When he took over as team president, the Cardinals were a bird with a rumpled set of feathers. The team was being left to flounder by A-B, once August A. Busch Jr. passed away. Attendance was down, and the product on the wasn't very good. when it was announced he would take the job, I remember thinking that he wasn't much older than I was. But his youthful energy, coupled with a true love for the team he had rooted for since he was a kid, began to produce results. He brought in Walt Jocketty to be G.M., who in turn reeled in manager Tony La Russa. An infusion of players followed, and then so did the winning. Seven division titles and a wild card berth in 14 seasons, two pennants, and a World Championship. Lamping also polished the jewel that was the old Busch Stadium, and then mined the new diamond that is the new Busch right out of the downtown ground. The former Anheuser-Busch exec was also the conduit between the A-B ownership and the current regime. I guess it's just a simplistic notion that who better to be the caretaker of a prized possession like the Cardinals than someone who treasures that possession as much as you do? And there can never be any doubt that no one has any more love for the Redbirds than Mark Lamping. You may not agree with some of his decisions, but he always made those decisions with the best interests of the team and its fans as the top priority. He will be hard to replace.

You could tell from Thursday's game against the Mets that Tony La Russa that it was a little more important to win this "meaningless" exhibition game more so than others. After a week with nothing but a tie, a win was necessary-or at least desirable to cast off the negativity a week's worth of losing can do.

And there were some good things to see: Colby Rasmus' catch and throw from centerfield with the game on the line, coupled with Yadier Molina's snag, bag and tag, brought out a collective "ooh (wait for it) yeah!" from the crowd. Rasmus also showed something when he delivered his hit during the winning rally. Hopefully it was a peer into the future.

The manager never lets up on the intensity pedal, even in mid-March before they start counting the W's and L's. My first view of Mr. La Russa after a game that doesn't count past the next day wasn't much different than what he exhibits after a late-September, heat-of-the-race moment. If it had been different, now that would have been a story.

The player who caught my eye right away is outfielder Joe Mather. What's the old cliche, he just looks like a ballplayer. If he continues to hit, and hit with power, he will present an enviable problem of how to get him in the lineup someday, and at whose expense?

Today, a pilgrimage to a spring baseball Mecca, Dodgertown in Vero Beach. More on my history lesson next time.

Until then...