Viva El Birdos Podcast

Viva El Birdos editor Heather Simon and writer Tyler Kinzy discuss the Cardinals' resurgence in the standings, what the road back to the postseason entails as the pennant chase heats up, how expanded rosters will impact the bench and pitching staff, and Matt Carpenter and Harrison Bader's chances of claiming an individual award this year.

Viva El Birdos writers Tyler Kinzy, Ben Clemens, and editor Heather Simon discuss the frenzy of roster transactions leading up to the non-waiver trade deadline and where these decisions will lead the Cardinals in the 2018 season and beyond.

VEB editor Heather Simon and writers Lance Brozdowski and Tyler Kinzy break down the Cardinals’ lackluster play to begin the second half and consider what additional changes could be in store as the trade deadline nears. They also discuss the recent success of the organization’s minor league affiliates and potential shifts in the team’s player development and drafting strategies.

VEB writers Tyler Kinzy and Tanner Puckett discuss the firing of Mike Matheny with VEB editor Heather Simon before assessing the Cardinals' long-term outlook at each position and debating the merit of a potential Carlos Martinez trade.

The Viva El Birdos Podcast makes its triumphant return as VEB writer Tyler Kinzy, editor Heather Simon, and managing editor Josey Curtis contemplate what direction the Cardinals should head in as the trade deadline approaches. They also discuss the latest clubhouse drama involving Jordan Hicks, Bud Norris, and Mike Matheny before tackling a trivia competition and answering listener questions ranging from organizational philosophies about tanking to Fortnite prowess.

John and Heather participate in trivia about Cardinals walk-off home runs and discuss the highs and lows of the first four games of the Cardinals season.

In this episode, originally recorded on November 18, 2017, John and Heather discuss the (at the time) hot Giancarlo Stanton rumors and how the Cardinals should plan their off-season.

John and Heather are joined by MLB.com, etc. writer Will Leitch (@willliamfleitch) and local wanderer Brendan Corkery (@BCorks09) to discuss the start of the 2018 season, how the Cardinals' recent past affects their present, and at 40:49, the group partakes in trivia about Opening Day, famous baseball names, and the Cardinals and Illinois Fighting Illini.

John and Heather take turns in drafting 15-player teams to see which players will accumulate the most FanGraphs Wins Above Replacement for the 2018 Cardinals.

John and Heather are joined by CBS Sports writer Dayn Perry to break down each division in Major League Baseball, as well as make Wild Card, LCS, and World Series predictions.

John and Heather are joined by Viva El Birdos prospect gurus Aaron "A.E." Schafer and Josey Curtis to discuss each's top ten prospects in the St. Louis Cardinals system as well as some additional intriguing prospects in the Cardinals' organization.

John and Heather discuss Paul DeJong's six-year, $26 million extension with the Cardinals and Tommy Pham's one-man battle against the league minimum salary, Heather participates in a round of "Name A Player on Each Team", and the two draft their favorite home runs in franchise history.

John and Heather briefly discuss the Eric Hosmer and J.D. Martinez signings and too-early Spring Training results before engaging in four rounds of trivia, quizzing each other and then being quizzed about Cardinals and baseball history.

John and Heather discuss the Cubs' signing of Yu Darvish, the Cardinals' signing of Bud Norris, what holes they see in the Cardinals as currently constructed, and Tommy Pham's ranking among MLB center fielders.

John and Heather do a round of walkup song-related trivia (3:12), discuss the Milwaukee Brewers' acquisitions of Christian Yelich and Lorenzo Cain and discuss how it impacts the NL Central race (11:52), Randal Grichuk's comments about playing time and Mike Matheny's response to them (23:59), and their picks for the 2018 class of the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame (32:37). Photo credit: Andrew Gurney (@kingabababa on Twitter)'s drawing of Xavier Scruggs from his collection of drawings of every Cardinals batter to make a plate appearance in the 21st century.

John, Heather, and VEB managing editor/FanGraphs writer Craig Edwards discuss the trade of Randal Grichuk to the Toronto Blue Jays (1:18), the institutional reasons for the lack of free agent movement (13:08), and Heather and Craig square off in FanGraphs WAR trivia (39:26).

John and Heather discuss the new developments from Winter Warm Up, including Luke Gregerson as closer and Yadier Molina's "retirement announcement", they discuss their opinions on the designated hitter (21:28), the results of the VEB Hall of Fame election (35:41), and answer listener questions (40:18).

John and Heather briefly discuss the lack of Cardinals transactions over the last two weeks and then go name-by-name to place votes for the 2018 Hall of Fame class.