More Cards news

It's the offseason and posting is still light.

Dennis Dove, a pitcher, is on the 40-man roster.

Mark Mulder will remain a Cardinal. This is such awesome news!

The Cardinals are to meet with President Bush today. Pujols won't be there as he is on a humanitarian trip.

Bernie on McGwire.

Mark McGwire is proud of his career.

"I had an absolutely wonderful career that I am very proud of," McGwire said Friday as he signed autographs at a charity event benefiting the Orange County Abuse Prevention Center. "I'm not in control of what happens -- I was in control of hitting the ball."

Scott Rolen is the good ol' Rolen.

The Cards are still interested in Jeff Weaver.

What was rumored at the start of the season became official yesterday. The Cards will host the 2009 All-Star Game.

"One of the nicest parts of this job is going from city to city," Selig said. "It's nice to say each city had great fans, but I've said it before and I'll say it again: This is a remarkable baseball town with remarkable people. There can't be a better baseball town in America and I can't tell you how much I enjoy coming here."

With that, Selig told the sold-out crowd of 1,700 that as a measure of major-league baseball's appreciation to the city of St. Louis, Busch Stadium will host the 2009 All-Star Game.

The decision was expected and gives St. Louis its first All-Star game since 1966, the first year the old Busch Stadium opened.[...]

The new Busch Stadium opened last April across the street from where the old stadium stood, hosting a World Series champion in its first year of operation. During the National League championship series, Selig said it was very likely St. Louis would be granted the 2009 Midsummer Classic.

"2009 will be a great year to have the All-Star Game in St. Louis," said Cardinals owner Bill DeWitt Jr. "The Ballpark Village should be up and running, and with everything going on downtown by 2009, this will really be a showcase for major league baseball."

Selig was in town to accept the J. Roy Stockton/Bob Broeg Award for Outstanding Achievement in Baseball.

Lots of humor this past weekend at the 49th annual St. Louis Baseball Writers' Association of America Dinner.

"When he heard I was going to accept the award, he said he was going to jump on a rocket and try to get here ahead of me," La Russa joked, referencing the supposed rift between he and the All-Star third baseman.

"In any case, I love Scott Rolen."

Chris Carpenter received the Darryl Kile Award, which is voted on by the Cardinal players

The dinner -- one of only three of its kind in baseball (Boston and the New York Yankees are the others) -- honored the 2006 World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals, past World Series teams from 1982 and 1967, and many others.[...]

Besides Commissioner Bud Selig's announcement of the 2009 All-Star Game coming to Busch Stadium, other highlights of the dinner ceremony were:

• Introducing members of the 1982 World Championship team, Ricky Horton asked former catcher Glenn Brummer what possessed him to steal home against the San Francisco Giants in the bottom of the 12th inning on Aug. 22, 1982.

"I'm just here for the Bud Light," said Brummer, making reference to the popular beer commercial and drawing howls from the crowd.

• Rollie Stiles, the oldest living major-league baseball player at age 100 who played from the St. Louis Browns from 1930 to 1933, received the Dr. Robert F. Hyland/Rick Hummel Meritorious Service to Sports Award.

"Now I have something to tell my grandchildren," Stiles joked.

Asked what it was like to face Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, Stiles said, "I'll tell you how I felt: I was in the wrong profession."

• Relief pitcher Adam Wainwright received the Jack Herman/Joe Ostermeier Award for Rookie of the Year. Wainwright had three saves in the postseason, striking out New York's Carlos Beltran to win the NL championship series and Detroit's Brandon Inge to clinch the World Series.

"I see that film and it doesn't seem real," said Wainwright after watching a video montage of his accomplishments. "It makes it more special that I can accept (this award) in a town like this."

That prompted master of ceremonies Mike Shannon to crack "If you keep throwing curveballs like that, you'll get a lot of awards. What a dynamite pitch."

Wainwright's strikeout of Beltran was voted the most memorable moment in New York sports for 2006 by the New York Daily News.

• After a film clip was shown of Bruce Sutter striking out Milwaukee's Gorman Thomas for the final out of the 1982 World Series, Sutter said "That definitely wasn't the steriod era."

Sutter presented the award to Wainwright, linking the two Cardinals pitchers who recorded the clinching out of the last two World Series championships.

"Playing for the St. Louis Cardinals, (the fans) will make you remember (the final out) 20 years later," Sutter said. "I did the one-handed (fist) pump, though, he did the two-handed pump."

• David Eckstein, the World Series Most Valuable Player, received an outstanding achievement in baseball award.

"This year was an amazing year," Eckstein said. "I want to thank the fans for sticking behind me, because I don't like being injured at all.

"When you come to a town the goal is to win a World Series. Then, the best thing to do is repeat and that's what we're going to try and do."

Last on dais was La Russa, who spoke poignantly and comically on a variety of topics. Thanking Selig for his presence, La Russa said that besides the All-Star game in 2009, Selig has told the Cardinals no home game will go into the bottom of the ninth inning in 2007.

"That means we won all 81 home games," he said.

About Yadier Molina's absence from the dinner: "I'm worried about him. We have to find Yadier. It's 10 degrees and he's from Puerto Rico."

Scout.com is developing the top 40 players in the all-time Cardinal roster.