(Get) A Sporting Life

The Cards are screwed: Wainwright set for Tommy John surgery St. Louis Cardinals ace Adam Wainwright will require Tommy John surgery to repair his elbow and he will miss the entire 2011 season, the club confirmed this morning. General manager John Mozeliak made the announcement at about 10 a.m. St. Louis time after a discussion with the pitcher and the team physician. All parties had been waiting on the results of a second opinion requested Wednesday evening from Dr. Lewis Yocum in the Los Angeles area. "We have confirmed that Adam Wainwright will require Tommy John surgery. So obviously, he'll be out for the year," Mozeliak said. "Not a real surprise to us, but certainly a disappointment and a finality to this process. As we look to the future now we certainly beleive that we have a strong starting rotation on this club. And now we're going to have to try and fill it in terms of a fifth spot." The surgery date has not been set, but Wainwright will have the ...

From the PD : The Cardinals addressed an innings-short starting rotation Thursday by reaching agreement with durable free agent righthander Kyle Lohse on a one-year, $4.25 million contract, pending Lohse's passing a team physical this morning. The move occurred three days after the Cardinals said four of the five pitchers projected as starters during the season could be unavailable for the March 31 opener. Loshe is a poor man's Jeff Suppan. (Just allow that to sink in for a moment.) Adding Lohse will improve this rotation. (Just allow that to sink in for a moment.) Digested that? I'll wait while you attempt to choke down some Pepto Bismol. Lohse, 29, amassed a 9-12 record and 4.62 ERA while splitting last season between the Cincinnati Reds and the Philadelphia Phillies. Just as important, he made 34 starts and worked 192 2/3 innings. The Cardinals investigated trading for him in 2006 before the Minnesota Twins shipped him to the Reds. "He's got a really good arsen...