Charlie Manuel is as blue collar as they come. 

The Cardinals exceeded the expectations of most by winning 86 games but they fell short in the second half when their depth was not sufficient to overcome the loss of OF Rick Ankiel (lower abdominal strain) and C Yadier Molina (bruised left thigh) and the 

First baseman Albert Pujols, the leading candidate for the 2008 National League Most Valuable Player award, has had the elbow surgery that many Cardinals fans had feared. 

--The Cardinals reaffirmed their intention not to count so much on rehabbing pitchers, as they quickly moved to cut LHP Mark Mulder adrift, not picking up his $11 million option for 2009. 

The Cardinals exceeded the expectations of most by winning 86 games but they fell short in the second half when their depth was not sufficient to overcome the loss of OF Rick Ankiel (lower abdominal strain) and C Yadier Molina (bruised left thigh) and the 

First baseman Albert Pujols, the leading candidate for the 2008 National League Most Valuable Player award, has had the elbow surgery that many Cardinals fans had feared. 

--The Cardinals reaffirmed their intention not to count so much on rehabbing pitchers, as they quickly moved to cut LHP Mark Mulder adrift, not picking up his $11 million option for 2009. 

The Cardinals exceeded the expectations of most by winning 86 games but they fell short in the second half when their depth was not sufficient to overcome the loss of OF Rick Ankiel (lower abdominal strain) and C Yadier Molina (bruised left thigh) and the 

First baseman Albert Pujols, the leading candidate for the 2008 National League Most Valuable Player award, has had the elbow surgery that many Cardinals fans had feared. 

--The Cardinals reaffirmed their intention not to count so much on rehabbing pitchers, as they quickly moved to cut LHP Mark Mulder adrift, not picking up his $11 million option for 2009. 

--The Cardinals reaffirmed their intention not to count so much on rehabbing pitchers, as they quickly moved to cut LHP Mark Mulder adrift, not picking up his $11 million option for 2009. 

The Cardinals exceeded the expectations of most by winning 86 games but they fell short in the second half when their depth was not sufficient to overcome the loss of OF Rick Ankiel (lower abdominal strain) and C Yadier Molina (bruised left thigh) and the 

First baseman Albert Pujols, the leading candidate for the 2008 National League Most Valuable Player award, has had the elbow surgery that many Cardinals fans had feared. 

Albert Pujols has an MVP award and a World Series ring. 

The Cardinals exceeded the expectations of most by winning 86 games but they fell short in the second half when their depth was not sufficient to overcome the loss of OF Rick Ankiel (lower abdominal strain) and C Yadier Molina (bruised left thigh) and the