detroit Tigers 29. Chicago Cubs 30. Houston Astros

By Jose de Jesus Ortiz(jose.ortiz@chron.com) Did you know the Astros were 21-35 after 56 games in 2005 and 16 games behind the division-leading St. Louis Cardinals? This year they're 23-33 and 8 1/2 games behind the division-leading Milwaukee Brewers. The biggest difference this year is...

Let me see if I understand this: The Cardinals are threatening to challenge (if that's the word) the 1964 Philadelphia Phillies' notorious distinction of squandering the biggest late-season lead in baseball history. And if the Cardinals do so, they will have been trumped by a Houston te...