St. Louis Cardinals 2009 Trivia Quiz

Answer: Joel Pinero

Joel Pinero was a desperate trade deadline move made by the Cardinals in the 2007 season. Pinero joined the Cardinals from the Boston Red Sox for only sums of money, and later reestablished himself as a promising pitcher in this league. Pinero had been a Cy Young candidate earlier in his career, but he fell apart around the time when the Cardinals started pitching him.

Then with the help of pitching coach Dave Duncan, he returned to his former form as a Cy Young candidate.

Answer: True

Behind the pitching of Adam Wainwright and Joel Pinero, and the bat of Albert Pujols, the Cardinals had one of the best April's in the history of their franchise. Also, the diversity of the team played an important role in having the best April record. The Cardinals historically had a bad first month or so.

Answer: Brian Barden

Brian Barden was brought up to help fill in the spot that superstar third basemen Troy Glaus left open because of injury. Barden along with David Freese fought all spring training long for the job. Though Barden won it, he really had not been used primarily at third base. Tony LaRussa has used Barden as more of an infield utility.

In fact, the Cardinals infield has been everywhere in 2009. Barden also played in the 2008 Summer Olympics for the United States national team.

Answer: Albert Pujols

Pujols had eight home runs and 28 runs batted in on 83 at-bats. Pujols also is a threat on the ground. He had four stolen bases in the first month of the season alone. He only swung and missed seven times, while drawing a walk in 18 at-bats. He hit two grand slams.

He had 56 total bases, and had one game-winning run batted in. The defensive side of Albert shows that he only had four defensive errors in April. Altogether, he had 28 hits as well.

Answer: Second Base

In 2008, Skip played around the outfield, and had found a home in the middle infield. In an effort to save money in the offseason, the Cardinals were looking hard for someone on their roster that could transfer position so they could to spend less money. Skip was their man.

Answer: P.J. Walters

Rookie P.J. Walters made his first MLB start against the Cubs, and if that's not hard enough as a first game in the majors, he had to play on the road, at Wrigley. He was rocky at first, but the same with all pitchers that are making their debut in their rivals stadium. Walters, after the first few innings, cooled down and threw it over the plate.

He fanned seven batters over four innings of work. The Cardinals were winning going into the eighth, but relief pitcher Chris Perez let up a bomb to Alfonso Soriano, costing the Cardinals the game. P.J. Walters was sent to the bullpen to help recover from his first Major League game.

Answer: Adam Wainwright

Wainwright was off to a great start in 2009. At the time he had 30 strikeouts, he was already 3-1. Adam was in his fifth season with the Cardinals. In 2008, he went 11-3 with 91 strikeouts.

Answer: True

The Cardinals began their fourth season in Busch Stadium III in 2009. This is the first time this new ballpark would host the All-Star game.

Answer: False

The Cardinals got their wish for a new stadium in the 2006 season when they won the World Series. What a way to open a new park!

Answer: Rick Ankiel

Ankiel went head-first into the outfield wall during a game early in 2009. He was later Ok, but had to be carted of. He gave the thumbs up to let everybody know he was Ok. He later went on the 15-day disabled list.